Lets jump right back in. Just a reminder; most of this stuff is from what I've picked up listening to the album. Wikipedia's page on OK Computer has a lot of additional background for each track if you're interested!
Let Down
"Let Down" is appropriately titled both lyrically and sonically; we've moved on from excitement about technological advancement, burgeoning industry, and massive consumption; now we're starting to feel the hollowness - the loss of humanity - that attends such things. This song is utterly melancholy. The first stanza returns to the subject matter of "Airbag" - transportation - but treats it very differently:
"Transport/
Motorways and tramlines
/Starting and then stopping
/Taking off and landing"
Instead of gratitude to the convenience or safety of vehicular travel, "Let Down" calls attention to the mundanity of it; the faceless masses moving from place to place, each with a story that is drowned out by the noise of commuting. This is the second song in the "Vehicular Trilogy" (I should copyright that...) of OK Computer. "Airbag" is part one and speaks in the language of awe and gratitude ("I'm amazed that I survived/an airbag saved my life"). "Let Down" is part two; the vehicle, to our imaginary protagonist(s), has shifted from a benevolent machine to a bland, utilitarian device. Part three is yet to come, but you might be able to guess the next point on the spectrum.
Fitter Happier
This interlude is not necessarily a song, but it provides a roadmap for the rest of the album. Pull up the lyrics and listen to it. There's not really anything else that I can say about "Fitter Happier" that I haven't said about OK Computer as a whole; it describes the initial enthusiasm of progress and innovation (or, in this song, the things that are marketed as leading to a "better life"), followed by the dawning realization that consumerism is a deadly trap in which the things that you own are the only things people see ("weird creatures who lock up there spirits/ and live for their secrets").
The initial trinity of "Fitter, happier, more productive" is replaced by the eerie mockery "A pig, in a cage, on antibiotics." Or at least we think it's replaced. The genius of "Fitter Happier" is that, as you listen through, you realize that the opening lines and the closing ones mean the exact same thing.
Electioneering
This song is almost clunkily straightforward, and, like "Let Down," form follows function; it's a raucous, in-your-face guitar fest with no particular subtlety. But that's the genius. Thom Yorke is speaking from the point of view of a raucous, in-you-face politician with an absolute lack of subtlety. The song is rather unpleasant to listen to, BUT THAT'S THE POINT; political posturing is often equally unpleasant. Nice going, guys.
The other interesting feature of this song is the point-of-view shift; it's the only song on the album where the narrative voice changes from the man oppressed by modern life to a man contributing to the oppression. This marks a sharp contrast to the rest of the album and especially the next two songs.
Climbing Up the Walls/No Surprises
These two songs mark the most interesting point in the album for me. In our very loose underlying theme progression (excitement - detachment/disillusionment - consequences - reform), we've finally reached the consequence stage. "Climbing Up The Walls" and "No Surprises" both feature characters at the end of their ropes. In "Climbing" he's described as "a local man who's got the loneliest feeling" - local potentially describing a suburbanite, your average Joe that has lived his life trying to find security and normalcy, a family man with kids and a wife and a cookie-cutter house in a little neighborhood outside of London, a pig in a cage on antibiotics. In "No Surprises," he is likely a very similar character, with a "pretty house" and a "pretty garden." In fact, just for fun, let's pretend that both songs are about the same character under slightly different circumstances. We'll call him Max.
In "Climbing," Max's response to the stress of keeping up appearances manifests itself in the form of a voice in his head. This voice is not a pleasant one. I think the go-to interpretation for this song is that it's a murderer talking to it's target - probably a woman - and saying things like "lock the kids up safe tonight" because he plans to attack. A closer look at the lyrics gives us a much more chilling alternative:
"I am the key to the lock in your house/That keeps your toys in the basement/And if you get too far inside/You'll only see my reflection."
