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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Veruca Salt “Laughing In the Sugar Bowl”

Remember Veruca Salt? Remember ‘American Thighs’ and the songs “Seether,” ”Number One Blind” and ”Victrola”? Remember Louise Post and Nina Gordon? I sort of do.

I am embarrassed to say that I was so caught up in everything else that was going on in my life in the early nineties that the music I loved and would have loved was sat on the backburner.

Let me say that again… ‘the music I loved’… and not necessarily the music I was playing on the radio. Let’s see. In the early nineties I was all-busy getting married, playing mediocre AM radio schlock, getting fired from the job where I was playing that mediocre AM radio schlock, and getting hired at (and fired again from) another station where I was playing more mediocre AM radio schlock.

I should have been healing myself by listening to bands like Veruca Salt and Radiohead and Smashing Pumpkins but… well, better late than never. I have made up for lost time in the past 10-15 years.

When you look at the line up for Veruca Salt over those years, it has been volatile to say the least and the fact that the core is back together with ‘Ghost Notes’ and “Laughing in the Sugar Bowl,” is a very cool and very refreshing thing.

I have to remember that I am getting old. I hate to admit it but it might be true. And for as much as I listen to everything and hear the merits in almost anything, nostalgia does have a tendency to rule my tastes more often than not.

So hearing what I can only describe as the fresh, clearer, slightly cleaner, a-tad-leaner rock-grunge-alt-pop sound of Verusa Salt is refreshing as hell. And hearing “Laughing in the Sugar Bowl” cleanses my soul the way “Seether” should have almost a quarter century ago.

Sometimes it seems like the lyrics don’t make sense. But that’s not the point. What comes first is the sound. I have to admit that when it comes to listening to songs that are new (or new to me) the words sometimes become lost to me until after repeated listens or, thank god for the Internet, a quick online search. I know that I am not the only one who feels this way – especially with the continued popularity of lyric videos over the past couple of years.

But listening to songs by Veruca Salt and The Pixies for the first time can sometimes throw you for a loop as you try to translate what the hell they are trying to tell you. So I have come to that medium-happy place where I just listen to the song and try to decipher what the lyrics and the tune mean to me. To me… at that moment. That’s all that matters. And that’s the case with all music when you are sitting on a bus plugged into your own tunes — tuned into your own thoughts and lost in your own world.

As for Verusa Salt’s over all sound, they are back with a vengeance and they have joyously expanded on their original sound. But with age comes wisdom and beauty and I think there is something about “Laughing in the Sugar Bowl” that is better than ever.

Some might fault the sound of the song as being almost too poppy or too ‘catchy.’ (Is that possible?) But that sound is clean and infectious right from the start.

I have bestowed the virtue of the slow build of a song on more than one occasion and how it can help draw the listener in to the story the singer/songwriter is trying to tell. But I am not married to the technique. And I love that “Laughing in the Sugar Bowl” relentlessly rips right into the first verse — grabbing hold of you and refusing to let go.

Dare I say it could be as close to a perfect alt-rock-like song as there can be; with strong vocals (the way they string together the versus is immediately memorable), infectious guitars, killer bass lines, and driving drums. Oh and did I mention that I fell instantly in love with Post and Gordon? Head over heels! They look AND sound better now than then! And I will never forget them.

#veruca salt #laughing in the sugar bowl #seether #rock #alt #alternative #alt rock #alternative rock #music #pop culture #blog #junop #ajjunop #cool goat

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Michael Bernard Fitzgerald “Firecracker”

The beginning of Michael Bernard Fitzgerald’s “Firecracker” is a bit deceitful. But that’s not a bad thing and it doesn’t last for long. Only a second really. It’s that one little bit with the guitar at the start that make you thing you are going to get one thing — and then a second later you get something entirely different. The song… explodes.

The first song I ever heard from Michael Bernard Fitzgerald was not anything like this. ”Brand New Spaces” was introduced to me by a couple of friends where I work at Vista ideas. We started a blog sharing the music we like — and while one guy is a big fan, another actually went to school with Michael in Alberta. The minute I heard that first song, I wanted to hear more. And I found this.

Right away, inexplicably, I liked “Firecracker.” But somewhere in my head, I have this sick compulsion to classify things. I don't know why. It's a disease. And what I realized was that I can’t really classify this song. I'm not sure exactly what it is — not that it really matters.

