Let it Rock: Positively Unstoppable This Time

By Sues

And this week I learn how easy it is to write about music I’m crazy obsessed with. I was so beyond-words excited about the new releases this week that I basically wanted to tell you about every song, transcribe all the lyrics, and somehow hum the tunes onto the computer screen so that you’d get the full effect. But I tried to restrain myself a little bit.

And It wasn’t easy.

I really wanted to personally ship every one of you each of these albums because I’m pretty sure you can’t live without them. But unfortunately, I’m not rich enough for that. So maybe you could just take my word for it and have a listen yourself? I’m not saying they’ll change your life, but….well, they might change your life.

Racal Flatts- Unstoppable

Nobody makes me squeal like Rascal Flatts. Nobody. And that is saying A LOT. The second I first heard the beginning notes to their new single “Here Comes Goodbye,” I knew. I knew their new album, Unstoppable, was going to be exactly like the rest. Amazing. Rascal Flatts is extremely consistent in the music they put out; I’ve never been disappointed with an album and each one has at least a few songs that you can immediately tell are going to be huge hits. I’m not going to lie; when I first heard “Here Comes Goodbye,” my eyes filled with tears. Yes, Rascal Flatts has the power to do that to me (OK and maybe a little PMS too). “Forever” also might have made me a little bit weepy.

But their album isn’t all heart-gripping emotion; it’s also a big party. Yes, “Summer Nights” is pretty cheesy, but you just know it’s going to be the anthem of the summer: “Come on ladies, it’s time to pop that top/And fellows! I know you’re read to rock/We went crazy cooped up all winter long/And school is out so let’s get it on/Flip flop tans and some white sand/I know the perfect spot.” When I heard it, I almost put on my bathing suit and ran outside before I realized it’s still 35 degrees in Boston and I live on a busy city street. “Once” lands somewhere in between; classic Rascal Flatts about sitting and waiting for the one you love to come back: “Now I wait by the phone in the dark drunk on hope/I’m so lost, I’m so alone and I just want you to know.” And the title track “Unstoppable” is another one of Rascal Flatts “Stand Up,” you-can-do-it-type anthems. So, they’re a tiny bit predictable. Whatever they’re doing, they’re doing it pretty much perfectly, so why change anything? I don’t want to state the obvious, but yeah, these guys are unstoppable.

The Hold Steady- A Positive Rage

I’m not normally one to get crazy happy over the live albums bands put out. I’d usually rather hear some new material and not the old stuff with a crowd cheering in the background. But The Hold Steady is different. I know this because I saw them live. By accident. I actually went to their show to see the Drive-By Truckers who they were playing with. But I left the show with a newfound love for The Hold Steady and a t-shirt to prove it. Lead singer Craig Finn is an amazingly awesome performer and listening to their new live album, A Positive Rage, is driving me crazy with a desire to see them live again. His singing sounds like storytelling and he always sounds like he’s having a blast. Which is good because the audience is generally going crazy with energy. OK, so lots of their songs are about partying and getting high (“If she said we partied then I’m pretty sure partied/I really don’t remember/I remember we departed from our bodies.”) but even if you’re not into that, chances are you’ll still love The Hold Steady.

I don’t generally recommend live albums to first-time listeners of a band, but I’d make an exception for A Positive Rage. The first song I ever liked by The Hold Steady, “You Can Make Him Like You” is on the new album and if you’ve never listened to the band before, definitely check the track out; kind of an anthem for every girl: “But if you get tired of your boyfriend’s things/There’s always other boys/there’s always other boyfriends…If you get tired of the music he likes/There’s always other boys/And you can make him like you.” I’m also a big fan of  “First Night,” which has more extremely appealing lyrics: “Don’t bother talking to the guys/with the hot soft eyes/They’re already taken/Don’t even speak/to all those sequencer and beat boys/When they kiss they spit white noise.” You won’t be able to help singing and dancing along to “Chips Ahoy,” after all, “How am I supposed to know that you’re high if you won’t even dance?” High on The Hold Steady’s music of course. Once you hear how singalong-able everything they do is, you’ll be dying to see them live too.

Bob Mould- Life and Times

I first listened to Bob Mould because Ryan Adams told me to. Well, really Ryan was constantly blogging about how awesome Bob Mould is (and is 80s band Husker Du) and since I am so obsessed with Ryan Adams’ music, I figured I should take his recommendation. I liked the music almost immediately and am really excited that he is releasing something new. Bob Mould’s voice is incredibly unique and it’s obvious the now 48-year-old knows what he’s doing with Life and Times (it is his 9th studio album, after all). I love that he opens the album with the title track; it feels like an introduction, not only to the album, but to Mould’s own life and times. “I’m Sorry Baby, But You Can’t Stand in My Light Anymore” is definitely my favorite track on the album, not only for it’s crazy sweet title, but because the lyrics are so intense; “I always find the broken ones/What does this say about me?/Well maybe I’m the broken one.” I’m also a fan of “City Lights (Days Go By),” in which Bob’s voice really reminds me of Matthew Good’s (or would it be the other way around?).

I really need to thank Ryan Adams for introducing me to Bob Mould. Is there any way I could do that personally? I guess it’s true that geniuses know how to spot other geniuses.