Song Of The Day – “Lightning Bolt” by Jake Bugg

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Things you need to know about Jake Bugg…

1.  1. He’s not a young Dylan. There was only one young Dylan and he’s not young anymore.
2.  2. He’s not a New Dylan. You can choose everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Elvis Costello to Beck to fill in the blank, none of them were new Dylans, and neither is Jake Bugg. Jake Bugg is, well, Jake Bugg.
3. 3. Although he was dubbed the “East Midlands Bob Dylan” early on, he’s not that guy either.
4. 4. Dylan was barely an influence – “Bob Dylan’s cool, you know, he’s great, but he’s not a major influence.” – Jake Bugg. Besides, if you want to play spot the influence, you could say he sounds more like Donovan than Dylan anyway, and you can hear echoes of The Beatles and Johnny Cash in there too.
5. 5. If you’re looking for an influence, look no further than Don McLean’s single “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)” as broadcasted on an episode of The Simpsons. Bugg says that was his formative musical moment.
6. 6. Bugg is not an affected made up name. His real name is Jacob Edward Kennedy, but his father’s last name is actually Bugg.
7. 7. His hair style spells Bieber; everything else about him spells credibility.
8. 8. He was chosen by the BBC to appear on their “Introducing” stage at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival at the age of 17. This appearance resulted in him being signed to Mercury Records.
9. 9. When his debut album was released in England last October, it shot all the way to the top of the charts. The album’s single, “Two Fingers” climbed to number 28.
10. 10. Today’s Song Of The Day was played at the London 2012 Olympic games during the buildup to the 100m Men’s Final.
11. 11. Bugg was nominated for a 2012 Brit Award in the category “British Breakthrough Act.” He lost out to Ben Howard. (Who the heck is Ben Howard?)
12. 12. Bugg’s debut album is one of the best records to be released this year. It includes the soon-to-be-classics “Broken,” “Slide,” “Two Fingers” and “Seen It All,” among its fourteen track tune stack.
13. 13. Although, there is a tendency to place him in the same category as such folk revivalists as Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers, he’s way better and way different than both.