For much of the song, the first time I heard it, I had no idea what Michael was saying. I find that happens to me a lot when I listen to music for the first time. I don’t hear all the words. But again, it doesn't matter. It's just got a great feel. It's got a great sound. There is something sort of refreshing about how relentless the song is. I say ‘refreshing’ because I might use the word ‘relentless’ to describe something that is hard rock. And this is not.

In another way, this song is sex. Not just sexy. Sex. It’s passionate and it's a little out of control but it takes you where you want to go. Takes you where you need to go.

Is “Firecracker” a love song?

Eyes bat, take that, I fear that she Had me at hello

Yes.

Is it a ‘lust’ song? Head to toe, and it shows, hh I know She’s got it locked up, it signed, it sealed If she was dinner, she’s a winner, I’m a sinner I’ll place my order for her, she’s my favorite meal

Yes.

Is it a song about forbidden love?

I see you staring, no point comparing Boy I’d eat you right up, chew chew spit back So walk yourself away, right now walk today Oh why’d you have to walk like that

Possibly.

Maybe “Firecracker” is more deceitful than I thought!

#michael bernard fitzgerald #firecracker #calgary #alberta #canada #canadian #cancon #pop #rock #music #pop culture #blog #music blog #pop culture blog #junop #ajjunop #cool goat #cool goat music

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Tor Miller “Midnight”

I've always been a big fan of minimalism. I love how one guitar or a minor key struck on a piano can convey so much attitude and emotion. Go online and watch an emotional commercial designed to make you feel sad or empathetic – all almost exclusively start with the soundtrack of a single keyboard sound.

And that lone piano at the beginning of Tor Miller’s “Midnight” catches your attention too. I almost wish those solitary keynotes would've continued on a little longer before the vocals kicked in allowing the song and the tone and the mood and the attitude to establish a little more.

This has nothing to do with the vocals. It has to do with getting caught up in those little piano moments.

The song does one of those things that a song is supposed to do. It does one of those things that I always expect a song to do — in a good way. I'm talking about the build… where a song progresses from chorus to verse to chorus to bridge etcetera and there is a building progression of sound. I generally like what I'm hearing. But I'm having a hard time getting excited about this song.

I do like how the song builds to a certain point and then comes right back to the way it was in the beginning. It’s a story coming full-circle. Wonderful. The intensity of the vocals also grows and stays somewhat on-edge in the end even while the instrumentation pulls back. But I almost didn’t get there. “Midnight” sort of starts to lose me around three or four in the morning.

I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in myself for not liking this more. The lyrics suggest that this should be an AJ favourite – especially a song telling stories about the people you see — and that opening line.

Jeff Buckley's Grace was playing loud as hell In a back of an old dive bar So I step outside and light a cigarette Taking the fumes of the passing cars

I like a song that paints a picture like that. I can hear Buckley in my head and I can see the bar and traffic. And while all of this works over that building piano, I am more enamored with the vision than anything else.

I have always been a sucker for the city at night. I can’t tell you how many times I have been trying to get from A to B after hours in Toronto or Vancouver and found myself listening to the likes of St. Germain or Dave Brubeck – artists who seem to have a talent for creating a city soundtrack.

But this song doesn’t quite do that for me. The piano is there. The lyrics seem real. The vocals are passionate enough. But there is something missing in the tone and the attitude.

Two lovers falling in each other's arms Stumbling now on the high line Upon the bridge there's a broken heart Screaming to his valentine Two sunken eyes at the corner shop Tryina get a lucky for a dime The needle drops and the line it turns And then it burns one right

I guess that’s life in the big city.

#tor miller #midnight #pop #adult contemporary #music #pop culture #blog #music blog #pop culture blog #junop #ajjunop #cool goat music #cool goat

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Leon Bridges “Coming Home”

Right away the vocals are nostalgic. Classic. New. But old too. It's Sam Cooke and Otis Redding all rolled into one. God, how Leon Bridges must get tired of hearing that. But Bridges has covered Cooke in the past. And to be honest, there have not been a lot of artists in the past thirty or forty years who could live up to lofty comparisons like that – and Leon Bridges can. So for as much as it might be cheap to throw around these comparisons, the sentiment is sincere.

