March 8, 2009 | 1 Comment |
From our good pal, and fellow ShipRocker Allyson, over at Bring Back Glam:
It’s no secret that Lynam are one of my favorite bands. They earned that distinction though hard work and wonderful music. Now, Lynam are asking for our opinions. A few days ago, Lynam sent a notice to their fans, asking for help in selecting the next single from Tragic City Symphony. The first single, ‘Save My Soul’ has done quite well – and is still getting good airplay on Octane, a satellite radio station.
In case you’re wondering, my choice for the next Lynam single: ‘Is This a Heartbreak Or a Loaded Gun?’
Needless to say, your humble Captain is a big-time champion of Lynam’s music. And since I pride myself a bit of an amateur A&R guy, I’ll weigh in here with a few candidates, and then my ultimate pick…
Is This A Heartbreak Or A Loaded Gun seems to have everything: a recurring ‘woo-hoo,’ a couple of really nice hand-clapper breaks during the chorus, and of course you can never go wrong with a talk box guitar solo.
Enemy starts strong with a nice shot-gun snare, and is followed by some very effective use of the most important instrument in all truly great rock songs, the cowbell.
Porn Star is probably the best candidate to launch the band into radio superstardom, based on the opening lines alone. Teen boys will love it. (Teen girls will secretly love it). Teen parents will loathe it. And as we know, many a career have been launched by those catchy songs that parents hate.
If You Leave is just the kind of lush, power-ballad-with-strings kind of production that you would expect a band to release after a breakthrough radio hit like the aforementioned “Porn Star,” to show their more sensitive side. (It is also a VERY close second to my final pick below)
White Trash Superstar is actually a guilty pleasure, thanks to my Southern roots. And really, have you heard a better infusion of banjo into a hard rock song? As White Trash singles go, I much prefer Lynam’s “Superstar” to Motley’s “Circus.”
But my ultimate choice for Lynam’s next single is Just Say Anything, another of their accessible, simple, serious, melodic power-ballads. It builds from a near Goo Goo Dolls perfect acoustic piano and guitar intro, into an emotional, hard driving chorus, throws in the kind of guitar solo that would make Neal Schon proud, then quickly closes where it began. As pop/rock song craft goes, it’s as good as it gets (frankly, I’d put Jacob right up there in the same league as Mr. Rzeznik). In my opinion its the best track on the album.
You too can vote for your choice by visiting Lynam’s MySpace page and sending a message to the band. Just write “favorite song” in the subject line.
I agree that “Just Say Anything” should be the next single, though you may have a point with the “Porn Star” song…release that first and then go with the ballad.