Episode 9 – Interview with Samantha Munroe
February 27, 2023
Welcome to Songs That Don’t Suck, with your host, Mark Bradbourne. Welcome to Episode 9. I am Mark, your Gen X musical Mr. Miyagi, here with your next installment of Songs That Don’t Suck. Now, when I started the podcast, I wondered to myself, what would happen if there was a week that was completely barren of music that didn’t suck? We were very, very close this week. But I am in luck, and you are in luck, because I’ve got a special guest interview for you to enjoy this week. Also, I’m going to talk about the Brite Winter Music Festival that happened here in Cleveland this past weekend, and I’ll talk about a couple of songs that barely made the cut. It was so bad I’m not even going to feature any of these songs, it’s just we’re going to talk about them.
Let’s start with Brite Winter. So from Brite Winter’s website, they describe it as a typical February evening in the West Bank of the Flats being pretty quiet, but not so during Brite Winter. The non-profit festival brings together people of all ages, incomes, and backgrounds, allowing them to discover new music and art and enjoy their community. So Brite Winter started 10 years ago, and it’s moved around to different locations downtown. It’s hosted tens of thousands of people at this point, hundreds of bands, lots of different artists, and the temperatures range anywhere from eight degrees to the highest ever was around 70. It’s an amazing event that happens between New Year’s and St. Pat’s, and it’s so on brand for Cleveland.
The story this year goes Saturday morning, a very good friend of mine, multiple-time bandmate Rob texted me and asked if I was going to go to Brite Winter, and initially I was like, nah, I’m not going to go this year. And he replied with a sad emoji, and apparently when it comes to live music, that is all of the guilt I need because I then responded, you’ve talked me into it. And now to be honest, I had a glorious evening of nothingness planned, just sitting on the couch doing nothing, so this was a much better alternative. And as I purchased my ticket, I realized that I’d never actually been to Brite previously. Now the main reason for this was February is generally a very busy time for me. We’ve got a lot of family birthdays. I used to travel for work during February a lot, and honestly, I grew up in Florida. I’m not a huge fan of the cold, but all of those things combined made it not a big deal for me to miss. So anyway, ticket acquired, right? I head out to meet with Robin Brie, met up, bounced between a bunch of the stages and saw a bunch of Cleveland-based bands as well as regional bands and some pretty established acts. We saw Big Pop, we saw Fox Royale from Joplin, Missouri. We saw the Rosies, who are Lake Erie surf punk. We saw Signals Midwest, which is basically Midwest emo to your heart’s content. Saw Free Black, and the headliner was Welshly Arms. Now Welshly Arms, you might remember, they had a pretty decent-sized hit legendary back, I think, in 2017. Standing out in the cold for multiple hours is not for the weak of heart. This is why the festival happens in Cleveland, and the crowd was huge, engaged, and happily bouncing between the three stages to catch the 21 different bands that played from 3 p. m. until just before midnight. And there was food trucks, there’s beverages, there’s fire pits, art installations, just a good time all around. To all the bands that performed that we saw, y’all were fantastic, and a couple of them actually engaged with the show as I was tweeting out photos. And I’ll just say it here, I told them, great sets. Now for the headliner, Welshly Arms, I’ve been listening to them for years, but I’ve never actually had the chance to see them live. And now I regret my life choices, because they’re fantastic, they are amazing live. And during the set, towards the end of the set, they mentioned they have a new album coming out, they had brought basically some unreleased vinyl of that new album. I don’t have a record player, so I did not buy one. But the new album will be coming out later this year. And in a couple of months, they’re going to be headed off to Europe for a series of dates for a European tour. So to kick this episode off, let’s play one of those new songs that I’m going to assume is coming off the new album. This is Welshly Arms, and the song is called Proud.
This week I have got a special treat, something outside of my normal format. I am joined by a special guest and I’m going to have that special guest introduce herself right now.
Hi, I’m Samantha. I work for a startup that was acquired by Warner called SodaTone, where we basically help A&Rs and people in marketing as well discover artists, track artists, use data and insights to just find the best stuff out there.
Yeah. Okay, so that seems like, so what is your role in that company? And I’m sorry, say the name of the company again?
SodaTone.
