California

Song: California
Artist: Rogue Wave
Album: Descended Like Vultures
Link: California
Genre: Indie-pop, Indie Rock, Acoustic Rock
Mood: rainy, drowsy, moody

Description: On a very different tempo than recent songs, California is a pretty (but sad) acoustic ballad that integrates the singer’s drowsy voice and acoustic guitar vey well. It’s a fairly bare-bones song, even when it’s not, as the effect is mostly generated by the sparseness of the melody and the lack of prominent drums. I find the singer a bit difficult to hear (except when he breaks out into strings of (“uh uh uh…”), so the lyrics get a bit muddled, but it effectively complements the guitar, which is the true focal point of the song. The guitar is complex enough to be interesting, but repetitive enough to not be a true challenge to listen to. Its greatest success, however, is in the relaxed moody atmosphere it so effortlessly creates. California is certainly a pleasure to listen to, but it’s a song really meant for a rainy depressing day. (Especially if you live in California: “Screw California/ And friends that are never there.”)

Song 2

Song: Song 2
Artist: Blur
Album: Blur
Link: Song 2
Genre: Britpop, Alternative Rock, Pop/Rock
Mood: playful, raucous, woo-hoo!

Description: Blur is one of the defining bands of Britpop, but the band quickly diversified to form a much more eclectic sound than other Britpops like Oasis. One such diversification is Song 2, which is more all-out rock than most of its songs, in both mood and melody. Song 2 features a cool contrast between the heavy drums and guitars which churn out raucous noise, and the periodic “Woo-hoo!” sung in falsetto. The contrast creates some very fun rock, and consequently it quickly became Blur’s biggest single. Other than the “Woo-hoo”s that I love, the lyrics blend in with the guitars, to the point where the lyrics are almost indistinguishable and the point of the singing is only the actual melody of the singing itself. Song 2 is a fun romp, but despite that (or perhaps because of that), it barely reaches two minutes long. The song is certainly a bit too short, but what it loses in length it more than makes up for in energy and enthusiasm.

Baba O’Riley

Song: Baba O’Riley
Artist: The Who
Album: Who’s Next
Link: Baba O’Riley
Genre: Classic Rock
Mood: triumphant, bold, anthemic

Description: Simply put, this is the definitive Who song. By the way, this song’s name is not “Teenage Wasteland,” as is commonly believed, and in fact never will be. This song has one of the most famous, and more importantly, one of the very best intros in the history of rock. It somehow manages to be very subtle while extremely brazen in its classic rock-simplicity. If that doesn’t make any sense, than it is because the intro, and really the entire song, is impossible to describe. It would be much easier to just stop reading this and go listen to the song. I’ll try a description anyway: Great but simple riff; the composition-ing is superb, and the lyrics are just broad enough to escape cliche and enter classic. The song is an anthem that has not only withstood the test of time, but has easily become one of the best songs of The Who’s entire generation.

Birdhouse In Your Soul

Song: Birdhouse In Your Soul
Artist: They Might Be Giants
Album: Flood
Link: Birdhouse In Your Soul
Genre: Alternative Rock, College Rock
Mood: happy, silly, touching

Description: They Might Be Giants is curious in that they split their appeal in half between a modern alternative rock audience and a much much younger audience. Fortunately, in Flood, they appear perfectly balanced between “real” music and almost Puff the Magic Dragon-styled melodies. The lyrics follow from this kid-oriented song-making; it compares a night light (a “blue canary in the outlet by the light switch”) to the birdhouse of your soul (whatever that means.) Birdhouse in Your Sould never gets complicated or tries to insert any moodiness, which can be seen either as good or bad, depending on what you are looking for. That’s not to say that the song isn’t touching or involving of the listener – it’s simply just not emo. For me, though, Birdhouse in Your Soul is a nice breather away from the depression and discord that permeates modern rock, while still sounding sweet and melodically different.

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Song: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Artist: Neutral Milk Hotel
Album: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Link: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Genre: Indie Rock
Mood: warbled, wailing, dirge without excessive depression

Description: More and more, Indie rock seems to me as the successful integration of traditional rock with disparate elements of brass instruments and modified production. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea exemplifies this indie aesthetic: It (at least according to my guitar teacher) has a very well known chord progression lifted straight out of the middle of the 20th century, but layered over that are warbles and distortion and horns and other complexities of that sort. Perhaps the chord progression is used as a nod to the subject matter, as the song, and in fact the entire album, is about World War II. The subject matter is not a happy one, but the mood generated, while certainly not uplifting, is more weird than angry, more troubled than depressing. This is created by those same warbles and distortions that show this song as a distinctively modern indie song. The singer’s voice contributes to the effect: it’s a wail that that casts a mood over the entire song. Overall, the unique distinctions that Neutral Milk Hotel give to this song are only positive: they distinguish the modern indie aesthetic from bland rock by giving a unique flavor, that in this case, lends a beautiful dirge-like pall to the melody.

