New Pornographers B-Sides and Bonus Tracks

Today's Music That Is Just What You Would Expect From The Title is a bunch of random New Pornographers tracks that I got for buying Challengers early. As this isn't really an album, I will actually review the individual songs, albeit briefly.

I decided that I will rate the songs on a scale equating my approval for each song to a certain condiment. That scale is as follows, in ascending order of approval:

mayonnaise - disgusting. thanks a lot, white people.
ranch dressing - stop putting this on everything. it's not a freakin' condiment!
ketchup - not so great.
marinara sauce - better, but still not quite there.
barbecue sauce - now we're talking
mustard - yellow and toxic, just the way nature intended. delicious.
basil pesto - done well, it's the cat's meow.
hot sauce - yes, please.

So now, the songs:

• The Arms of Mary / Looking at a Baby - pretty good stuff, even with the religious overtones. Maybe not the best NP track but still good. Score: mustard

• Failsafe Demo - I'm not overly fond of this song but I do like it. I prefer the album version, with Kathryn Calder doing the vocals (A.C. Newman is the singer here, which is fine). Score: barbecue sauce
  
  
• Silent Systems - not bad, either, but a B-side at best. Score: barbecue sauce
  
  
• Showstoppers Demo - I think the album version works better for a song like this, but it still has a little magic. Score: Mustard
  
  
• Go Places lite mix - pretty good! While I like the album version, the bare-bones version means less to compete with Neko's voice, always a plus. Score: basil pesto
  
  
• Speed of Luxury - I'm a little surprised this didn't make the album, but it's definitely worth a listen. Good stuff, here. Score: basil pesto
  
  
• Myriad Harbor Demo - okay, I guess. Not my favorite Bejar song. Works better with more instruments and a larger sound in general. Score: Marinara Sauce
  
  
• Fugue State - not bad, just lacks the dynamite hook of the better tracks. Score: Barbecue sauce
  
  
• Fortune - Really strong, probably would have been the first or second track to be added to the album if something had fallen off. Score: basil pesto
  
  
• Joseph, Who Understood - probably too sappy for what I would normally expect, but it might be my favorite track in this group. Score: basil pesto

So there you have it! Overall, this is a good but not great group of songs. I really like some of them, but I have a hard time picking this over one of the New Pornographers' albums.

In Other News:
I'm not sure if I'm excited or nervous for tomorrow. But I'm glad it's happening. This week needs to end!