Quick Hits, Vol. 280 (More good times singles!)

I just saw that EDC got pushed back to October - hopefully wouldn't affect any bands I wanted to see at ACL anyway, but as that month gets more crowded, I worry about the other Fests poaching good stuff from Austin.  Crossing my fingers we even get to do ACL in the first place.  I'm very hopeful that a lineup drops soon!

• Ice Cube - Trying to Maintain.  Man, I so very much wish that Cube was still crafting lyrics at the same plane as he was in the early 90's.  I know I've talked about this before, but back in NWA and his first few solo albums, the dude wrote some of the best lyrics ever written.  This one is mediocre.  "fuckin' cancel culture, you can't cancel a soldier, see I thought I told ya, drunk or sober tell you when its over, slap the shit outta troller, I kill shit like Ebola, I'm the sun I'm the solar, your baby mind is in a stroller!"  Riiiiiiiight...  Beat is pretty spare and nice, but give me "Steady Mobbin'" any day of the week.
• Green Day - Here Comes the Shock.  I keep hearing this as "Here Comes the Shot," and its become my mental Coronavirus vaccine anthem. Solid, classic Green Day blast of jangly guitar and driving drums.  I like it.
• Brandy Clark and Lindsey Buckingham - The Past is the Past.  Fucking hate this song.  It keeps getting stuck in my brain, but I don't like it's cheesy ass.  And it's all my fault, I put it in my queue mistaking it for Brandi Carlisle, thinking it might be cool to hear her with a Fleetwood Mac member.  Instead, this is just bad soft country garbage.
• Lord Huron - Not Dead Yet.  I really like Lord Huron.  A few years ago when he played ACL, I went to his show both weekends and loved every second of it.  His voice is lovely, his tunes are catchy, and he frequently injects a sense of longing in his tracks that appeals every time.  This one has a snappy beat but also a soaring guitar bit that makes it seem high and lonesome.  Good stuff.
• JID - Skegee.  I loveJID's flow.  He's got an intelligent cadence that reminds me of Kendrick each time, and this one has a cool beat that makes me think of Peter Tosh or something.  Dig it.
• NF - Clouds.  I'm apparently into rappers with abbreviated names.  This is the guy who sounds like Eminem.  This track builds in a very pleasing way, even if some of the lyrics are trite.  Jammed it out in my car the other day and it felt pretty badass.
• Wallows - Quarterback.  Another band I liked from ACL, nice little poppy nugget of good times.  Catchy sucker too.
• cleopatrick - The Drake.  Probably my favorite new ACL find from the past few years.  Like Royal Blood before RB went poppy disco track crap.  Just two dudes, full of pure rock crunchiness.  I will readily admit that I hate the fact that the song opens with him saying he "feel some type of way," because every time a rapper says that part of my soul dies.  But otherwise, this is a deliciously heavy thumper that makes me feel strong and cool.  The drop at 2:48 or so rules.  Nothing fancy, just rulingness.
• cleopatrick - Good Grief.  More tasty tastiness!  Roll it up and dip it in me!
• Lucy Dacus - Thumbs.  Lovely, makes me think of Enya or something, just this ethereal synth background with Dacus singing sadness over the top.  Very pretty, but it also seems longer than it's 4:25 each time.
• Manchester Orchestra - Bedhead.  I seem to find all of my new music via old ACL lineups!  These guys ruled live - very good show.  This is another good track too - driving beat and a soaring chorus.  I like his singing voice very much.
• Taylor Swift - Love Story (Taylor's Version).  I don't know old Taylor well enough to notice if there are really any differences between this and the original version that is owned by the mean hedge fund guys.  According to Billboard, the main difference is the mixing.  booooring.  otherwise, this certainly sounds to be the same song.  Good one.
• Samm Henshaw - All Good.  Freaking great song.  Such a feel good blast of pleasure.  Came on the radio the other day and I scribbled it down on my hand to make sure I'd find it later.  Sounds like an Anderson.Paak thing, but it is its own joyous slice of funky happiness.  This is the video up above.
• Royal Blood - Limbo.  Dammit, boys.  This is some disco ass Muse shit going on here.  It's still catchy and rockin', but the chorus drum beat and little background singing is not what I come to you for.  I come for brutal riffs and the smashing backing drums.  Increasingly bummed about this eventual new album.  I'm sure it'll be a hit.
• Drake - Scary Hours EP.  Actually three songs, and they're better than the average Drake offering!  Which is like saying pouring salt in an open wound is slightly less painful than pouring habanero pepper juice into my eye!  The best of these, in my opinion, is "Lemon Pepper Freestyle" with Rick Ross.  The flow on "What's Next" is pretty good, but the beat is a little grating with the organ over the top.  Also, I dig lemon pepper wings.
• Red Fang - Arrows.  I know it is going to sound stupid to call a sludgy stoner metal band's song too sludgy, but the production on this song makes it sound like they are playing in a tupperware container and you can still hear it through the lid.  Which is too bad, because I dig these dudes. "Wires" is my jam. Hopefully when this track makes it on to an album they clean it up.  Because the last minute or so is tasty.
• Demob Happy - Less is More.  Good one - fuzzy guitars, catchy sound.  I'm really liking this band.
• Chris Thile - Laysong.  Not great, which is too bad.  He's so freaking talented on the mandolin, and he does some complicated picking in here, but the song as a whole is just kind of boring with no other instrumentation and a meandering vibe.
• Tierra Whack - Link.  More of the good vibes from Whack - playful beat and she does a great job of lightly bouncing along with it.  Snappy stuff.
• Willie Nelson - I'll be Seeing You.  Lovely little tossed off love song accompanied by a lightly strummed uke.  Should make me happy - love is a good thing - but it sounds like a final song, something they'll be playing at his funeral shortly.  PLEASE NO!!!
• Royal Blood - Boilermaker.  Here we go - this is the Royal Blood I wanted to hear.  Or at least it is closer to the good stuff.  No disco drums, no backing choir.  Just banging drums and fuzzy bass.  The best part is the breakdown in the second half of the track.
• Black Keys - Crawling Kingsnake.  ooooooh yeah.  Here we go.  I need to go listen to the original of this, but this cover sounds just like the title, slinky and smooth.