SodaTone, okay.
Yeah, so I’m kind of like an analyst. We all work with like territory specific and kind of work as like customer success managers just to kind of make sure like they know what’s going on in the platform. We kind of keep open communication with them and then I work on like any kind of like data quality stuff as well. So with any kind of like online platform, you know, you just got to be in it all the time and kind of working through the stuff.
Okay, so just to get a baseline. So what type of music do you like, like genres? And then just for folks listening, what is your generation? Because me being Generation X, that’s kind of where it’s all posed, but you are considerably younger than I am, I feel.
I have been a country music lover since I was a kid. So I feel like that kind of puts me in a group who is always super lame growing up, but I feel like country music is kind of becoming cool again, you know, I think I’m like right on the edge of Gen Z millennial. So like I’m definitely on the bit older side of the Gen Z, but a bit young on the millennial side.
Got it. Okay. All right. So now we’re we’re set. Good. So when you’re looking at data around artists, what are you, what are you looking for?
Yeah, I think everybody’s, you know, looking at like a broad general bunch of stuff. So like, we’ll look at streaming, obviously is a super important thing. You want to make sure that artists are like engaged with their fans, like not only just on Spotify, but also like outside of Spotify, like how is that translating to Instagram? And like, are people actually liking their posts as opposed to just like following them? And just kind of putting all the like pieces of that puzzle together? Like, what kind of playlists are they on? Like, what does that kind of say about who their audience may be? And like putting all those pieces together to figure out like who that artists are, who they’re targeting, maybe like intentionally or not intentionally. And then, you know, we’re always looking TikToks, the hot new thing. So we’re always looking at TikTok and stuff and how they’re engaging with their fans there as well.
Okay. So you’re really looking at artists that are moving towards viral, then?
Exactly. I think it’s kind of like a mix of both, though. Like, obviously, everybody wants to know about the viral hits because those make waves. But I think there are just there’s so much music and people engage with their fans in so many different ways that just because something’s viral doesn’t mean it’s the only way to be a good artist or a successful artist or get a record deal. So I think there’s also like lots of other artists who slowly build really great fanmases. And those are really important artists to keep an eye out for as well.
At what point do you take longevity over virility?
I think our job is kind of just to like send it all because so basically we’ll send it out to teens. And then that’s kind of their specialty, their lane. So like they’ll kind of decide what they like, what they don’t like, and kind of pick out the things. But when you’re just looking at data, I can be listening to stuff and be like, yeah, I don’t like this and this is not my cup of tea. But it’s somebody’s cup of tea, like it’s translating, you know? So you kind of have to be as impartial about it as you can be.
This is the wrong show for the impartiality. So has anything surprised you in this process? Like how long have you been in the role? And like, has there been anything that’s really just kind of shocked you in the way that these things kind of happen?
Yeah, so I’m going on my fifth year in this role. And it’s like obviously changed a lot. So this is my first job like outside of university. So I’ve kind of like grown quite a bit in this role. But I think what’s shocking the most of like having so much data is just like, how like global music really is like this stuff that’s resonating. Yeah, I even just think like Bad Bunny, being like the top streamed artists on this Spotify and Apple Music, these past two years, not that people are overlooking Bad Bunny by any means or Latin music. But it’s just so interesting that so many people are resonating with the kind of music that is not in their language. And I never saw myself not not liking that music, but like not it not resonating with me. And now like, I totally love that kind of music. I love his new album. It’s so cool. I have no idea what he’s saying. But he’s saying something and he’s saying something that he believes in. And that’s so cool. You know, and it’s like music really, it’s not, I used to always think like, oh, I’m only gonna listen to English music, obviously. But, you know, music doesn’t really have a language, you can really like tell when an artist is passionate. I think that’s what’s been so cool about this whole working in the industry thing.
Very cool. So for, for music fans like me, kind of give me your state of the industry. Like, what do you think like the current trends are? Where do you see it going? You know, kind of down the road. I know it’s kind of hard to put a finger on, but, but you’re close to the data. And myself as a data professional, I feel like people who are close to the data can find the trends. So I’m curious kind of where you’re seeing things moving.
