Tag: California

Doing Better Than My Best

Post author By fluegeldd
Post date June 25, 2020

Wasted by Chelsea Williams

Chelsea Williams grabbed my attention in college when my girlfriend at the time introduced me to I Stole Your Boots, a song that quickly found its way into my iTunes cart and recently played playlist. In search for my next post I thought about that song from many years ago and was very pleased to find the Chelsea William had released a new album just last month. Chelsea Williams is by far the most acclaimed artist we have featured and currently sits at 5,523 monthly listeners on Spotify making her a great candidate for our Artist Spotlight.

After listening through her new album, Beautiful and Strange, I found myself really enjoying her upbeat, pop country sound. Her vocals are well done, the lyrics are interesting, and the unusual instruments sprinkled throughout the record give the music a fun flair. She describers her music as, “Americana with a bit of modern pop, topped off by a healthy dose of reckless abandon…” Agreed.

Red Flag, Skin and Bones, & Beautiful and Strange are all good song from her new Album, but I present to you Wasted. Lyrics and Commentary Below. Enjoy

Lyrics

Stepped on one too many cracks
Did I break your back
I don’t want to tell the truth anymore
Tired of pinning down the facts
You can paint them black
And I’m feeling kind of cruel keeping score

AhhhHHHhhh x4

Change my name and my address
Can’t get further west
Still there’s something tugging at my sleeve
Doing better than my best
To outrun this mess
But somedays you just got to scream

AhhhHHHhhh x4

Well I don’t want to be a fool for you hunny
But right now you’ve got me wasted
I don’t want to be a fool for a you hunny
But right now you’ve got me wasted

Writing letters, writing hits
But nothing fits
You got one foot hanging out the door
So role the credits call it quits
We’re on the fritz
I can’t keep waking up on the floor

AhhhHHHhhh x4

Well I don’t want to be a fool for you hunny
But right now you’ve got me wasted
I don’t want to be a fool for a you hunny
But right now you’ve got me wasted

AhhhHHHhhh
right now you’ve got me wasted
AhhhHHHhhh
right now you’ve got me wasted

Commentary

Lucky for us Chelsea Williams shared her thought on this song via her website, so we do not have to guess at the meaning. The song Wasted is “about a destructive relationship that needs to have its plug pulled…”

Despite the subject matter the song has a cheery disposition and is even quirky at some moments. This is a reflection of what Chelsea Williams sees when she looks at the chaos in the world. “The overarching theme of Beautiful and Strange is that regardless of all the lies flying around and clashes in ideology, I still think that there is an exquisite charm and beauty to all of the chaos,” explains Chelsea Williams.

One of my favorite things about this song are the rhymes. I know I’m an old soul, but it feels like current music has gotten away from this and it’s nice to hear a song lean so heavily on rhyming. I also really love, what I can only guess is, the tuba. The song is already fairly fun, but the Tuba gives it a little quirk. I like quirk.

Let’s follow Chelsea’s lead and introduce a little more whimsy into our lives. Take a break from the news, dive into some new music, and enjoy a love song like I stole Your Boots by Chelsea Williams.

Connect With Chelsea Williams of Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube

Please share her with friends and family, and if you’re feeling extra generous please share theunheard.org as well.

Sources
http://www.chelseawilliams.com/about/

Tags beautiful and strange music, bizarre pop, California, chelsea williams music, fun pop, LA, new artist new music, new underground pop, small act, small audience artists, tired of pinning down the fact you cant paint them black, under the radar music, unheard artists, woman and her guitar

California Female Lead

You Haven’t Heard Alternative Like This

Post author By fluegeldd
Post date June 19, 2020

No Exit by Upset

Upset is an all female, west coast rock band. They released their most recent (self titled) album at the end of 2019 featuring 10 songs full of wonderful, classic alternative rock. Currently they have 2,895 monthly listeners on Spotify, but they deserve much more.

Upset’s music takes me back to my first rock love, 90s alternative. They showcase wonderful guitar riffs, marvelous distortion, and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. I really enjoyed several songs on their most recent album including Holy Basil, Brighton, The World Is Bigger Now, & Tried and True. However, I want to share their second song on the record, No Exit. Lyrics and Commentary below. Enjoy.

