The Transamerica Pyramid is inescapable in frontwoman Sierra Frost’s flippant discourse on life and love in San Francisco. She plops it down in the center of the chorus and repeats its name over and over, declaring some vague relationship problems to be a skyscraper-sized thorn in her side.
I’m not the only one taking notice. “Speeding Ticket and a Valentine” appeared last week at No. 38 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart.
Pitbull advises all the dudes in the club to live for the moment and find a sexual conquest to take home, echoing the famous biblical passage Isaiah 22:13 (and I’m paraphrasing here): “Eat, drink and rub your junk up against a sexy lady on the dance floor, for tomorrow we die.”
Once again putting his talent for sordid storytelling and his knowledgeable Northern Alabama roots to good use, Patterson Hood—still the core of the Athens, Georgia, band’s considerable songwriting muscle—finally indulged in an exploration of a hometown crime that has fascinated him for decades.
In his typical, understated fashion, The Decemberists’ songwriter Colin Meloy has said little about this ballad other than, “This is a song about a gypsy.” In it, a dejected narrator pines over a young carny with tan skin, vintage footwear and strangely bewitching eyes.
It’s been a little more than six months since I relocated from Michigan to sometimes-sunny Oakland, and I’ve tried to delve into the local music…
Obviously, I’m not the first person to come up with the idea for a Rapture playlist, but I’ll take advantage of any opportunity to talk about what an awesome album “Bone Machine” is.
From its simple harmonies to its tried-and-true subject, nothing about the song is particularly revolutionary, but its emotional turns and twists are perfectly executed.
I don’t want to dwell too much on the song’s title because it might just be a pretty word, but there’s something odd about trying to get someone to come “oceanside” when they’re already at the beach.
Ninety-nine essential Gregorian chants??? I would argue that the number of Gregorian chants any music collection requires is one at most. Any more than that is inessential.