Yeah, I think TikTok is still as long as the US government doesn’t ban it. I think that will still be a really good medium for artists to showcase their music. And like, I think that’s just going to be a part of the equation now. Just like, you know, when Instagram first started, artists had to kind of adapt and kind of put that in their routine of promoting their music. So I think that’s just like part of the equation now. And yeah, it’s kind of built off the like bad bunny Latin part. I just think music is just becoming more global, becoming more genre-less, like more and more of the most popular artists in the world, like Billie Eilish, like, yeah, she’s pop, but she’s also alternative. And she’s also like, I just think artists will be less pigeonholed as just so much stuff gets released. And you almost need to be unique to kind of stand out and saying something different or in a different way.
Completely agree. Like I’ve noticed, because the last eight weeks, nine weeks, I’ve been really listening to a lot of new music, which I hadn’t been doing in the past. And like, when I was first starting to do it, I was really trying to put things in buckets like, Oh, this is an alternative artist. But I think all of the influences that everybody is taking from like, it’s created this very much a melting pot of genres where you hear alt country with, you know, pop and alternative.
And it’s, it’s very interesting, the more and more new music I listen to. And I think that’s what makes music a better place. Like, if you think about the music you listen to, you don’t just listen to pop music or rock music. So why should we expect the artists that we like to just listen to the genre of music that they’re in? You know, like, I think music is most interesting when people are pushing the boundaries of their genre of like themselves. And yeah, I don’t want to listen to the same thing. You know, unless there’s something cool, something like, even if I don’t like it, if it’s super unique, I’m like, wow, this person was like, really trying to do something here. And like, even though it’s not for me, it’s definitely for somebody else, you know?
Yeah, absolutely. So what is your take on technology in music? So I’ve been kind of ranting and raving a bit about auto tune and AI generated music. And then it started to move into like artists when they perform live, they’ve got backing tracks and you know, the whole hologram thing will just kind of leave off to the side. But like, you come from a different point of view. So I’m just curious to see what your take is on like the auto tune and AI stuff.
Yeah. In terms of AI, like, I don’t know that I know a ton about it to like comment on it. I think, you know, just from my perspective, it seems like right now, it’s not in a place where it could replace the passion of an artist or like the performance of an artist, you know, I still think that’s a pretty special sacred kind of thing. And then in terms of auto tune, I, I think I’m pro auto tune sometimes, I think there’s like a time in a place. And I think you can do cool things with auto tune, like the things I like Billie Eilish and her brother, I’m really coming off as a huge Billie Eilish fan. I like her, but I don’t show my favorite artists. But the things they do with auto tune, I think is interesting. Like, I don’t want to, I don’t mean to call out T pain right now, but like, I don’t want to go back to that heavy auto tune stage. But I think there is a time and a place. And yeah, and I think almost everything uses auto tune now, just kind of like the state of the industry, basically. And I think it almost makes sometimes like those raw, vocal live performance stuff, more special in some ways or like a different way of seeing it, you know?
Yeah. Now, I mean, I’ve admitted that so I’ve played in bands over the last 20 years. And the last band we were in the studio, we, we absolutely used auto tune if the singer was kind of off pitch, just for like a single pitch. I think, yeah, to your point, like the whole T pain thing where it’s all auto tune. But here’s the fascinating thing about him. I’ve actually heard him sing without auto tune at all. And he’s got an amazing voice.
I know he’s crazy good.
Yeah. Oh, it kills me. So yeah, you’re probably right. Like time and place, very genre specific, I think. Yes. But there’s something about the raw artistry of just kind of having the raw voice. And, you know, sometimes that imperfection feels good.
Like, yeah, I agree with that.
So yeah, it’s a balance. I hope it doesn’t tip to go too far. But I feel like you’re right. Like the whole T pain era is gone. Yeah, I feel like, yeah, it’s not as bad, but it’s still like it bothers me when I can tell it’s happening.
Yeah. And I think that’s the thing about like anything production wise, or vocal wise, like, I don’t want it to lose the magic, like I don’t want to hear, you don’t want it to sound too perfect, basically. I never want it to sound manufactured. But yeah, I think there’s certain genres like top 40 pop, you do want it to sound so crisp and so right, you know?
Yeah.
