Elle Varner - So Fly
Elle Varner - WTF
Elle Varner - Go

Compare and contrast:

TLC‘s “Unpretty”. Madonna‘s “Human Nature”. Ani DiFranco‘s “Not A Pretty Girl”. Salt-n-Pepa‘s “None of Your Business”. Pink‘s “Don’t Let Me Get Me”. India Arie‘s “Video”. Tori Amos‘ “Cornflake Girl”. No Doubt‘s “Just A Girl”. Destiny’s Child‘s “Independent Women”. Meredith Brooks‘ “Bitch”. Queen Latifah‘s “U.N.I.T.Y.”. Christina Aguilera & Lil Kim‘s “Can’t Hold Us Down”.

Katy Perry‘s “Firework”. Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way”. Ke$ha‘s “We R Who We R”. Selena Gomez‘s “Who Says”. Pink‘s “Raise Your Glass”. Jessie J‘s “Who’s Laughing Now”. Taylor Swift‘s “Mean”.

Each of these nineteen selections are empowerment anthems performed by female artists. This is a fact, no matter how you feel about these particular songs, their relationship to the very concept of “empowerment” or the singer’s intention in releasing them. Someone, at some point, has felt empowered by these songs. Undeniable. Fact.

For the most part, the second list was inspired by the It Gets Better movement and similar “anti-bullying” campaigns. These tracks act as a celebration of the self, shouting in your face, “You are beautiful, no matter what they say!” They confront the people who try to tear you down, whether it’s a specific individual or some abstract idea of the “bully”.

The songs on the first list, however, attack a much larger issue—the injustices of society which lead to one’s insecurities, the reasons why there’s so much hateration in this danceree. They put the “power” in empowerment. They rebel against double standards. They don’t just sit around and tell you you’re great. They tell you why everything else sucks, which thereby enables you to throw your middle finger up at the world and truly embrace who you are.

And then, of course, there’s Elle Varner. The up-and-coming R&B star has mentioned in several interviews that she was severely bullied through most of her life. Yet instead of writing some empty “You go girl!” anthem, she wrote a little jam known as “So Fly”.

The song initially finds our narrator longing to exist in a world where she has “no cellulite, big breasts and pockets real wide”. Eventually, upon further reflection, she comes to the conclusion that she doesn’t need that other crap. She already embodies the very definition of “fly”.

Okay, so the theme may be a bit cheesy. The lyrics may not be as strong as those offerings from the first list… But this is still a throwback to that era of empowerment. Varner lashes out at the media/society for demanding she live up to some impossible standard of beauty. We’re not hearing enough of that in today’s pop music.

Which begs the question, why? These are issues young people (regardless of their gender) still face today, and they’re rarely addressed head-on like they used to be. Why? Does this idea, for whatever reason, feel outdated or more sickeningly sincere than an episode of Glee? Is our collective mentality so focused on escapism that we don’t want to directly deal with these problems?

Just something to ponder! Of course, while you’re thinking (or rolling your eyes), perhaps you should go download Varner’s free mixtape Conversational Lush. It might not bring you any answers, but at least it’ll provide a fresh soundtrack for your thought process.

“WTF” and “Go” are also highly recommended (despite the fact that I didn’t just waste multiple paragraphs failing to explain their greatness).

Heart-Sick Groans - If The Canary Stops Singing

When I tweeted Heart-Sick Groans that I couldn’t wait to hear their new single, I didn’t think they’d take me literally. The song, like magic, found its way into my inbox within the next ten minutes. It was almost as if they were legitimately worried they’d be held liable, were I to have died from a startling and outright debilitating case of impatience.

This is why I love Heart-Sick Groans. Despite their bragging rights as “one of indie-pop’s best kept secrets”, they still take time to cater to their fans. This is why you should become a fan, so they can cater to you! I promise it’ll be worth it. If you don’t believe me, take a listen above to the Swedish indie-pop trio’s latest offering “If The Canary Stops Singing”. Here’s what they had to say about the tune:

“This song’s been in the song machine for a long time, the lads started working on it in the fall of 2009, then the boys scrapped it for a bit, then the men had Marcus Brännström come in to add some guitars to the chorus, then the gang realized this too’s A SMASH HIT WONDER with epic overtones and heart-tearing undertones. Now it is also in your ears!”

