What's It Called?
Ben Folds Five - Draw A Crowd
What's The Story?
They're back together, and there are still only three in the Five. Draw A Crowd is a spunky selection from the band's first album in 11 years, The Sound of The Life of The Mind.
Who's To Blame?
Her mixtape's a masterpiece.
Why ♥ It?
The lyrics of this song are too great to gloss over, and dual purpose to boot. First, it's sorta written to appeal to your inner thirteen year-old. The chorus talks about drawing dicks, and lyrics about beards & vanilla thunder are there to add spice. However, the writing brings these thoughts into the tune in a way that's relevant & sorta clever; in a way that you can explain to your friends that your aesthetically appreciating this song about drawing dicks. Hell, I'm not a performer, so this song isn't even really for me. & I still love it.
The nice thing about Ben being back with his band is that the drums & bass are always so active; Ben Folds solo work is definitely different than with the band. I don't know if it's by design, but the fuzzy bass wanders all over the place and complements the piano wonderfully. The whole album sounds fuller than most of his solo work, and this lighthearted tune is a great jump-in point.
Showing posts with label Pop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pop. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Saturday, October 1, 2011
093011
What's It Called?
What's The Story?
The Bird & The Bee are an indie synthpop-ish duo from Los Angeles. They're perhaps best known for their Hall & Oates cover album. This tune comes from the album that precedes that one, 2008's Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future.
Who's To Blame?
A girl I met while peeling potatoes.
Why ♥ It?
There is so much going on in this tune. It sounds like a blur of neon lights at night while in a moving car. Perhaps it's the song's title that conjures that image, but the music definitely helps the mood; especially during the whoa-whoa parts, its upbeat nature just sounds like movement feels.
The song is also really cute-sy in the way that we stereotype Japanese culture. There's a really high-pitched bell sound to introduce the track that is persistent throughout. The drums are processed and electronic, and there are plenty of high dinging sort of sounds. Inara George's voice is candy sweet, and she's singing about love as an ideal, which goes well with this adorable song.
Love Letter To Japan is perhaps a strange indie pop offering at first blush, but this surface oddity doesn't keep it from being easy to love.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
091311
What's It Called?
What's The Story?
Lady... Gaga? Goodness, I had no idea! For you see, I have been on Mars for the last decade, in a cave, with my eyes shut and my fingers in my ears.
This tune comes as a bonus track on The Fame.
Who's To Blame?
They're known for their bagels and their cramped space.
Why ♥ It?
From start to finish, this song captures some of the most admirable parts of the 70s, except that it's on one of the best-sellers of the 00s.
The bass guitar shines aggressively throughout this track: it moves fast, and it hits hard. The vocals are Lady Gaga's standard smooth mindvirus pop-style. In the verses especially, they're brainwashing, with lots of vibrato in the voice and choral/overlaid backup vocals making it sail by almost too fast to appreciate.
The bad news: the chorus to this song won't be staying in your head for weeks on end like, say, Bad Romance.
The good news: The song stands on its own outside of just a catchy main line. It's perfect for playing for friends only to tell them afterwards that they just really enjoyed a Lady Gaga song, or (if you prefer) got Gagarolled.
The really good news: Gagarolling isn't actually a thing.
Monday, August 29, 2011
083011
What's It Called?
Repartee - Brother (Link is to their MySpace, you can find it there)
What's The Story?
Repartee were named the Newfoundland Herald's band to watch in 2011. They play an unabashed breed of power pop, and are more than just another Metric or New Pornographers-style band. They have an EP out, with an LP release coming up in September.
Who's To Blame?
A guy who, on an 8000km+ road trip, we affectionately nicknamed "Piss Break".
Why ♥ It?
Here is a short list of things that are really catchy about this heartfelt-yet-dance-rock-y song:
- The main guitar riff during the verses.
- The percussion during the verse; starting with a series of determined hits, and growing into a quick-paced beat and back again.
- The crunchy guitar riff during the pre-chorus.
- The silky high vocal parts in the pre-chorus and chorus.
- The vocal harmony found in the second half of each chorus.
- The bass guitar at... well, pretty much any time, but especially during the breakdown just after 3:00.
- Everything else in the breakdown. It probably doesn't actually sound like it, but I always file it next to the Peanuts theme in my head.
I could continue, but if seven parts of one song that will get stuck in your head aren't enough, then I give up. Seriously, if you want to hear something that sounds like some of the bands mentioned earlier with a bit more emphasis on instrumentation, all while keeping a foot-movin' hustle in mind, these guys are worth a listen or nine.
