Morning Fuzz – The Shakedown
“This is America. Pick a job and then become the man who does it.” That’s the advice given by an experienced, crusty advertising millionaire on the successful television show Mad Men. And, although the show details events of the 1950s and 60s, and for all the criticism that the U.S. receives currently, things haven’t changed completely.
Could there actually be someone as popular nowadays as Kurt Cobain was in the 1990s? Sure, if they had the songs and could create a similarly exciting sound. But could those still be turned into hits nowadays? If they were good enough, of course, and provided they could be presented to enough people. Morning Fuzz knows that the first step to starting to win is showing up.
“The Shakedown” quite frankly sounds like a song that was a hit during the early 1990s without you noticing it. That’s impressive enough, but so is the fact that this is a DIY effort that stubbornly adopts the philosophy of grunge and retro alt-rock. In other words, it’s a new song, made to sound as good as the classics.
It’s a single that hints at a story of colossal loss without telling you who the main characters are. It’s a single that delivers the chorus enough times with sufficient power to ensure that you’ll be humming it for the rest of the day. Can there be a new alt-rock band scoring big hits? Sure, with songs like this one, it can certainly happen.
David Orien – Nancy Thomas
You’re probably going to end up in a cult! I’m sorry, but that’s just what the stats say. I know that you think you’re too smart for that, but intelligence has little to do with it. I know that you think you’d never voluntarily do humiliating work for other people, but if you look at your busy week schedule, you’ll find out that’s not exactly true. And, of course, you’re probably saying that you won’t make it in the South American jungle climate? Well, we all learn.
The fact of the matter is that there is a surprising number of people learning how to con others into doing what they want. They do it either expecting some financial reward or, more often than not, believing that they genuinely are delivering the kind of help that nobody else can provide. Everyone needs some kind of therapeutic cleansing, and according to David Orien, your best bet is to be suspicious of those willing to provide you with it.
Of course, according to David Orien’s storytelling on “Nancy Thomas,” the option of resisting was not exactly on the cards. The single is a gruesome retelling of the methods of an over-confident, aggressive therapist utilising controversial methods. However, just as importantly, “Nancy Thomas” is also an extremely catchy song, complete with a colourful, well-designed music video. Audiences rarely are willing to listen to the problems of others unless they can, somehow, be entertained by them, and David Orien provides just that.
