If It's Too Loud...

I'm a big Godzilla fan. I still remember seeing the 1990s version with Matthew Broderick and being disgusted, and I made it a point to go to a Thursday evening showing for King of the Monsters , the latest installment. Spoiler alert: it's awesome. What's also awesome? The end credits feature Bear McCreary's take on the Blue Oyster Cult "classic" song "Godzilla," adding some epic orchestration and System of a Down's Serj Tankian on vocals. Whereas the Blue Oyster Cult version is reminiscent of a Spinal Tap gag, the McCreary version ends up having the epic scope that the big ol' lug deserves. I basically found excuses to put this on repeat all weekend long, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Go see Godzilla: King of the Monsters on the biggest possible screen you can, and check out this (and other) score from Bear McCreary when you have a chance. You won't regret it.

2019 sounds like a good time to resurrect an old series here, Current Obsessions, where we wax semi-poetic about the stuff that's really nailing it for us. Today, "Wasted Nun" by Cherry Glazerr. On one hand, while I've been a fan of Cherry Glazerr since their early EPs, I have never quite put them in the same box with Tancred, Charly Bliss, and the like with the whole alt-rock revival thing we saw a few years ago. With that said, Apocalypstick was an album of the week for me when it came out and this new song? Well, wow - this song is incredible. The song does not waste any time getting to the point, with a heavier sound and some crunchy guitars getting right into it. The chorus is less melodic and more pleading, with a style that I yelled right along with in the car yesterday afternoon - even though I'm not a wasted girl, I certainly feel like I'm no fun sometimes, and one has to wonder where this song is coming from specifically. And a shout out ...

I know virtually nothing about Benjamin Booker. He was one of the first acts announced for this year's Newport Folk Festival, and he seems to have come out of nowhere. When he was announced, he had less than 500 "likes" on Facebook, and two videos on YouTube. I mean, what musician has only two videos on YouTube? Your 14 year old nephew's band has at least a dozen, and they haven't played a show yet. How does someone so virtually unknown get added to one of the most prestigious festivals in the country? By being amazing. His influences range from Blind Willie Johnson to T. Rex. His sound is like early blues recordings mixed with MC5 and Death. It's one of the most raw and unique sounds I've heard in years while still being straight up rock n' roll. It fits completely into everything you already know and love but mixes it up in a way you've never heard before. At this point, I have no idea when his debut albums comes out, but I need it. Now. Be...

I don't know if I can truly call Leyla McCalla a current obsession. I first discovered her playing the FreshGrass Festival in 2012. She was still with the Carolina Chocolate Drops then and played her own set earlier in the day. I think it's pretty safe to say no one had ever heard of her before that day, but everyone who was there for her set shares my obsession. She even had a true encore, which is incredibly rare for a slot early in the day at a festival. As soon as I saw her, I wanted to own everything she had out, which, unfortunately, was nothing. Her debut album, Vari-Colored Songs, A Tribute to Langston Hughes , comes out February 4. It's by far my most anticipated release of 2014. How does a debut album from a little known artist best known for being a short time member of Carolina Chocolate Drops become my most anticipated release in a year that promises albums from Drive-By Truckers, Beck, and Wu-Tang Clan? By being one of the most original voices folk has see...

I've mentioned here and there about my mid-to-late 1990s electronica/techno addiction I went through. I enjoyed groups like Orbital quite a bit, but it was ultimately the more difficult/interesting artists like Aphex Twin that stuck with me as I transitioned to more of an indie rock listening trajectory. I always kept some of the electronic love in my back pocket (Of Montreal's electro phase was a solid time for me), but it's only fairly recently that I've come back into the fold a little more significantly. I was never much into trance or big beat type stuff. I enjoyed a good deal of house music, and today's house-influenced pop is really great, but the dubstep/brostep thing leaves me cold. Meanwhile, a band I knew of but never ever listened to, Boards of Canada, released their first album in eight years this year with Tomorrow's Harvest . I was interested in listening to it, but since I'm more or less an exclusive Spotify listener and basically none...

It's rare for me to hear hit songs these days that aren't cultural touchstones. I went through a week where I heard "Blurred Lines" 8 times a day a few weeks back, everyone heard "Get Lucky," etc. For me to know a song that's on a TV show or a movie these days is rare ( Pitch Perfect is a weird movie for me in that regard), and while there's something to having that shared experience, well, I saw Miley twerk it and I think I'm all set. With that said, I tripped up on Lorde's "Royals" last week, and I am obsessed . I could listen to this song on repeat for an hour and not tire of it. It's a lot like Kimbra in a sense, except I'm nearly old enough to be Lorde's father and this song is more accessible. It's not really alt-rock, it's not really pop music, I don't really know what to make of it, but I do know that it's really, really good. Give it a listen above. Her EP, The Love Club , is out now...