Beautiful, wealthy, marketable pop star of celebrity culture sings song about image and self image problems of people drowning in marketed celebrity culture. Without any irony.
Bad. Machine gun it and bury it in a shallow grave, don’t let the children play in the woods near it.
Bonus extra - musicians don’t understand irony.
I’ve heard this song done better. Davey is trying to affect a Cockney accent and not really succeeding at it. The guitar is decent enough, though.
{Agree, it was a suck version I only picked because the lyrics were clear. But really it was awful.}
Skillful but unconvincing vocals. Too much vocal fry and seemingly overworked. Couldn’t distinguish the lyrics. I think it was about her deceased labrador, I can’t think of a reason a woman would get so weepy other than that, it’s not like they feel that deeply about men. Give her a few million bucks she’ll soon feel better.
Well, that was certainly something. Decent enough lyrics for a children’s song, and the guitar work has a surprisingly classical vibe to it. That train looks monstrously unsafe, though - they should at least be wearing goggles if they’re going to be driving from an open compartment.
My instinct is to run away from christian music. They can sing as beautifully as they want, I just regard it as psychological warfare aimed at me. Judged purely as psychological warfare, then, it’s not yanking my strings. It needs to play on my guilt a bit more, play the threat angle more. The train of the Lord’s love is one train I won’t be hopping. Ironic seeing as gospel is in that mix of influences on rock n roll that I like so much. Really though, RnR is voudoo music, and belongs to the devil.
Half Man Half Biscuit - Time Flies by When I’m the Driver of a Train
Well, that’s certainly a well-done parody of the original version, in any event. I’m not very fond of “drugs are awesome” songs since I don’t touch the illegal stuff myself, and this is no exception - it feels like it’s trying too hard to send a message to people who are already preconditioned to like that message anyway.
So damn good. Probably my favorite rendition of this song. There’s more meanness and attitude to it than any of the blues-stealing English bands that had come before - way heavier than the Stones, for example. It’s definitely an intermediate step between the psychedelic, swinging London sound of the 60s and, well, [del]The New Yardbirds[/del] Led Zeppelin.
Naw, I had to shut this down. It’s just not the the camp/mean rocker he does well even at the same time as being unconvincing. He’s one of those people who seems to be able to be contrived from an assemblage of snap together rock parts, but with the necessary awareness of it being a bit pantomime so that it works. The change of singing style doesn’t suit him, and it’s an indistinguished tune. Early entry to the bargain bin I’m afraid.
The intro is just downright unpleasant to listen to. I’m afraid I didn’t make it much further than that. It goes on like this for thirteen minutes? The only apology I can think of for this is the same one that Lou Reed provided for Metal Machine Music; “Anyone who gets to side four is dumber than I am.”
You want multi-tracked Auto-Tuned a cappella, have some multi-tracked Auto-Tuned a cappella done competently.
Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek.
Gag. I made it 2 minutes into this excrescence. I couldn’t even try to distinguish the lyrics because auto-tune. Auto tune is fucking awful and should be outlawed; any one using it should be placed in a locked sea container out in the Sahara so we won’t have to listen to it anymore. Imogen is cute, though.
Pretty solid roots rock. You can probably count on one hand the number of rock outfits that have had a black woman on lead vocals. By God, she delivers here, and she goes toe-to-toe with the guitar for dominance. I’m hearing a bit of Tracy Chapman, a bit of Sly & the Family Stone, a bit of Led Zeppelin, and a bit of Elvis, and I’m liking it all.
Let’s see what we’ve got in the vault in terms of 21st-century-blues-rock-throwdowns, then.
Hard to be critical here as I like most of Jack White’s repertoire and his penchant for obscure guitars. Solid 12 bar blues and a lyrically a definite tribute to the Masters like Son House, Willy Dixon and the like. Solid, sleazy guitar and rock steady drums make this track seem deceptively simple in execution, right up until Jack rips your face off with the solo. Good choice.
Not 21st Century, but:
Never was the biggest fan of Stevie Ray Vaughn. Nothing wrong with him, he just never impressed me as much as your Eric Claptons or your Duane Allmans or your Robert Crays or other blues-rock guitarists of that era. This is a solid number, though - the kind of jam where the lyrics are there to anchor the solos more than anything else. Healey is the shining star here - it’s pretty impressive when he gets up in the middle song and continues playing lap-style, and they bring it together pretty well in the finale.
Something a little softer, less raw, but still on the bluesy side of modern music;
His voice reminds me of a cross between Tracy Chapman and Micheal Bolton if that makes any sense, and I mean that in a good way! The lyrics felt genuine and something I could relate to at a personal level. Heartfelt and well executed. I enjoyed this, thanks.
This is really kind of a two part song set. Do yourself a favour and click the link in the description page after the song is over. I promise you won’t regret it.
Didn’t care for the cover (but then I never liked that song much in the first place) so much as for the original composition. It’s a really sad song - his voice is hard to understand at times, but he does a great job of conveying his emotions through it. You can tell he’s had a hard life and there’s a very personal element to the theme of being a traveler and following the road signs and living in the shadows.
(I’m bringing this thread back! Well, trying anyway)
Who says a hillbilly blues song can’t have a jazz clarinet? I love anything that opens a window onto this period in history and this tune does it in spades, and not just with the riding-the-rails story of the lyric. Good stuff.
The Brothers and Sisters of Los Angeles - I Shall Be Released
I love me some classic Dylan, but somehow I’ve never heard this song before. This cover, and the song itself, has a real gospel feel to it, but in a sort of strange way - it’s not really clear if the singer is waiting for salvation, or just the release of death. I may have to hunt down the rest of the album this track is cut from.
On the spectrum of Dylan covers, this one is pretty good, if a tad unoriginal. But hey, that’s ok — no need to mess with what works, and given how subdued and introspective the song is, a restrained arrangement works for it. I know Browne is a crazy Dylan fan and there’s probably a hundred songs he could’ve done, but I’m glad he picked this one.
Oooh, Scottish folk! I’m of Scottish ancestry myself, on both sides of the family, via New England Scots-Irish on the one side, and a couple generations of Appalachian hillfolk on the other. This recording feels like it contains elements of both those cultures. It’s not a culture that I have any first-hand remembrance of, but hearing songs like these always gives me this warm feeling that some distant forebear of mine must have been malingering in some ancient pub several centuries ago, listening to a fiddler performing the very same tune.
I’ve heard the name Ed Sheeran but hadn’t head the man himself. Having heard this, I like the song more than the singer; he’s a bit breathy and plaintive for me. The male voice choir is a nice touch for backing. I think a one-man a capella rendering would have been too stark, not to mention borderline cliché. This is a good middle ground.