Song of the Week Roundup: April 2021

ICYMI: A roundup of the song of the week features from the past month.

​ "Juarez" - Boytoy

T&E writer Greg says, "We've all had that thought: The border's right there. Nothing but an imaginary boundary between my next planned stop and an unplanned life south of the border. The all-female, surfy California rockers in Boytoy must've had the idea at some point, because they turned it into a sound that pushes the listener just a little closer to taking that drive (or in the song, a train hop). Even if you're not planning to bail on your current life for a new one in Mexico, it's still a solid road trip song, posted here just in time for your summer playlist."

​"Holding Back The Years" - Simply Red

T&E writer Nick Gonzaga says, “This song transports me to a different time. Whenever I hear it, I can feel 1988 in my bones and the image is burnished in 4K HD in my minds eye. My mom is wiping the kitchen counters, I’m drinking milk out of a yellow sunflower shaped sippy cup with no lid like a big boy at a round wooden table and a cigarette is smoldering in the ashtray at the opposite end in front of my grandfather next to his coffee cup full of Ten High Kentucky Bourbon as he reads the paper.”

​

"Silver Platter Club" - John Grant

T&E writer DJ El Toro says, "I have a favorite New Yorker cartoon, by Emily Flake, of a father encouraging his kid on the playground: "Son, if you can't say something nice, say something clever but devastating." An essential survival skill. No matter how relentlessly I check my privilege as a middle-age white dude, I still envy and resent the Old Boys' Club on occasion. Thank heavens their days are numbered..."

​

"Burn Rubber On Me" - Gap Band

T&E artist Mike Cochiolo says, "'Burn Rubber On Me' was one of the first funk songs that really stuck with me. I'm still relatively new to the genre, but this song makes me excited to continue exploring what funk has to offer. The rhythm is unbelievably catchy, the guitars and synths are so smooth and sweet, and the tune and lyrics are just biting enough to give the song some edge... not to mention frontman Charlie Wilson's rough and raspy vocal performance! It's an incredibly danceable song that makes moving to the beat hard to resist."