Lyrics

Say what you want to me
Choose your words carefully
I can’t keep a secret to save my life
What did I ever do
beside stick up for you
When nobody else was on your side

I may have called you names
Complained of all the times
I leant you money or gave you rides
But what I’ll never do
Is pretend that you
Never deserved our goodbye

Tear it down, break it up
Do what you got to do
What ever it takes to
Take the blame off you

Tear it down, break it up
Do what you got to do
Whatever it takes to
Take the blame off you

You do no wrong
It’s all you do

You do no wrong
It’s all you do

Commentary

Y’all. I can’t help but like this song 5 seconds in; the electric guitar riff calls to me. Then right away we get interesting lyrics ‘choose you words carefully… I can’t keep a secret to save my life.’ One of the more peculiar things about this song is that there is no lyrical chorus. Instead we get more of a musical chorus, which is fun and unique.

The meaning of the song is fairly obvious. It is about a friend who has decided to end the friendship despite the writer’s efforts in the relationship. Also, the friend intending to break ties seems to think they have no faults in the separation causing the writer to say, rather sarcastically, ‘You do no wrong; It’s all you do.’

The real wonder in this song is not the lyrics, although fun. You’ve got to go listen to this song to hear the magic. So go ahead, give it a listen, and while you’re there I highly encourage you to check out the rest of Upset’s self titled album and share them with your friends.

You can follow Upset on Facebook or Twitter.

What are some of your favorite all female bands?

Tags alternative rock, California, early 90s rock made today, female alternative rock, female artists who get it, female grunge, LA, no exit, rock n roll, under the radar, under the radar music, underground female artists, weareupset

California Music

This Is A Song of Increasing Intimacy

Post author By fluegeldd
Post date May 5, 2020

I Can Feel Your Heartbeat (featuring Jordan Frye) by A New Normal

A New Normal is a southern California band lead by Justin H. Wright. Justin describes A New Normal’s music as cinematic electronic, but the song ‘I Can Feel Your Heartbeat’ sounds more like a pop/rock anthem to me. Currently A New Normal is sitting at 2,170 monthly listeners making it a great candidate for our spotlight.

This song is split into two distinct parts. The first part gives you a low deep voice with the persistent bass drum and bass riff. The second part transforms you to a new scene; you’re at a party and everyone knows the words to the song. It’s actually kinda neat because it gives the song a sense of community.

LYRICS

Saw the fire in her eyes
I could hear her heartbeat
Felt the sunlight on my skin
As she laid beside me

Saw the heavens open up
As it rained down on me
Can’t remember what she said
But I could hear her heartbeat

I could hear her heartbeat (x4)

See the storm clouds up ahead
Say the words “I miss you”
I can’t remember what you said
But I could feel your heartbeat

Hear the heavens open up
As she laid beside me
See the fire in her eyes
I can feel your heartbeat

I can feel your heartbeat (x2)

In A New Normal’s bio on Spotify it says, “Every composition released by A New Normal is carefully crafted take the listener on a journey.” So what journey did we just take?

MY INTERPRETATION

This is a song of growing intimacy. The first half represents the infatuation phase. The second half represents a promise.

In the first half of the song we hear the repeating phrase, ‘I can hear her heartbeat.’ How close do you have to be to someone to hear their heartbeat?

Exactly! He’s letting us know that he is in close relationship with this woman. You can also tell that he is committed to her because rain (As it rained down on me) or shine (Felt the sunlight on my skin) he is still right by her side. He can hear her heartbeat.

Then we get to the second part of the song and something really unusual has happened. We have gone from a very intimate setting to a public gathering. Also we see our first glance to the future, “See the storm clouds up ahead.” He’s not scared though. In fact, now he can FEEL her heartbeat. He has gotten closer to her.

Finally, he is no longer singing about her, but to her. “I can feel your heartbeat.” And he is declaring this in the company of a crowd who is singing with him. This is an image of a wedding. The groom is publicly declaring his love to his betrothed in front of witnesses whose presence sings of approval.

In Summary, it’s just another song about a guy and a girl who have fallen in love, and I love it. What do you think? Do you get a different interpretation?

SOURCES

https://www.google.com/amp/s/genius.com/amp/A-new-normal-i-can-feel-your-heartbeat-lyrics
https://open.spotify.com/embed/artist/6VJnJ6OWeHKZzGlEumBPHa

Tags A New Normal, anthem, California, compostion, I Can Feel Your Heartbeat, Jordan Frye, love, love song, new, new music, normal, pop, rock n roll, song, under the radar, underground, undiscovered, unheard, unheard of