Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks – I gotta say, I think we’re having a rennaisance of music, new music, music for the masses, music for crazy kids who can still dream. I find myself turning off my satellite radio, yeah, I got it, yeah, but I turn it off to listen to 93.3, Area 93, denver’s “alternative” radio. You want alternative? Listen to Munley. You want corporate pop rock that dresses up as cutting edge, listen to alernative. Sheesh. However, all that said, there are some wicked cool songs on that there radio station. And commercials. Love commercials. I heard this song on the radio and liked it. I like echoeyness of it. Echoes. Echoes. Echoes. It has that big reverb sound, like the kids are watching a Sergio Leone movie. Or listening to Primus. Don’t know if the lyrics mean anything. Maybe that the kids are smoking and like guns? Pumped up kicks? What the hell does that mean anyway? And dumb name for a band. They should have called me. I would have named them something like Thirsty Circle, or The Symphathies, or Dirge Jungle. Ah, kids these days.

Bassnectre – Bass Head – Normally, when artists go silly, especially electronica artists, the silliness doesn’t work. This song, though, Bass Head, is silly. It’s a stupid attempt, and it’s because it’s stupid is why it works. If you tried to take this song seriously, you’d have to first get a lobotomy. This has that whole tweeker beauty heavy thing going on. Worked for now. A little long, I gotta say. And I’d prefer a more intenese flavor, but it’s a dumb fun kind of song. Well, when I say long I mean about twice as long as it should have been. I’ll keep it. I might cut it, but I’ll keep it. For now. It wasn’t the genius that Timestretch was, and for that, I’m dying a little in my desire.

Tanya Tucker – The Man That Turned My Mama On – Dang, I like this song. I’d like to hear the Kasey Chambers cover for this song. I like how it has that 70’s electric guitar thrown in. Kinda like a nerd at a honky tonk, at this stage. but I have a soft spot for 70’s country. Reminds me of riding in the back of trucks, believin’ in Jesus, and mama’s biscuits and gravy. I like the story aspect of the song because funny thing about women, especially the lady-type of women, it’s all about timin’ and a certain atmosphere. Any other time, the lady in the song would have slapped that travelin’ man in the face, but not that night, not right then. That’s why I could never pick up women. I was too self-absorbed and not senstivie enough to intuit that vast complexity that is women.

Tanya Tucker – San Antonio Stroll – 70’s country-story songs. God, I love ’em. However, this was a repeat. This was classic SMC from the aught’s. Love how Tanya Tucker squeals the word, “blue” and the rhyming, “through”. Dang it all, this is real music, I’ll tell you what.

Tom T. Hall – Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet) – My dad used to sing the lyrcis of this song, but he’d always get ’em wrong. You know, here’s the thing about this song. Oh, before that, the horns. Oh yeah, those 70’s horns. Or where they 60’s? Love the horns. Totally unnecessary. Dagnabbit. In the end, yeah, I was a writer, and my soul was all on fire. Now? Well, more and more, I’m seeing life in terms of the sensual and the senses. Maybe I’m moving from poet to cowboy. If only I were so lucky. But I love pretty girls, cigars, a good meal that is bent on killing me. And money. Lots of money. And yet, if I go down that route, no girl is ever pretty enough, no cigar is smooth enough, and the food is never all that good. I always want more and more and more and more. So in the end, gotta have more. But maybe that’s because my life, in a lot of ways, is so horrifically comfortable. As a cowboy, livin’ hard, maybe you appreciate things a whole lot more. Ah, my new book is all about cowgirls and country music and biscuits. The working title is “Dandelions, Guns, and Little, Lost Souls” and yeah, it’s epic. Gonna be work for me to keep it under 100,000 words.

The Five Blobs – The Blog – 1958, The Blob came out. Another SMC classic from the aughts. You know, I bet there is some guy who scored with the ladies by saying, “Yeah, the saxophone at the beginnning the The Blob song? Yeah, that’s me.” I remember the scene where the blog rolls over some hapless jack and all is left is bone. I have image indelibly imprinted on my head. This song? It’s fine. It’s musical kiche. Did I spell that right? It’s a knick-knack with a saxophone from the 50’s. Dang, how do you spell kiche? Google has let me down. Damn you google? Here comes the blob. Happy Halloween.

Dwight Yokum – Johnson’s Love – This song is about a ghost? I thought it was about a Texan who loved a girl, but she loved her dog more than him, and so he got sad and drunk and got hit by a train. Just kidding. I always liked this song, and funny, I’m generally ALL about lyrics, but this song, I guess Dwight Yokum tricked me with that lonesome whine. And for the record, I love whiny country music. I love whiners. ‘Cause I is one.

Bright Eyes – Devil Town – Dang, this is all so very Violent Femmes. No, really, or old timey Paul Westerberg. I got me a little drawl on account of my new book I’m workin’ on, my epic steampunk girly-strogen story. So bear with me. I really dig this raw, echoey sound, and the repititive lyrics totally works for me. Hold on, I gotta check if this is some variation of the Violent Femmes. Nope. Conor Mullen Oberst is the guy. Again, this is derivative, but is that bad? It must be a pejorative because Christ, if you said my books were derivative, I’d be hunting for Drano and a razor blade. But in the end, I like this because it is so very Violent Femmesy. And echoey. And raw. I’d love to see this song in a surreal, David Lynch vampire movie. Prolly never gonna see that, I reckon. Shucks.