Rolling Through. . .

I recently came across some random song reviews that I never posted:

"Umbilical Town" by Gary Jules

While best known for his song "Mad World" featured in Donny Darko, Gary Jules also wrote some other, well, sensitive folk-tinged songs. Over a bed of picked acoustics, Gary asks: "Can I please come over"? Why ask, Gary? "The money's gone, I'm broken". He sounds like a guy who's got no more dice to throw down. Just his empty hands and a good heart. A song of devotion. A summer song of warm nights and walks alone in humid evenings. 

"Slow Burn" By Kacey Musgroves

Close your eyes and imagine that Taylor Swift smokes a lot of weed. Now open them- and here's Kacey Musgroves. This country pop-gold cut features cute lines: "grandma cried when I pierced my nose" (which I used to think was tacky but now I think is sorta brilliant) sexy lines: "good on grass/ good on green/ good when you're putting your hands all over me" and cosmic statements, or at least lines that suggest a capacious mind: "in Tennessee/ the suns going down/ but in Bejing they're heading out to work". Again, I thought that was corny at first. We get it, time zones exist. But when I think about this song more I've realized these lines are bold- and confront the world in a dreamy, self assured manner. The acoustic guitar in the beginning sets the tone for the whole enterprise. It's warm, a little hazy, but it has a center. 

"Lost Ones" by Lauryn Hill

Ms. Lauryn Hill. What can I say. She's like a prophet. She's preaching and casting judgement on evil. Her verbal attacks bust down doors and don't take any prisoners. This song doesn't lie down and wait to die. It's so f****** good. 

"Ivy" by Frank Ocean

Frank Ocean has a beautiful voice. Here, it's paired with with a weird, twisted up jingly electric guitar that sounds like a million thoughts bouncing in an alleyway, or something. Frank's gracious in his memory of a former lover. Grace is the word. Everyone is afforded it, even in the midst of frantic thoughts. I like how he yells in parts. 

"Mystery of Love" by Sufjan Stevens

A classic song from Sufjan Stevens. He's so tender, so sensitive, so in tune with the inner workings of the heart. His guitar playing runs circles around the soul. "Lord, I no longer believe" (my favorite line).