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Song of the Day #1,792: ‘The Bear and the Maiden Fair’ – The Hold Steady

hold_steady_bearOne of the joys of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series is the rich detail with which he paints the characters’ culture. Particularly entertaining are the dozens of songs Martin sprinkles throughout his tale — songs that evoke cheers or eye-rolling depending on the audience.

The brilliantly thorough Wiki of Ice and Fire lists 52 songs that show up in some fashion in one of Martin’s five books, including ‘When Willum’s Wife Was Wet,’ ‘The Maids That Bloom in Spring,’ ‘The Day They Hanged Black Robin’ and (of course) ‘The Rains of Castamere.’

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Song of the Day #1,791: ‘Girls Love Beyoncé’ – Drake

girls_love_beyonce_drakeI know I’m supposed to like Drake — his albums typically earn critical accolades along with massive sales. He’s one of those emo rappers like Kanye who rap about their insecurities in between boasts about their sexual conquests.

Maybe I just haven’t heard the right songs yet, but so far I’m not impressed. For all of Kanye’s faults, I totally get why his music draws those raves. He paints vivid emotional landscapes in which he’s often the least interesting part. But Drake sounds like Kanye without the good stuff.

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Song of the Day #1,790: ‘Groovin” – The Young Rascals

the_rascals_groovinLike pretty much every living person in the world, I am very familiar with the song ‘Groovin’.’

But before a week ago, if you had asked me who performed it I would have had no idea. I certainly wouldn’t have pulled The Rascals (or The Young Rascals, as they were known when the song was released) out of some deep recess of my memory because they never camped out there to begin with.

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Song of the Day #1,789: ‘Falling’ – Haim

haimHaim (rhymes with “time”) are a trio of twenty-something sisters who hail from Los Angeles. They’ve been around since 2006 but it wasn’t until the end of 2012 that they released their debut album and begin to catch the attention of critics and audiences alike.

They have been compared to Fleetwood Mac, which I definitely hear in today’s SOTD (this song could have fit right on to Tango in the Night). This is the second new band I've seen draw comparisons to Fleetwood Mac in recent weeks — I guess that 70s folk pop sound is resurgent.

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Song of the Day #1,788: ‘Azamane Tiliade’ – Bombino

bombinoOf all the artists I mined from that issue of Rolling Stone, the most compelling is blues musician Bombino.

Hailing from Niger, the 33-year-old grew up amid socio-political turmoil before traveling to the U.S. in 2006 and catching the attention of bands like The Rolling Stones.

He has released two albums over the past three years, the latest (Nomad) recorded with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys.

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