Tuesday Tunes--October 13, 2015
Shaun Cordingley
Today on Tuesday Tunes, we are going to take a look at five very different sounding tracks, ranging through indie pop, and even a little bit of soul.
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new and different music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website, so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
'Electric Love' - BØRNS
Not sure what it is about this tune; perhaps it is the very simple melody, the folk rock base, or the weirdly soothing pseudo-1980s aesthetic, but 'Electric Love' is just one of those songs that has been stuck in my head for days. Does this song have the potential to get super-huge, and then over-used, overplayed and annoying? Definitely. However, with BØRNS first LP "Dopamine" dropping on October 16th, now is an excellent time to get yourself hooked on this melodic haze of a song.
I recommend 'Electric Love' for the end of a long day commute (say on a train), or plugged in when you're winding down from a night out; it is a song that if you like it, you're going to like it a lot.
'NoLo' - Grace Mitchell
This 17 year old phenom from Portland first burst onto the scene with her cover of Hall & Oates' 'Maneater' for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty soundtrack, and has been building her fanbase through SoundCloud and touring off of her two EP's, 2014s 'Design' and Raceday which dropped this August. I think the best way to figure out if you are going to enjoy Grace Mitchell's music is to take a look at your playlists and see if you feature Lorde or Lana Del Rey--if the answer is yes, then it is time to start paying attention. It sounds awful of me to say, but her voice has no business being this good at her age; it does makes sense when you find out that she has been making music since she was 9, but still, wow.
There is an interesting depth to her voice and enough range and power here that demonstrates all the earmarks of a potential superstar, which is complimented by fun lyrics whose sophistication should not be underestimated. If Grace Mitchell is the harbinger of the future of pop music, sign me up.
'I Got High' - JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound
The first time I heard 'I Got High', I thought it was a song from the 1970s...'I Got High' came out in 2012--JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound are a definite musical throwback. The Chicago soul band, fronted by JC Brooks, a former musical theater actor (who joined the band after rehearsals had ended for a production of Ragtime, and he was looking for something to do with his evenings).
If you are looking for a modern take on the soul genre, that does not sound at all out of place when put up against some of the greats, then give JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound a shot; or at the very least, good luck trying to get this song out of your head.
'My Type' - Saint Motel
There is a good chance you have started hearing this song recently:it is featuring on a Moto X commercial, and is in the latest FIFA game, however that burgeoning popularity does not exclude it from this list (however hipster-y we might seem), particularly as there are very few people who recognize the name 'Saint Motel', who may know the song.
If you have not heard Saint Motel yet, this Los Angeles indie band are perhaps best described as a prog rock outfit, although 'My Type' has a lot more of a basis in the more indie-dance-rock wave that has appeared in the past few years. We dare you not to groove a bit to the horns off the beginning of this track. This is one of those songs that you are going to hear a lot, as it is almost perfect for commercials, films and/or video game sound tracks, and thankfully, it is pretty damn good to boot.
'Girl' - Beck
Regardless of how popular this song may or may not be, it has been, I assure you, too long since you listened to 'Girl'...or perhaps you have never seen the video, which is a Beck-ly treat unto itself.
Remember fun and funky Beck? He's awesome...and do not get be wrong, Morning Phase is a beautiful album which (despite Kayne's opinion) deserved all the accolades and awards it got, but sometimes I think people may be forgetting the old Beck. His latest single, 'Dreams' which you have heard recently, hints at a return to a sound that seems to build upon the developed musicianship of his more recent albums, and adding some of the old dance-able funkiness. But until then, get your 'Girl' on.
Thanks to the proliferation of streaming services, these five songs are readily accessible throughout the web, but we do encourage you to purchase any music that fits into your groove. Believe us when we say artists cannot be expected to produce work for free; most are willing to spend 5$ on a cup of coffee, maybe chuck 1$ or (*gasp*) 10$ at an artist.
See you again next Tuesday with 5 more tunes.