Epic overtones! Heart-tearing undertones! Let me translate for you, in case you don’t understand the language of AWESOME. “If The Canary Stop Singing” is the best song of 2012, and Heart-Sick Groans is your new favorite band. I’m glad I could clear that up for you.

Click through (or look below) to watch the brilliant video for “A Bossanova With This Cassanova”. Like what you hear? You can also download one of my fave tracks “With Samantha At The Carwash” here.

Sick Friend - Cottages

Think Matt & Kim without all the cutesy bullshit. That’s what you’ll be getting on Sick Friend‘s “Cottages”, the opening track from their debut album The Draft Dodger. Take a listen above.

If you like it, download it and cherish it deeply for all of time! If you love it, maybe you should marry it… Or pick up Sick Friend’s debut album The Draft Dodger when it drops on February 14. The choice is up to you, my friends! Let’s just hope, for your sake, that person-to-song marriage is legalized in the near future.

Photos via: and everything else too

Annie Williams - Nevermind

Midnight Window came out back in November, as a double release with Annie Williams‘ other EP This Mountain. It’s taken me this long to write about it, because I am a terrible person. Just kidding! I was moving into a new house and stuff and… Also, um, I sort of forgot about it?

Oh no! That was a harsh way of putting it. Let’s just say, it took a while for the music to find me…

Picture it. Beverly, MA. December 2011. I’m rushing to the train on a particularly chilly day, shivering with every damn footstep, and then a song called “Cold” pops up on my iPod. I stop dead in my tracks. There was something about this singer’s voice that spoke to my soul. It said, “Hey soul, what’s up!?!? I’m going to speak to you right now.”

It’s always nice, in a post-American Idol world, to come across a vocalist who doesn’t need to belt/wail/shout to convey his or her emotions. Williams has remarkable control over her pipes, allowing her to projects a certain vulnerability which truly brings her tracks to life.

“Nevermind” is a personal favorite of mine. It reminds me a bit of Jenny Lewis‘ Rabbit Furcoat album, with particular nods to the light country stomp of “The Charging Sky”.

If that last sentence made no sense to you, listen above anyways! Then, if you hate it, you can speak to my soul and say, “Hey soul, what’s up!?!? That thing that spoke to you didn’t speak to me. You’re the worst soul ever… J/Kzzz! I’m not trying to be rude. I love you like a love song.”

Woodpigeon - For Paolo

“For Woodpigeon songwriter Mark Andrew Hamilton, For Paolo was inspired by his parents, the cassette tapes they played on long, family drives across the prairies of Canada.”

This is such a beautiful concept to build an EP around. As common as it is for musicians to refer to their parents’ old records as inspiration, there’s something refreshing about building a project around the music you were forced to listen to, whether you enjoyed it or not.

Most folks within my generation have been in that position where we’ve rolled our eyes at our mother or father, as they popped one of their “oldies” tapes into the cassette deck. Those drives would be torturous! You’d find yourself sitting there in the backseat, listening to something “lame” by Carole King, Fleetwood Mac or any variety of girly one-hit wonders (all of which are listed as influences for this release).

Yet, once you hit adulthood, each of these songs took on a different meaning. They transformed from oldies into “classics”. They served as a reminder to the carefree days of your childhood. They, as Hamilton puts it, became a part of your “musical DNA”.

For this reason in particular, Woodpigeon‘s For Paolo struck a chord with me. Though I’m reluctant to project my own family’s soundtrack onto it, I can’t help myself from hearing bits of Simon & Garfunkel or Guns ‘N’ Roses “November Rain” within this set. I’m fully aware that nobody else would hear these things. Nobody. However, this EP is so deeply routed in nostalgia that, if you give it a chance, you’ll find yourself doing the same thing.

Check out the title track “For Paolo” above, or listen to the full project on Bandcamp.

Photo credit: Grateful Grapefruit

Swiftumz - More Than Sleep
Swiftumz - 4EVA

A month ago, our neighbors invited us over to decorate cookies. This is the type of invitation you can’t turn down during the holiday season. It should go on the record, however, that I never once considered turning down said invitation. Our neighbors are quite lovely people, and… Well, tastiness! Gingerbread all UP in my face. You know the drill.

