Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Dracula" by Tame Impala:  (to be read in a Transylvanian accent) Greetings! It is I, the music blogger! They call me the music blogger because I love to blog songs!And today, there are SEVEN! SEVEN songs in this blog!! Ah, ah, ah. (to be read in a regular accent) Come on, I had to!! "Dracula" is right there in the song's title! Unlike last week's TI track, "Loser," Dracula" has more of the synth-pop sound Tame Impala have cultivated in more recent years. Its spooky (but fun) minor-key sound is fitting to the song's title. Did Tame Impala intentionally release this song around Halloween?! One never knows, but I get the feeling they might have! It even includes lyrics like "run from the sun like Dracula." The song seems to center around how much of an outcast Kevin Parker feels like overall (keeping with the theme of "Loser" from last week). Also, are "dueling songs" a trend now?! Spoon also has...

 here they are: "Afterlife" by Alex G:  I overlooked Alex G when he first debuted on the adult alt radio scene with "The Runner" (I think a lot was going on in my life back then), but I've mellowed out enough since then that I'm ready to hear his latest tune, "Afterlife." I must say, I like what I'm hearing so far! Pop/rock beats wed to a string instrument that sounds like it could be mandolin all while feeling like a mellow day out on the lake while you listen to it? I'm all for it! "Afterlife" can mean different things to different people too. I mean Sharon Van Etten already came out with another song of the same title this year, but that one seemed to be more about a yearning hope to see someone after our mortal years end. In Alex G's song, "Afterlife" appears to be more of a metaphor for starting a fresh new life after a life filled with awkward mistakes. Seems pretty relatable to me! "@$$hole (When We First...

 here they are: "Fly" by Chicano Batman:  Want somethin' funkaayyy?! Then Chicano Batman might just have the song you're lookin' for! Even the beginning of their latest song, "Fly," sounds like something out of an early Prince tune! Though Chicano Batman are typically influenced by rhythmic music to begin with, they haven't tackled funk yet (at least not to my knowledge), so this is a refreshing new direction for them to go in! The lyrics of this song also seem to be rather Prince-esque, dripping with lurid innuendo from start to finish meant to seduce the listeners. Chicano Batman, you got us right where you want us! "Her Way Out" by Big Head Todd and The Monsters:  The latest song from '90s jam band, Big Head Todd and The Monsters, "Her Way Out" seems like a Tom Petty song in both its rootsy-ness and the one-two punch of the power chords that punctuate each line. Big Head Todd and The Monsters apparently meant this to sound ...

 It's the last day of the year, and we have 8 brand new songs! Here they are: "Bug Like an Angel" by Mitski: Perhaps the first Mitski song to dip into folk-rock territory, "Bug Like an Angel" continues to add new dimension and depth to Mitski's already eclectic catalog! "Bug Like an Angel" is a rather cryptic metaphor, but the "angel" part seems to refer to death by either drinking or overindulgence. The song is fittingly melancholy for one that has such a depressing theme, but ultimately more bittersweet than bitter. It manages to carry itself in a major key rather than a minor one, but it's still quite powerful! There is also religious imagery woven into the song, particularly at the end when Mitski says, "I try to remember the wrath of the devil was also given to him by God." Again, it's hard to make out exactly what Mitski means here, but my best guess is that the presumably now dead person being addressed in the son...