“Coming Home” has a cool medium pace that sucks you in for nostalgia-sake in the beginning. But it’s that tempo that keeps you to the end. It's a kind of music that, if you were listening to it while going out for a walk on a cooler summer night that would set a wonderfully healthy steady pace – and would force you to keep your head high. It's not the kind of thing that you hear in your head when you wish you were walking in slow motion while you starred in your own cooler than cool movie. You know when you hear certain Rolling Stones songs and you think how cool your entrance would be if you could just have that song playing in the background while you sauntered slo-mo style? But with purpose? No, there is a weird kind of energy to what we're hearing here. It’s steady. It moves forward. It just makes you want to keep on going.

And for some reason, you might be expecting some incredible harmonies to chime in at any moment… but they don't. Why? Because the song doesn’t need them. Because Leon Bridges doesn’t need them. If anything those kinds of harmonies might detract from what Bridges is trying to do.

And what is Bridges trying to do? Like the title of the song suggests, Leon just wants to go home. But that leads us to another question:

Is this a love song or is this a song of redemption and asking for forgiveness?

Is this a song about how hard it is out there in the big bad world and how nice it is to come home at the end of the day to someone who gets ‘it’ and understands ‘you’ and helps you make senses out of… everything?

Or is this about a man who went out there in that big bad world on his own and realized that he didn’t like what he saw and now it’s time to come back to what he had before — because he know now how good he had it?

There is some evidence suggesting that the latter might be closer to the truth. Bridges seems to spend more time in another song, “Better Man,” trying to prove his worth. That he can be — a better man.

And in “Coming Home,” it would seem that better man is… coming home.

#leon bridges #coming home #better man #soul #randb #r&b #rhythm and blues #pop rock #music #pop culture #blog #music blog #pop culture blog #junop #ajjunop #cool goat #cool goat music

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Lilly Hiatt “Get This Right”

Right away, there is an incredible familiarity to the opening guitar in “Get This Right” by Lilly Hiatt. And I don’t mean that in an ‘I’ve heard this all before’ kind of way. There’s just a comfort in those opening chords. Maybe it reminds me a little of John Vanderslice. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the production on the song and the way it affects Lilly’s voice. It’s distinct… that analog type of anti-processing that sounds full and genuine. I like that. It feels… real.

The second thing that you can’t help but notice is the name. And since I do consider myself a true disciple of the church of John Hiatt, it’s no surprise that Lilly is the smoky, gravel-voiced singer songwriter’s daughter. (I still stand by the notion that “Have a Little Faith in Me” is one of the greatest songs of all time.)

What is fantastic about hearing Lilly Hiatt sing and perform is that even though she might have inherited her father’s passion and talent, she has discovered her own sound. She is definitely not riding on Daddy’s coat tails but I do hope they’re shared name gives the world a chance to discover what she is capable of.

As for the song “Get This Right” from “Royal Blue,” her second album, the title is a little misleading. But maybe that’s the point. The song is about a relationship that might not be a relationship anymore. The title “Get this Right” almost implies that everything is okay. Or it could be construed to be a demand to fix things. But the lyric goes “Are we ever going to get this right?” and that has a big question mark at the end.

I’m not sure what the answer to Ms. Hiatt’s query is — except to say… have a little faith Lilly.

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Dead Sara - “Mona Lisa”

Dead Sara has a lot of things going for them right off the top.

A great band name. I’m was afraid to compliment them on the name of the band just in case there is a sad tragic story to go along with the moniker. (Fortunately there is no sad story to share. The name came from the Fleetwood Mac Song “Sara” and the often misheard lyric “Said Sara” which can sound like “Dead Sara.”) Like I said… it’s a damn fine name. Catches the ear and fits their sound.

Their sound. Although “Mona Lisa” seems to take me on a musical ride that keeps changing every 60-seconds or so (from the bluesy gospel humming and finger snaps to the fuzzy guitar to the rock-yell lyrics to the cold fade ending) I went from sort of liking what I was hearing in the beginning to really liking what I was hearing by the end.

“I know what you want but it’s not going to be what you like.” That is potentially one of the best lines I have heard in a long time.

This is sort of interesting. As I was typing up some of my ideas about “Mona Lisa,” YouTube auto played “Something Good” and my respect for what this band can do grew. No one song Dead Sara does really sounds the same. That’s a remarkable skill.

