New songs for September 30th, 2024

 here they are:


"Alone" by The Cure:  One of the best-known and best-loved goth rock bands of all time have released their first single in nearly 15 years! And how does it hold up?! Its lonesome, spacey atmosphere does make "Alone" sound like a classic Cure song circa 1989. Much like "Pictures of You," there are no words in the first few minutes of "Alone," setting up the song's melancholy mood before the lyrics even start! Speaking of which, the lyrics are also classic Cure. Robert Smith drearily yet dreamily about how isolated he feels from the world. The lyrics are a hallmark of what The Cure were best known for in their heyday. If you need a song of hopelessness and despair that also feels like a warm hug in the cold snow, "Alone" is your song!


"Audacious" by Franz Ferdinand:  "The Strokes go ska" is probably a good description for Franz Ferdinand's latest song, "Audacious"! The fuzz guitars of "Last Nite" meets the choppy rhythms of "Wrong Way"....at least until the chorus comes along. Then the song becomes almost Beatlesque and slows down, only to have the pace and fuzz get picked back up in the verses. Funny that our first two songs both happen to start with "A" and they both happen to be about hopelessness! But where our previous song wallowed in darkness, there is a glimmer of hope during the chorus where Alex Kapranos sings to his audience to "don't stop being audacious." In other words, keep being a person who dares to dream in the face of a sorrowful world!


"Picture of You (X + W)" by U2:  After a few years of leaning more towards pop than rock, I'm pleased that during this decade, U2 have gone back to their rock roots and embraced them! The guitars in their latest song, "Picture of You," are choppy like a helicopter, yet they roar like thunder! Although a more hopeful sounding song than the previous two, "Picture of You" is still a song that portrays the hopeless state of today's world. Bono is essentially stating that amidst all the chaos of the modern world, all he wants is a "picture of you." What this mean's is anyone's guess, but it probably means just relief from all the stress people have to put up with these days. Bono, maybe I want a "picture of you" too. Ha! U2! You too!! Hahahaha...I'll show myself out! (rimshot)






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