BØRNS’ Summer Hit ‘American Money’

BØRNS, also known as Garett Borns, is a singer-songwriter who released his first album Dopamine in 2015.  Some hits off this album include “Electric Love” and “Emerald Pools.”

His hit “American Money” is played on rock and alternative stations. This catchy tune has glimpses of indie, rock, and pop. The track starts slowly with Garett simply uttering his beautifully written lyrics. After about a minute, it picks up with the lyrics, “you taste just right, sweet like Tennessee honey” and “oh, paradise in your eyes, green like American money.” The lyrics rhyming make it that more easy to love.

In an article in Interview magazine, he says that a lot of his songs “are inspired by a muse of some sort, whether she’s real or not.” He adds that he “likes writing love songs”  and “romantic poetry.”  His influences range from the Zombies to the Bee Gees to Earth, Wind, and Fire. He describes his writing style as one where he paints a picture while still keeping the lyrics as simple as possible.

‘Bad Decisions’ by Two Door Cinema Club

When first listening to this song, it didn’t sound like Two Door Cinema Club whatsoever. The sounds resemble the same sound and even similar voice to that of Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit. The song is full of electronic beats and lyrics that are quick and easy to learn. For fans, this may be alarming, since the style of this track sounds nothing like Two Door Cinema Club’s hits “What You Know” and “Something Good Can Work.” The last album they released came out in 2012, so it has been a while since they have released new music. Their third album Gameshow will come out on August 14th.

Bastille’s ‘Good Grief’

Bastille does an amazing job creating music that ventures into new territory, but that still resonates with their identity.  On “Good Grief,” Dan Smith’s distinctive voice energizes the song and brings listeners joy, while simultaneously having depressing lyrics.

The first time I heard the song was on the radio. My first impression of the song came after hearing the first few words, which was a sample from a movie. The woman, Kelly LeBrock, at the beginning of “Good Grief” says, “So what would you little maniacs like to do first?” At first, I was confused, but after hearing the song several times that first line became one of my favorite parts of the song. Another part of the song that always makes me smile is the sample, “If you want to be a party animal, you have to learn to live in the jungle, now stop worrying and go and get dressed.”

In a video “I Wrote That Song,” a backstage segment on The Tonight Show, Dan described the song as an “incredibly uplifting song on the awfulness of grief.” The band also mentioned how the samples in the song were of Kelly LeBrock from the film Weird Science.

After hearing the song for the first time, I quickly started to learn the infectious lines, “What’s gonna be left of the world if you’re not it?” and “Every minute and every hour, I miss you, I miss you, I miss you more.”

The song “Good Greif” is from their second LP, Wild World, which comes out on September 9th.