Day 51: Brolk

This week's genre tour is a term I am coining here: Brolk. Brolk is, obviously, a construction of Bro and Folk. Though many associate the term "Bro" with the obvious frathouse-blaring rap and butt rock, nu-metal and what have you, there is another, smaller enclave among the Bro populous that like to get their sensitive side out. Maybe they make a point to watch Grey's every week. Maybe they watch Garden State at least once a month. Or maybe they just throw on some Jack and pow-wow with the other bro-bros.

(Think of the Brolk fan as a combination of the "Sensy" [sensitive guy] explained on Scrubs and the frat guys who actually watch Scrubs.)

The thing is, Brolk is an anomaly. By all accounts these songs should be despised by this crowd. The themes they explore are soft and weak; but, at the same time, the way these subjects are addressed are done so usually in such a shallow way that they're ungodly identifiable. I mean, you look at a complex Folk song like "All Along the Watchtower" and there's a lot to wrap the head around, in comparison to something like, say, James Blunt's "You're Beautiful." I realize that's not a very fair argument, but it just illustrates how neutered, anesthetized and bland this genre is.

I guess that's about all. Oh, and don't give me shit about putting Bon Iver on this list. When heard back to back with the rest of these songs it isn't much different; I don't give a care how much praise that album got. And also, I don't dislike all of these songs. Some, but not all.

YouTube:
01. Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
02. Five For Fighting - Superman (It's Not Easy)
03. Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
04. John Mayer - Your Body Is A Wonderland
05. Joshua Radin - Closer
06. Bon Iver - Skinny Love
07. Ray LaMontagne - Trouble
08. Coldplay - Sparks
09. The Fray - How To Save A Life
10. Howie Day - Collide
11. James Blunt - You're Beautiful
12. Colin Hay - Beautiful World
13. Damien Rice - 9 Crimes
14. Matt Nathanson - Come On Get Higher
15. Jack Johnson - Fortunate Fool

imeem: External:

Day 51: Brolk

Thanks to Zach Braff,
Erik

Bonus Vid!


(Image by Michelle, Licensed Under Creative Commons)