New Good Song: Game Of Cards by Mason Brothers

Here's a new good song -- "Game Of Cards" by Mason Brothers.

The new offerings on the Alternative area of iTunes were so weak today that I had to take my hunt for new good songs to the Singer/Songwriter tab, which is sort of like not caring for anything on the menu at Ruth's Chris and going to Outback Steakhouse instead. Often, Singer/Songwriter is code for weepy and badly sung, but "Game Of Cards" stands out as a very pretty, clean, simple, old-fashioned folk-rock song. In 3/4 time, it has a nice story and melody. I think it will please.

But of course, this may not be the best new song of the week, as Mariah Carey fans eagerly await the Thursday release of her new song, "Triumphant." Mariah Carey's output is among the best, and she rarely disappoints with a studio-album lead single (see "Vision Of Love," "Emotions," "Dreamlover," "Fantasy," "Honey," "Heartbreaker," "Through The Rain," It's Like That," "Touch My Body" and "Obsessed" ... And, yes, I knew all that from memory). So hope for goodness come Thursday.

New Good Song: Without You by Monica

Here's a new good song -- "Without You" by Monica

I feel a little sorry for Monica because she's incredibly talented, but her body of work is boring. Perhaps that's why it's helpful when a talented vocalist can also write and produce, so her fate isn't in others' hands (e.g., Mariah Carey). Monica had a great out-of-the-gate song in 1995 with "Don't Take It Personal." "Angel of Mine" was good. Both her duets with Brandy were good. But if you look at her discography, you'll see lots of unfamiliar song titles and double-digit peak chart positions. Brandy has had better luck with her collaborators.

That said, I am pleasantly tickled by "Without You," her latest. Nice work here -- dramatic but not over-done, good melody, pleasant percussion-heavy old-school production and instrumentals. Well-arranged, well-performed. Cool outro.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Reunion by M83

Here's a new good song -- "Reunion" by M83

M83's output continues to impress. They created what was probably the best new good song of 2008, "Kim & Jessie," and have had one of the best new good songs of 2012, "Midnight City." And here's another -- "Reunion."

M83's songs always come strong right out of the gate. You can tell by 00:03 of "Reunion" that it's good. And it is. You can't understand a single word, but who cares? Google the lyrics, and you'll see they're just fine too. M83 has an original, dramatic sound that's part 1980s and part 2440s.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Laura by Bat for Lashes

Here's a new good song -- "Laura" by Bat for Lashes

This is such a pretty song, except for the second half of the chorus: "Laura / You're more than a superstar." The melody goes off the hinges here, and the sentiment is dumb. It's so bad it almost makes this song not good. But the remaining 96% is just beautiful. Great piano, cello, nice singing, very quiet, well-produced, and just lovely.

Bat for Lashes had another good song a few years ago, "Daniel." Are Laura and Daniel friends? Exes? Enemies? Who's to say. But they both live on in good songs -- very different-sounding songs, I might add. "Laura" has a nearly Sarah McLachlan quality, while "Daniel" sounds a bit New Wave.

Enjoy.

New Good Song: 50 Ways to Say Goodbye by Train

Here's a new good song -- "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" by Train

Train is an interest band when it comes to new good songs. The group has developed an eager-to-please quality that I find somewhat disingenuous. They were straight and narrow on the Adult Top 40 path at first, with "Meet Virginia," "Drops of Jupiter" and "Calling All Angels." Then when they had a huge surprise hit with "Hey, Soul Sister," which would potentially have been good had it been written/performed within 10 miles of lead singer Pat Monihan's vocal range. Following this, we were subjected to "Drive By," which seemed transparent in its attempt to copy the appeal of "Sister."

Incidentally, I'm not overly wild about this portfolio of output, although I'm pleased that the band is relatively popular, given that they play instruments, and Monahan, at age 43, is ancient by pop music standards. "Calling All Angels" is kind of moving and has an especially nice bridge. "Ordinary" has a a great opening and chorus, but throwaway verses. And "Marry Me" is a nicely executed, albeit expected, ballad.

Now we have "50 Ways to Say Goodbye," the follow-up to "Drive By," and I'm not sure it's superior to the rest of the discography, but it's whimsical, catchy, nicely produced and fun to listen to, and is thus a nice summer-playlist addition. Much of my musical taste runs toward the melancholy, but I'm not above something light and cheerul now and then. Scary, perhaps, that I consider a song about a devastating breakup to be light and cheerful. I digress.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Angels by The xx

Here's a new good song -- "Angels" by The xx

This is a gentle, quiet, whispery song that gets elevated by the spare and intentional use of magical instrumentals. It's also quite sexy without being vulgar. Not everyone's cup of tea, I'm sure, but give it a whirl.

New Good Song: Bitter by Midian

Here's a new good song -- "Bitter" by Midian

One of the most popular pop and soul chord progressions is I vi IV V7, most famously called "Heart and Soul" and familiar to all pianists, or wannabe pianists. Examples are endless. Offhand I can think of a few: "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, "Lucky" by Britney Spears and even a song a few posts down on this blog, "Secondhand" by Cassadee Pope. I believe this is referred to as an earworm.

Obviously this is a winning formula, and yet not all songs that follow this chord progression are good. Examples: "Friday" by Rebecca Black "Baby" by Justin Bieber.

