Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Better Man" by Slow Pulp:  There's almost a neo-shoegaze-ish vibe to this one! The wall of synths, the swirling, trembly yet jangly guitars, trilling harmonics, and the overall icy vibe of the song. Right from the start, Emily Massey makes it clear that she wants out of the relationship she's in with the lyrics, "Did I f**k it up again?/Maybe leave it to a better man/Who can tell himself this is how it's supposed to be/'Cause I can hurt myself again/As I fade away from everything/And hear a voice telling me to leave/Leave it to me." I just realized I covered the entire first verse and chorus here, and there's only two verses total! But I couldn't leave one line without the other since it tells the whole story of what's going on in the song. Clearly Emily has been hurt, but what's remarkable is how clear she makes it with both the music and the lyrics! This song is like hearing the angry yet still vulnerable granddaugh...

 Green Day and blink-182 are BOTH back?! Say WHAT?! Not every day this happens (and I barely even like blink to begin with, but their latest song changes my opinion of them)!! The '90s are back, baby! Four other songs worth listening to here, too. Enjoy! "American Dream is Killing Me" by Green Day:  Green Day became the Clash of latter-day rock music with the release of American Idiot  in 2004, which expanded the formerly bratty punk-pop-rockers both lyrically and musically. "American Dream is Killing Me," the latest from the first '90s punk-pop group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, continues where American Idiot left off. In addition to having a similar title to that album, the song also has similar themes with its dissatisfaction of the American government and politics. The song has a similar riff and rhythm to their '04 song, "Holiday" (which itself seemed to borrow heavily from The Clash's "London Calling,"...