NAILED Songs of the Week #26
“Something about this fits like a key into the lock of me.”
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Matty Byloos, Publisher and Contributing Editor of NAILED:
"Strictly Reserved for You" -- Charles Bradley
For lovers of old soul and R&B, it doesn't get much more exciting than Charles Bradley. Full-throated, expressive, and full of pain and heartache that one doesn't come by in music without the real pain of a life hard-lived, "Strictly Reserved for You" marks a dramatic turn towards the lyrically positive on Bradley's second studio release, Victim of Love (Daptone Records). One hears the music and thinks -- this must be fifty years old. But it's not. The placement on Daptone makes sense -- recording to analog tape lends a warmth and tone that digital can't authentically replicate: think about the difference between an mp3 and vinyl. The nod to James Brown is more than a coincidence, as Bradley made his living for several years, singing as a JB impersonator in a stage act. Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Don Covay, Sam and Dave -- the references are clear, and it's within this historical lineage that Bradley places himself (and where he truly deserves to be, because the level of talent is certainly there). Even the font work and album cover design belong to a better era of music from decades now passed.
Bradley's story is one of redemption and hope in the face of tremendous struggle, and conducting some amateur research on the man behind the music is well worth the effort. Since the SXSW debut of the feature-length documentary on Bradley's life (Soul of America), the singer has continued to garner critical acclaim, but the real magic comes from Bradley himself. Everything is plain as day in the man's face, in the depth of his vocals, in the sincerity of his lyrics. To see Bradley perform live is to experience gratitude personified, and to fully understand the gravity of musical soul -- a soul that's shared by both the audience and the performer when live music turns towards the magical -- the kind of soul that Bradley has enough of for several lifetimes.
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Carrie Seitzinger, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of NAILED:
"Little Fang" -- Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks
Sometimes a chill, groovy tune is made even more fabulous by a great video, and sometimes that video even enhances the meaning of cryptic lyrics in a really fun way. Here we have the tale of Little Fang, my new favorite superhero. A cat-bat haunted by her abnormalities, who needs only to embrace what is different about her to find her way to the place that suits her eccentricity, where she can let the ghosts and skeletons in her closet out and be free. A tale that so many of us can relate to, even as mere mortals.
In fact there are some lyrics I'd like to tell myself in those doubtful moments: "You’re something special/Full moon you'll have no doubt/Just let the astral music root you out..."
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Shenyah Webb, Arts Editor of NAILED:
"Broken Radio" -- The Cush
The Cush’s newest full-length album, Transcendental Bliss was just released in late January of this year. The husband-wife duo have masterfully re-tapped a sound reminiscent of the 90’s. I really resonate with their sound's simplicity, they don't over complicate the melodies or breakdowns, they don't need to. Each track on their newest album explores a little differently, melded sounds of full-bodied yet smooth guitar grooves, theremin, synths alongside beautiful vocal harmonies. It all sits so well together, nothing seems to take over, familiar all the while something new and refreshing.
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Guest Editor, Lizzy Acker, Co-Editor of The Tusk:
"Fourth of July" -- Sufjan Stevens
This might be a perfect song--I've listened to it at this point at least 60 times so my research on the subject is almost complete. It's the emotional peak, in my opinion, of Sufjan Stevens' heartbreaking new album, or maybe the nadir, since the album is about the death of his mom and this song ends in the melodic chant-singing of the phrase: "We're all gonna die."
Some things to look out for and roll around in your head while listening: who is the narrator here? Sufjan or his mom or both? Who in your life could you call "my little dove," "my little hawk," "my little Versailles," "my star in the sky," "my dragonfly" and "my little loon"? What's going to happen when YOUR mom dies? Get ready for an existential crisis and then listen on repeat.
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Kirsten Larson, Contributing Editor and Social Media Maven of NAILED:
“Shadow” -- Brothers Gow
I do music like I do anything else; pick it up and don’t put it down until I’ve exhausted it, with a sort of commitment I don’t practice in say, romantic relationships. As turnaround for a childhood filled with music, my son is now introducing me to music. My latest obsession – Jam Bands. Jam Bands are a mix of rock, reggae and funk. They defy genre except that they are best experienced live where the jam is extended and improvised. I’ve refused to hang on to a relationship for any amount of time, but I can do 20-plus-minute songs forever. Some bands that make me happy: O.A.R., Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule, and Brothers Gow.
“Shadow” is a track from Brothers Gow 2014 album Reflections. Brothers Gow is a band from San Diego. At the end, “Shadow” sounds almost a little Wolfmother-ish to me. I love it for the ambiguous ‘you’ lyrics, and emotional unsentimentality.
I suppose my current obsession is an antidote to the impersonal electronic music that’s so popular again. To the alienated and lonely, there is something lovely and real about improvisation – the band responding to teach other and the audience, different every time, and yet the artifact of the moment exists in recordings. Behind popular trends or ahead, I don’t give a shit. Something about this fits like a key into the lock of me.
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