Songs Eighty-Three to Eighty-Six

There's a big article in the NYT Style section today about "life coaches." (I'll pause for a second to let that sink in. Life. Coaches. Yep, we're all up against the wall, dear readers.) It mentions the recent send-up of life coaches on The Daily Show. Shortly after seeing that piece, I had to work up an article on buzz marketing for an anthology, and every time the article mentioned trends, I heard the beat boxing noises that accompany the "trend spotting" hand drawn logo with its perfect Kiss Army lightning bolts. It's going to be tough to talk through that one with an editor without cracking up. Blogging of trends, I had to take a break one morning last week when the feathered hair and long scarf guy from Love Monkey turned up on Good Morning America as, like, a real recording artist singing the same ultra-sensitive long-scarf guy song he sang over and over in the show. It turns out his name isn't Wayne, like in the show, but Teddy something with a G (although I don't think he's related to Warren G or Ali G). Teddy. Stuff like this makes me long for the straight-up manufactured and we know it era of the Backstreet Boys. You just know that Teddy has a life coach.

Song Eighty-Three: Nine Black Alps, "Cosmopolitan." I think I got this on a SXSW iMix. It's English white boy regulation alterna-rock with just enough head banging to "keep it real" without slipping over into Darkness territory. There's a nice staccato quality to this song. Although a card-carrying Kiss Army (shout out #2) member in junior high, I gave up rock with a capital R by the 80s, so I'm probably not the best judge. But, this seems like a pretty good song.

Song Eighty-Four: Minus the Bear, "Puchaca Sunrise." Perhaps they dropped the bear because of its omnipresence on the Threatdown. This is a very non-threatening song. It has kinda new wave feel in the breaks that contrasts nicely with the smooth, emotive, now-standard alterna-guy feel to the rest. The change-up adds a level of spice to the song that's missing in a lot of other alterna-pop that seems like masquerading MOR blahness.

Song Eighty-Five: k-os, "Crabbuckit." Sometimes you can judge a song from its title. This is a fun rap romp, kinda like an updated Louis Jordan tune. Very dance-y with cool juke joint jazz breaks, clapping percussion, and an ultra-old school feel. The video for this song is on his site, so it was interesting to find it afterwards and see in images pretty much what I heard. The vocals transition several times adding another layer of interest.

Song Eighty-Six: Guillemots, "Trains to Brazil." This is the current free iTunes download, so how can you not love it? It begins with drums, whistles, and yowling, then somehow moves into something akin to standard Britpop. Intriguing mix of textures throughout. There's a lot of instrumentation in here, and it kind of reminded me of the big mid-80s Waterboys sound at points. The song bops along and is pretty catchy, actually, and it was free!

279 to go.