So, I’ve written previously about Kimbra, and her excellent live mash-up of Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” and Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels”. But she’s so creative that I’ve got to talk about her again. You may recall her as half of 2012’s impossible-to-avoid collaboration with Gotye, “Somebody That I Used to Know.” ) Originally from […]
This lumbering behemoth is a 4/4-time hymn to all that is menacing. It’s built around a simple progression of four minor chords and is a haunted house in musical form. It starts out sounding like Dead Can Dance Performing in the Sahara Desert; and when the vocals start, well I can’t quite place who he […]
I will admit to being a Bon Iver fanboy. Pretty much everything Justin Vernon touches turns to gold; from his incredible work as Volcano Choir (especially their second album, “Repave”) to his subtle additions on the insanely catchy Kanye West-led “Monster” (warning for those of you who aren’t familiar: it features graphic language). But back […]
In the last post on this topic I discussed “Bombs Away” by the Police; in that song, we found a sobering and dark message embedded in a pert and bouncy melody, and touched on similar techniques of juxtaposition in pop art. This next song tackling a dark theme in a shockingly upbeat way is Elton John’s […]
Lately I’ve been listening a lot to the “Guardians of the Galaxy” soundtrack. The cover art pays tribute to the touching (if somewhat predictable) story behind the improbable collection of late 70s pop that suffuses that comical interstellar romp: it’s a mixtape given to the protagonist by his ailing mother. (No real spoilers, all of […]