New Good Song: "Send Them Off!" Bastille 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Send Them Off!" by Bastille. They did that song "Pompeii," which was OK. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Somebody Else," The 1975 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Somebody Else" by The 1975. Apparently this isn't new at all, it's several months old, but a cover version of it by Verite was new a couple days ago, and that led me to discover this original, which I'd missed upon it's initial release. One of the benefits of remakes, I suppose. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "I Still Wonder," The Chain Gang of 1974 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "I Still Wonder" by The Chain Gang of 1974. Straight-up, I'm a complete sucker for this (over-used) chord progression, but this group does a lot of neat things with it. Great lyrics, too. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Errors," K.I.D 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Errors" by K.I.D. In lyrics, it's similar to "Habits" by Tove Lo (i.e., "I'm a screwed up woman). Great song, lots of fun. By the way, it's frustrating when a combination of title and artist are not search-friendly, like in this case. If you Google  "Kid" plus "errors" you get everything but this song. Reminds me, in that way, of a great 2013 song called "One" by Dearest. It was the artist's debut single, but she made it essentially impossible for anyone to find her online. In fact I just tried for five minutes and couldn't find a trace of her ever having existed. Sigh. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Strange World," Fallulah 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Strange World" by Fallulah. That chord change in the third line of chorus is absolutely captivating. Not sure the lyric video needs to be quite so '80s, given how transparently '80s the sound is. Seems a bit obvious and un-creative. But a fantastic song nevertheless. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Laid Low," The Naked and Famous 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Laid Low" by The Naked and Famous. This group was responsible for the 32nd best new good song of 2013, "Hearts Like Ours," and the 72nd best new good song of 2014, "I Kill Giants." "Laid Low" is very similar. "T / N / A / F," as they're currently stylizing their name, is a bit one-note, but it's a nice note. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Gold," Kiiara 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Gold" by Kiiara. This isn't particularly new, granted, but after hearing the clip of the spliced-together Frankenstein chorus many times and immediately being turned off, this song was played for me from the beginning at a barbecue recently. And in the context of the evening, with friends and food, it struck me that this is a great song, once you get used to that innovative/peculiar chorus. Very Lorde-ish. Not really sure what the message is, though. She has gold fillings and therefore had sex with her lousy boyfriend's brother in a basement? All right. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Animals," Ben Hobbs 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Animals" by Ben Hobbs. Certainly deserving more views than it currently has received (102 as of this writing). Very solid pop production with some unexpected melodic twists. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Fallout," Young Summer 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Fallout" by Young Summer, the stage name of Bobbie Allen. Very beautiful '80s-inspired ballad, reminiscent of Lavender Diamond or Levv. Everything here is superior -- lyrics, vocal performance, melody, arrangement, production. It's sincere and intensely catchy at the same time. One of the best songs of the year so far. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Come With Us," Sophie Ellis-Bextor 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Come With Us" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Thanks to LuisMa for this suggestions. It has a cute disco vibe with a slightly threatening underlying message that I interpret to be about a prostitution or porn ring: "Come with us. If you give us all your money, we'll give you your dreams. It’s all soft focus. You'll never want to turn away." I dunno, maybe I'm misinterpreting. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Sudden Feeling," HalfNoise 9.11.16

Here's a new good song: "Sudden Feeling" by HalfNoise. It's actually somewhat similar to the last song I featured, "Move" by Saint Motel, but it's quieter. Just a nice piece of mildly moody alt-pop, nice (albeit repetitious) chord progression, good melody. Reminds me a bit of Paper Kites. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Move," Saint Motel 9.9.16

Here's a new good song: "Move" by Saint Motel. This band was responsible for 2012's 33rd best new good song, "1997." Move is less muddled and a bit easier to understand, a more straightforward horn-fueled alt-pop song. The video's "360 Virtualizer" technique, which allows the view to control the point of view, is cool, and new to me (but may be old news to everyone else). Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Brand New Moves," Hey Violet 8.20.16

