"The Bird and the Worm" by The Used from Lies for the Liars

Okay, I admit—found this song from the Moonlight episode "Arrested Development," when Mick's getting beaten up by the 16 going-on-200 vampire. First Moonlight episode I saw, and I liked it enough to try another episode or two, which got me hooked on the rest.

This single from The Used's third studio album Lies for the Liars is evidently one of their cleaner ones. (Evidently the band doesn't mind using, for example, the f-word.)

The mysic and lyrics of "The Bird and the Worm" have been called a dark-toned edition of Panic! at the Disco. Maybe that's why it caught my ear. I'm personally also reminded of Three Days' Grace. Bret McCracken has similar vocals to those other two bands, too.

Most people aren't sure what the song means. Some suggestions for the meaning of "He crawls like a worm from a bird" have ranged from a regular person struggling with unavoidable events in life to an abused individual fleeing the abuser.

In any event, the end result is a kinda gritty-sounding song that meshes a few different sounds and tempos with the growling and such. I'm not quite sure how to describe it besides "darkly rough." It has something of a post-grunge feel to it, even if the band doesn't classify it that way.

Overall, it was a very good choice for where it was put in the Moonlight episode. Personally, I don't care for listening to it on its own, though others who like the genre will likely be quite fond of it.

And the music video is bewilderingly freaky. (Oh, and a bit gruesome.) As a bit of a warning.

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Lyrics: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 7/10

"Dark As Love" by Luscious Redhead

Okay, this song technically hasn't come out yet. I found it in the new CBS series Moonlight (the everyday drama with a vampire PI leaves me bouncing in my seat like no TV show has since I was twelve and watching Star Trek: DS9—and I don't own a TV). Specifically it's the song in the episode "12:04 am" (the one with the cult leader), when the heroine, Beth, walks in to the vampire's office and finds the file cabinet. And that's all I'll say about that in case you've not seen it.

But because this song isn't really out yet, I can't exactly find much history on it. From what I understand, the song was written by Melissa Ritter and Doug DeAngelis, but performed by Luscious Redhead, who might actually be Melissa Ritter. (I'll update this when more info comes clear.)

Anyway, it's a slow, "wet" (echoing) sound, kinda like Enigma's "Gravity of Love." Though the vocals for this song aren't the best, they're well-complimented by the music, particularly the lovely piano that peeks in. From the start with "She… came down… down… down… from heaven…" the song soothes even while some people might find it a tad dark.

I can't find a copy of the lyrics, but from listening to the song, it sounds clean. Something about a dark woman coming down from heaven and hypnotizing everyone with her beauty, possibly referencing a dangerous woman with a gorgeous façade. The repetitive chorus consists of "dark as love" and something about shadows several times. It also mentions something about angels falling. Suffice to say that I don't quite get it.

While I don't find it a jaw-dropping wonder, "Dark As Love" certainly has an enticing sound (particularly in tandem with the scene from Moonlight). It may draw you back, it may not. In the least, it's well-mixed.

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Lyrics: 3/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 3/5
Overall: 7/10