092811

What's It Called?

Neon Trees - Animal

What's The Story?

This tune was in a tourism commercial for Vegas last week, and when asked if I knew it, I insisted that it was Two Door Cinema Club for like five minutes before I got contrary enough to jfgi. Neon Trees are a four piece from Utah, and Animal was the lead single from their first & only album to date, Habits.

Who's To Blame?

His beard is probably what a playoff beard would've looked like on an Oilers fan in the 80s.

Why ♥ It?

As stated above, despite its radio appeal and generally maligned teen/young adult audience, Animal is a tune that could easily be by a band your hipster friend was telling you about last week. Neon Trees nail the genre rudiments of singable chorus and a clean vocal line, laid over some power chords and a happy, upbeat chord progression.

But don't think that it's entirely boring.

Having the bass guitar turned up to 11 or so can always give a track an added voice, and this is true of Animal as well. See also from 1:25 until the second chorus for a great quirk in the vocals. For a song called Animal, it mostly wears kitten mittens, but at this point the vocals have a sandpaper moment that'll make you feel better about listening to such a pseudo teeny-bopper song.

You know that 14-year old cousin you have with the jet-black dyed hair, skinny jeans and goofy superfluous glasses? They like this song, but so will you.

101310

What's It Called?

Yael Naim - New Soul

What's The Story?

Yael Naim is a French-born Israeli pop/folk singer-songwriter. This track is notable as being used in an Apple ad campaign in 2008, and you have almost certainly heard at least the chorus. It's from Naim's eponymous second album.

Who's To Blame?

I swear there are people who wouldn't have any taste in music were it nor for Steve Jobs' advertising department.

Why ♥ It?

The piano intro-cum-main line is off-kilter and dorky. Yael sounds sort of like one of The Supremes (although I'll be damned if I can tell you which one), while her backing band sounds like different eras of The Beatles--the horns sound like Sgt. Pepper, the piano carries a tune like songs often don't do anymore, and the occasional audible synth would fit right into Strawberry Fields Forever. This results in a nice pop soundscape that gets played with a lot and has a large sound for such a quiet intent.

072210

What's It Called?

Bag Raiders - Shooting Stars

What's The Story?

Bag Raiders are an Australian electronic duo who don't even release their first full length album until September 2010. Shooting Stars is a single from 2009.

Who's To Blame?

It was definitely a commercial. For either a restaurant or a piece of technology. (That's almost a genre nowadays.)

Why ♥ It?

As far as I'm concerned, Shooting Stars is kinda three songs in one. There's a movement that lasts for about a third of the song, and then a building transition in the middle, and then the real catch for the remainder. So, I'm gonna talk about each of those individually, acknowledging that I'm unable to describe with words the gestalt of all three combined.

First, think Daft Punk's Around The World. Now listen to the bassline in the first part of this song. That's a pretty solid foundation for any electro tune. The synth in part one also does a great job of sounding like it's ascending and building momentum for the whole part. Although the lyrics are an afterthought, the vocals fit perfectly with the chill nature of the song.

And that hook. Commercial-worthy, remember?

At around 1:20, there's part 2, which is an interesting bridge. The hook continues, the synth restarts, and there's a gradually swelling guitar sound, which eventually becomes the only sound left, and with the sound effect of a flying jet at 2:20 (unoriginal, but ideal), part three kicks in--the catchy vocal line with awesomehappy contributions from every other instrument.

One of my buddies has an affinity for "songs that make ya earn it"--tunes where much of the track time is spent building and adding parts until eventually there is an opus of all the best parts from the buildup. Shooting Stars makes ya earn it in the best way, and that is its biggest strength.