Here's a new good song: "Brand New Moves" by Hey Violet. It's fun and sexy. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Fire Fallin," Polly A. 8.20.16

Here's a new good song: "Fire Fallin" by Polly A. As of this writing, it has fewer than 100 views, so you're getting on the ground floor. If people have taste, this will be a hit. They don't, though. The highlight here is an unusual, unexpected chord progression in the chorus. All around very nicely done, other than the too-sudden ending (a pet peeve of mine; fade-outs, unexpected denouements and interesting breakdowns are always better than cutting the song off at the end of a chorus ... it's jarring and lazy). Anyway, enjoy!

New Good Song: "Kids," OneRepublic 8.20.16

Here's a new good song: "Kids" by OneRepublic. This band's output has been a firehouse of material since they came onto the scene nearly 10 years ago with "Apologize," a sleeper hit (shamelessly credited to Timbaland, who remixed the track, "featuring" OneRepublic) that peaked at No. 2 and was No. 5 for the year on Billboard's 2008 year-end chart. (Here's the original.) They put lots of material out in the subsequent years and later exactly matched the success of their debut, when "Counting Stars" peaked at No. 2 and was No. 5 for the year on Billboard's 2014 year-end chart. It happens that those two hits also are their two best songs, although a few others have been OK. Now they're back with "Kids," their best effort at least since "Counting Stars" and possibly since "Apologize." Remains to be seen, of course, whether the public agrees. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Give Me Tonight," Dustin Tebbutt 8.14.16

Here's a new good song: "Give Me Tonight" by Dustin Tebbutt. Enjoy!

New Good Songs: "Bleeding Heart" and "Small Bill$," Regina Spektor, 8.14.16

Here're two new good songs: "Bleeding Heart" and "Small Bill$" by Regina Spektor. Spektor is the latest in the great line of "Look me, aren't I quirky?" female singers like Kate Bush andTori Amos. She had the third-best new good song of 2006, her breakthrough and best-known track, "Fidelity." More recently she had the 45th-best new good song of 2012, "All The Rowboats," which I just re-listened to and think may have been better than I gave it credit for. She's got something for sure. These new songs are pretty good, too. Enjoy!

"Bleeding Heart":


"Small Bill$":

New Good Song: "Cheap Thrills," Sia f/ Sean Paul 8.14.16

Here's a new good song: "Cheap Thrills" by Sia f/ Sean Paul. I'm being a bit facetious by including this one because it's neither new, nor obscure enough to need to be called out in this way. It's currently the No. 1 song in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100. But I did want to go on record as saying that this track, which I originally dismissed, has grown on me. Sia had the second-best new good song of 2015, "Elastic Heart," as well as the 16th-best new good song of 2012, "Titanium," credited to David Guetta with Sia as a featured vocalist. "Cheap Thrills" is perhaps the most positive thing Sia has released, about not needing money to have fun (although I'm not sure how she got into the club without cash; and what is she drinking, water?). Sean Paul, incidentally, does music that generally isn't very good, although he was featured on Beyonce's "Baby Boy," the 10th-best new good song of 2003. Guess he's better in small doses. Enjoy!

New Good Song: "Cry Baby," Fickle Friends 8.14.16

Here's a new good song: "Cry Baby" by Fickle Friends. This English '80s throwback band was previously responsible for "Velvet," the 26th best new good song of 2015. "Cry Baby" is a bit faster with higher energy, but is in keeping with "Velvet" stylistically. Lead singer Natassja Shiner has tremendous capabilities on these tracks to be vulnerable while delivering performances as clear as glass. Enjoy!

New Good Songs: "Geeks," Hailey Knox 8.14.16

Here's a new good song: "Geeks" by Hailey Knox. It's a cute self-affirmation song, employing an appealing and slightly oddball chord progression and string arrangement, about outcasts getting their comeuppance. She's done a live video featuring people playing board games, but I prefer the studio version below. Enjoy!