Emily Armstrong can sound remarkable like the Vitamix offspring of Melissa Etheridge, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Tyler and Shelby Lynne with maybe a little Courtney Love thrown in for good measure. (My nod to Dead Sara’s loyal cover of Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box.”) “Something Good” has a more straight forward pop-tinged sound that proves that this band has ability. And if “Mona Lisa” doesn’t rock enough for you (if that’s possible) listen to “Lemon Scent.”

I hate to fixate on the lead singer when we have an entire band contributing to “Mona Lisa’s” hard-ass sound but Armstrong rocks hard. It’s a great mix.

As for the video for “Mona Lisa,” it’s an incredible mess of excellent proportions and reminds me of a couple of college parties I sort of remember. You know, the kind of thing where you wake up naked the next morning craving McDonalds. But that’s a confessional for another time.

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Meg Myers — “Sorry”

I’m not sure how I discovered Meg Myers. I’m not sure that it matters. I wish I had a fabulous story to tell about a love affair gone so right that it was wrong – something with someone famous that everyone knows but I can’t say because we have reputations to protect. Hers and mine. And while that wonderful affair was happening, Meg Myers “Sorry” started to blast from the speakers. But that affair never happened. Never would. I’m much too dull and straight edge for that kind of thing. And for that, I guess I am sorry too.

I guess I’m just glad that Meg is in my life with songs like ‘Monster’ and ‘Go’ as well.

If this is the first time you have heard Meg, you might think that the whole song is going to be a plaintive apology – that is until you get to that first sorry. And by the time she gets to the next apology, you can tell she has apologized enough. Too much. And even though she means it, it’s clear that she is tired of apologizing and she just wants to move on.

She is also one of the most unique presenters out there today. I am using the very broadcasty term ‘presenter’ instead of singer or entertainer because think that her platform and method of delivering her emotional message is something that feels somewhat fresh for 2015 – just like The Breeders and Nirvana also have the ability of sounding fresh again today too.

As for ‘Sorry,’ Meg not only wants to move on but she is hoping that the other person in this so called conversation can and will be able to move on too. This song is a reminder that no matter how perfect things seemed once upon a time, things change. They could get better but sometimes they don’t. That’s life. Get over it. Get past it. Move on. There is something else out there. There is someone else out there. And you can’t move on without remembering and without letting go.

Meg Myers is everything I want in a singer songwriter – tender and angry and emotional and beautiful all at the same time. The highs and the lows in ‘Sorry’ and some of her other songs that we have discussed and listened to take you for an incredible ride and keep re-acquiring your attention over and over again. Her formula is fairly similar from song to song but in the best possible way — jumping from extreme to extreme. Extreme voice. Extreme guitar. Extreme emotion.

I listen to a lot of music and rarely do I want to run out and buy the album. I would buy and listen to everything that Meg Myers released and will release. Her extremes are my extremes. She just manages to find a way to express them when most of us keep that kind of stuff bottled up inside.

Do I want Meg Myers to be that girl I was talking about in the beginning?

Yes.

And no.

#meg mers #sorry #monster #go #rock #hard rock #indie #alternative #music #pop culture #blog #music blog #pop culture blog #junop #ajjunop #cool goat #cool goat music #coolgoat

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Sleaford Mods — Tiswas

For whatever reason, it sometimes seems hard to accept that there are people and bands out there who have something to say (really have something to say) and they just want the chance to say it. They just want a chance to have people hear it and respond to it. And if fame and fortune comes along with all it’s wonderful distracting trappings, then so be it.

That’s the impression I get from listening to Sleaford Mods for the first time. I want to avoid comparisons to Johnny Rotten and the like because there are clear differences in style and attitude but I have to admit that is the first thing that popped to mind as Jason Williamson sang:

Pop round Matt, I'll give you a fiver! The Land That Time Forgot is on repeat I can hear the screams of people, who wanna be me They wanna shave my tongue And tell the others that they were the ones who made me Who made me

There is more control and more purpose in what Sleaford Mods have to share. Andrew Fearn’s music is simple but not simplistic. It makes you move but enhances Williamson’s message. It does not distract from it. I have a great appreciation for their post-punk hip-hop spoken-word attitude – shorter songs that get directly to the point and say everything that they have to say.

Some of the references they are making are deeply ingrained in British pop culture. Plus Williamson’s accent is so incredibly thick, beautiful and authentic that it’s sometimes hard to understand. So, in some instances, you as a listener get to concentrate on how they are saying what they have to say instead of just what they are saying. And that’s great too. So what do I hear? Conviction without outright or put-on anger… at least not on this song!

