Jerry's Pick: "You & I"

"You & I"-Colony House

Did the presidential election stress you out? Has the Trump presidency driven a political wedge between you and some of your friends or co-workers?

Well, if I'm interpreting the lyrics correctly, this Tennessee band may have tapped into the nation's political anxiety during that seemingly very long campaign. As lead vocalist Caleb Chapman laments in the new Colony House track "You & I," "Somehow, we're okay with all these differences leaving us blind..."

The band explained to Laura Craddock of Billboard, "Lyrically and musically this song pushed us out of what's comfortable to us. In a time in history that feels so fragile we feel like this song takes a different perspective. The lyric 'Maybe the world isn't crazy, maybe it's you and I' is our attempt to look at ourselves before we point a finger at someone else."

Aside from the efficient and effective lyrics, the tempo is a bit complex yet compelling. You'll notice "You & I" cruises along just fine between second and third gears until the middle-eight when there's a brief downshift (along with a operatic tip-of-the-hat to Freddie Mercury) before the band once again steps on the gas taking this driving Colony House joyride all the way to the finish line.

"Musically, we approached this song like a live show. We recorded it as one take with all of us playing our instruments in a room at the same time. That approach really helped us draw out the emotion and urgency that the song expresses."

Although the song doesn't start until about two-minutes into their hostile yet hysterical sibling rivalry-themed music video (below), I think "You & I" is a nice little rocker that's definitely worth the short wait.

Jerry's Pick: "Small Bill$"

"Small Bill$"-Regina Spektor  

Regina is back!

Boo, you whore! Not that Regina!

It's the return of my favorite Soviet-born, classically-trained, pop pianist -- Regina Spektor -- whose new album (Remember Us To Life) is her first in an American presidential term.

I first fell in love with this blue-eyed, redheaded, Brooklyn-raised expatriate through her quirky but cute compositions "On the Radio" and "Don't Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)."

But aside from said quirky cuteness, she also has an amazing knack of painting colorful images with that special Spector style of poetry... kinda-sorta like fairy tales for grown-ups that seem to lean a little more toward the Grimm than the Hans Christian.

While Regina's personality always comes across as bubbly and bright, I have a theory on how she manages to tap into her inner sinister.

She told Noisey's Kim Taylor Bennett, "I kind of always had that tragedies-looming-around outlook. Just having come from generations of Stalin and World War II... everybody had all these horrible stories that I grew up listening to: People getting taken out and shot or buried in the roads alive -- I sort of didn't grow up (with) Coke-a-Cola, Mickey Mouse..."

Regina -- who just became a mom for the first time -- explained, "I'm at the most happiest time in my life and I'm writing some of the darkest and kind of most sad -- music."

For "Small Bill$," Spektor conveys her fable of a man with major money problems who is being chased and swallowed by debt. The dramatic strings and booming backbeat may match its metaphorical theme, but what makes this track charming is Regina's playful voice and catchy cadence highlighted by a whimsical chorus layered with lots of "la-las."

Now that I really think about it, "Small Bill$" is so Soviet kitsch that it's more Soviet kitsch than Soviet Kitsch was Soviet kitsch.

Yep, being in the red never sounded so much fun!