“Love You For A Long Time” – Maggie Rogers. Another utterly delightful song from Maggie.
“Motorcade” – Peggy Sue. This is a duo from London who are set to release their debut album in February. I love this first track, with its fun swing and driving tempo.
“Champion of the World” – Coldplay.
“Los Angeles, Be Kind” – Owl John
It’s been a long time since I’ve liked a Coldplay song or album. And I’m not sure I like this song. But I had to share it as the band has given a co-writing credit to Scott Hutchison for it. That got people like me excited until we read Chris Martin’s explanation. Martin said he always loved Scott’s song “Los Angeles, Be Kind,” from his Owl John solo project, and this song was inspired by how that track made him feel. So Scott didn’t actually sit down and write with Martin before his death. Martin just took his music and built a new song around it.
Naturally there’s been a debate about whether that is cool or not. Some think Martin is trying to grab some of Scott’s indie cred. Some were also offended that Coldplay released the song on what would have been Scott’s 38th birthday. Others think it is a nice gesture and point out that Scott’s estate, which is pointed toward helping others with mental illness, will get a nice chunk of change from it. And it may help some people who never heard of Frightened Rabbit discover their music.
I know it is an utterly gorgeous song musically. I always said Frightened Rabbit sounded like what Coldplay could had been if they veered indie rather than trying to inherit U2’s 21st century sound. You can hear those links in this song. I just don’t like Martin’s vocals enough anymore to fully get into it, though. And I think he would have been wise to not use the word suicide in a song he claims was inspired by a man who ended his own life.
As for the original, I could never really connect with Scott’s Owl John album. I think it was because some of the songs went deep into his more artsy side and lost some of the charm that was always at the core of FR’s music. But re-evaluating the album yesterday, I heard some things I like. This song certainly demonstrates what a wonderful arranger he was. There are little chord changes throughout the song that hit you deep inside your soul.
“Devil’s Haircut” – Beck. Beck has a new album out today. He’s been all over SiriusXM promoting it. I’ve never been a huge fan and the new songs haven’t done anything for me. But my man Bearded has a birthday today, and he’s always been a fan. I remember listening to this song in his car once, driving to a happy hour or something young and fun like that. So this is for Bearded.