Air Mail – Moss Song
It’s easy to be cynical about what kind of effort regular people would put in their bid to find some happiness. Yeah, you’ve probably found yourself laughing about people posting millions of pictures from the holiday, by someone singing out loud while on the train, or, simply, by those kinds of people who say hello to everyone on a Monday morning while holding onto a smile the whole day through.
But the fact is that you might just be jealous. I know, I am the same way. I prefer to fold when things get too difficult and would rather take the comfort of melancholy when being cheerful is too difficult. But maybe there’s still hope for you. Maybe you have what it takes to capture a special memory and to make it last. You might be the kind of person who makes the best of an Air Mail song.
That’s because Air Mail’s “Moss Song” is designed to be listened to either on warm Spring afternoons or when achingly dreaming for those days to return. This is indie-folk that captures the murmur nature opening up all around, the hopefulness of things suddenly falling into place. Leave it to a talented songwriter with a guitar to describe the kind of world that everyone wants to inhabit.
Turner Cody – Recognize a Friend
Most of the greatest rock stars ended up chopping fish and cleaning dishes in some kitchens somewhere and ended up happier than they would ever allow themselves to recognise. That’s because all they had to do for years on end was cook fish, clean dishes and play songs with friends and to anyone who’d listen. I bet there’s a picture of Chris Cornell somewhere, scraping oil off some hot plate while in his 20s and looking more in tune with the world than most could ever imagine possible.
The bad jobs in kitchens and behind desks are going to be there. But what about the beautifully terrible jobs of writing songs and playing them in front of people? What if audiences suddenly decide that those dumb AI songs ain’t so dumb after all? What about all those Saturday nights spent in smoky clubs, all the people pouring the best parts of themselves into songs, or having a reason to buy ripped second-hand jeans anymore? Turner Cody’s looking at the future as he’s over his shoulder, and he’s seeing reasons to worry.
“Recognize a Friend,” is, first of all, a lovely country-rock tune that sounds like The Byrds covering Dylan and looks like it’s played by people who look like they could’ve hung out with The Strokes. There’s the jingle-jangle sound and the natural feel of those guitar solos that get to you. But, of course, it’s the lyrics about old bars and good old times that really do the trick. For now, it’s still possible to find one of those companions that Cody sings about. But, if it’s all gone tomorrow and we’re stuck saying cheers to each other through our computer, this song ought to be used as the proverbial famous last words.
