Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Cold at Night" by The Mountain Goats:  A song that was released last month but that I'm just starting to get to know now...it only figures The Mountain Goats would release something on Halloween month, right?! I mean with titles like "Damn These Vampires," "Up the Wolves," and "Werewolf Gimmick," The Mountain Goats run the gamut when it comes to "spooky" titles and topics. "Cold at Night" fits right along with that. The song also has a bit more of a rock sound than fans of the Goats' normally folk-rock-y music might be used to, but it still lands roughly in that indie-folk-ish patch. I'm surprised there isn't "fandom rivalry" between The Mountain Goats and The Decemberists, given how both were mid-'00s indie-folk-rock groups who often sing about dark subject matter over sweet folk-rock-y melodies. "Cold at Night" totally lands in that Decemberists-ish spot with its tale ...

 here they are: "Classical" by Vampire Weekend:  The title to this song, of course, does not describe Vampire Weekend's music. That being said, though, "Classical" is  a song that illustrates the rich musical diversity that Vampire Weekend has to offer, perhaps more than any other song so far in their already vast catalog! The song manages to simultaneously sound like baroque pop, jazz, rock, synthpop, and soul, all stirred up into a tasty musical gumbo! The word "classical" in the title might just take on more than one meaning, also. There's the obvious element of classical music (even though that is not present in the song sound-wise), but "classical" here also refers to societal castes and how fragile they are. Lyrically, "Classical" seems to be about how, when different cultures clash with one another, they cause each other to collapse. A very heady topic for a very trying time in human history! "Daisy (Shine a Light)...

 EIGHT whoppin' new songs for a whoppin' new year!! Can you believe it?! Here they are!! "Beautiful People (Stay High)" by The Black Keys:  While The Black Keys are known for having a "retro" sound to pretty much all of their songs, they haven't yet nailed the sunny side of psychedelic pop quite like they have for their latest tune, "Beautiful People (Stay High)." If the words "beautiful" and "high" weren't clues already, this is a song that attempts to capture the spirit of the swingin' '60s! This is probably the happiest song I've heard from Dan and Patrick so far. For a year that is probably going to be a shaky one for many, The Black Keys have managed to kick off 2024 with positive energy like no other! Highly recommended! "Deja Vu" by Abraham Alexander (featuring Mavis Staples):  This is only the second song I've heard so far from neo-soul musician Abraham Alexander (the first being "T...