'Merica Notes

I wanted to do something this week I've never done before here on MericaNotes. I've reviewed artists, playlists, albums, and genres as a whole- but I've never reviewed a single song. I'd like to take the time now to review the song "One"; originally written by U2 in 1990 from the album "Achtung Baby". The song has seen numerous covers over its 26 year span including Johnny Cash, Mary J. Blige, Mica Paris, REM, Joe Cocker, Damian Rice, Adam Lambert, and Pearl Jam. Frequently appearing on greatest songs lists, U2's song eared it's spot at number 36 on Rolling Stones'  The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.   While "One" in itself may sound like an slow anthemic love song, the meaning behind the song and its lyrical content goes far deeper than that. U2 frontman Bono described the song as such: "It is a song about coming together, but it's not the old hippie idea of 'Let's all live together.' It is, in fact, the ...

Last week, I did a take on the folk/progressive duo Foxes And Peppers, individually known as Fox Amoore and Pepper Coyote. And now for something completely different. The Atlanta based rap known as Outkast was formed in 1991 by Andre Benjamin and Antwan Patton. They were actually the first exposure I had to rap and hip hop. In addition, my first music video I'd ever seen was their track "Hey Ya". I was about 4 or 5 at the time I first heard OutKast play. Surprisingly enough, it was my mother that got me interested in rap and I'd hear her play Outkast and Eminem from time to time. Being so young I couldn't understand most of the lyrics, but I recently started getting back into OutKast thanks to one youtuber playing a piano cover of their song "Roses". Since then I've been listening to OutKast quite frequently. The duo achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success in the 1990s and early 2000s, helping to popularize Southern hip hop while deve...

Merry Christmas, happy new year, it's 2018! It's been a while since I last posted here on MericaNotes, coincidentally I haven't reviewed an artist in quite some time. To kick off the new year, instead of taking to a resolution that you'll only keep for a week, why not instead listen to an artist you'll never forget? And not just one, but two artists whom I truly have an appreciation for. You may not have heard of them before, but they've met and played for the likes of Daniel Craig and JK Rowling. I'm referring to the duo that is Jared Clark (Pepper Coyote) and Iain Armour (Fox Amoore).   While recently collaborating together on the album Hashtag , going unofficially under the name Foxes And Peppers for their duo, both artists have done some incredible work with their music individually as well as collaboratively. This week, I've decided to take a new direction and review both artists. I absolutely love their music, and I'd be doing an injustice to...