Entertainment
good listener
our five favorite songs of the week!
Alex Turner-"Piledriver Waltz"
I just saw the new coming-of-age flick Submarine this week and fell head-over-heels in love. It's quirky in a Wes Anderson sort of way, but it manages not to fall into twee territory mostly thanks to Alex Turner's fantastic soundtrack. His acoustic tales ground the film, giving the scenes an emotional heft that some other twinkly piano soundtrack would have thwarted. "Piledriver Waltz" is also featured on the Arctic Monkeys new album, which is out this week. See the film, buy the album, be happy.
To Kill a King-"Fictional State"
This week Leeds fivepiece To Kill a King released their debut single, "Fictional State," which you can file neatly between Mumford and Sons and the National. At the four-minute minute mark they break out the brass and the drummer lets loose, turning what at first appears to be a mellow folk-inflected morning song into a rousing jig-inducing party jam.
French-Nigerian singer Asa has a voice that moves from soulful and husky to sweet and childlike and, at times, is oddly reminiscent of everyone's favorite sock puppet, Lambchop (weird, I know, but listen to her and tell me if you don't hear it). She released her second album, Beautiful Imperfection -- which flawlessly weaves together soul, jazz, reggae, and pop -- in Europe a couple months back and it will get a US release in September. Till then you can listen to a few new tracks online, including "You Be My Man," an infectious, B3-heavy love song ("You be my man / And I'll be your woman everyday") that I think would be even more awesome with a Cee-Lo guest spot.
Coldplay-"Every Teardrop is a Waterfall"
I like the new Coldplay single. So sue me.
Hayley Williams promised us new music this year and she stayed true to her word, releasing a rager of a single today for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. She sounds awesome as always, wailing on the arena-sized chorus over chugging guitars. We have a feeling it will be the best thing about the movie (sorry Shia, we still love you).
