Music

There is a bit of irony in the fact that “No Surrender”, the song containing the lyric in the title of this post, clocks in at 4:02. God knows how long it would last if the Boss did it in concert – at least 10 minutes, I’d guess.

But we’ll leave the Springsteen to Chris Christie. Let’s talk three minute songs. As a kid who grew up on bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols, I like short, hard-driving songs. As someone who appreciates brevity, I think a good short pop song is an underrated and difficult art form. So let me name a few three minute songs that are from the last 10 years or so. None of them are masterpieces. I think they’re all pretty good. And, shit, they’re under three minutes long — it’s not like you’re making a major investment in time listening to them.

I’ll start with Cuffing Season by Beach Bunny (2:58 on the album, the YouTube version has a few seconds of silent padding). It’s the song that made me think of this post. It also introduced me to the concept of cuffing season, and the lyrics are a great commentary on the ambivalence of an affair that may be just be a convenience to ward off the cold. I also really like the phrasing.

Strawberry Blond from the cleverly titled album “Retired from Sad, New Career in Business” by Mitski is a fun little song, and at 1:58 is under two minutes of your precious life. What a beautiful voice she has, and this little piece showcases it.

I’ll finish up with a live version of the song “Love Doesn’t Just Stop” (2:41) from a group called Standard Fare, long dissolved, performed in a studio in Austin when they were there for South by Southwest ten years ago. You can feel the band’s excitement, the lyrics are simple but smart, and the lead singer, Emma Kupa, just belts it out (her delivery makes the song, in my view). That drummer is having the time of his life.

(Another track from the same lead singer that’s longer that 3 minutes but still fun is Boy Look at What You Can’t Have Now (3:42). It’s about a girl who broke up with her boyfriend, “put a stone on her hips became size 12” and makes sure her ex knows how hot she is, and that he can’t have her. )

Drop your favorite 3 minute or less song in the comments.

We Learned More From a Three Minute Record, Baby Than We Ever Learned in SchoolPost + Comments (145)

What’s your favorite band or performer that you discovered in 2019? It doesn’t have to be music made in 2019 – just something you found last year. Here’s mine – Cigarettes After Sex. Their new album, Cry, dropped last Fall, but they’ve been around for a while. Honorable mention – Big Thief.

Also, whoever gave KEXP a bunch of money for their new performance space, and the money to make really good performance videos, is showing other rich people how rich people ought to spend a little bit of their money, even after we institute higher taxes.

2019 Music DiscoveryPost + Comments (83)

Ric Ocasek died yesterday at the age of 75, and it made me very sad. The Cars are a quintessential American rock band from an era that is long gone- with short singable songs and good guitar with a nice mix of synth, and when I listen to them it always brings me back to a good place when I was a kid and listening to them on the jukebox at the college inn or listening to their albums while lying on the floor of the college radio station. They are probably best known for their 1984 album Heartbeat City which featured the song Drive, among others, but for me The Cars, Candy-O, Panorama, and Shake it Up are a pretty amazing four album stretch, and there is literally not a bad song on their debut self-titled album The Cars.

I’ve always considered myself a closet Cars fan, as I have all their albums and frequently have them on my iphone rotation. When I say “secret,” I don’t mean out of embarrassment, but because no one ever comes out and says “OH MAN I LOVE THE FUCKING CARS THEY ARE THE BEST BAND IN THE WORLD” because everyone, including me, will look at you and say “No, they’re not.” But what they were was a GREAT band that really fit the time and the zeitgeist, and after listening to five albums from The Cars (1978) to 1984’s Heartbeat City, it is a timeless sound that will still be worth a listen in another 30-40 years. That’s something pretty impressive, and there is something to be said for music like the Cars, which is very accessible to the masses (Marshall Crenshaw comes to mind). You don’t have to be a pretentious music snob to like the Cars- you just have to have ears.

RIP, Ric. Thanks.

RIP, Ric OcasekPost + Comments (175)