THE ANTI-HIT LIST
AN ALTERNATIVE TOP 10
10. “Every If nothing METALLICA James else, Hetfield you have ‘Yea’. to admire . . Ever” the taken sheer one pig-headedness Kevin Conklin (conklinra- it must’ve dio.com) and compile to catalogue, the numerous locate, instances edit of loony the three-minute single word that exercise. comprises The this results sion of devotion, could be taken ridicule as or an both. expres- And while in highly the herky-jerky end product fashion, stutters the along same could be said of the original source material. Thanks to Blair Packham for pointing the way. (bit.ly/WlH2mG) 9. ED SHEERAN & PASSENGER “No Diggity/Thrift Shop” In a model example of two artists not taking themselves at all seriously, Sheeran and tour mate Mike (Passenger) Rosenberg turn in an amusingly unfunky medley of Blackstreet’s 1996 calling card (bit.ly/7Shgfw) and last year’s inane and profane online phenomenon from Ben (Macklemore) Haggerty and Ryan Lewis (bit.ly/O3crny), which, as of this writing, is closing in on 175 million YouTube views. Recorded for an Aussie radio show, this is goofy, ill-advised and almost impossible to dislike. (YouTube ID: DwdK4N1ZEjw) 8. BIRDS OF TOKYO “Lanterns” It took Bowie and Bon Jovi to displace this Perth band from the top of the album charts in Australia, and this anthemic single goes a long way to explaining why. “On we march with a midnight song/We will light our way with our lanterns on.” Commit those lines to memory. If you’re going to be singing along anyway, you might as
well know the words. (From March
Fires, YouTube ID: mbJ3vacGOhw) 7. KATE BOY “In Your Eyes” As with last year’s YouTube breakthrough “Northern Lights” (bit.ly/ U4sFTY), it’s not the chorus or the lyrics or the vocals you’ll remember from the latest single by Aussie singer-songwriter Kate Akhurst and Swedish writing/production team Rocket Boy. It’s the distinctive synth sound, which first bursts forth here around the 90-second mark. Once you’re hooked on that, everything else seems to snap effortlessly into focus. (YouTube ID: ngBwzR1ZQHE) 6. DIVINE FITS “Hungry Heart” This indie supergroup fronted by Spoon’s Britt Daniel, with alumni from Wolf Parade and New Bomb Turks, strips down to a couple of acoustic guitars, a miniature keyboard, and a single maraca to take on this scruffy, unplugged version of the Bruce Springsteen hit. Less rollicking than bloodshot, it sounds like therapy for getting rid of a hangover. Or learning to live with one. (YouTube ID: 4XrLRQZI2AI#!) 5. KACEY MUSGRAVES “Follow Your Arrow” This sarcastic/sensitive 24-year-old newcomer has co-written two of the best country songs of the past year, only one of which, “Merry Go ‘Round” (bit.ly/P3UDt0), graces her big-label debut. (The other, “Undermine” (bit.ly/RDoTeT), landed on the TV series Nashville, sung by actors Hayden Panettiere and Charles Esten (bit.ly/T5ztLY).) This rebel anthem may be more striking lyrically than musically, but we guarantee you won’t hear another mainstream country song this year that mentions “fat” and “crack” in the same couplet or whose chorus advises, “Roll up a joint or don’t.” (From Same Trailer
Different Park, bit.ly/147zUin) 4. THE SHILOHS “Get Ready Now” Any band that can recycle the riff from Otis Redding’s “Can’t Turn Me Loose” (bit.ly/1DSm0) one moment and name-drop country-rock trailblazers Dillard and Clark (bit.ly/ ZmvNd) the next clearly knows a thing or two about music. Judging by this mercilessly catchy highlight from their debut full-length, this Vancouver band also knows how to write pop songs, not just tip their hat to others’. In fact, their biggest accomplishment may be to do both without striking a single arch note. (From So Wild, bit.ly/16F7Ja5) 3. IAN McCULLOCH “Bring on the Dancing Horses (Orchestral Rework)” One of the two discs that comprise McCulloch’s first solo album in 10 years consists of live orchestral versions of Echo and the Bunnymen songs, including “The Killing Moon,” “Lips Like Sugar” and this majestic 1985 single (bit.ly/16Sq4d). Eighteen years of mileage is clearly evident in McCulloch’s raspy vocals, to which producer Youth (The Verve, Beth Orton) artfully applies strings and a touch of echo before concluding that they don’t require anything else. (From Holy Ghosts/Pro Patria Mori, out April 15, bit.ly/10Oe4PX) 2. SHLOHMO f. JEREMIH “Bo Peep (Do You Right)” On which L.A. producer Henry (Shlohmo) Laufer and smooth Chicago singer Jeremih (“Birthday Sex”) Felton collaborate on a sleek hip-hop ballad potent enough to unite fans of Frank Ocean, Flying Lotus, Miguel and Kendrick Lamar. It sounds like seduction and foreboding in equal measure. (bit.ly/Y2VnYx) 1. DONOVAN WOODS “Taft” Four things: 1) This is the first song we’ve ever heard about the 27th president of the United States. 2) Woods “was trying to write about the (sometimes imaginary, sometimes self-imposed) expectations on sons to outdo their fathers, but I didn’t really do that.” 3) “That Nathaniel Hawthorne quote about families rising and falling in America is also in there, or trying to be. To me, Hawthorne was talking about the idea that wealthy parents may tend to raise less-motivated children.” 4) “I wanted the song to sound frustrated, moody and ambitious, as I think Mr. Taft was. And probably I am.”(From
Don’t Get Too Grand, soundcloud.com/donovanwoods)
jsakamoto@thestar.ca