Rape Me

Song: Rape Me
Artist: Nirvana
Album: In Utero
Link: Rape Me
Genre: Grunge
Mood: almost angry, self-deprecating, raw (though I don’t mean that it sounds like Metallica, more like, well…Nirvana)

Description: This song is pretty classic Nirvana: grunge, more grunge, a bit of grunge, and finally, grunge. Nirvana is a master (and pretty much founder) of grunge, which in my opinion, by those lesser than Nirvana, can quickly devolve into mere noise. But Rape Me never does this; in fact, it’s actually pretty catchy. The song features some nice guitar, heavy bass, loud drums, and of course, Kurt Cobain’s raspy voice. Speaking of his voice, the lyrics are…well, as you can tell from the title of the song, they’re not exactly sensitive or pretty. That’s certainly an understatement: Kurt Cobain is self-deprecating, plain-spoken, and even a bit humorous. After all, only Cobain would sing about wanting to get raped. It’s a bit controversial-sounding, but I think it’s more metaphorical than anything else: rape me, because you’re going to get what you deserve in the end no matter what. But lyrical genius or no, the central guitar riff seems to be quite similar to that of Smells Like Teen Spirit, but I think it’s different enough to be its own song (and quite a good one, at that.)

Put Your Lights On

Song: Put Your Lights On (feat. Everlast)
Artist: Santana
Album: Supernatural
Link: Put Your Lights On
Genre: Classic Rock
Mood: smooth, powerful, a lazy energy

Description: Carlos Santana is a rock god, and his guitar prowess really shows on this song. It’s chords practically soar, but nevertheless, they’re simple enough that I can play them (and have). On this song, unlike most of the rest of Supernatural, his Latin influences remain minimal at most; this song is pure rock. I do have to admit that I know nothing about Everlast, the other contributor to this song, except that he’s a hip-hop guy formerly from House of Pain, a rap group. But there’s no rap or hip-hop on this song, as I said, chilled rock from start to end. This is something to be appreciated from an album that came out so (relatively) recently (1999), as pure rock is quite difficult to find in this day and age. Carlos Santana sticks to what he knows best: rock, and that’s what makes this song work.

Don’t Make Me a Target and The Underdog

Song: Don’t Make Me A Target
Artist: Spoon
Album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Link: Don’t Make Me a Target
Genre: Indie Rock, (Neo)classic Rock
Mood: bouncy, driving, rocking-out

Description: If someone held me at gunpoint and asked what my favorite album of the 21st century was, I would say it was Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (my favorite name, not so much) It has the complexity of modern rock, the infectiousness and accessibility of pop, the incredible chords and riffs of classic rock, the lyrics of Bob Dylan, the ambition of progressive rock, the voice of Mick Jagger, and the soul to make Spoon a lasting tour-de-force. There is no higher compliment from me. Each of the ten songs (and an eleventh bonus song) on Ga Ga…you know what, I refuse to finish the rest; from now on I’ll call it 5*Ga… are finely crafted sonic weapons, and Don’t Make Me a Target is no exception. Its lyrics tell the tale of a society that doesn’t want to be targeted by “Nuclear dicks with the dialect drawls/ That come from a parking lot town” I’ll give all the clueless out there a hint: the nuclear dick is sitting in an oval office right now. I’m always partial to some political commentary, and this serves it up nicely without being too overt or annoying about it. The melody is no slouch either: its not complex chord-wise, but the cool instrumentation adds a complexity that nevertheless remains accessible. It’s a melody that is impossible to not bounce your head to. 5*Ga is so good, I have to give you another song from it:

Song: The Underdog
Artist: Spoon
Album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Link: The Underdog
Genre: Indie Rock, (neo)classic rock
Mood:anthemic, horn-riffic, bouncy, bright

Description: The Underdog is 5*Ga’s anthem (though the quality is so high on 5*Ga that there are more than one that could easily suffice as the anthem,) so not only is it difficult not to sing along, it’s downright impossible. The chords are fairly classic-rock-minded, the drums are insistent, and anytime Britt Daniel isn’t singing, the brightly colored horns come in with a bang. The lyrics are as meaningful as any Spoon song’s: “You got no fear of the underdog,/ That’s why you will not survive!” It’s bright and fun and impossible to ignore. So don’t. Go on now. What are you waiting for? Get the damn CD already.

Fake Empire

Song: Fake Empire
Artist: The National
Album: Boxer
Link: Fake Empire
Genre: Folk-rock, Indie Rock
Mood: orchestral, textured, existentialist

Description: The National somehow manages to be emotional with out being emo, which is quite an achievement. This is not The Cure or even New Order, but rather it displays a unique orchestral rock with powerful undercurrents of lyrical emotion. Fake Empire is sad, but steers well clear of slitting wrists and goths in both its tempo and its melody. Its essentially about being “half-awake in a fake empire,” which I take to mean the laze and sloth with which we can sometimes drag ourselves through the American materialist culture. Clearly, the lyrics are not meant for a half-baked acne-caked teen, and neither is the music itself, which shows far more melodic depth than your average emo teen band. The instrumentation adds to the depth, with what seems to be an assortment of piano, guitar, percussion, and something in the brass family. This complexity (and yet overall simplicity of melody) is what initially attracted me to this song, and to those who are also attracted to Fake Empire, I urge to check out the rest of the album, which is just as great as this song.

Good to Sea

Song: Good to Sea
Artist: Pinback
Album: Autumn of the Seraphs
Link: Good to Sea
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie-pop
Mood: wistful, wry, wintry

Description: I just got back from a mini-trip to the Catskills, and this song fits the mood. It’s smart (“Good to sea…good to see you…good to see you go…”) and wintry (great for the snow and ice I encountered this weekend), and the melody is very pretty. This is one of those indie songs whose genre is very difficult to define. Is it rock or pop? I’m inclined to go with rock, but that just might be because music on an independent label tends to be labeled as rock, rather than pop. When most people think of pop, they think of the bubble pop all over the radio, which can be a bit similar to your average indie band. In the end, though, the genre doesn’t really matter, it’s whether you like it, and I certainly like this song.