Glitched – Going Nowhere
Similar artists: Bad Religion, blink-182, +44
Genre: Punk, Pop Punk, Alternative Rock
Throughout the rich, occasionally illustrious history of rock music, genres have divided up social structures. Let’s oversimply and say that rich kids like artsy music. They don’t mind songs that don’t have choruses and instead replace them with guitar or keyboard solos played using an exotic scale. Why do these kids have all the time in the world? if a drum solo should sneak in there, good.
The working classes have things to do. Most of these things are not pleasant. Their work is often hard, boring, and repetitive. When they listen to rock music, they need a bit of a pick-me-up. They need to make sure that something happens. If you give them a story, you better also give them an ending. If you give them a story, make the story about people who are like them.
Glitched’s “Going Nowhere” is a song that uses the exuberance of mall pop-punk and the earnest storytelling of your Springsteens or Mellencamps. But it does not rely solely on either of these things. The moment it hits a chorus, it lets it ring so that the last seats in the house can hear it. When it delivers a line about the pressures of life, it makes sure that the audience can feel that, too. You’ll know who they’re playing for.
OK Charlie – Coldest of Monsters
Genre: Pop Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
The smartest musicians want to be taken seriously for their art. They don’t feel like they have the time to ask people to love them. Making audiences want to dance or tap their foot to the beat of their song seems like something beneath them. Either they get the people who can really understand them listening, or they’d rather not get anyone.
But that’s not the ambitiousness we were promised by our rockers. These were people who were supposed to stop at nothing to get their songs played on the radio. These were people who were ready to die before they gave up on owning a Rolly Royce that they could drive into a swimming pool. And, yes, these were the folks who might throw in some clever ideas, too, for the people really paying attention.
OK Charlie’s “Coldest of Monsters” is a balancing act recorded on tape. The band is making it very clear that they are available for your Summer festival and will try to entertain all of the people there. But OK Charlie also want you to know that they encourage you to take their music, apply a pair of headphones and draw up your own stories about what the band may be on about. This is an indie-rock band with progressive ideals who is not ready to give up on the dreams of owning chocolate-coloured Rolls Royces just yet.
