BenOaks – Summer’s Day feat. Lee Morr
Similar artists: Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper
Genre: Jazz Fusion
Art is the last worry of a developing society, and it is the first thing to go. Entertainment, on the other hand, is always needed. What passes for a good time, however, is determined by just the bad time regular people are having on a regular basis.
If you’ve gone to school, you should be familiar with a number of poets. They lined up the pages of their textbooks and were treated as heroes would be.
Just how many poets do you know?
I’m sure you know folks that are working to be entertainers. Throw a rock far enough, and it’s bound to land on the head of someone desperate to become an Instagram influencer or TikTok star — best of luck to them.
What about the artists, then? And, what happens to us, the public?
BenOaks’ Summer’s Day goes back to the days when poetry and popular music were inseparable. It echoes Gil-Scott Heron and his obsession with language and with the rhythm of language. BenOaks doesn’t use poetry as a means to complain or prove his wit. No, it’s used as a musical instrument that can lay a spell so thick that it changes the world around you while you hear it.
The Feelgood McLouds – Back in Life
Similar artists: Dropkick Murphys, The Mahones, Flogging Molly, Real McKenzies
Genre: Celtic Punk, Punk
There are few sub-genres that are as clear about what they offer as Celtic Punk. And few disappoint their supporters with less frequency than these kinds of bands. Celtic punk usually provides what’s written on the tin, little else, and that’s the charm.
Are all of these bands based on the rain-soaked island of Eire. More than not, no. But that’s not a problem. These are people that usually have respect for Celtic music, can play punk-rock, and will wear green on St. Patrick’s Day.
It all started with The Pogues, of course, a group consisting mostly of England-born musicians, sons, and daughters of Irish folk, who took traditional tunes back from the mainland and dared to present them before London punks. The only trouble was that Shane MacGowan and his bandmates weren’t always loud.
The Feelgood McLouds’ Back in Life is pure Irish-flavored punk rock for a good night out. That might not sound like much, but you’ll have to trust me when I say that rarely have I had a better time than when watching Celtic punk bands while floating on a sea of Guinness. More important, still, The Feelgood McLouds do it better than most. Pack your drinking appetite, put on a green shirt, and let’s go!
