Odd Marshall – Wreck Your Life (For Rock ‘n’ Roll)
All of the perfect defences, eventually, have to fall. And, when they do, there’s nobody cheering, just whistles and taunts. There’s nobody saluting the game plan, or asking the spectators to take pity on the people who fought so hard to keep things as they were at the beginning.
Those who’ve treated themselves to scenes from the World Cup know how heartbreaking it can be when managers decide to tell the players to just opt for something safe. Things always have to break down, and all that’s left are questions of what might have been had a more adventurous route been taken.
It took some great defensive strategies and a few terrible mishaps to get Odd Marshall to commit to a crazy notion. “Wreck Your Life (For Rock ‘n’ Roll)” is about that disaster and about the faith that might just heal it.
It’s a pretty clever song, too, and not the macho shout match you might expect from reading the title. Nah, this is rooty, clever, and bittersweet. It’s a mighty nice thing to risk everything on.
Evil Little Thing – Unusual
I confess that I used to be secretly fascinated with interviews where former band members get asked about the break-up of the group and about the things to blame for what happened. Starting today, I am admitting to this little pleasure, which, most likely, is born out of a secret desire to see others struggle and avoid admitting the truth.
In nearly all situations, the former ex-friends and former band members will make some jokes about the way they were treated, say that they wish it hadn’t ended this way and end by throwing up their hands and telling the world that, if it were up to them, the band would still be going. And, in all these cases, those interviewed shamelessly lie.
Does this need a soundtrack? You bet! I think we could solve it all with Evil Little Thing’s “Unusual”, a lo-fi-sounding power-pop song that’s heavy on the cheerful hooks, and also on the admission of passive-aggressive thoughts and on faults that caused the relationship to break down. It’s such a charming sound that it makes you want to take responsibility for something once in a while, for a change.
