EAR/NOSE CANDY

From a critical standpoint, it’s a smart rule to properly ingest and digest new songs, albums, videos, etc. before taking any sort of definitive stance. I’ve been burned plenty of times by not letting things grow on me; only to be dripping in yolk later. So no grand proclamations (yet), but a couple of new songs have surfaced (on the Internet, of course) and they’re certainly worth a few repeated listens. Tolerate, abhor, shrug off, whatever – just give these a chance. Might as well, January is a pretty dull month for music.

The supposed first single from the forthcoming N.3.R.D. album from Pharrell and co. leaked today. Like many N.E.R.D. songs, “Everyone Nose” does not sound like anything currently on the radio. It’s also a pleasant surprise – busy, sexy and very funny. Any pop act making music about “all the girls standing in the line for the bathroom” and the cocaine they’re about to snort gets a pass from me. The sultry breakdown at the end of the song’s first minute is quintessential Pharrell the Crooner, but the “Atchoooooo! Atchooooo!” on top is pure comedy. If coke wasn’t the new Red Bull yet, this song isn’t helping. Oh well. Did you hear those drums? (Spotted at The Fader)

Sean Fennessey posted “Black Hole,” a new Be Your Own Pet song from its album, Get Awkward, due in mid-March. If you’ve never heard them, here is a warning: the band is young (the drummer’s birth certificate reads 1990). Here is a warning to the warning: it doesn’t matter. “Black Hole” is fierce - snotty even - in a way only pissed-off youth can produce. The band’s frantic delivery (picture an angst-driven garage band angry at how bored they are) comes straight from vocalist Jemina Pearl Abegg and her deliciously bratty attitude. Read the lyrics for proof (sample: “Eating pizza is really great / So is destroying everything you hate”). (Spotted at Brokedown Palace)

I like these songs. More updates to come.