This verse and the chorus seem to suggest that the narrator of this song is the voice itself, telling Max to lock up his own kids. Ugh. Max is either suffering from a mental disorder such as schizophrenia or dissociative identity, or he is simply snapping under the pressure of his existence in what is called brief reactive psychosis. Either way, the voice is getting stronger, literally climbing up the walls in Max's head, trying to get out. There are sounds of bugs buzzing in the background, a classic symbol of infestation and even Satan himself (some Lord of the Flies parallels here), and the whole song kind of claws at you until Thom suddenly erupts into a metallic, distorted scream surrounded by wailing guitars- the breaking point. (warning: violence)
In "No Surprises," Max, now a tragic character, comes to a different sort of breaking point. His suburban life has driven him to suicide, quietly and unassumingly. The sound of the song contributes a lot to the lyrics; the quiet, whimsical music box guitar mirrors Max's bland, unsurprising life, while the dreamlike lullaby atmosphere mirrors the method by which Max kills himself:
"a handshake of carbon monoxide/with no alarms and no surprises."
What seems like musical juxtaposition (opposites: pairing dark, heavy content like death with happy music ) turns out to be quite an appropriate pairing. "No Surprises" is a soul crushing, nearly-perfect song that succinctly embodies middle-class discontent and hopelessness, especially when paired with the video. Fun fact: the song was recorded in one take, while the video was notoriously tricky to shoot and caused a lot of frustration for the band. Fun fact 2: Listen to the chorus of Paramore's "Only Exception." Or the verse of Damien Rice's "The Blowers Daughter.
Here's my somewhat conspiratorial thought. The timeline of Max's character is "Climbing Up The Walls," followed by "Exit Music (for a Film)" and, finally, "No Surprises." Max goes insane and goes after his family. They run. Max is left alone in the situation that drove him to the edge of the cliff in the first place. Silence.
My other way of viewing these two songs as alternate possible endings to Max's story. On the one hand, he violently snaps and unleashes his repressed aggression. On the other hand, the stress and pain of his life drives him further and further into the ground until it is finally buried with him.
These aren't real theories...I don't want to pigeonhole the artists by saying that they had a specific set of intentions when writing each song. However, so much of the significance of art is what the consumer brings to the table, and this is the baggage that I've brought.
Tune in next time for the end of the album!
Austin
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
OK Computer pt. 1: Radiohead Post #1 (of 6)
Odds are that you've heard of Radiohead. Maybe from your cool older brother. Maybe in comparison to The Beatles, or as the inspiration behind Coldplay. You've probably heard words like "important" or "groundbreaking" used to describe. No matter what you've heard, dear reader, I have no doubt that you've failed to grasp the full extent of this band's far-reaching influence and creative genius. I've certainly failed.
The reason that I'm starting with OK Computer is twofold. First and foremost, it's Radiohead's most accessible album (with In Rainbows at a close second). Previous albums occupied a pretty specific niche - melancholy british alternative rock - and if you're a fan of bands like Blur and Oasis and even The Verve, The Bends is immediately recognizable and likable. If you're not, it takes a few listens. Contrast that with post-OK Computer Radiohead which I will discuss at length in future posts. Suffice it to say that Kid A (and onward), for the most part, is like good coffee; it's an acquired taste, but once you've acquired it you're hooked for life. OK Computer is the link between these two sonic worlds, and it occupies the gap with gusto.
Second - and feel free to argue this point with me - OK Computer is Radiohead's only true concept album. The other albums are cohesive and should be listened to in order, for sure, but only on OK Computer is there a very recognizable theme, and possibly even a story, that runs throughout. Here is my take on it, adapted slightly from an essay that I wrote in high-school. Excuse my writing style. New thoughts are in bold:
"OK Computer is, at it's core, an expression of dissatisfaction with modern life. Technology (especially automobiles, objects with which Thom Yorke is notoriously uncomfortable) is the main target, but other subjects such as increasingly detached personal relationships ("Subterranean Homesick Alien"), politics ("Electioneering"), "ideal" cookie-cutter suburban life ("No Surprises," "Climbing Up The Walls," "Exit Music"), and consumerism each receive treatment. Even the ordering of the tracks mimics culture's response to technological advancement; excitement about advancement, detachment from humanity, consequences of that detachment, and finally a realization of the ills associated with such advancement and an attempt to slow down. Awareness of the themes present within OK Computer make it a rich, compelling, tragic, and ultimately hopeful work of art that deserves multiple listens."
So, bearing those themes in mind, let's explore the album track-by-track.