“TISWAS" was an acronym for a kid’s British TV show in the seventies and eighties called "Today It's Saturday, Watch and Smile.” ‘TISWAS’ the TV show was about mocking things in its day including other kid’s shows. So maybe that’s what Sleaford Mods are doing in this song too.

It’s hard to keep track of how many albums and EPs and extended mixes Sleaford Mods have released. I think it’s safe to say they are going away anytime soon. The UK loves them. And even though Williamson writes about, among other things, unemployment; it’s only recently that he quit his day job to focus on his music career. Fortunately there is no shortage of things for him to write and sing about. Only now, maybe life ain’t so bad.

#sleaford mods #tiswas #punk #post punk #hip hop #spoken word #minimalist #music #blog #music blog #pop culture #pop culture blog #junop #ajunop #a j junop #cool goat #coolgoat #uk #england #britain

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Catfish and the Bottlemen – “Kathleen”

I love me a quirky band name. I’ve been playing a game for thirty years where, when I hear a weird turn-of-phrase, I say “That was the name of my band in college!” The built-in irony of course is that I don’t have a musical bone in my body. I even started a website about it. But the problem with the really quirky names of the new millennium is that those bands rarely have staying power. There are exceptions to the rule. And in retrospect, I’m quite sure there were doubters in the crowd concerning the longevity of bands in the sixties with names like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

On my first listen to “Kathleen,” I got this sort of eighties vibe at the beginning. I love that they get right into the song. No hesitation. That’s rare. And it’s the sign of a real rock and roll song. That’s rare too. It’s immediately infectious and even has a Regina Spektor “Orange is the New Black” feel to it. Or is it The Arctic Monkeys? Or The Killers? I don’t know. There is just something so damn familiar about their style and Van’s voice. It’s just a great sound.

That change into the chorus is marvellously startling – almost like it doesn’t belong there or it was a bad edit. In the end, I like this song and I want to hear more.

But I have to admit that this is a feeling song for me. The message I get from this song is more about energy and familiarity (not in a Robyn Thicke / family-of-Marvin Gaye kind of way.) What still frustrates me is trying to decipher the lyrics. But maybe my confusion is right on the mark with lead singer Van McCann’s sentiment. His sense of confusion is my sense of confusion.

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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The Avett Brothers — “Murder in the City”

One of my greatest kryptonites is over-thinking. I over-think things. And I hesitate. And when you hesitate, you wait. And what are you waiting for? A new hesitation most likely.

Not now though.

I went online and discovered that The Avett Brothers and Brandi Carlisle would be performing on Letterman as he finishes up his Late Night run. Why is her name so familiar?

I discover that Brandi covered The Avett Brothers’ song “Murder in the City.” But why is her name so familiar?

I searched back on my Hear See Daily blog and then I remember. My wife and daughter sent me a song that they thought I might like. Something to listen to and think about while the three of us are separated by distance and the task of transferring our lives from one city to another. And that song belonged to Brandi Carlisle. Small world. (I love the effect of Brandi’s voice while recording “Murder in the City” in that tunnel. It has a sentimental Daniel Johnston kind of feel to it like when he used to record his songs directing into his cassette machine in the basement of his parent’s bungalow.)

As for The Avett Brothers original version of “Murder in the City,” the quiet sort of draws you in right from the beginning. You almost have to happily strain to hear the guitar at the start.

There is something about this song and the Brothers’ harmonies that draw you in and make you want more — long before the song comes to an end. That’s an odd thought and an even weirder sensation.

I’ve talked about the build of a song before – and how I think that generally it is a necessary thing… that a song needs to pick up emotional steam as it progresses to whatever end might be coming. But the build in this song is the story not just the tone — and that works even better. You don’t want the story to end. You certainly don’t want the story to end the way the story does end. You just want to lie back and close your eyes and allow the setting sun to splash down on your face – and you want to make a list yourself to say all the things you have always wanted to say to the people that you wanted to say things to. The difference is that your list is the start of something for you and not the end. That being said, my favourite sentiment in the song comes in the form of three little words – “I’m coming home.” Or in my case, home is eventually coming to me.

This is a song about life – not death. This is a song about love and family – not strangers and danger. This is a song that warns you about the perils of regret. That you can’t live in the past tense. That you can’t spend your life wondering about the what-ifs. That a hesitation is just as dangerous as life in the big city.

