Good-Pass Filter

Good Old War

Pink is the new black?

Like a hip, modern Crosby, Stills & Nash, Good Old War delivers harmony-centric fun folk-rock that keeps growing on me the more I listen to it. The lyrics are memorable and the melodies are catchy. I dare you to get this song out of your head:

That song is from their new album, Come Back As Rain, which came out just a couple months ago.

Excellent use of violent imagery.

I really dig this cover, which conveys a sense of serenity and peace…which begs the question: Why does a band named for war, make me feel calm and happy inside? Apparently, the words in their name have less of a collective meaning than I thought, and were in fact derived from the band-members names (keith GOODwin, tim arnOLD, dan schWARtz).  Clever ruse, gents.

If you want to listen to this album a few times, I heartily recommend it. So go ahead, and hit play so you can listen for awhile while you scroll down .

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Beyond the fact that these guys make some good music and purportedly put on a rousing good show, they’ve got a journalist in their midst.  Drummer/singer Tim Arnold is also a part of a travel-writers collective called Matador Network, where he writes about life as a touring musician. The other writers are mostly outdoorsy or academic types, so no direct link to our pop-culture haven here at YourPopFilter.com but if you’re reading this then you may enjoy reading, ergo you may enjoy that other site where you can go to read things.  Anyway, if you especially want to read Mr. Arnold’s recent article “How to rock the Econolodge” you can read all about his recent mid-tour day-off in lovely Cleveland, OH.

Good Old War is obviously familiar with the road, after 10 years of touring, so if you want to see these seasoned road warriors play some shows this summer, check out their tour dates here. They are touring with Dave Matthews this summer and joining up with my old pals Dispatch in the fall.

In related news……..

Given the closeness of genre between Good Old War and Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show, I couldn’t help but include this trailer for the upcoming traveling railroad documentary Big Easy Express:

This documentary follows the aforementioned bands as they take a week and a half train-ride down to New Orleans in which they play a bunch of music and talk about even more music.  Their inspiration was drawn from another great music documentary, Festival Express, which featured Janis Joplin, The Gratefuk Dead, the Band and more back in 1970, when they were at they top of their game.  It is no wonder the newer bands were inspired to go on a crazy musical train-ride after watching Festival Express.  It is inspiring, to say the least.

If you’ve ever wondered what the big deal is about Janis Joplin or the Grateful Dead, you might find yourself entranced if you watch Festival Express.  If you’re under 50 it is likely that you never experienced the best Janis and the Dead had to offer and instead you’ve been subjected to excessive nostalgia as it relates to them.  This film gives you a chance to know them as all those old hippies know them…if that’s what you’re going for.