Airbag
"Airbag" marks the point in which Radiohead starts to begin albums with a bang, no pun intended (all subsequent albums would follow this trend; try to listen to the opening notes of "Everything In Its Right Place" without getting chills, or "15 Step" without dancing). Lush and excited, filled with layered looped drums, strings, crunchy guitar arpeggios and sweeping echoey solos, strings, synth choirs, and a appropriately minimalist bass; this is the complete package for a rock song. The lyrics describe a car crash in "the next world war," in which a man driving a "fast German car" presumably slams into a stopped truck...and is saved by his airbag. This near-death experience is equivalent to a new birth (presumably a nod to Thom Yorke's fascination with "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying," which you can read about here), and it's all thanks to this marvel of modern technology. The song feels like a sunrise after a long night, a flower blooming after a long winter; life after death. It also sounds like classic Radiohead, up until the end of the second chorus. At that point it sounds like the song should be over. But hark! Dissonance, glitchy DJ scratches, and sounds of static take over the track, superimposed upon by a slowly building wail from Thom. The hopeful joy that dominated the beginning of the song takes on a twinge of anxiety, and electronic sounds start to bleed into the pure instrumental rock that we expected.
Paranoid Android
The anxiety from the end of "Airbag" is fully realized in "Paranoid Android." It starts out with a clean, syncopated guitar that somehow sounds machinelike; I'm always reminded of a Xerox making copies, or a tiny mechanic arm on a factory assembly line. The guys apparently made this song for fun, kind of as a joke, so I don't want to over-analyze it; however, the anti-consumerism theme is prevalent ("kicking screaming Gucci little piggy" is used to describe someone), as is the somewhat dissociative anxiety that attends the modern man. The structure of the song lends itself to this feeling of fractured identity, chiefly because the three distinct acts were written by different members of the band and modeled after "Happiness is a Warm Gun". This is one of many homages to The Beatles' monumental White Album, the other notable examples being "Karma Police" and, I think, "Exit Music (for a Film)." One of the more difficult songs to listen to casually, but it's place on the album is indispensable. And it grows on you.
Subterranean Homesick Alien
"Subterranean Homesick Alien" is the conclusion of the first section of the album; trepidation about modernity/capitalism/technology has started to replace the initial enthusiasm that we heard in "Airbag" (I don't count "Paranoid Android" in this progression because it's somewhat of a joke, as I said earlier). The main character in this song is imagining contemplating Earth, or at least England, from the viewpoint of aliens hovering up above, making "home movies for the folks back home/of all these weird creatures who lock up there spirits/drill holes in themselves and live for their secrets." He sees the people around him becoming detached from one another, holing up in their subdivisions and find their identity in both the 1) image they present to their neighbors and 2) the secrets they hide from them, a theme that the band will revisit in "Exit Music," "No Surprises," and "Climbing Up the Walls." There are parallels to the opening chapters Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, though more subtle than the previous shout-out to Marvin the Paranoid Android.
Exit Music (For a Film)
This song plays at the end of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (and in fact was written for the movie and later added to the album), so I always assumed it was about that story:
"wake from your sleep/the drying of your tears/ today we escape/pack and get dressed before your father hears us/before all hell breaks loose."
Recently, though, I heard the song differently and, at least in the context of the album, more correctly. I think that Exit Music is actually about a mother and her child escaping from an abusive father, and then dying in the cold together. Literally "Exit Music;" "(for a film)" is a very straightforward admission that the song has been added to the movie, yet stands alone as it's own personal story. We haven't been introduced to who I imagine is the father character yet, but we're getting very close.
A brief note about this song sonically: I would argue that Muse, a band who eventually carved out their own niche in the music scene, owes quite a bit of their success to this song (and to Radiohead in general). Johnny Greenwood's scuzzy guitar (and even the note progression in his solo) is the go-to sound for early Muse, while the quiet-quiet-quiet-LOUD template assists them very well in their more operatic songs like "Take a Bow". It's especially easy to draw parallels to this song because Thom Yorke and Matt Bellamy sound so similar when they belt, as Thom does here and Matt does on most songs.
The song sounds epically classical because it is. Radiohead drew heavy inspiration from ELO's instrumental song "After All" (which was inspired by a Chopin piece), and, I suspect, from The Beatles' "Mother Nature's Son" (another White Album track). Credit to wikipedia for the Chopin info.
Last note: Vampire Weekend does a phenomenal cover that kind of stands on its own.
