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Sondre Lerche, Ben Folds Five, Poor Moon, Beth Orton, & Toussaint Morrison
Well hello again, mp3 junkies. How ya been? Staying warm? Good, you know we worry about you.
Welcome to the Ninth Edition of Songs Of The Week. Yet again we've asked MinneSarah & TCDroogsma to give us their thoughts on last week's Song Of The Day podcast from MPR's The Current. As always, click on this link to subscribe to the podcast and play along at home.
Also, as always, MinneSarah & TCDroogsma have note read each other's comments before this post.
Take it away kids!
01. Sondre Lerche - Two Way Monologue (from the album Bootlegs)
MinneSarah:
Is Sondre Lerche still beautiful? If he is, I'd liken this track to Matthew McConoughey's drunken naked bongo session. Oh, he's still going? I'm partial, because this song is my favorite! Okay, it's the only Sondre Lerche song that I know. What could make this song better Sondre? Why don't you release it in lower sound quality, add another three minutes of guitar noodling, and some screaming fans to show you are still relevant. If I could rename this track, I'd call it, "Live Guitar Monologue."
TCDroogsma:
Back in the mid-aughties I fell real hard for the studio version of this song. Everything about it appealed to the person I was back then (take that for what you will). Unfortunately, when I started digging into the Sondre Lerche catalog I found that he was prone to genre-hopping in the worst way. His baroque album with The Faces Down Quartet is one of the worst albums in my collection.
This live version of such a perfect song is disheartening. Basically it's all the worst things about Sondre Lerche rolled into one. Instead of riding the perfectly constructed hooks of the original we're subjected to stupid guitar breakdowns and extended musical wandering. Maybe this was fun at the actual show, but who thought putting this out on an album was a good idea? Christ, dude, just stick to what you're good at - hooks on hooks on hooks.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 1/5
TCDroogsma - 2/5
02. Ben Folds Five - Do It Anyway (from the album The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind)
MinneSarah:
Well, Ben Folds sure does play piano. I prefer screaming, loud guitar, saloon piano, fast tempo Ben Folds to any of their slower tracks, and this song takes me back a couple decades. However, instead of being just one of the guys, the chorus makes Ben Folds sound down right like he's yelling at his kids. I felt guilty, like, I really don't want to review this song. Okay, dad, I'm doing it..anyway. If I could rename this song, it would be, "Because I Said So."
TCDroogsma:
I'm excited for Ben Folds Five reunion in the same way I'm excited for a Dishwalla reunion. I mean, c'mon, who was sitting at home thinking to themselves, "Damn! You know who I really miss? Those guys who sang that song about abortion!"
In all honesty, I consider myself a Ben Folds fan. The first couple BFF albums were great and I really liked his solo debut Rockin' The Suburbs. But why bring the career back this way? Seems to me that the logical career arc for Ben Folds would've been, "Kinda-interesting-piano-band" to "Kinda-serious-adult-contemporary" to "Late-night-talk-show-band-leader." I mean, he ain't The Roots, but why look backwards.
That said, Robert Sledge's bass still sounds fantastic.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 2/5
TCDroogsma - 2.5/5
03. Poor Moon - Birds (from the album Poor Moon)
MinneSarah:
This is one of those beachy hippie songs. It sounds like some kids got together in the band room at UC Irvine and used the xylophone and timpani to tell the story of what they did last summer. The vocals are mellow and have a dreamy quality to them. If I could rename this song, I'd call it, "I Got Some Underneath That Creepy Oak Tree."
TCDroogsma:
Great, some guys from Fleet Foxes have a side project that sounds exactly like Fleet Foxes. Oh, and it's about a tree Wait, not a tree, but the memory of the time they were at a tree. Just shoot me in the fucking head.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 2/5
TCDroogsma - 0/5
04. Beth Orton - Magpie (from the album Sugaring Season)
MinneSarah:
Beth Orton's signature vocals have not changed since "Stolen Car" and I appreciate that consistency. There is something fairly epic about how her singing works with the piano and violin, and that's coming from a gal whose never been nor would ever go to Lilith Fair. She does a good job pulling together usually annoying musical elements and creating something that could easily showcase a strong female lead in a movie soundtrack. If I renamed this song, I'd call it, "I Won't Turn Back For Anyone And Not Just Because You're A Liar!"
TCDroogsma:
Is this what Beth Orton always sounded like or am I just not remembering her old stuff correctly? Didn't it used to be kind of understated with some electro-blips? This squawky-singing-and-fiddle-combination sounds like Tori Amos if she'd downed a bottle of gin. I can't believe Ryan Adams wrote a song about this woman.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 3.5/5
TCDroogsma - 1/5
05. Toussaint Morrison - Can't Relive The Party (from the album Toussaint Morrison Is Not My Boyfriend)
MinneSarah:
This song is a compilation of everything that is trendy in the Motown revival meets Michael Franti world (it's now a real place). This kid has lots of style, so I can forgive the trendiness. The keyboards are very Mates of State, which is a nice touch. He ends the song by rapping about picking up college girls, likely at the U of M. I'll bet he doesn't have much trouble. If I could rename this song, I'd call it,"Mayer Hawthorne Told Me Switch The Style Up And If They Hate Then Let Them Hate And Watch The Money Pile Up."
TCDroogsma:
If Cee-Lo and The Weeknd had a kid it would be this song. Morrison gets real upbeat over the instrumental from Generationals "When They Fight, They Fight," which isn't a bad move at all. On paper, combining those three things seems like a good idea. Turns out the actual sum of the equation "Cee-Lo + The Weeknd + Indie Pop" is "Bruno Mars!" And, frankly, we need another Bruno Mars like we need more Fleet Foxes side projects.
Final Score: MinneSarah - 2.5/5
TCDroogsma - 1/5
Well there you have it everybody, another week of songs downloaded, processed, and judged harshly. Thank to MinneSarah & TCDroogsma for giving us their thoughts.
Of course Newest Industry is in no way affiliated with any of these artists, their labels, The Current or Minnesota Public Radio. We just like to judge things.
Be sure to vote for which of these songs stood the tallest in our poll to the right.
For more of the ever-charming MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram (@MinneSarah). She's in the midst of a pretty epic Rocktober right now.
For more of TCDroogsma you can give him a follow on Twitter and/or Instagram (@TCDroogsma) or check out his personal blog Flatbasset. Despite our best efforts he's still writing blog posts about Morrissey songs.
And, lastly, this blog is on the Twitter (@NewestIndustry1), which you should follow to stay up on new material. We're also on Facebook here. Stop by and give us a 'like.' We don't ask for much.