Monday, October 18, 2010
101510
What's It Called?
What's The Story?
Ben Folds writes top 40 hit Brick, yadda yadda yadda, teams up with British author Nick Hornby to make an album that can be filed under and-now-for-something-completely-different. The album is called Lonely Avenue; this is the tune that has a music video.
Who's To Blame?
Er... every music blog on Earth?
Why ♥ It?
If you've never heard Ben Folds' cover of Such Great Heights, this comparison might have no bearing; but this is one of those tracks where Folds has his usual vocal-piano basis, but has a percussion section that's a shame to miss, and a ton of fun things going on that are easily overlooked if you're song-skimming. I won't deny the track's weirdness, but if you like anything by Ben Folds or pop-rock pianists in general, the pleasant atmosphere and catchy hooks of this tune are worth your time.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
101310
What's It Called?
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.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
092510
What's It Called?
What's The Story?
DNA are a British dance group. Suzanne Vega is an American folk singer. Tom's Diner was an originally a capella track released by Vega in the mid-80s, and DNA remixed it in 1990.
Who's To Blame?
A guy whose forum username comes from electrocuted weenies.
Why ♥ It?
Do not click the link above unless you want a chorus stuck in your head. The track is fairly downtempo, but flows through 5:22 quickly & seamlessly, with repeated iterations of the intro/chorus constant. The bass sounds surprisingly like the intro to the TV show The Sopranos, and the horns and early morning-sounding synth are generally content about life, the universe and everything. When dance meets folk, pleasant and catchy both happen.
Now, if you'll excuse me... dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah, dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah
Monday, September 20, 2010
092010
What's It Called?
What's The Story?
Justine Electra is a relatively unknown artist from Australia currently based in Germany. This blurb is almost as long as her Wikipedia article. Killalady is from her only studio album, Soft Rock.
Who's To Blame?
Another guy who does these, and probably has better taste than I do.
Why ♥ It?
The guitar riff and the chiming sound breed familiarity. The vocals show a Feist-like beauty, and the lyrics seem like they'd appeal to the track's audience. The obnoxiously fuzzy synth that enters soon after the 3 minute mark rewards the patient listener. An easygoing treat.
Monday, August 16, 2010
081710
What's It Called?
What's The Story?
Jagged Little Pill. 33 million copies sold worldwide. Heard it?
Who's To Blame?
A marketplace named for annoying, itchy bugs.
Why ♥ It?
Forget who this is by and what album it's on. It fits in about as neatly and unnoticed as There's A World does on Harvest.
The intro leaves it open to go to a lot of places; it could be any other Alanis song, or it could quickly change into something that sounds like Jane's Addiction (I'm sure Navarro had his hand in that somewhere). At 0:42, the song kicks in, and I keep thinking Genesis and Dream Theater and... progressive rock? Alanis Morissette? I rarely think of those two things in the same month, let alone the same thought.
But I've made peace with it. Alanis sings the track in the same manner and with the same efficacy as anything else on the landmark album, but the guitar shines like something indeterminate from some other genre. If you don't know the track well enough to hear it in your head, give it a listen, because it's worth a reconsideration.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
080410
What's It Called?
What's The Story?
Hey, did you know Ben Folds kept going after that one Ben Folds Five album?
...If you didn't, shame on you.
This track is from his 2008 solo effort Way To Normal.
Who's To Blame?
A girl whose insanity is either endearing or crazy, depending on her mood.
Why ♥ It?
I have to comment on the intro to this song--perhaps I'm picking it today in anticipation of the 2010 NFL season, but you know the song is going to be fun when it starts with a choral vocal of "If there's a God, he's laughing at us and out football team".
I love how this song always feels like it's going somewhere. The lyrics talk about driving on a highway, and it's not hard to visualize the signs passing by because of the efforts of the piano and bass. The chorus feels like going somewhere as well--except on a summer road trip, or something equally fun.
When the opening vocal line is converted into a piano solo (2:13), the song begins to feel more like a memory than a journey. (Props as well to the woodblock-sounding roll into the solo) This continues after the "normal people do it too" part, when I can just hear the song playing over a frozen frame of a movie sports team celebrating their victory with credits rolling. Then, cut back to the fun chorus, and outro.
In 3 short minutes, this song makes me think of the Miami Dolphins, driving the TCH, the best summer ever, and Remember The Titans. When music evokes that many different thoughts and feelings that quickly, I say it's done its job.
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