I have certainly been slacking it letting you all know about the new music I’ve been checking out lately, so here’s a whole bunch of songs from a whole bunch of people!
Fever 333
“$wing” – Fun stylizing aside, this new track from the newest version of Fever 333 still has a lot of the same classic sound fans, myself included, have come to know and love, but it really leans into the crunk-core nature of their work. Don’t ask me why, but this song immediately made me think of Warped Tour and I think this song would have gone SO HARD with the crowd. A loss. For now! Who knows, maybe it’ll come back someday. Lyrically, this song is also strong, as it continues to address the injustices black people have faced and still do.
Dogstar
“Breach” – As someone who did know Keanu Reeves was in a band and that they played a few shows recently, I did not know that meant new music was on the horizon. What better time than in the middle of the SAG strike?! Given that the new record comes out next month though, I have to imagine this was in the works for a while. This will be their first record since 2000! Admittedly, what really got me to check out this new single was seeing that the band was going to be playing at local venue in the fall. As someone who loves celebrities, I could not miss out on this, and to my delight, the new single is awesome! It’s cool, catchy, and most definitely could have been longer! I’ll be checking out all of their stuff as the show approaches, so look out.
30 Seconds to Mars
“Seasons” – As more and more singles from 30 Seconds to Mars’ upcoming release get dropped, I become more and more disappointed with what I’m hearing. “Stuck” was at least insanely catchy. For that I can forgive its extremely pop-facing sound and beat, but this latest single has to be the most BASIC top 40 sounding song I’ve heard from them. They couldn’t even make up for it with profound lyrics. As one could probably guess, this song just talks about how relationships will hold up as the “seasons” pass.
Fall Out Boy
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” – As someone who doesn’t know a whole lot of Billy Joel’s catalog, I can confirm that I definitely know this track and I love it. So I was excited to hear one of my favorite band’s take on it. The basic melody of the track is there, but the guitars are strong and the lyrics are current. It’s really quite sad how many bombings, shootings, and other horrible things were in this updated version, but that is our reality. It doesn’t seem like enough people are trying to put the fire out. Aside from all the bad, we also get a lot of pop culture references including actors, musicians, and sports figures. As someone who really liked their Michael Jackson cover of “Beat It,” this was equally awesome.
Slot Machine
“Free Fall” – I think at this point it should come as no surprise that I am obsessed with the Thai BL drama, KinnPorsche. What sealed its fate in my heart started first with their opening credit song! To be fair, they also play versions of this song all throughout the series, but it’s a great song and deserves to be heard in more places! What’s really interesting about this song is that there are two versions of it. Obviously, my preference is for the English version only because that’s the language I speak, but it was really neat to learn that the lyrics are in fact different for both versions. Apparently the Thai version represents Kinn’s thoughts, feelings, emotions, story, etc. while the English version is Porsche’s reaction to it all. Very cool! If anything, at least give this song a try!
Jeff Satur
“Dum Dum” – As the KinnPorsche obsession continues to consume my life, you know I had to check out the music created by Jeff Satur (so attractive and talented it’s almost unfair). Similar to the Slot Machince song for the show, Jeff too offers Thai and English versions of most of his work. The official version of this song actually mixes Thai and a bit of English, though I did listen to the full English versions (recorded and live). It’s a true mix of pop and rock, with a really sultry and catchy beat paired with the bridge and the chorus. I find myself humming bits of it throughout the day, but I think it will take me a few more listens to fully love this track.