Jmunney's Blog

Another song from my top 25 of 06-09:

Kings of Leon – Use Somebody (2008)
“Oh oh oh, oh oh oh”
The first time I heard Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” was back in September 2008 when they performed it on Saturday Night Live.  It was on right before the last sketch, so as I was walking along right after watching it, I found myself harmonizing some ohhhhhohhhoh’s with my roommate.  Rarely has a monosyllable been stretched out for all it is worth so memorably.  Oh, and the content of the actual words is rather heartfelt, too.

Here’s another preview of my top 25 countdown of the best songs of 06-09:

Rihanna ft. Jay-Z – Umbrella (2007)
“Took an oath, I’m-a stick it out till the end”
The hybrid nature of “Umbrella” may not be terribly obvious on a first listen, but it includes a fair number of disparate elements.  It is a dance song set to a rock backbeat with Caribbean-accented R&B vocals and a rap intro.  The arrangement is tight.  The lyrics are straightforward, and why shouldn’t they be, when there are so few great songs about fidelity?

For those of you who already know me, you probably know about the radio show I have hosted on WLOY, Loyola Maryland’s campus radio station, for the past few years.  If not, let me explain.  It’s called Jeff Malone’s Magic Mix.  Every week, I pick a theme and make up a playlist to fit that theme.  Such themes have included Instrumentals, Fire, Dreams, Running, Songs with Titles That Are Also Movie Titles, the Weather, and a host of others.

My first show in January each year has been a best-of in the past year of music.  It is now my senior year at Loyola, which means that Jeff Malone’s Magic Mix will be coming to an end at the conclusion of this semester.  One of my last shows is going to be a top 25 countdown of my picks for the best songs of 2006-2009 (i.e., the years that I did best-of shows for individually).  I will also be writing a blurb about each song and posting the blurbs on WLOY’s website (http://www.wloy.org). In the meantime, I will spotlight some of those blurbs occasionally on here.  The full list will be revealed on April 12.

Priestess – Lay Down (2006)
“I’ll leave you in the dirt”
A cult of death has been a major part of metal music since as long as the metal has been around.  Death has been portrayed as something that is not so bad, and it has even been worshipped.  But rarely has death sounded as fun as it does on Priestess’s “Lay Down.”  With its looping guitar riff (perfect for bopping your head along to) and earnest vocals, “Lay Down” takes its cue for how to remember loved ones from the Mexican El Día de Los Muertos festival.  The lyrics convey an odd, intriguing mix of religious feeling and possible sympathy to euthanasia: a sort of “I am happy to leave you with God, now that your suffering in this life is over.”