Conor Miley – Thousand Yard Stare
Similar artists: Villagers, Sufjan Stevens, Elbow, Radiohead, Fiona Apple
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Alternative Rock
People talk about the best concert that they’ve attended as one of the happiest moments of their lives. Folks listen to their favorite songs on repeat, almost in an attempt to self-hypnotize. And, apparently, one guy rang Rolling Stone magazine once to tell them that he’d God while listening to “Astral Weeks.”
And, even though music, at its best, has the potential to change the world within it, nobody seems to have any time for these kinds of things anymore. Three-minute singles have been cut down to 90-second singles, which is still much too long for TikTok and Instagram reels. Furthermore, nobody can understand what pop singers are on about and few of their fans seem to mind.
Conor Miley attempts to mesmerize listeners with his poetry on “Thousand Yard Stare.” Like any proper hypnotism, it will only work, provided that you’re a believer in its power. But the clever, funny lines and the surprising twists of this brief folk-rock number could be just what you need to become a believer in Miley’s powers.
John Hollywood – geryon
Similar artists: John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Terry Allen
Genre: Singer-Songwriter
There’s no story that hasn’t been told yet. Which, ultimately, means that there is no way to kill off art and entertainment based on telling stories. Either we’ve heard them all before, or our ancestors did, and there’s no way that we won’t need to hear them again.
Heroes and villains are never as original as they think they are. New-world retro-folkie John Hollywood knows this well. He deals in imagery that is both personal and universal and in humor that is both ridiculous and uplifting.
John Hollywood’s “geryon” is a song about finding relief in the power of myth. The tune features a charmingly detached vocal performance and lyrics about killing the monsters that have supported you on your way to achieving your dreams. It’s sweet and cruel. And it tells a story that is as old as time itself. You probably just heard it being told with other monsters’ and heroes’ names involved.
