There is just so much good new music recently that I decided that rather than taking a deep dive into one song, I would wade into the shallows of multiple songs. Let’s get started!
I don’t like rap music. The closest I could ever cozy up to rap music was enjoying the hip hop of the Beastie Boys. How can anyone not like the pure camp of the BB? But the Beastie Boys are definitely not rap. Earlier this year when I was considering if I should go to an Anderson East concert, my oldest son advised me that the only good musical artist named Anderson was a rapper named Anderson.Paak. That is definitely not true. Besides Anderson East, there is the Anderson Council and their psychedelic sounds. Groovy.
So, who’s Anderson.Paak and what’s up with the period between his names? I never investigated either. But than I saw him recently on Jimmy Kimmel singing this excellent song with the great Smokey Robinson.
Now that’s a good tune and a nice homage to Smokey’s sound. I tried to explore more of .Paak’s (do I include the period with his first or last name?) music, and I found him to be too sweary for my taste. But he did prove with this song that as far as his music goes, he can definitely make it better.
1 down. Ready for 3 more? Let’s go.
Twin Peaks is a local Chicago band that I knew as a jangly garage-rock band. Nothing wrong with that when you are pumping out catchy tunes like this one.
But my oldest son pointed me toward this gem from their newest album.
It is definitely a more sophisticated, nuanced sound from Twin Peaks, giving me hope for the future evolution of this band’s music. I definitely want to hear more.
There’s a newish band out of Ohio named Caamp whose members met … wait for it … at camp! Definitely not a spelling camp, that’s for sure. Maybe a fun music camp though. Take a listen to their delightful new release.
I get a bit of an upbeat Lou Reed vibe from this tune. And who doesn’t love a surprise banjo ending? Hmmm, Surprise Banjo Ending. Now that’s a good name for a band, although that would likely necessitate having a banjo in the band. As far as band names go for bands with banjos in them, Surprise Banjo Ending > Mumford and Son, in my opinion.
If you’re playing along at home and thinking “3 down, 1 to go,” then you might be right, which also happens to be the name of this tune from White Reaper, a band out of Kentucky. Take a listen.
Best I can figure, that sounds to me like 3 parts pop, 1 part bubblegum, and 1 part fun. One thing I know for sure is that the music of White Reaper is definitely not grim.
4 down, 0 to go. Fin.
Jim Flanigan Looks at the World 