My Way Of Thinking. Beebe Gallini
Beebe Gallini
returns to the blog with a raucous rock and roll track in the best 'You
Really Got Me' and 'All Day And All Of The Night' tradition. The spirit
of 60s garage rock and the original punk scene is very much alive in
2023. Playing for the fun of it and making it sound as good as you can.
This attitude and approach to the song oozes out of my speakers. The fun
extends to the video as well, where the band members keep swapping
roles with obvious fun. My Way Of Thinking is a song written by Donna
Weiss and recorded by a band called Randy and The Radiants in 1965. Is
it on my 'Nuggets' box? If not, that would seem a serious omission.
Beebe Gallini takes the bull by the horns and literally drags the track
from the obscurity where it was hiding. Anyone looking for three chords and
the truth, can stop looking. It's staring you straight in the face here.
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Yes,
I skipped 'Eucalyptus' that stood in line for today. There's a more recent
single and it's beautiful. Your Mind Is Not Your Friend is a dark,
brooding song full of compassion. Matt Berninger sings in his slow way,
accompanied by one of the indie darling singers of the day, who sings
harmonies, not a duet. She adds another layer to a song that is already
so fully layered. Music is everywhere I am able to pay attention to at
the same time. Listening to this song is musical multitasking! So much
is going on that it is impossible to keep up with all the small and
bigger parts of the arrangement. It makes Your Mind Is Not Your Friend a
rich listening experience. Very much like Berninger's solo record,
which may prove to become my way into The National. Two of the recent
singles all go down well. 'First Two Pages Of Frankenstein' is slated for 28 April. It is one to watch out for.
It
appears Josh Ritter is a bit tired of his former self. Too bad, in my
case, as I think he never made a better song then 'Man Burning At Both
Ends', from 200-what, 4? (Sorry, Mr. Ritter.) Soon he is to release a new album and single
Honey I Do precedes it. It is a song that does not sparkle in any way,
like The National's dark and brooding song does. Honey I Do's atmosphere
is not in line with its title. It is downcast and muddied over. And
yet, the song obviously has something going for it. Because it is an
almost happy song, as close as Ritter wants to get to a happy song.
Because of the fine details that he worked into the arrangement. Also
here the comparison to 'Your Mind Is Not Your Friend' works. Not that
rich but certainly rich. As if little flowers are allowed to come out of
the ground before being cut off immediately to be placed into an unseen
vase. You can only smell the flowers as it were. The song may be be called Honey I Do, the message is not so nice:
"No one's ever going to love you, again". Whoever the honey is, he/she
will have to deal with it.
Me
and French? It never really got off the ground. Even when I tried hard,
somehow it just did not stick. Mostly words remain from my efforts. Not
enough to understand lyrics, let alone speak it beyond ordering
something and hoping not to get an answer. Recently in my inbox a single
from France reached me and I like it. Froide Et Méchante (cold and
mean) is a modern pop song and chanson in one. Caprice is a new name for
me but she has released several singles in the past few years. Froide
Et Méchante has a mysteriousness in it, created by the electronics
accompanying Caprice. The mood explodes in a rap part where she appears
to let it all come out. The modern pop feel works against the more
traditional way Claire Gibeaud sings. Fans of Sophie Hunger, Belgian
singer Lizzy and Dutch Pitou should gives this singer/band? a chance.
Sometimes
just trying something out works like a storm. As that is what Divinity
is. High Priest decided to try out one more song and came up with a high
roller and rocker of a song, based on an iPhone recording by guitarist
Josh Regan. Divinity starts with a warped guitar riff before the band
goes off full force. In the best standard set by Deep Purple and all
that followed after, riffs and fast, loud chord changes jump up and down
in my room. I am not a metal fan but when it comes in this mix with
classic hard rock, I come a long way and Divinity is definitely up my
alley. Two singles in a row on WoNoBlog for Chicago band Hip Priest. 'Invocation' is
scheduled for late June.
