New Tunes #2

It has been way too freaking long for this. (Of course, it's been way freaking long yet AGAIN that I've tried to blog. I am just so insanely lazy! :P ) In fact, I have a long, long list of all the songs that I need to do NTs for, but I’m splitting them up in pieces to make things easier for me. :)

And because it’s been so long, it was too much to put all the artists that are going to be featured in this post in the title.

In case you folks forgot, New Tunes is like The Story Siren’s IMM (In My Mailbox), except that instead of it being weekly and instead of it being with books, NT involves music that I recently put on my iPod, and NT has mini reviews of the songs listed. Like IMM, there is also a little Mr Linky at the bottom, if you want to get involved in the music action here. Usually these songs come from iTunes, unless otherwise stated (the ones here are all from iTunes but in some cases, I found them first from other sites such as Project Playlist).

Like so:

"White Liar" by Miranda Lambert from Revolution (2009). Written by Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby. I heard so much about this song all over the web, and, being a fan of Miranda Lambert myself, I knew it was a must-buy for me, especially as it is now hailed as one of her best songs and the most aired. I don’t think I even really sampled the song fully on Youtube or Project Playlist—I think I simply listened to a thirty-second sample without thinking about whether I liked it much before buying it—but I quickly bout it, and once I had it loaded up on my iPod, I listened to it immediately. It…wasn’t quite what I expected. I was in the mood at the time for a hard-hitting country rock song, not unlike Lambert’s previous hits, “Gunpowder and Lead” and “Kerosene”, and “White Liar” wasn’t quite that. Considering Lambert’s usual twangy vigor in her songs, “White Liar” was quite calm, though full of the usual cutting girl-power edge popular in many country songs nowadays. For awhile, I didn’t listen to the song much until Twitter and Facebook friends kept talking about it non-stop. So I gave it another go. Songwriting? Clever, catchy. Music? Again, calm for Lambert. Overall? Unique from other country, a slight departure from what is usually expected from this artist, yet very much teeming of Lambert. Score: 9/10

"Big Yellow Taxi" by Counting Crows featuring Vanessa Carlton from Films About Ghosts (2003). Written by Joni Mitchell. I kind of feel like I can’t really review this song, because I’d heard it so much even when I was little and always wanted to know what song it was. I didn’t find out it was a Counting Crows song until back when I was on my Vanessa Carlton high (plus, I thought that would make my online pal, Anilee, happy that I found a Counting Crows song I liked ;) ). There’s so much to like about this song, and although I’m fond of a few Vanessa Carlton songs, the part I least liked about “Big Yellow Taxi” was the fact that Carlton served as background vocals. Perhaps it’s because I usually find background vocals really annoying and cheesy unless it’s done by the lead vocals or unless it is a member of the band performing it, but I wasn’t a fan of her in there. What I did like? Mitchell’s clever, multi-dimensional songwriting full of depth in such a short song (though I haven’t heard the original and can’t judge it, I feel kind of proud to be listening to a song by an artist referenced to in You’ve Got Mail ;) ), Counting Crows’ vocals, and the fact that I found a song I enjoyed listening to on the radio as a little kid. Score: 9/10

"December" by Norah Jones from December - Single (2009). Written by Norah Jones. Norah, Norah, Norah…she is by far one of the best artists of the twenty-first century. As always, graceful music, interesting songwriting, and mature vocals from a young artist who debuted with eight Grammys back in 2002. For some reason, I dislike listening to Christmas music during Christmastime (on my iPod, at least. Things are always different on the radio), but this song was easy to listen to, and I loved listening to it even when December had long past. Perhaps it’s because it’s not just a Christmas song—it’s more a song about the month of December, or it may be an allegory for lost love, as almost all songs are. Definitely recommended. Score: 9/10

"Goodbyes" by Savannah Outen from Goodbyes - Single (2008). Written by Savannah Outen. I found this song completely by accident--I heard it on Vimeo (the MV was used an ad break song). I thought it was okay at first, just really catchy, and after I looked it up, it seemed to become...well, even catchier. After awhile, it kind of...well, it wears off on you. Savannah Outen, fresh out from YouTube fame, certainly has much talent as a singer (especially for her age--watch out, Taylor Swift), though is probably a little lacking on songwriting (apparently she wrote this song, and though apparently she wrote it as a middle schooler, it doesn't seem to have been written with added finesse later). I honestly think this is a fun song, especially for a graduation, and it's fun to perform on the guitar (and if you check out the video, Savannah has a wicked awesome acoustic guitar. I. Want. It. And I do need a new guitar), but it's definitely not a great song. This artist certainly has a lot of potential, provided she doesn't take the well-worn Radio Disney route. Score: 7/10

After you've listened to some, all, or none of those songs above, how about giving your opinion on some songs you found lately, or even the ones above? Sign up on the Mr Linky below, and happy listening!