As the story goes, a few last-minute errands resulted in my frantic (yet fashionably) late arrival. I stumbled over to their doorway thinking I was the most terrible person in the world, only to realize that I was earlier than nearly every other guest. Audible sigh of relief, I uttered!

The early arrival actually turned out to be a good thing, in multiple respects. For starters, I got first crack at the snack table. There were less people to introduce myself to. More bonding time with my neighbors… But, perhaps most importantly, I was able to discover my poor frosting skills before the true artistes arrived.

For real, guys! Decorating cookies is serious business. There was a woman who pimped out her gingerbread-lady in a pair rainbow panties, inspired by Rihanna‘s wardrobe on the Loud tour. I tried to pretend I was as cool as her by creating a Robyn-inspired cookie. Long story short, It wound up having unintentionally inappropriate nipples. I was not as cool as her.

It wasn’t until I made one particular cookie (who we’ll refer to as “Sad Sadie“) that I truly felt accomplished. Though she wore a brightly colored outfit, her sugary lips were (accidentally) turned down into a frown. She was miserable. And I loved her.

Sad Sadie became the companion piece for “Optimistic Girl“, a character developed by my neighbor. The concept was pretty simple. As response to anything remotely negative, Optimistic Girl would respond in her trademark high-pitched voice, letting you know that everything will be okay.

At this time in the post, you’re probably wondering—what does any of this have to do with Swiftumz? Rest assured, the answer is coming soon!

You see, “More Than Sleep” is the Sad Sadie of breakup jams. The narrator’s so ridden with self-deprecation and longing that he’s resorted to saying things like “I love her even more than I hate myself”. It’s kind of pathetic.

That is, until we get to “4EVA”, on which the Optimistic Girl inside our narrator’s brain unleashes her opinion on this matter. “Sure, there were bad times,” she says. “But why don’t you focus on the good times! The fun times! You’ll always have those, and nobody can take them away from you!”

In the context of Swiftumz’s debut album Don’t Trip, these two songs balance one another out to some point of, dare I say, sanity. It’s a magical pairing. Magical, I tell you!

“You left without leaving. Your ghost is still here. Don’t let go.”

This line from Australian duo Garçon Garçon‘s “Save Our Souls”, at the risk of sounding corny, has an exceptionally haunting effect. Part of it is the context. The song was written about a friend of lead vocalist Nathan Mahon, who took his life in late 2011. I was admittedly a bit hesitant to tackle the track from a writer’s perspective, given the sensitive (and extremely personal) subject matter. So without further ado, I’ll step aside and let the man himself do the talking.

“I wanted to write something beautiful as a tribute to him,” Mahon told ITMS. “When we were searching for the last few tracks to go on the EP, this just came together very quickly. Even though it’s a sad song lyrically, it also has a very optimistic, positive message as well. No matter how bad things may seem today, tomorrow can always be better.”

The word “better” jumped out at me immediately. Given all the national attention paid to LGBT suicides and the now-controversial* It Gets Better campaign, I couldn’t resist asking the pair how they’d feel about the song’s relationship to this particular movement. Group member Nick Tsirimokos responded:

“I think it would make a beautiful link to the It Gets Better project. We would do anything to promote an anti-bullying message. I was horribly bullied at school! I guess it will be up to the individual to interpret how they feel about the song when they listen to it. I like to leave it open for people to make up their own minds.”

That is, of course, if people aren’t too busy bawling on the dance floor to make up their mind! Nick’s production on this track is classic Garçon Garçon. Sure, this may seem odd to say about a band in their infancy that hasn’t even released their first project, but it continues the duo’s trend of crafting electro-pop with pure, unadulterated soul.

According to Tsirimokos, “Save Our Souls” was literally written in one day, followed by a whole year of injecting it with copious amounts of love and care. It had originally started out as a slow brass arrangement, eventually evolving in its mood to something brighter and more optimistic.

“I love Nick’s production on this,” Mahon added. “It’s sensitive and beautiful but also uplifting. Wherever my friend is now, I hope he loves it as much as I do.”

Amen to that! It’s The Money Shot is proud to offer up this exclusive preview of “Save Our Souls”, which will appear on Garçon Garçon’s debut EP. While this clip is undoubtedly stunning, I assure you that it doesn’t do justice to the way the song builds and gets under your skin (in the best way possible). Seriously! Be sure to pick up a copy of EP when it’s released on February 14th. It’ll be worth it for this track alone.