Yes,
things can get even louder on this blog. The blood from the bass
players throat is on the inside of my desktop's screen. Grunted screams
all over the place. Usually, I'm turned off immediately. This grunting
only takes place in the second part of the near 8 minutes long video single.
Dark is a word that passed by several times today already and it befits
Cocaine Footprints. These Beasts, also from Chicago, making the Windy
City feature prominently on this blog today, is a trio in the classic
rock trio formation. The drummer is pounding away in a truly impressive manner. A huge bass drum that comes through the whole of the way in a super prominent way, dry skins and cymbals are all over the song. The guitar is hugely in overdrive, playing mostly power chords.
It is the bass that surprises me. Looking at the video the instrument in
played in such a slow way, while the sound is huge as well. I doubt
whether I will be able to undergo a whole album, 'Cares, Wills, Wants'
out on 21 April, this single is sure impressive.
No,
it does not get any louder still. This Is The Kit (in Dutch a nickname
for the police when I was young) Inside Outside is a nice indie folkish
rock song. Based on a somewhat unusual rhythm, the song slowly but
surely plays itself out. This Is The Kit is Kate Stables' brainchild.
Together with her band mates Rozi Plain (bass/voice), Neil Smith
(guitar) and Jamie Whitby-Coles (drums) she presents new work on route
to album 'Careful of Your Keepers', planned on 9 June. Inside Outside
has a dark layer over it. It is in the way Kate Stables sings, that some light and optimism is
provided by the song. The vocals become more
layered the longer the singles last, just like more and more guitar
parts are added. Whitby-Coles keeps that rhythm going giving Inside
Outside a playful appearance as well. There are several links to music
coming out of Australia and New Zealand in recent years, where this song
easily stands its ground. I'm not certain, but I suppose the Rozi Plain
that was on this blog recently with her latest album, is the same
woman. A nice introduction this song is to This Is The Kit.
A
second single by Jody and The Jerms on WoNoBlog. With a 'Last Train To
Clarkville' kind of riff and a Kirsty MacColl flavoured tune Insatiable
is irresistible. Singer Jody Jeger sings with this bittersweet voice
that simply makes listening to her compulsory. The Jerms are behind her
but the song is mixed in such a way that it is all about Jody. She
carries the song and leads the band here. What does happen behind her is an attempt at pop perfection though. Listen closely and you will
hear that everything falls into its right place. That nice riff, the
little organ that comes forward a little a few times, the drum fills and
bass runs. It all spells perfect pop. Insatiable is a beautiful song.
No more words are needed here.
There
must have been something in the water in the Blom - Smit home during
the pandemic as both have come up with so different music afterwards.
First Willem Smit with his tremendously good Personal Trainer album,
'Big Love Blanket' and now Pip Blom with the first new single Tiger.
This is a daring move, because when even a New Zealand record store cum
record label announces your new album as a must order, that tells you
something. Tiger is a pop-short single with loads of electronics, far
removed from the alternative pop/rock Pip Blom played. The guitar is
still there in the intro but drops away for electronic beats and synths.
I do not really know yet make what to make of the new course. Context will definitely be
provided soon but I am willing to give the band the benefit of the
doubt for now. The band is evolving and as such that is a good thing.
The third single from Kate MacLeod's project of exploring the songs of Jean Ritchie is here. The second on this blog. Kate MacLeod plays all the instruments you hear, all to do with strings in one form or another. On vocals she is accompanied by Morgan Morrison, Paul Hammerton and Stephanie Thompson. Together they create an atmosphere of what I have learned to call British folk. As all involved, including Jean Ritchie, are from the U.S. this seems a bit awkward to write down. It shows how far music transcends borders and imagination. Influences come from many sources, as the title to the song already indicates. Who knows what Jean Ritchie's grandparents were singing to her in her youth, inspiring her to make her own music? Come Fare Away With Me is song of intricate and inner beauty that radiates through Kate MacLeod's version. The kind that touches. The contrast with some songs above here could not be bigger, yet its effect drives home to me in a clear and pleasant way.
Wout de Natris
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