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Tove Lo – Habits (Stay High)

What grabbed me right away about Tove Lo’s “Habits (Stay High)” was that steady drilling rhythm that almost seems to go on too long at the beginning of the song – but it doesn’t. And the energy and the anxiety of that sound sets up the rest of her days and nights in the song. As for the story Tove has to share, ‘compelling’ isn’t a strong enough word to describe what ‘she’ is going through. She almost makes the events of her life seem wonderfully mundane and ordinary but in a twisted dangerous way:

I eat my dinner in the bathtub

Then I go to sex clubs

Watching freaky people getting it on

It doesn't make me nervous

If anything I'm restless

Yeah I've been around

For as much as this sounds like an upbeat, assertive song, it’s actually an act of pure desperation and an exercise in orchestrated distraction and classic avoidance. And that’s sad. I think we all have experienced love and a love-lost that makes you feel this way. Tove has just managed to express it in a most unique theatre-of-the-mind kind of way. Her voice is an odd combination of fear and forcefulness that almost makes you question for just a second how bad-off she really is. But that’s the point now isn’t it. She doesn’t really realize how bad she’s got it.

This is a sad song that doesn’t end happily ever after. And I think that’s one of the things that makes “Habits (Stay High)” a great song and not just a good song – the ambiguity of the ending. The fact that we don’t know how she is going to be. We assume. We hope. But we don’t really know. The song and the story don’t end happily ever after at 3:28. And that’s a brave thing for a songwriter to do.

Plus there are something Lorde-like (not lite) about Tove Lo. It’s interesting how something like “Royals” is lyrically almost celebratory but sounds so desperate while “Habits (Stay High)” goes the other way.

There is a lesson to be learned here. Sometimes love grabs hold and will not let you go – so it’s your job to just let go and walk away.

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Ellie Goulding “Love Me Like You Do”

It’s incredible to see how Ellie Goulding has grown as an artist – from a beautiful strong girl with a wholesome look and a full voice to an even more beautiful stronger woman with a sexy look and a soaring voice that can easily give Katy Perry and Taylor Swift a run for their money.

And that leads to one of my problems with Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do” – her contribution to the “Fifty Shades of Grey” official movie soundtrack. At first listen, you might think that this is something new from Perry. Not a bad comparison but I wish I was comparing Goulding to Goulding and not Perry.

“Love Me Like You Do” is slick and well-crafted and builds beautifully. To paraphrase actress Brittney Snow in the film ‘Pitch Perfect,’ this song some could be her “lady jam” too. But what this song is really all about is the lyrics.

"You're the cure/ you're the pain/ you're the only thing I want to touch/ Never knew that it/ could mean so much/ You're the fear/ I don't care/ 'Cause I've never been so high"

It’s all about the story the song has to share. And it’s all about the story on the screen that the song is helping to share. And in that way, this is a very good song.

I like Ellie. Her vocals on “Love Me Like You Do” are undeniably powerful and clean. But I prefer the Ellie who covered Elton John’s “Your Song.” You remember – the one that was so beautifully used in the Kraft Peanut Butter commercial? (That might sound insulting or insincere but as a father of a little girl who has a peanut butter-like teddy bear as a best friend that spot made me cry.)

“Love Me Like You Do” is not what I was hoping it would be. People are describing this song as ‘sexy’ – and it is, but it’s not the ‘sexy’ that I was expecting. I guess I was hoping for something smokier and more provocative. What I got was sexy in a more physical way. I guess it’s a more “Fifty Shades of Grey” way.

I do like how she hits the line “What are you waiting for’ at the three-minute mark. The music bleeds away for a moment as anticipation builds and Ellie’s vocals soar like she is pleading and demanding all at the same time for your attention.

And isn't that what “Fifty Shades of Grey” is sort of all about? I know the book was about so much more than making men squirm and making women… well, making women squirm too. And I’ll be interested to see how and where this song is used in the context of the film.

Sadly (or fortunately) I will probably not get a chance to see it for myself. For as much as I like and respect Ellie Goulding, I like and respect me too and I have sworn not to contribute one red cent to the E.L. James franchise. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have a craving for peanut butter on toast.

