The Useless Critic 2.0

Very rarely do I hear music that makes me wonder, "Man, when is that band going to blow up?" Mostly, my reaction is  "MEH." However, now is not the case. I've posted about The Romantic Era in the past ( here  and here .) I do it because I enjoy their music and believe in these guys. Their new single, "Alone," is one of the happiest/most fun (funnest?) things I've heard all year. I like it so much that I added it to my 2014 Spotify playlist. It's a good pop song, and puts most stuff I've heard on Top 40 recently to shame. But, like Levar Burton once said, don't take my word for it: p.s. here's my 2014 playlist as of now:

I sort of forgot about this band, which was silly of me. Listen to this song- arguably the most catchy thing I've heard (this side of Taylor Swift) all year. So disco. Much nice. Wow.

This was like my favorite Lorde track immediately upon listening. It is interesting to hear rap sort of reimagined in a way that isn't a cheeky indie rock song.   I don't know what you'd call this - dream pop, trip hop, lounge.  Don't worry about it.  Just press play.  - AWM      Rhythm is a dancer      I need a companion     Girl, I guess that must be you.            - Rumi

NEW OH LAND ALERT I just need to tell you how much I adore this song. I'm digging it so much more than anything on "Wish Bone."  "Earth Sick" drops Nov. 11 and Oh Land has promised a sound beckoning back to her first album "Fauna." She's actually been using PledgeMusic to fund the album. (I obviously donated but you all know I had to keep myself from donating too much.) It's very dancey and synth-heavy, but it also plods along peacefully. And the hook! The hook is the hook is the hook, to paraphrase Gertrude Stein/Blues Traveler.  If the rest of the album is this good, UGH NO WORDS EVEN DESCRIBE. (Gwen's new single comes out tonight, but I'm not sure that's as good as this.)

Originally, this song angered me. A little irrational? Yeah, probably. I'm starting to resent the now-diminishing neo-folk wave. However, now I'm more okay with it. It's insanely catchy, and while the lyrics are somewhat vapid, they have a few otherwise glimmering - eh, quirky - moments.  The video gives the song another dimension, in my opinion. Anyway, judge for yourself. This blog isn't called "the Useless Critic" for nothing. 

Hey everyone! I have returned to present you one very belated music mix. Sounds about right. It was intended more for late summer, but let's not kid ourselves. I hope y'all enjoy it. I've got Beach House, Andrew Bird, some new Spoon, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. The Neighbourhood is on there as well because that song gets stuck in my head all the time. Zach has some content planned for October btws. Besides pumpkin spice lattes and football at bad neighborhood sports bars, there's another thing to love about fall!

A true anthem of our generation. - You know, maybe it's these outfits we wear, I mean, I can see your boobies. - Shit, my stylist is on a budget. He's just trying to save some fabric. - It really doesn't matter, I'm just gonna end up taking it off anyway. - So what if I'm a little nudie? It don't mean you're gonna get some booty. Baby, I just wanna shake it, it took mama nine months to make it. - My Daisy Dukes they fit just right, they squeeze my coochie really tight, so that when I shake and dance, there's a party in my pants. - Shit, I like your Daisy Dukes. I think they're real classy. Ugh, not even John Lennon or Bob Dylan were ever able to come up with such transgressive, brilliantly crafted lyrics. Too bad the duo split up.