So it’s hard to take that magic away, I guess. So do they ever let you out from behind the computer and like you get to go see these artists in person to like kind of take the gut feel with the data? Or is it all computer based? It’s all data, unfortunately. I do like to go to shows in my spare time. Concerts have become increasingly more expensive, I feel like since the pandemic. So I don’t go as much as I would like to. But yeah, it’s not a part of the job. It’s just something I like to kind of do.
So have you seen any of the artists that you’ve recommended to A&R?
No, not yet. Not yet.
Yeah, because I was curious if you like make an effort or does somebody make an effort to see them live before they kind of move into that next phase. Because one of the things, and this might be completely off base, one of the things that I feel is like a lot of these artists, they’re so focused on going viral that they don’t hone their craft on the stage.
I agree.
So I think the first time Lana Del Rey performed on SNL, that was her second performance ever. And she was already had a huge hit. Whereas Dave Matthews was playing in every frat house and bar they could play in. So by the time their albums hit the mainstream and they had a hit, you’re seeing them live for the first time. And it’s their 1,000th show.
Yeah. I think there’s certain genres of music where live performance still has such a credibility factor. Certain sub-genres of country music, like if you don’t have a good live show, it’s basically a gut punch to your fans. And I do think it is hard for some of these kids who went viral in the pandemic or really started to hone their craft and their music during the pandemic. So they didn’t have an opportunity to do that. You know what I mean? So I don’t want to knock like everybody who doesn’t have like the perfect live show. Because I think, you know, you got to take into account some of these artists are so young. Like I feel like growing up, it was like, they’re so old. They’re so much older than me. And now like I would be a pretty old artist, you know? So if they missed out on like the last three years of touring, it’s just tough, you know?
No, it’s true. And it’s funny because I’ll watch, you know, when stuff hits YouTube, you know, like the iHeart radio concert thing they do out in Vegas. And you watch some of these acts, you’re like, oh, you just look awkward on stage.
Yeah, they’re working on it. They’re working on it. Yeah. So is there, is there anything that you found recently that you want to kind of tip us off to? Like any, any, any new artists that you’re like, this person’s going to be huge in the next couple of weeks. And we should just get a jump on it now. Oh man, there’s some people that I’m like, are already like quite established. But I’m like, I just want to, I can’t shut up about them, basically. I don’t know if you’ve listened to Zach Bryan yet, but I heard his name today. Oh my gosh, you got to just go play his album. It’s like 36 tracks. It’s unbelievable. But a very like no auto tune guy, like started on Twitter of all places. And yeah, badass songwriting. He’s obviously like quite established now. I think somebody who’s been like opening up for him was kind of like similar. This guy named Charles Wesley Godwin. He’s also like kind of large too. But man, he’s awesome. This like new wave of country artists, they can just write songs like it’s nobody’s business. And it’s so awesome.
Okay. So I was a country fan in the 90s. Yeah. And I, the country that I hear today is a lot of what I call bro country.
Like it’s the complete opposite.
Okay. So it’s, it, it feels more like country rather than having an 808 like drum track.
Okay. It’s almost like folksy. Like it’s almost like Bob Dylan.
Yeah. I’m in. Say less. I’m in.
Yeah. And Charles Wesley Godwin just came out with this like live album from a church. It’s unbelievable. No auto tune. So you can like, yeah. You’re already catering to me. I like this. Um, yeah. Oh yeah. And then like, I do love pop music. I was thinking, because I saw that your daughter react recommendedly in a firestone. I love this girl, Maddie Zan, like total similar kind of vein. Um, yeah, super honest songwriting, like gut punch, like, man, I’ve like haven’t felt that exactly. But I felt that adjacent and that hits hard.
You know, we’ll have to, I’ll have to pass that by her and see if it’ll get the, the Jenna stamp of approval. Um, all right. Any, anything that I should have asked that I didn’t, what am I missing?