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Jessica Pratt “Back, Baby”

Generally a voice is like a finger print. It’s unique and special and belongs to just one person. Sure, there are people who sound the same. And that’s one of the problems when artists are trying to break through the glass ceiling that is the music industry – there style might sound too much like someone else… or everyone else.

I don’t think you can accuse Jessica Pratt of that.

There are times when Pratt’s delivery is almost unreal. From warbling highs to exaggerated lows. And her sound (and I’m talking about the tone and register of her vocals) can range from classic country to folk to alternative to indie. From my first listen to “Back, Baby” she had my attention. By my third listen, she had my heart.

With instrumentation so subtle, you can’t help but truly listen to the song. Interestingly, her delivery is so unique and strategically uneven, her style sometimes detracts from the lyrics as much as it sometimes can punch up certain words and phrases. And there are times when she hits a word or a line in “Baby, Back” that is undeniably potent – like the word ‘time:’

If there was a time that you loved me If there was a time when you said that you want me to believe

And I love the extravagant way Pratt says the word ‘sometimes:’

And sometimes I pray for the rain

Pratt doesn't seem to like the idea of being pigeonholed as a Joan Baez-like folk singer. She doesn't consider her own style to be so straight forward and tradition. But she also dislikes comparisons to the California freak folk sound. According to an article in Impose magazine, she just doesn't want to sound one-dimensional.

Fear not Jessica Pratt. You have a matchless finger print.

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Dead Man Fall “Bang Your Drum”

I’m a sucker for a strong drum beat – especially something that starts a song as powerfully as it does for Dead Man Fall’s “Bang Your Drum.”

Confession: I immediately fell in love with this song when Craig Ferguson lip-synced to it on the finale of The Late Late Show. The lyrics said exactly what Ferguson wanted to say to the world one more time before he ventured forth into new adventures.

And that’s what the song does for me too. “Bang Your Drum” has become my manifesto for 2015. It’s my New Year’s resolution. It’s a reminder that I need to keep doing and moving forward.

Wow. Isn't it amazing when a song can do all that for you?

Dead Man Fall have not been around for a long time but Des McCabe and the other members of this Scottish band have known each other since school and have played in other groups. What brought them together? Similar musical influences – from New Order to Primal Scream. And you can hear that in their music.

Getting the proverbial thumbs up from Craig has done the band good. As of January 2015, despite not having a recording contract, “Bang Your Drum” is charting in North America. And for this I am thankful and not surprised.

Right from the beginning, the drums are almost aggressively freeing. And then comes the bass guitar laying a foundation for some very important ideas:

I've been thinking about the things that are stuck inside my head and I can't get them out and I've been waking at four in the morning I don't know why I can't get back to sleep again tonight

I can relate. Sometimes we all think too much. McCabe’s vocals start introspectively – almost matter-of-fact. And then his energy and drive and conviction and pride and passion grow to the point where nothing and no one can or will stop him from doing the things that he wants to do.

And then there’s this:

I am wishing that I was making a list of all of the good things that I ever done with my life and everybody says I have wasted wasted every chance I ever had to be somebody

I can relate to that to. But most of the time the ‘everybody’ that the song refers to… is ‘me.’

“Keep banging on your drum and your day will come.” It’s a simple idea. Keep doing what you do and what you love and what you are good at and eventually everything will pay off. So I will do that too. And so I don’t forget that, I’ll keep listening to this.

#dead man fall #bang your drum #scotland #scottish #the late late show #craig ferguson #indie #rock #pop #music #blog #pop culture #junop #paj #ajjunop #cool goat music #aj

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coolgoatmusic · 9 years

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Angel Olsen “Forgiven/Forgotten”

Know what I love about so much of the music today? That some of the strongest rawest realest anti-love songs come from resilient assertive kick-ass women who know who they are and know when they have had enough... sometimes.

That’s what I hear when I listen to Angel Olsen’s “Forgiven/Forgotten.”

There’s a wonderful complex simplicity to the song especially in the beginning. It’s has a garage band feel that goes back to the late sixties -- but fuller sounding.

And Olsen’s voice reminds me a little of Kim Deal – the original bass player for The Pixies. Maybe that’s because I just finished watching footage of The Pixies playing a Boston show in 2004. But there is that same strength to Olsen’s delivery that is perfectly accompanied by strong lyrics like:

There's one thing I fear Is knowing you're around So close but not near So close Oh, but not with me here

and

I made up my mind I've wasted my time Hanging on my mind I don't know anything

Has Olsen wasted her time forgiving or has she wasted her time forgetting? As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing to forgive and nothing you’ll want to forget.

