I bet you a tenor I made a mistake; new songs week of May 18th, 2009
As my good friend Anonymous kindly corrected me, I asininely referred to Leonard Cohen as a tenor in my live at Radio City review. He is, of course, a bass -the same instrument John Lennon played with the Beatles. This is Part V in a multi-part series.
Now, if I still hold any credibility at all, let’s completely lose it by saying that after loathing Jarvis Cocker’s new single “Angela,” I bought a number of songs off his new album and liked em a lot. I mean, after all, the man wrote “The Fear,” not to mention “Common People” and low and behold and blow me down “Leftovers” finds the old man making like a cross between Damon Alburn and Serge Gainsborg (and Scott Walker… or is that redundant?), meeting a young lady at a Museum of Paleontology (“And make no bones about it”) before warning her she’s “… in big trouble little lady if we start to hugging and a-kissing and a-kissing”. Good stuff though the title track “Further Complications ,” not so much.
The Oak Ridge Boys call themselves country but they are really southern rock and on their single of the week, a dark and powerful cover of the White Stripe’s “Seven Nation Army” they are Southern Indie rock as well. It’s from the album “The Boys Are Back,” and the title track is a bloody minded rocker which gives me a serious ZZ Top jones. “Boom Boom” is good as well, like the Big Bopper fronting the Allman brothers.
I claimed a coupla weeks ago something was going on with electronica and for the first time since the mid-90s when Brit-pop and Dance melded and the Chemical Brothers, Prodigy and Fatboy Slim ruled the waves, something IS going on with electronica as it seems to have evolved into Indie-Electronica. Passion pit are a primary exponent. Last week’s “Sleepyhead” was real good but this weeks “Little Secrets” is better, the album “Manners” might be a keeper.
“The Stranger” off “Actor” by St. Vincent is melodic and weird: Portishead without the rubbadubdub. “Waking Up In Las Vegas” is another great outtake from KateP Perry’s “One Of the Boys” but cmon girl, enough already give up some new product.
New Linken Park “New Divide” is a stinker -seems a long time since the Jay-Z mash up.
Busta Rhymes “Respect My Conglomerate” is more than just a clever one liner, it’s a Jadakiss and Lil Wayne rhyme as well.
Indie band Deerhunter’s “Disappearing Ink” is the living breathing definition of nondescript
And FINALLY Black Eyed Peas “Inna Be” is no “Boom Boom Pow” (which may well be the song of the summer if it hasn’t peaked too early) but it is a pretty nifty dance-pop number.