Yeah, I don’t know. I, so I before this, I’m going to turn this on you. I listened to your first, well, I’ve listened to a couple of your episodes and I listened to your first episode, because I wanted like a stage at the union, like what kind of music do you like? And it was awesome. I love that you said you’re a music junkie. I was like, I feel that in my soul, you know? And yeah, it’s just interesting. I feel like there are music junkies and non music junkies. And I, growing up, because I was such a music junkie, I just assumed everybody’s obsessed with music like this. And then, you know, you grow up to get into the real world and like, you’re like, yeah, not everybody is interested in it as me. Um, yeah, I just love that way of looking at it. And, you know, it’s awesome to talk to people about music. I feel like it puts everybody on like an even playing field, you know, like it’s like, you can talk to anybody about, you know, your favorite music if you’re both into music, you know, even if you don’t like even close to the same stuff.
Right. Like, I can’t honestly tell you, I’ve listened to a Bad Bunny song.
You should.
Well, the part of it is like, I want to understand that like, I like to connect with lyrics. And if I don’t know what they’re saying, like, I feel very lost, you know, I can, I can dig the rhythm. I can dig the melodies. But like, I have to connect to a vocal and, you know, a verse to really have it hit home. So, um, yeah, unfortunately, I mean, in the new music playlist, I do hear a lot of, um, Latin pop that comes through. And like the minute the lyric hits, I’m like, ah, like, I like, I really want to feel this, but I just can’t.
Oh, I after, I honestly, I didn’t really get it for forever because every, you know, everybody’s been talking about him for like the last five years, I feel like. And obviously, he’s become like more and more part of the conversation. And I watched his Grammy performance, and I was like, this energy is just like incredible. Like, how can you bottle this up? And I listened to the album, I actually like sat down and gave the full album a chance. And I was like, the energy was here the whole time. I just like wasn’t willing to give it a shot, you know, man,
maybe, maybe I have to like force myself to listen more. But it’s old dogs and new tricks, right? Like, I just, I love lyrics.
I know, I feel like it should be like when you’re first getting to know someone, it should be like, what’s your favorite lyric, you know? Because I feel like it says so much about a person and the way that they talk about it also says, you know, like, you’re so passionate about it. Because it’s like, it rocks, it changed your life that like one, two lines, you know, I think that’s, yeah, I think when I went, so I went to school in Nashville to take like an actual music business degree. And yeah, yeah, I guess that’s like a kind of interesting part of my story. And sort of learning about like all these different parts of the industry, because like growing up in Canada, and I feel like most kids growing up, and most people don’t really know that there’s like a business side to the music industry. And we started learning about like music publishing, which is basically the side that like takes care of like songwriters and like making sure that everything is kind of taking care there. And I was like, obviously, there’s this side of the music business, but like, I never would have thought, you know, it’s just crazy. Because, yeah, I think what’s so, and this is a super long rambly thing, but what’s so special about music is that it starts with the lyrics and the melody, and it starts with the song. And I think any time I feel like, oh, man, I don’t like anything that came out this week, it’s all kind of trash. You know, you got your comfort album, your comfort songs that are like music rocks, you know. Yeah. And it’s so funny, in doing this podcast, as I hear music, and if it reminds me of something else, I actually go back and revisit it. But yeah, so I’ll, like, Leanna Firestone is a great example.
The first song that Jenna played for me was…
Is it like the Diet Coke?
No. So Diet Coke was the first one. And then Just Attention was the other one that’s just F-bomb laden. And it reminded me of Annie DeFranco. She sings a song called Untouchable Face, which has the same kind of repetitive F-bombing. And I was like, oh, and then all of a sudden I’m listening to that whole catalog. I mean, she’s like writing books now and not doing so much music anymore. But then I found a cover of kind of the lead song from Hades Town from Broadway that she performed with a bunch of other artists. I’m just like, it’s great because it’s making me revisit the old catalogs and like artists that I haven’t thought about in years. So it’s not only bringing new music into my life, it’s re-delivering old music that I kind of like left behind. So it’s been, it’s been really interesting.
I love that. I also love, like, I’m the type of person that gets, like, hyperfixated on the song and, like, we’ll play it. Like, the whole week will be just dedicated to that song. I’ll listen to other stuff, but I’ll always, like, revisit that track. And when it takes you back to, like, a time or a place, like, we used to go on a bunch of road trips when I was a kid. And I used to just, like, sit with my iPod, like, playing, like, the albums through. And, yeah, it takes you back. You listen to it and you’re like, I remember where I was when I was listening to these songs. It’s, yeah, transformative experience.