PHOTO CREDIT: Elvis di Fazio

* A powerful way to help end the epidemic of suicides is to support organizations which empower and develop young LGBTQ people to become leaders, so they can “make it better” themselves. This has been brought to my attention since my partner began working for BAGLY (Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth). I encourage you to check out the work they’re doing to support queer youth by visiting their website or following them on Facebook and Twitter.

Rochelle Jordan - _Shot
Rochelle Jordan - King A (Aaliyah Tribute)

I’m not gonna lie. It feels kind of tacky to post an Aaliyah cover on the late singer’s birthday (and Martin Luther King Jr. Day to boot). Yet, if you’d believe it or not, I had planned on writing about Rochelle Jordan before I discovered the existence of her “King A” tribute. Afterwards, it just seemed silly to not include it in this entry.

“King A” works because there’s already such a blatant Aaliyah influence in Rochelle’s work. She’s serving up lo-fi “PBR&B” driven by big aspirations (think the female equivalent of The Weeknd) laced with vocals that simultaneously recall Ameriie‘s fire and Cassie‘s ice-cold delivery (if that makes any sense, and it will once you hear her).

Basically? If you’re still sleeping on Ms. Jordan, you need to wake the hell up and get with the program. Basically. There really isn’t much more to say beyond that.

Cheerleader - Do What You Want

Approximately six or seven years ago, my friend and I got into an argument over which version of MGMT‘s “Kids” was superior. My ears were trained to prefer the “Afterschool Dance Megamix”, a six-minute masterpiece that provided the soundtrack for many drunken nights at Wesleyan University. However, he preferred the version on the Time To Pretend EP, citing that it sounded like the band were “going places”.

So what does this story have to do with Cheerleader, you ask? It’s pretty simple! “Do What You Want” is the sound of Cheerleader going places. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I turned on WFNX tomorrow and heard this tune pumping through the airwaves alongside Arcade Fire and Two Door Cinema Club.

It’s not just the whistling. Though it certainly helps that everyone from The Black Keys to Britney Spears have used the technique to achieve hits, it should be noted that this isn’t always a surefire way to procure a radio smash. See Khia‘s criminally underrated, NSFW affair “Whistle On It” for further evidence on this point.

“Do What You Want” is a legitimately well-written song. It transcends beyond the Hartford duo’s previous offerings (“New Daze” and “Dreamer”) whilst still remaining true to their style. I hate to be one of those bloggers, but look out for these guys. Expect big things in 2012! Don’t be surprised if you see them playing at the apocalypse! And don’t be surprised when God raptures them out of spite, just so the sinners don’t have any good music in hell…

Dolly Parton - The Bridge
Oh No Oh My - So I Took You

I don’t regret seeing Joyful Noise. It was essentially a very long episode of Glee, except with enough Dolly Parton, Queen Latifah and inspirational gospel breakdowns to make it significantly less awful than any episode of Glee. The script was packed with moments that were emotional (Asperger’s!), hilarious (Flying dinner rolls!), and oddly uncomfortable (Death by sex!), as well as a few life-altering lessons that will clearly make you a better person. I’ve illustrated the latter over here.

Most importantly, the film gave me an excuse to talk about Dolly Parton’s “The Bridge”. The song came to my attention while listening to Parton’s 1968 album Just Because I’m a Woman. Although it was merely playing in the background at a friend’s house, it was impossible to miss the unsettling conclusion.

The song begins on, you guessed it… a bridge! After two lovers share their first kiss, the bridge becomes their preferred location for late-night rendezvous. They go there regularly to bathe in the moonlight and (presumably) suck face with one another. Then, on one very special night, “passion takes them by the hand” and leads them to a meadow of forbidden desire. In other words? They bang.

Unfortunately, this romantic tale doesn’t have a particularly happy ending. The last verse finds our narrator pregnant, abandoned and alone at the very same bridge. Her feet are moving closer and closer to the edge, and… Well, before you even have time to fully absorb what’s happening, the song is over (and so is our narrator’s life).

In the six decades Parton’s career has spanned over, this must easily be one of her most disturbing tunes. I’ve always wondered if it provided the inspiration for Oh No Oh My‘s similarly dark “So I Took You”, which appeared on their 2011 project People Problems. Both songs have abrupt endings.