5 Songs You Should Hear Right Now

My Saturday afternoon ritual of filling you in on the 5 songs that are rocking my weekend. Turn them up LOUD and rock along with me.

Burn The Ballroom- “Still”

For a band that splits time between having members in DC and Nashville, Burn the Ballroom sure put out some tightly made rad tunes. Their latest, “Spill”, dropped on Friday and my weekend has been better for it. The song gives me JJ72 meets Muse vibes all wrapped up in their own rock n roll sound the boys in this band make. Also I should note this band features one of my favorite Nashville drummers in it, peep Jack Ivins holding down that big solid beat back there. Bring this whole band to Nash my dude, STAT.

Soul Asylum- “Misery” (Live At First Avenue December 2005)

When Soul Asylum announced they were dropping an EP of live stuff from the 2005 era, I was beyond stoked. This was their first performance at First Avenue after the death of their original bass player, Karl Mueller who had passed away just a few months before this was recorded, and you can hear the passion and pain in the band in this version of “Misery”. This was a special show and I’m thankful to hear live recordings coming out of it.  Live recordings are always interesting as they capture a band at an exact moment in time. To me these recordings are Soul Asylum at a time when a lot of changes were happening and they played through them like the legendary band they are. Check out the entire “Stand Up and Be Strong EP” tonight, and blast it LOUD.

Ashland- “Bitch”

Ashland, aside from writing their own bad ass tunes, always know EXACTLY what songs to cover when they do covers. When I saw they took a swing at the 1997 Meredith Brooks’ classic, “Bitch”, I had to stop what I was doing immediately and check it out. I often feel this song has been forgotten, which is insane because you couldn’t escape it in 1997, so I’m glad to see a rad band like Ashland giving it new life. They always know how to make a cover their own but still pay tribute to the original. This is the cover of the year in my opinion.

Sponge- “Stitch”

Sponge dropped “Stitch” on Friday and immediately I was reminded why I love this band. I’ve always felt Sponge was criminally underrated in so many ways. One thing I always liked about them was their ability to musically go wherever they wanted and still be themselves in the end. “Stich” is the classic Sponge sound we all know and love with rad song that shows the band is stronger than ever. I’d also like to point out how lead singer, Vinnie Dombroski , doesn’t seem to age AT ALL. Dude is a vampire, an insanely talented rock n roll star vampire.

Sugar in The Gas Tank- On My Own”

When it comes to keeping the rock n roll sound of pop punk alive, few do it better than Sugar In The Gas Tank. These guys always take me back to when music was fun and rock n roll was all that mattered. It’s not all fun n games though as sometims these guys have lyrics that take on more serious tones yet they never take themselves too seriously and that’s one of the many great things about them. Turn up “On My Own” LOUD right now and you’ll feel the exact opposite of that, you’ll feel like you’re rocking n rolling with your 4 new best friends.