New songs for January 23rd, 2023

 Here they are:


"Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard?" by Lana Del Rey: I think it's safe to say Lana Del Rey wins the award for Longest Song Title of the Year (so far)!! Fittingly, the song itself is somewhat long too, clocking in at 4 minutes and 45 seconds. In true Lana fashion, her latest song is a stark, melancholy piece of piano-based orchestral pop. Not sure if the titular "tunnel" is a real one or if it's supposed to be symbolic, as Lana's songs are typically loaded with symbolism, and this song is no exception. More than likely, though, it's both. There was a real tunnel under Ocean Boulevard, a place in Long Beach, California, until the mid-1960's, and Lana is trying to capture a slice of hippie-era nostalgia by wrapping it in a bittersweet musical present that is anything but psychedelic, but there are also many references to California's musical past, ranging from The Eagles' "Hotel California" to New Yorker Harry Nilsson, who died in California in 1994. Being a Californian myself (and Southern Californian, at that), I can't help but appreciate the lyrics of this treasure of a song!

"Go Down River" by The Heavy Heavy: Vibes of early 1970's country-rock permeated the first single from The Heavy Heavy, "Miles and Miles," which wound up being a surprise success on adult alt radio during the middle and towards the end of last year. As a new year kicks off into gear, The Heavy Heavy return with "Go Down River," which once again has a retro country-rock sound. In particular, the main riff of the song seems to be patterned after Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary," albeit with a slightly more breezy sound. The song is essentially a love song, but uses nature-related imagery such as rivers and mountains to create a more idyllic picture in the mind of the listener as they hear the lyrics.

"Nothing Left to Lose" by Everything But the Girl: The casual adult alt/alt radio listener is likely to remember Everything But the Girl for their melancholy 1994 smash hit, "Missing." You know, the one that has the refrain with a female lead singer mentioning she'll miss her partner "like the deserts miss the rain"? While there are quite a few ETBG songs worth listening to besides that one (the smooth jazz-y "Driving," for instance), most considered them a one-hit wonder for "Missing." No one seemed to hear from them since that song was released. After almost 30 years of missing (no pun intended), Everything But the Girl are back! And what have Tracey and Ben graced us with after nearly three decades of absence?! Well...it's a song that's closer to the trip-hop of "Missing"'s remix than it is of the slightly jazzy folk-rock melancholia of most of their other stuff. A lot of techno-y influence in their latest song, "Nothing Left to Lose," which was a bit of a letdown for someone like me who was expecting something focused a bit more on lilting melodies and gentle guitar strums (there's pretty much zero guitar on this one). However, it's not a bad song. It's still worth the listen, and it does show that this rather underrated alt-pop duo still have plenty of talent left!

"Tropic Morning News" by The National: Our last song of the week is also our longest, at a little over 5 minutes. The song's unique and striking title comes from how the lead singer of The National's wife describes the tendency of some to continue to scroll through bad news in spite of knowing how depressed it will make people feel who do it. "Tropic Morning News" is essentially a lament over how bad news tends to take over the lives of people living in the 21st century so much that being able to form meaningful human connections has become harder for us as the years have gone by. The regretful theme of the lyrics is matched by its mostly minor key, which only lifts up a bit during the chorus, the song's somewhat minimalist tone (despite its lush instrumentation), and Matt Berninger's mumbling, droning vocals.