Oh, yeah. I have music that will remind me of people from my life. Like, you know, if I went to a show with them or we experienced something or we were on a road trip, like you said, and I’ll hear that song randomly and I’m just like, oh, I should call that person.
Yes. Yes. Oh, I also wanted to ask you, I was, yeah, because I was listening to the first episode, you find it harder to find music now than you did, like, 20, 15 years ago?
I do. And I think there’s a couple of things at play. One, there was the whole record store experience that I talked about on the podcast. But also, when we were in school or, you know, when I was in college or even in high school, people would trade cassettes and CDs, like they would burn CDs and be like, hey, Mark, check this artist out. And there’s that social sharing aspect of music that has disappeared. Yeah. There’s actually a cool app that I discovered recently. And it’s called, hang on, I’m going to open it, Lifetracks, T-R-A-X-X. And it gets into the social sharing of music. So like, you’ll be playing something on Spotify and you’re like, oh, I want to share this with people that follow me. And you can do that. So it’s really small at this point, like it just launched a little bit ago. But it’s so far, it’s fascinating.
Well, yeah, I will check it out.
But yeah, I feel like the whole streaming aspect of music, you know, and kind of the death of the record store, you know, although, I mean, there’s still record stores, but I feel like there’s a social aspect of music that just doesn’t happen anymore. So yeah, I agree. I also think in some ways, like the pandemic didn’t really help it, you know, it didn’t, like shows don’t feel exactly the same. I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a show, but I was gonna say, I went and saw Iron Maiden back in October, I guess. That was fantastic. Like, sold out on the floor, crowds going wild. That felt like it had been. Prior to that, I had gone and seen Judas Priest on their like 70th anniversary tour, or whatever it is. And that was just, there was people still in masks. And yeah, and I mean, everybody to their own comfort level, right?
Yeah, for sure.
There’s just, yeah, I think there’s still some people who are a little bit uneasy about being in those large publics. Hopefully, as we kind of move further and further away, we get to see less and less of that. Yeah. I got my dad tickets to see that tour too, I think. That was a great show. The fact that Rob Hallford’s 80 and can still do all the the wailing is just incredible. So anyway, Samantha, I just I want to thank you for being my musical insider.
Absolutely.
Maybe we’ll have you back at some point.
Yes, let’s do it.
And just chat a little bit more. You can give me the scoop on all the artists that you’re finding.
This has been Samantha Monroe from Soda Tone, which is a subsidiary of Warner Music. And thanks again for joining me.
Thank you for having me.
Thanks again to Samantha for joining me for that interview. As someone who works in data analytics, it was a really fascinating conversation. And after we stopped the interview, we continued to chat for a little bit and I think she’s going to come on, you know, not super regularly, but every now and then as we see some things, she might become a fixture here on the show, which will be fantastic. All right, let’s deal with some housekeeping as always.
Please, please, please follow, share, review the podcast on your platform of choice. Mondays is the full version that has the music embedded in it. Wednesdays is the Cliff Notes version. The Monday episode comes out on Spotify only. Cliff Notes version comes out everywhere.
I am all over social media. I highly encourage you to follow me on Twitter, because that is the easiest thing for me to do. But I do post on Instagram, on Facebook, and on TikTok every now and then. Twitter is where I post the most, though. So follow me there.
We are coming to the end of the sharing is caring giveaway if you want a chance to win a three month Spotify premium subscription. All you have to do is share something on social media and tag the show. Tell people what you think of the show, why they should listen to the show. You can enter on all four of the social media platforms I exist on. Just make sure you tag me so I see it. And if you don’t have social media and you just want to do it via email, you can blind see see me. The email address is mark at songs that don’t suck. net. That is Mark with a K. And just tell people what’s going on with the show. Make sure you include a link to the website or to the podcast site, whatever. Just let them know how to find it. The contest runs through March 5th, I’ll announce the winner on March 6th to all those who have shared. I appreciate it. And we’ll see who wins in a couple of weeks. Lastly, let’s send in those top five drinking songs. A couple of ways to do that. And it doesn’t have to be five. You can go to songs that don’t suck. net, submit the songs via the form that is there on the website. Or if you see a social media post where I am calling for the drinking songs, just respond and send me the one or two songs that you want to share. We’ll add them to the list. We’ve got a great playlist going. And it’s going to make for a great St. Patty’s Day playlist. So send those songs in. And for a little inspiration to get those last few submissions in, because I’ll be doing this next episode, we’ll be talking top five drinking songs next episode. Here is Noah Kahan with Stick Season.
