Monday 20 May
 
 
CD reviews

Various artists — Never Give Up: Celebrating 10 Years of The Postal Service

Few indie bands have had the impact on current music that The Postal Service has. Even fewer have done so with only one album.
05/15/2013 | Comments 0

Big Worm — Bench All-Stars

Fans of the comedy classic Friday may recognize the name Big Worm, but the Big Worm behind Bench All-Stars is rooted not in South Central L.A., but on the streets of Oklahoma City.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Code 22 — Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!

The guys of Oklahoma City’s Code 22 seem like a likable group of fellas. Their latest release, Going Soft: The Acoustic Album!, is likable enough as well — so likable that on first listen, I took its clean, acoustic sound and clear, unstressed vocals as an alternative praise-and-worship band.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Eureeka — Polysynthetic Fields

It’s always refreshing to hear music that embraces its own eccentricity, yet presents it in an accessible and meek fashion. Eureeka — the Norman-based duo of Jordan Vargas and Devin Wahl — has tapped into this rarified air on its self-released EP, Polysynthetic Fields.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

Tom Skinner — Tom Skinner

Sincerity is nearly dead in songwriting. The image of the earnest singer with eyes tightly shut and a crack in his voice as he plunges to emotional depths has become a joke.
05/08/2013 | Comments 0

VOTD: Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce


Watch and read along with the new Springsteen single.

By Matt Carney January 19th, 2012

The first single from Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming “Wrecking Ball” is out, and it’s got a lot of The Boss’s signature touches on it. Including, but not limited to: big-rock drums, rich strings and protest lyrics that’ll undoubtedly get adopted as a mantra by simpler-minded mainstream fans across America like “We take care of our own / Wherever this flag is flown.” With an evangelistic twist, he might as well have titled it “Born Again in the USA.”

Give “We Take Care of Our Own” a listen, and read along with the lyrics yourself. All this SOPA/PIPA, Occupy movement and corporate-bailout business has undoubtedly fueled the Jon Stewart-watching Springsteen into recording what an early press release described as his “angriest” album ever.

While it isn’t wholly predictable, I’m going to try my hand at forecasting the subject matter on “Wrecking Ball”’s tracklist:

1. “We Take Care of Our Own” — A pointed criticism leveled at the federal government’s lack of empathy toward the lower-middle class. (I had the benefit of, you know, actually listening to the song on this one.)
2. “Easy Money” — A biting rocker mocking the 1 percent.
3. “Shackled and Down” — An emotive, first-person drama about torture by waterboarding?
4. “Jack of All Trades” — A ballad about Joe the Plumber’s bid for office?
5. “Death to My Hometown” — A gray-hued love letter to a down-on-its-luck Asbury Park.
6. “The Depression” — The recession.
7. “Wrecking Ball” — Something about the subprime mortgage crisis?
8. “You’ve Got It” — A winsome love song set amid a recessing economy?
9. “Rocky Ground” — Your guess is as good as mine here.
10. “Land of Hope and Dreams” — Throwback to the pioneers, y’all!
11. “We Are Live” — A swelling piano anthem reminding the listener to embrace his or her democratic responsibilities?

Wrecking Ball” is available for pre-order and set for release on March 6, on Columbia Records.


 
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