(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)
Souljazz Orchestra, People Get Ready, The Amazing, Cody ChesnuTT, & The Sunny Era...
Well hello again, mp3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #18!
For those of you who are still
somehow unfamiliar with the format of SOTW, here's the scoop. Each
week we ask two of our contributors to download, listen to, and
review the 5 songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day
Podcast. They rate them 1-5. Everybody wins.
If you're interested in playing
along at home, you can download the tracks for yourself here. It's
free. It's music. Free music.
If you're interested in playing
along online, have a look at the poll to the right of the screen and
vote for your favorite of the songs. The winner will... well... win.
That's all we have to offer.
This week we asked MinneSarah &
TCDroogsma to take a break from shoveling snow and have a go at the
tracks.
Kids, you look tired. What'd you
think of this batch?
01. Souljazz
Orchestra – Cartao Postal (from the album Solidarity)
MinneSarah:
This song is jumping, jazzy bit of
latin worldbeat. Wait, these guys are from Canada? While I lived in
Canada this style of spicy worldbeat music was very in vogue. You
couldn't cross the street in some neighborhoods in Vancouver without
hearing Manu Chao, but I really thought that was just a pot thing.
Anyway, the high energy, collaborative
vocals, horns, & well-timed guitar really can transport you to a
warmer climate or at least a more carefree mood. I'm going to give it
up for Canada here and say, yeah, not bad.
TCDroogsma:
After religiously listening to the Song Of The Day podcast for years I've been exposed to a good amount of this afro-beat type stuff (despite the fact that I would never, ever, seek it out on my own). The more of it I hear the less I'm convinced that these bands are any different at all. If you told me this was Antibalas or Femi Kuti I wouldn't have even blinked.
"Cartao Postal" is just another in a long line of songs that would probably be kind of compelling live but are in no way exciting in my headphones. Each one of these songs sounds like it could be background music in a commercial for food. Souljazz Orchestra: When You're Here, You're Family
Final Score:
MinneSarah - 3/5
TCDroogsma - 2/5
MinneSarah:
What group in this day and age starts off with a flute? Swedish darlings, The Amazing, that's who. This song is straight from a folksy 60's soundtrack, which is amazing to me that a modern group from Sweden could embrace and actually replicate the sound of an American era. The only redeeming factor I can find in folk music is that the musicians thought it was revolutionary at the time. Replicating that sound just because you like it makes absolutely no sense to me.
What group in this day and age starts off with a flute? Swedish darlings, The Amazing, that's who. This song is straight from a folksy 60's soundtrack, which is amazing to me that a modern group from Sweden could embrace and actually replicate the sound of an American era. The only redeeming factor I can find in folk music is that the musicians thought it was revolutionary at the time. Replicating that sound just because you like it makes absolutely no sense to me.
TCDroogsma:
If you're brazen enough to call your band "The Amazing" you best back it up with something that, err... amazes.
I can't speak for everybody, but some old Nick Drake set to shuffling percussion and, like, a flute? That doesn't sound too amazing to me. All together they work up a kinda OK groove, but that's just not enoug. I'm sorry, but I'm just very, very tired of any song that begins lines with, "Forgive me..." and "Look for me if you lose me..." Grow some balls, indie rock.
Final Score:
MinneSarah - 2/5
TCDroogsma - 1.5/5
03. People Get Ready
– Windy City (from the album People Get Ready)
MinneSarah:
Poppy pop indie. Melodic high pitched guitars, falsetto lamb vocals, and fast drums - this song has it all. While all these elements are fairly derivative at this point in time, this song does them justice, and the result is fun. Like, "I want to walk into an Urban Outfitters an buy pink sunglasses" fun. The way the last line of each verse is delivered, is tres rock star, each final word is emphasized in a way that would make Jarvis Cocker proud.
TCDroogsma:
Poppy pop indie. Melodic high pitched guitars, falsetto lamb vocals, and fast drums - this song has it all. While all these elements are fairly derivative at this point in time, this song does them justice, and the result is fun. Like, "I want to walk into an Urban Outfitters an buy pink sunglasses" fun. The way the last line of each verse is delivered, is tres rock star, each final word is emphasized in a way that would make Jarvis Cocker proud.
TCDroogsma:
A Brooklyn band singing about Chicago... I almost checked out right there.