Anyway, here's another, "Bitter" by Midian. It's the same chord progression, and with a production and instrumental arrangement that I believe is '60s. On both counts, it's quite similar to "Forever" by Mariah Carey. And the singing style is borrowed too. But the lyrics and melody here are good enough to stand the song up on its own. Quite a nice effort, with a few surprises to keep it interesting.

New Good Song: To Who Knows Where by James Iha

Here's a new good song -- "To Who Knows Where" by James Iha

James Iha is from Smashing Pumpkins, which is not a band that produces much that one would consider pleasant to the ear, but this is a nice song, a bit trippy, full of wonder and with nice instrumentals. The opening reminds me of the far better "Call Me Mellow" by Tears For Fears, one of that band's two or three best songs.

Enjoy.

New Good Song: Settle Down by No Doubt

Here's a new good song -- "Settle Down" by No Doubt

Today's music charts are flooded with names you hadn't heard a year ago. Some of this output is good, some awful. But regardless, when you reach a certain age, it's particularly comforting to see 15- or 20-year-old acts pop back up on the scene. It says something reassuring about your age, as well as your taste.

Such an act doesn't even need to be one of which you were a fan. Recently, I was excited to see Matchbox Twenty back on the charts. "Oh, goody!" I thought. "Matchbox Twenty!" Then I realized that Matchbox Twenty didn't produce anything good except "Bent." Still I was glad they were back. Odd.

No Doubt similarly popped back onto the iTunes charts recently. And I thought, again, "Oh goody! No Doubt!" No Doubt's remake of "It's My Life" is one of my 10 favorite songs of all time, perhaps even Top 3. And "Early Winter" by Gwen Stefani is in myAll-Time Top 50 as well. But then again, some pretty awful junk has come out of these people. "Hella Good"? Inappropriately titled.

And yet, as it was with Matchbox Twenty, I was excited to see that they are back. And I was further excited to hear "Settle Down" and determine it to be good. Expectations are high when a band has had a 10-year hiatus, and naturally some fans will be disappointed, but this is a good song. It reminds me of what "Hey Baby" could have sounded like if it hadn't been so horrible.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Yoyo by Pop Etc

Here's a new good song -- "Yoyo" by Pop Etc

I've been adoring this song for roughly a month but haven't been able to post it because it was neither on YouTube nor Spotify. But it looks like it was just uploaded.

One of the summer's best songs, and almost everyone will miss it. But not you!

New Good Song: Secondhand by Cassadee Pope

Here's a new good song -- "Secondhand" by Cassadee Pope

It's a bit of a Taylor Swift ripoff, but it's cute.

New Good Song: Blue by First Aid Kit

Here's a new good song -- "Blue" by First Aid Kit

I love melancholy lyrics especially put to cute, cheerful music. Observe:

And the only man you ever loevd, who you thought was going to marry you /
Died in a car accident when you were only twenty-two /
Then you just decided love wasn't for you /
And every year since then has proved it to be true /
Now you're just a shell of your former you ...

But is there happy ending? A resolution in the third act, or some hope? Nope! Makes the whole song a little on the nose, but nonetheless good. And apparently these women are Swedish, so they are forgiven for lyrics that leave the listener feeling pretty ... well, blue. Enjoy! Or admire, then be sad.

New Good Song: Waiting Alone by Shiny Toy Guns

Here's a new good song -- "Waiting Alone" by Shiny Toy Guns.

All there is to say is wow, at least upon first listen. Sometimes a new good song seems less good once the "wow" of the initial listen wears off. I'm not completely convinced, upon repeated listens, that this song is quite as amazing as I originally thought. But hear for yourself.

UPDATE (July 21): Sorry, this song isn't good after all. It's juvenile. The lyrics are hard to bear on repeated listens. Apologies.

New Good Song: Blow Me (One Last Kiss) by P!nk

Here's a new good song -- "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" by P!nk

P!nk is one of those artists that you forget exists until they put out yet another new good song, and then you think to yourself, "Goodness, that person puts out a lot of new good songs." Kelly Clarkson is also such a person, as is Mary J. Blige. No matter, P!nk has returned again with a quality tune. It is quite similar in style, attitude and production to some of her other recent songs (e.g., "Raise Your Glass," "So What"), but it ain't broke.

This song has the characteristic P!nk-isms: catchy turns of phrases, a fuck-you sensibility, a full and loud production, and a sing-along melody. It's often a nice refreshment when she returns with new output.

New Good Song: Enough of No Love by Keyshia Cole

Here's a new good song -- "Enough of No Love" by Keyshia Cole f/ Lil Wayne

As I've mentioned previously, the gross dearth of real/quality R&B in 2012 means that each trickling of output gets quite a bit of my attention, and it's possible that the strong hunger for such music lowers the bar a bit. Perhaps "Enough of No Love" would barely have been a blip on the radar had it been released 10 or 15 years ago. But it is what it is, and what it is is a new good song.

What we have here is great singing and a to-the-heart message, emotionally delivered over a dramatic, full production. Naturally Lil Wayne's unnecessary contribution sours the song, but I have come to accept that Lil Wayne makes a nice living off making good songs less good. I wish I had seen the opening for that job several years ago, because I'd have dropped whatever I was doing to pursue his career.

I discovered this song on iTunes. Always keep an eye on the R&B/Soul chart for new songs.