New Good Song: Distance by Christina Perri f/ Jason Mraz

Here's a new good song -- "Distance" by Christina Perri f/ Jason Mraz

"Distance" is a sadder echo of another good Jason Mraz duet, "Lucky," featuring Colbie Callait. Mraz is doing quite well with his output in general, coming off the very nice "I Won't Give Up" earlier this year.

Perri's previous work hasn't exactly aligned with my tastes. She's clearly very talented, but "Jar Of Hearts" and "A Thousand Years" were over the top in vocal delivery and production while being underwhelming in their lyrical content. If as a singer you want to shoot for wringing out emotion, the bar is higher for lyrics. They need to be mature. Perhaps this a double standard. At 25, Perri is younger than, say, Carly Rae Jepsen, who is 26. But my expectations for Jepsen are different because she sings in a more juvenile way and is shooting for a younger target audience. The production of "Call Me Maybe" is poppy and cute, but it works with the delivery, the lyrics, and even Jepsen's clothes. Perri seems to want to be taken more "seriously," which is to say appreciated by adults, so when she's practically shouting at us about a metaphorical jar of hearts, some (i.e., women who are nurturing the wounds of a breakup) may cry, but others (like me) will roll their eyes. Perri co-wrote "Jar Of Hearts" and "A Thousand Years," so perhaps she is destined to be restrained by mediocre material as long as she insists on helping compose it.

These double standards for women go back a long way. Take Britney Spears than Christina Aguilera, who are basically the same age. Spears is cute and a nice performer, but seemed perpetually 13; her vocal delivery and production make it OK to sing about liking boys and being in clubs. Aguilera, on the other hand, has a huge voice and is wildly more talented, so the bar is higher for her output -- we want her to act like a woman, since she sings like one, and to sing songs that have some meaning and impact. I do not think Aguilera's body of work has risen to people's expectations, given her talent. Expectations for Spears, meanwhile, are low. We're just happy when she is not going insane before our eyes.

On "Distance," Perri seems to have elevated the content of the lyrics and relaxed a little with the production and delivery, and the result is emotional impact that to me was missing in her previous songs. She seems more comfortable here and, thus, mature. Mraz's harmonies are a nice addition. If Perri can channel her talent into work that seems more sincere, I think she can be the engine behind many future good songs.

Enjoy!

New Good Song: Sovereign Light Cafe by Keane

Here's a new good song -- "Sovereign Light Cafe," by Keane

How I found this song -- VH1 + Wikipedia. Keane has had one of the year's better new good songs, "Silenced By The Night." I discovered that song, if memory serves, in a totally 1992 kind of way -- on VH1. I DVR their Top 20 Video Countdown and sometimes scan through it on the weekend, even though that's silly because the list is also online. Having remembered that "Silenced By The Night" was a new good song, I visited Wikipedia to learn of what else Keane may have released since, and discovered "Sovereign Light Cafe," which is newer than "Silenced" but not as good.

What makes this song good? I respect a cheerful song that sounds as if its melody was carefully written, as opposed to improvised. This song borders on being a little too "la-di-da" but may remind you of Ben Folds or the Beatles in a good way. It's cute and timeless. Nice to stroll down the streets of New York to.

Is VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown a good source for new good songs? Surprisingly, yes. I have been consistently surprised that this countdown contains songs I manage not to discover through my numerous other hunting techniques, such as "Never Go Back" by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. It's strange that a network that exhibits poor taste in its reality programming actually exhibits good taste in its video countdown. Sometimes what's on VH1's list will surprise you because it spans genres nicely -- you'll get the Adult Top 40 music you expect (e.g., Train, Jason Mraz, Daughtry, John Mayer) plus artists you've never heard of (e.g., Ed Sheeran, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals) as well as some hand-picked mainstream head-scratchers (e.g., Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, David Guetta, Usher). Not all of this is good, but some of it is. On this week's chart, for example, "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz is good, as is "Give Your Heart A Break" by Demi Lovato and "Lights" by Ellie Goulding, although frankly if you were to have followed my advice and techniques from this blog you would have discovered these songs a few months ago.