Rose Hotel – Not Like That
Similar artists: Neighbor Lady, Erin Rae, Courtney Barnett, Sharon Van Etten, Julia Jacklin
Genre: Indie Folk, Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock
Self-reflection is a mighty dangerous thing. It might force you to think about things such as your potential, the consequences of your decisions, and the meaning of life. And, all of those things, can send most people down a never-ending spiral. It’s best not to approach them. Modern life has enough things designed to keep us occupied. We can just go on entertaining ourselves forever, or, at least, as long as we are allowed to do so.
Artists, however, don’t have that luxury. They are just like the military. Once they’ve signed their name on the dotted line, their life doesn’t quite belong to them anymore. Not really! When asked to dive into a mission, they have to answer “yes, sir,” collect their equipment and go about their work. Self-reflection and war are dangerous things. The former, at least, will always require some people to volunteer and do it.
Rose Hotel’s “Not Like That” sounds like a song written late at night while forced to be driven around empty highways. There’s the cry of the desert captured in the song. And, no doubt, there’s a bit of despair that hasn’t quite reached its full height. But, it makes the song great and it makes Rose Hotel able to express the kinds of things that regular citizens can barely come to terms with. That’s it! That’s the trade-off. And, if it wasn’t exactly described once you signed the dotted line, you, at least, hopefully, enjoy your work enough not to regret it.
Bryan McPherson – Live Free or Die
Similar artists: Frank Turner, Dropkick Murphys, Conor Oberst, Bob Dylan
Genre: Punk, Folk, Americana
People who have the fewest rights and who are treated the worst by their governments tend to go on the loudest about the freedoms that they enjoy. And, for the most parts, the people in charge of them are happy to let them beat their chests loudly just as long as they don’t ask for any considerable changes. What will it take to wake them up? Well, we could start out with a song.
An elderly Colombian man driving a cab through Miami recently described the place that he was happy to have fostered him, a land where you just work and you pay bills. He also called it a land of dreams. He also desperately wanted to move back to Colombia and enjoy the social life and freedom that the South American nation provided him. So it goes.
Bryan McPherson’s “Live Free or Die” is a protest song beamed out from the Land of Milk & Honey, a punk-rocker from the age of paranoia. Everything’s great and that makes almost nobody happy. It takes a madman, a poet or a punk-rocker to realize that and, especially, articulate it. Fortunately, McPherson might be all of these things and he’s just happy to help us peak through the veil as well.
