Why five? What is so special about the number five? People stop me in the street all the time and ask me, "Why, Jerry, why?! Why is it always FIVE!?!" Not really. No one ever stops me in the street. Mostly, because I don't walk in the street. That would be stupid and dangerous. But also because no one really reads this blog anyways so they have no idea it even exists.
I have always liked 5. It's easy to count by. I love that old Schoolhouse Rock song where the guy is playing hide-and-seek with a bunch of kids and he counts by fives. There were five Rolling Stones (in the classic line-up before Bill Wyman left). David picked up "five smooth stones" to battle Goliath. There were five original X-men before they became the most convoluted and impossible to follow soap-opera in all of comicdom. And there were arguably five Beatles. Yes, there were. George Martin played on the albums as much as any member of the band and was probably more responsible for their sound than they were.
Anyway, I just like five. It's not too few. It's not too many. It's just right. So, here are some new songs I want you to hear. Five, in fact. Not too many, not too few, just right. Here we go....
1. Montevideo - Blisses B. Part Mutemath, part Talking Heads, with a singer that at times hearkens back to Genesis-era Peter Gabriel and you've got Blisses B. Not sure where they came from or what their deal is, but it is refreshingly different, but not at the expense of the song. The songs on the album I downloaded from Noisetrade.com are odd and unconventional in their structure and approach, but very infectious and catchy. I couldn't find a video of this particular song but you can stream it from Noisetrade or by clicking this link. Check it out...
2. Look Closer (Can't You See the Signs?) - Saun & Starr. I don't know what sparked the Soul Train revival movement, but I love it! More and more new R&B artists are sounding more and more like the classic 70s soul artists that Don Cornelius used to introduce on TV when I was a kid. (If you were born in the 80s and have no idea what the heck I'm talking about, do a search for Soul Train TV show on YouTube and you will get it immediately.) This track with it's spacy, reverb-drenched congas and staccato funk guitar licks sounds like AM radio in 1972. It's not only an amazing authentic-sounding homage to artists like Isaac Hayes, Stylistics, and Rose Royce, but it's just a great song in its own right.
3. Dreaming - Charlie Whitten. Man, could it get any mellower than this? If Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Gary Wright's Dreamweaver got together, this would be their love child. Smooth, dreamy, and evocative of late seventies post-psychadelia. This track is the sonic equivalent of a really good massage -- relaxing and enjoyable without getting creepy at any point. Warning: Do not attempt to drive or operate heavy machinery while listening to this song. Also, if you have hay fever or suffer from allergies, you may want to turn your head and not look at the video.
4. Weep No More - Canton Junction. OK, this is a first and very likely a last on 5 Songs -- a Southern Gospel quartet. Let me just go on record and say officially, I am NOT a fan of this particular genre. I don't know if it's because I grew up being force-fed this stuff by my parents or if it's because they always look like creepy, mafia-types with the three-piece suits. Whatever the reason, Southern Gospel is not my thing.
So imagine my surprise when I heard this song the other day and not only really liked it, but I actually purchased it with my own money that I worked for! To be fair, it sounds absolutely NOTHING like anything else this group (or any other gospel quartet) does. I came across it while sampling songs from the soundtrack of Four Blood Moons, John Hagee's film about end-times prophecy and such. Don't know anything about the movie (though the trailer looks kinda cheesy), but the soundtrack is actually pretty decent as Christian music goes these days. I ended up buying three or four songs from it by artists like JJ Weeks Band and Walk Through The Fire.
This tune caught my ear for the bluegrass instrumentation and haunting, minor key feel. It reminds me of something that might be on an old Steve Earle record from the 80s. Give it a fair listen. You might be surprised as I was.
5. Stained Glass - Jon Guerra. Imagine if Paul Simon became a Christ follower, what kind of songs would he write? What would he sound like singing them? Jon Guerra kinda reminds me a little of Paul Simon's winsome-yet-world-weary style. There are some obvious similarities in his voice, but more than enough originality to be an artist deserving of respect in his own right. I met Jon at a Vertical Church Band conference that came through Georgia a few months ago. He was a genuinely kind and patient guy, taking time to listen and answer questions from a host of attenders. I found him very wise and thoughtful for his young years and bought his CD just because I liked the guy. I'm glad I did.
This is probably my favorite track, albeit I prefer this stripped-down acoustic version in the video to the studio version on his CD. I saved it for last because I like this to be what you come away with: "We're all broken, it's true/but when Your Light shines through/We all look like stained glass windows to You."