Noah Kahan – Stick Season
If you haven’t heard Noah Kahan before, I highly recommend go checking out his album. It is utterly fantastic. Noah is one of these artists that Jenna has tipped me to. She found him just before he started to blow up. And it seems like everywhere you turn now, he is there. So if you haven’t heard of him yet, time to get on the bandwagon there.
All right, let’s jump into some new music, shall we? So for those listening for the first time, 30,000 foot view of how I find music, there is a bunch of Spotify new music playlists. Most of them suck. But I go through and listen to about 30 seconds of every song they put on those new music playlists as painful as that is. If something catches my ear, I’ll listen to the whole thing. I’ll pull songs that I want to continue to review onto a kind of private playlist. And then the best of those from that playlist will end up in the show. Now this week, Jesus, it was not great. I started with a private playlist of 12 songs to initially kind of review. And the more and more I listened over the weekend, I was just like, this sucks. Why did I pull this? What did I hear in this? And I kept trying to listen to them and I was just like, no, these are not good. They are not going to go into the show. And I ended up with two songs. So the first song that we’re going to talk about this week is The Moss and it’s called Chaparral.
the moss – Chaparral
This is the second appearance for The Moss on songs that don’t suck. You might remember the first song that I highlighted from them was a song called Blink. And if I’m comparing the two songs, I liked Blink a lot more. But one of the things that drew me to Blink is one of the things this song has in spades. So as you’re listening to that, it starts with this kind of straight ahead rock groove that’s happening and then breaks down into this halftime change. And then it goes into this reggae feel. So they’re playing with feels and time and they’re just not afraid to experiment. And that’s honestly the thing that I loved about this song. And also it took me a few times to listen to it before I just wasn’t utterly confused about what they were doing. There’s also something very appealing for me to his voice. I really love the lead singer’s voice. There’s a good tone to it, but there’s also this moment where you feel like his voice is stretching to hit the note. And it just adds a little bit of that raw vocal that I really like, that it’s not being overproduced. And that’s why they are here for the second time. So check out the moss into their deeper catalog. This latest song, Chaparral, came off of their EP. So it’s good stuff.
Now the second song this week, and I’m not featuring either of these. They’re just songs that are going to be in the podcast, but the second song this week is from probably one of my favorite current bands, and that is The Struts. And they’ve released an acoustic version recorded live of their newest single, and that song is called Fallin’ With Me.
The Struts – Fallin’ With Me
That was The Struts with an acoustic version of Falling With Me. I first heard The Struts live. I was at a Foo Fighters concert and they were the opening act. Actually I kind of half-listened to the opening act, but their lead singer, Luke, does not allow you to half-listen. When he came out on stage, they opened with their song Put Your Hands Up, and there was no denying his stage energy and just the bands want to entertain. Completely blown away by them, and you know, great opener, honestly, for the Foo Fighters. And then I remember going home and like just consuming everything that they had released and became a huge fan of theirs, and I love a good live recording in this acoustic version I thought was pretty cool too. So not much more to say about The Struts, just a huge fan of theirs, and I hope you enjoyed that track.
So that is it for this week. Two songs were worth talking about, and I’ve got to prepare for these weeks when there is no music to really talk about, because we’ve got another, what, 45 weeks or so of the year, 44 weeks, and this is going to happen again. And I’m not always going to have a fantastic interview with Samantha Monroe. I’m going to have to prepare some things. So I’m going to start brainstorming about special episodes. If you’ve got any ideas, let me know. I’ve got a couple things percolating, and we’ll see where it goes. But until next time, hang in there, and I wish you all the best, and I hope you have a fantastic week. Zach, take us home.
Thanks for listening, and until next week, keep searching for and listening to songs that don’t suck.
