Listen: Nautical Niceties from Kaptan, Eckhardt and the House and Little Wander

Yesterday I made a seitan asada "cheesesteak" burrito. Here's what played through my kitchen speakers:

Kaptan's "Everything" is like a self help book that has been set to song. The message is pretty straightforward..."Everything is going to be alright." Whatever you are dealing with, be it physical or mental or monetary, don't lose sight of what is important in life. Kaptan originally wrote the song for two people that he loved dearly who were struggling with different obstacles in their lives. One of those people is no longer with us, that's why the orange daisy has been included as part of the artwork. It was a favorite of hers. I can see why. It's a beautiful being (that was Hippy Tender speaking, he comes out to visit every once in a while).



The music of Eckhardt and the House has been called summery pop, relaxing pop, vintage pop. All of these seem to apply, at least when it comes to their new single "Beng, Beng, Beng." The beginning of the track and subsequent verses remind me a lot of some of Beck's work around the turn of the century. When I say this, I'm speaking completely about the vocal delivery and style, not so much with the music which is more straightforward pop than what Beck was doing at the time. But "Beng, Beng, Beng" finds its own niche when the chorus rolls around. Here we've got some upbeat, girl on guy, vocal mingling reminiscent of the "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives" version of Los Campesinos or Architecture in Helsinki when they aren't being super weird. So, to sum it up, "Beng, Beng, Beng" is what happens when Beck is shot from close range three times by his dueling barbers who just so happen to be wearing name tags that say Hi My Name is Gareth and Hi My Name is Aleksandra. The two of them proceed to hate the killing so much that they refuse to ever mention it on stage again. That was probably the most convoluted summary I've ever written.



Yesterday I sat my babysitter down and had a bit of a heart to heart. She's a woman on the run. She used to work a corporate job for a boss who Little Wander dubs "not even a real human being." She was sucked into the crappy corporate machine and treated like a cog. It crushed her to the point that her health dangled precariously in front of her. She took to the run, living the life of a stay at home babysitter, and those health issues have greatly reduced. Little Wander's "Life on the Run" is for the people who aren't like my babysitter. These are the people that haven't escaped, the ones that spend  too much time and energy and heart for money and power and have little time for anything else. It is a song that captures that romantic feeling of just running free and living "wildly outside expectations."

My thoughts on this track can be summed up like this: "F***, man. If Little Wander keeps doling this impressive sh** out, I'm gonna have to update my list of favorite bands next time Tonya asks me about them." I also can't help but wonder out loud "How the hell do they only have 184 likes on Facebook? Get with the times people!"