#angel olsen #forgiven forgotten #indie #rock #music #blog #pop culture #av club #junop #aj #ajjunop

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coolgoatmusic · 10 years

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Coldplay “Magic”

I have never been a big Coldplay fan for no other reason than time and opportunity. To be honest, aside from the barrage of radio airplay that the band gets, I have never really given them much of a chance (not that Gwyneth Paltrow’s future ex is looking for my approval.)

I have to admit that there is something comforting and familiar about Chris Martin’s voice on “Magic.” It’s warm and calming. But that word ‘familiar’ might seem like a bad word when you are talking about new music coming from a successful band. Some people might be expecting a little more – and I think I might be one those people.

Yes, the beginning of “Magic” feels like a Coldplay song. But to the band’s credit, it doesn’t feel like every Coldplay song – an accomplishment that should never be underappreciated. I think it’s a good thing that an artist or act can create a signature sound. That sound is still a smooth pop-rock sound and Martin continues to show that his voice does have range. As a matter of fact, it’s when Martin hits those soaring, calling highs in “Magic” that the song really begins to fly.

The words are simple and carry the message of love and mystery very well. It feels like “Magic’s” sparse lyrics and the way Chris Martin shares the sentiment really melds with the rest of the song:

“Call it magic “Call it true “Call it magic “When I'm with you “And I just got broken “Broken into two “Still I call it magic “When I'm next to you”

I do worry that some people might spend too much time trying to read between the proverbial lines in an attempt to decipher Martin’s relationship woes with Paltrow through this song – or his so-called liaisons with other women. There might be something to that – but who really cares?

And there might be those who look at Chris and Gweny’s ‘uncoupling’ as a well timed promotional tool for the release of “Ghost Stories” May 19, 2014. The cynic in me likes to think there might be something to that!

Bottom line: “Magic” is a good song – but it’s not quite magical. I was hoping for something with a little more edge. That could have been magical.

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#music #music blog #review #song critic #song #critic #opinion #pop #rock #pop culture #coldplay #magis #ghost stories #yellow #clocks #viva #chris martin #gwyneth paltrow

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coolgoatmusic · 10 years

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Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears “Sugarfoot”

“Sugarfoot” starts with a quick distinct drone before Black Joe Lewis succinctly sets the sexy scenario:

“Sugarfoot called me last night “Said his girl called him “He said can I come over “She said yeah, yeah, yeah” “She called him on the telephone “Said hello baby how you doing “Can I come over see you tonight “I promise that you'll be feeling right “Ooohh, she's come ready for it”

No ambiguity. No hesitation. Just pure funk a la James Brown and Howlin’ Wolf. That is Black Joe Lewis.

“Sugarfoot’s” sound is sexy and big and brash with a full horn section, deep steady bass, and just the right amount of wacka-wacka guitar to sound fresh and familiar all at the same time.

My question/problem is… why haven’t I heard of this guy before? He’s been on Ferguson, Letterman, Holland and more. Where the hell have I been?

I guess one problem is that Lewis’ pure unadulterated funk sound has a hard time finding its place on the radio. Where do you play something that sounds as timeless as “Sugarfoot” yet it still sounds like it just came from Zaire 74 – the3-day live music festival that took place before The Rumble in the Jungle with Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. But that’s a minor problem. Great music will always find an audience.

I played this for my friend Gary and his first comment was that Black Joe Lewis was just trying to sound like James Brown.

I don’t think so.

Lewis borrows his energy from the Godfather of Soul but exhibits a sense of musicianship and control that is all his own. There were times when I used to think that Brown was more self indulgent than anything else. More showmanship than show. I don’t sense that from Lewis.

Hmm. I just realized that much of what I am praising Black Joe Lewis for is the same kind of stuff that I held against Temples and their psychedelic “Shelter Song.” But to me, jingle-jangle psychedelia was a genre – something that represented a piece of rock and roll’s history. But funk, jazz and R&B stands on its own representing more than just a time or an era. The music was always about life and a lifestyle – something that stands uniquely on its own.

And of course there is the sex!

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#music #music blog #review #opinion #song #blues #r&b #jazz #funk #black joe lewis #sugarfoot

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