I stuck it out over the weekend and, while this song wasn't a total waste of time, it turned out to be discouragingly average. A little bit country, a little bit rock n roll... I don't know, I'm bleeding indifference towards this one. Thoroughly inoffensive indie-rock. If you wished Rhett Miller hit more falsetto in Old 97's this is definitely your jam.
Final Score:
MinneSarah - 3.5/5
TCDroogsma - 2/5
04. Cody ChesnuTT – That's Still Mama (from the album Landing On A Hundred)
04. Cody ChesnuTT – That's Still Mama (from the album Landing On A Hundred)
MinneSarah:
This song starts out pretty groovalicious, with a funky Shaft beat. However the lyrics are grating and diminish the badassedness of the horns and the beat. Now, I'm going to be the killjoy that criticizes a song that is a love song to a mama. Let's just get this on the record - Minnesarah loves her mom. Check my cell phone records - I'm a grown woman and I talk to my mom every morning for at least half an hour.
Now, on to Cody ChesnuTT. This is the man that wrote The Roots' hit single, "Seed 2.0" which, besides the catchiness, confuses my feminist sensibilities. Now this? I mean, I know he had kids and all, but there are far more eloquent odes to mothers than, "had to clean your backside" and "that's still mama" - I mean, is that a compliment?
TCDroogsma:
As a 30 year old white guy, my knowledge of Cody ChesnuTT pretty much starts and ends with "The Seed 2.0." That song was a metaphor for impregnating the world with music. Or literally impregnating a woman with his seed. I'm not that bright.
If the latter was the case, then hearing him sing this song something like 10 years on seems appropriate. Basically it's a super-funked up ode to the mother's of the world. Ain't nothin' wrong with that (even if it is about 90 seconds too long). Kids, appreciate your moms. They're the best. Shout out to my mom. Shout out to MinneSarah's mom. Thanks for having such attractive, snarky children.
Final Score:
MinneSarah - 2/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
05. The Sunny Era –
Up All Night (from the album The Sea Of Ghosts)
MinneSarah:
This song sounds like a dream sequence, there is plenty of electronic gurgling which changes to piano gurgling as the song progresses. The female singer sounds sweet and angelic during the chorus. Every element has a bright quality to it, especially for a song about night. The lyrics flirt closer to darkness than the rest of the song sounds, but the end result is a modern lullaby with an enormous breadth and width.
This song sounds like a dream sequence, there is plenty of electronic gurgling which changes to piano gurgling as the song progresses. The female singer sounds sweet and angelic during the chorus. Every element has a bright quality to it, especially for a song about night. The lyrics flirt closer to darkness than the rest of the song sounds, but the end result is a modern lullaby with an enormous breadth and width.
TCDroogsma:
The only thing I really know about The Sunny Era is that they are the most relentless flier band in Minneapolis. Seriously, try walking 3 blocks in any direction around Uptown without seeing a poster for one of their upcoming shows.
"Up All Night" is a fine track... in this context. It's synthesizers are unrelentingly hypnotic. The harmonies are nice, but not at all attention grabbing. It almost sounds like the guys from Solid Gold drank a bunch of codeine and banged the girls from School Of Seven Bells. Is that a good thing? Kind of.... I'm not sure I could take a whole album of this, but as a stand alone track is kind of lovely.
Final Score:
MinneSarah - 3.5/5
TCDroogsma - 3/5
Boom! There you have it, everybody. Another week of songs
listened to, reviewed, and filed away.
As always we'd like to note that neither Newest Industry nor its
contributors is in any way affiliated with MPR, The Current, or the
artists reviewed. We're just regular folks with keyboards and a bit
too much time on our hands.
For more of the always charming MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter (@MinneSarah). Though be warned, she may be too busy shoveling snow in pink sunglasses to tweet back at you.
For more of the seldom charming TCDroogsma he can also be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found pretending he knows how to review movies and rambling on over at his personal Flatbasset blog. He doesn't own a snow shovel and has more than enough free time to tweet back at you.
Of course Newest Industry also lives on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) and you should give us a follow to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we also have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it may seem, stopping by and giving us a "like" goes a long way toward supporting the blog. Plus, it's a tax write off.
For more of the always charming MinneSarah be sure to give her a follow on Twitter (@MinneSarah). Though be warned, she may be too busy shoveling snow in pink sunglasses to tweet back at you.
For more of the seldom charming TCDroogsma he can also be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found pretending he knows how to review movies and rambling on over at his personal Flatbasset blog. He doesn't own a snow shovel and has more than enough free time to tweet back at you.
