Dune Blue – Lucky Dog
The kicks have to get stronger and stronger. And the person with the dark glasses and the silk robe gradually feels less and less interested in any of them. Entusiasm, they must feel in that moment, is a currency best squandered at the right time. The simple, good old days, they convince themselves, must have surely passed them by.
That’s the story, virtually, of every rock star, actor or celebrity of any sort throughout history. And, truthfully, it’s always hard for things to work any other way. The people who grow up getting their kicks in small clubs, playing songs to the dozen-or-so people who will listen, may find themselves richer further down the road, but rarely as happy.
Dune Blue’s “Lucky Dog” is a great punk-rock song about finding excitement in the things around you and using up that energy even when the rest of one’s life feels about to shatter. This is a rock song dedicated to a small bar, but also to all of the people searching for some relief in it. The song is also a reminder to honour your local music scenes. Your Woodstock may be a Saturday night watching a band like Dune Blue tearing it up in front of a small crowd!
Bronco Golden – Long String of Light
Maybe the Universe is looking out for all the great artists of this world when it doesn’t allow many of them to achieve the success, the riches and recognition that, truly, they’d deserve to get.
Perhaps it’s just like the story of the potential degenerate gambler who was most fortunate to never ever win a hand, or pick the winner of a fight. Can you imagine what that kind of person would do with all their money? Can you imagine just how content the artists might become with theirs?
Bronco Golden’s music sounds like it’s made under heavy duress by people hoping to, one day soon, win big. The greatest works of art, typically, are made with this precise energy. But just how long can even the greatest artists keep it up?
“Long String of Light” is a rootsy, well-meaning punk-rock song about being capable of doing the worst things in the pursuit of greatness. It’s music that feels made by people on the edge, willing to take the risk and live with the consequences. That’s likely why it sounds this impressive. If Bronco Golden finds a way of retaining this without collapsing into the abyss, there’s no telling just how great the band will become.