I hope this gives you enough reading and listening to tide you over for a while! second half of OK Computer will follow by the end of the week. Peace and love,
Austin
In these posts we'll be taking a cursory glance at Radiohead's entire body of work, with one post roughly covering the length of one album. I'll start with the lynchpin connecting the two distinct halves of their discography - OK Computer - then jump back in time to The Bends, then moving in order until ending with The King of Limbs. For reference, here's the timeline:
Intro/OK Computer (post #1)
Pablo Honey/The Bends (2)
Kid A/Amnesiac (3)
Hail to the Thief (4)
In Rainbows pt. 1 & 2 (5)
The King of Limbs (6)
The reason that I'm starting with OK Computer is twofold. First and foremost, it's Radiohead's most accessible album (with In Rainbows at a close second). Previous albums occupied a pretty specific niche - melancholy british alternative rock - and if you're a fan of bands like Blur and Oasis and even The Verve, The Bends is immediately recognizable and likable. If you're not, it takes a few listens. Contrast that with post-OK Computer Radiohead which I will discuss at length in future posts. Suffice it to say that Kid A (and onward), for the most part, is like good coffee; it's an acquired taste, but once you've acquired it you're hooked for life. OK Computer is the link between these two sonic worlds, and it occupies the gap with gusto.
Second - and feel free to argue this point with me - OK Computer is Radiohead's only true concept album. The other albums are cohesive and should be listened to in order, for sure, but only on OK Computer is there a very recognizable theme, and possibly even a story, that runs throughout. Here is my take on it, adapted slightly from an essay that I wrote in high-school. Excuse my writing style. New thoughts are in bold:
"OK Computer is, at it's core, an expression of dissatisfaction with modern life. Technology (especially automobiles, objects with which Thom Yorke is notoriously uncomfortable) is the main target, but other subjects such as increasingly detached personal relationships ("Subterranean Homesick Alien"), politics ("Electioneering"), "ideal" cookie-cutter suburban life ("No Surprises," "Climbing Up The Walls," "Exit Music"), and consumerism each receive treatment. Even the ordering of the tracks mimics culture's response to technological advancement; excitement about advancement, detachment from humanity, consequences of that detachment, and finally a realization of the ills associated with such advancement and an attempt to slow down. Awareness of the themes present within OK Computer make it a rich, compelling, tragic, and ultimately hopeful work of art that deserves multiple listens."
So, bearing those themes in mind, let's explore the album track-by-track.
Airbag
"Airbag" marks the point in which Radiohead starts to begin albums with a bang, no pun intended (all subsequent albums would follow this trend; try to listen to the opening notes of "Everything In Its Right Place" without getting chills, or "15 Step" without dancing). Lush and excited, filled with layered looped drums, strings, crunchy guitar arpeggios and sweeping echoey solos, strings, synth choirs, and a appropriately minimalist bass; this is the complete package for a rock song. The lyrics describe a car crash in "the next world war," in which a man driving a "fast German car" presumably slams into a stopped truck...and is saved by his airbag. This near-death experience is equivalent to a new birth (presumably a nod to Thom Yorke's fascination with "The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying," which you can read about here), and it's all thanks to this marvel of modern technology. The song feels like a sunrise after a long night, a flower blooming after a long winter; life after death. It also sounds like classic Radiohead, up until the end of the second chorus. At that point it sounds like the song should be over. But hark! Dissonance, glitchy DJ scratches, and sounds of static take over the track, superimposed upon by a slowly building wail from Thom. The hopeful joy that dominated the beginning of the song takes on a twinge of anxiety, and electronic sounds start to bleed into the pure instrumental rock that we expected.
Paranoid Android
The anxiety from the end of "Airbag" is fully realized in "Paranoid Android." It starts out with a clean, syncopated guitar that somehow sounds machinelike; I'm always reminded of a Xerox making copies, or a tiny mechanic arm on a factory assembly line. The guys apparently made this song for fun, kind of as a joke, so I don't want to over-analyze it; however, the anti-consumerism theme is prevalent ("kicking screaming Gucci little piggy" is used to describe someone), as is the somewhat dissociative anxiety that attends the modern man. The structure of the song lends itself to this feeling of fractured identity, chiefly because the three distinct acts were written by different members of the band and modeled after "Happiness is a Warm Gun". This is one of many homages to The Beatles' monumental White Album, the other notable examples being "Karma Police" and, I think, "Exit Music (for a Film)." One of the more difficult songs to listen to casually, but it's place on the album is indispensable. And it grows on you.
Subterranean Homesick Alien
"Subterranean Homesick Alien" is the conclusion of the first section of the album; trepidation about modernity/capitalism/technology has started to replace the initial enthusiasm that we heard in "Airbag" (I don't count "Paranoid Android" in this progression because it's somewhat of a joke, as I said earlier). The main character in this song is imagining contemplating Earth, or at least England, from the viewpoint of aliens hovering up above, making "home movies for the folks back home/of all these weird creatures who lock up there spirits/drill holes in themselves and live for their secrets." He sees the people around him becoming detached from one another, holing up in their subdivisions and find their identity in both the 1) image they present to their neighbors and 2) the secrets they hide from them, a theme that the band will revisit in "Exit Music," "No Surprises," and "Climbing Up the Walls." There are parallels to the opening chapters Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, though more subtle than the previous shout-out to Marvin the Paranoid Android.
Exit Music (For a Film)
This song plays at the end of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (and in fact was written for the movie and later added to the album), so I always assumed it was about that story:
"wake from your sleep/the drying of your tears/ today we escape/pack and get dressed before your father hears us/before all hell breaks loose."
Recently, though, I heard the song differently and, at least in the context of the album, more correctly. I think that Exit Music is actually about a mother and her child escaping from an abusive father, and then dying in the cold together. Literally "Exit Music;" "(for a film)" is a very straightforward admission that the song has been added to the movie, yet stands alone as it's own personal story. We haven't been introduced to who I imagine is the father character yet, but we're getting very close.
A brief note about this song sonically: I would argue that Muse, a band who eventually carved out their own niche in the music scene, owes quite a bit of their success to this song (and to Radiohead in general). Johnny Greenwood's scuzzy guitar (and even the note progression in his solo) is the go-to sound for early Muse, while the quiet-quiet-quiet-LOUD template assists them very well in their more operatic songs like "Take a Bow". It's especially easy to draw parallels to this song because Thom Yorke and Matt Bellamy sound so similar when they belt, as Thom does here and Matt does on most songs.
The song sounds epically classical because it is. Radiohead drew heavy inspiration from ELO's instrumental song "After All" (which was inspired by a Chopin piece), and, I suspect, from The Beatles' "Mother Nature's Son" (another White Album track). Credit to wikipedia for the Chopin info.
Last note: Vampire Weekend does a phenomenal cover that kind of stands on its own.
I hope this gives you enough reading and listening to tide you over for a while! second half of OK Computer will follow by the end of the week. Peace and love,
Austin
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Throwback Tuesday
Fun jangly nineties rock to drown out the country music my coworkers are playing:
Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis
No Rain - Blind Melon
Birdhouse in Your Soul - They Might Be Giants (sorry CB)
You Live You Learn - Alanis Morissette
Flagpole Sitta - Harvey DangerNever Let You Go - Third Eye Blind
Song 2 - Blur
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Essential Artists - Dirty Projectors
So I'm in the car with my family on the way back from a great vacation to the Upper Peninsula. Good things have happened; we got to take a boat tour along the beautiful Pictured Rocks lakeshore of Lake Superior, and I visited my FINAL location from Sufjan's "Greetings from Michigan!" album (Tahquamenon Falls, if you're interested). Bad things have also happened; have you ever seen a Golden Corral buffet after the post-church rush? Picture that, but instead of starving Methodists, swarms of Mosquitos, and instead of Golden Corral, my body (another church metaphor might be "Unholy Communion"). The second bad thing that happened was that I underestimated my reading ability and only brought three books. I just finished "Personal Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner" - a wicked good read - And now I have three hours from Lansing to Upland with no reading material. Jared is usually entertaining but he's playing Pokemon Fire Red like a smart kid. Garrett is reading. Everyone else is asleep. Daaayyum. So now you guys get to hear about why I love Dirty Projectors.
Where to begin. Oh yeah, HARMONY. These people - especially the ladies - can sing like you wouldn't believe. Harmony can be annoying in large doses; whether it's simple ( I'm looking at you, Civil Wars) or complex (hey Crosby Stills and Nash... We get it), too much harmony is the same as too much anything - egregious.
That being said, the Dirty Projectors wield harmony like a honed scimitar. This metaphor is twofold:
1. If you see someone swinging a scimitar, you're probably going to ask yourself "what the hell is that person doing?". In the same way, when you first hear "when the world comes to an end" you'll be incredulous.
2. Someone who is a scimitar expert is most likely both technically brilliant and really creative. Make the connection yourself.
Next is IRREGULARITY. Verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus is left on the doorstep like a bastard child and replaced with... Something. Very refreshing, and the irregularity serves a dual purpose; when they write a song like "stillness is the move," the steady rhythm sounds fresh to death. Being a closet Rush fan, I have a soft spot for irregular timing, especially when combined with
ESOTERIC AND UNCONVENTIONAL LYRICS
Ok I'm almost home so here's your intro playlist. Venture into the album Bitte Orca at your own risk, it's hard to listen to. But Swing lo Magellan is gold! Hit that first to build up your tolerance, then take a shot of Bitte Orca and, if you're really feeling frisky, Rise Above.
Stillness is the move
No intention
On and ever inward
Two doves
About to die
Impregnable question
Unto Caesar
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Sadness is my Boyfriend
The first week of summer, I was painting a wall in Sammy Morris by myself. It was early still; the sun sat low above the fields outside and the blades of the windmills were casting slow-sweeping shadows across the dorm wall. One of those mystical times that only seem to happen in the earliest and latest hours, or in the overlap of both. I remember having made a playlist the night before and I had just started it. As the notes of the first song began, I felt this crushing feeling of something - sorrow, maybe, but with no particular referent - and I sat on the bed, almost in tears, music still playing.
I watched the sun rise and started to piece together the reasons for what I was feeling. Part if it was that I had just ended a long relationship, and even though it was mutual the feeling of loss was still flavoring my thoughts and attitudes. My best friend had just moved to LA. That sucks. I had just finished college. Graduation was supposed to be this huge event that sent us rocketing into the world with a fistful of knowledge and a truckload of zeal, but it really just felt like the opening ceremonies for a long string of goodbyes. Pretty anticlimactic. I didn't get enough time with anyone at Taylor and there I was, leaving. And a week later, here I was, painting.
Ok, I guess the inexplicable sadness made sense. After I finished my little existential crisis playlist, I wrote the songs down so that I could listen to them later in the summer and remind myself that sorrow is fleeting. And so it is. I've gotten to spend wonderful time with my best friends. I've got a job lined up that I'm unbelievably excited about. My family loves me. God is good, people.
It's good to feel sad sometimes. Humans were designed to feel a very broad range of emotions and it does damage when we deny the "bad" ones to the exclusion of the good. But even though I felt like a was in a dark hole the first time that I heard this list, now when I crank up the first song (and imagine the sun rising)I feel hopeful. This too shall pass - no matter what "this" is - right?
Intro - M83
Pretty Boy - Young Galaxy
Anne with an E- Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Step - Vampire Weekend
Hood - Perfume Genius
Five Seconds - Twin Shadow
Five Seconds - Twin Shadow
Jesus Christ- Brand New
Get Better - Mates of State
The Transfiguration - Sufjan Stevens
Runaway - The National
Half Light II (No Celebration) - Arcade Fire
(google the title of this post if you're confused...sorry boys)
(google the title of this post if you're confused...sorry boys)
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Storm Playlist
It stormed today. Here are songs that sound good with rain. Open rainymood.com and let it play it the background. Pour a cup of tea and curl up on the couch with a blanket and a good book. Shower, rinse, repeat. Thank me later.
Imitosis - Andrew Bird
Avenue of Hope - I Am Kloot
New Slang - The Shins
Far From Me - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
County Line - Cass Mccombs
The Tourist - Radiohead
Reasons Why - Nickel Creek
A Savage Night at the Opera - Destroyer
Green Aisles - Real Estate
Love's Stepping Out - Disco Inferno
Imitosis - Andrew Bird
Avenue of Hope - I Am Kloot
New Slang - The Shins
Far From Me - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
County Line - Cass Mccombs
The Tourist - Radiohead
Reasons Why - Nickel Creek
A Savage Night at the Opera - Destroyer
Green Aisles - Real Estate
Love's Stepping Out - Disco Inferno
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
The Perks of Being Nostalgic
I watched "Perks of Being a Wallflower" last night for the first time. Hadn't ever read it either. Besides making me cry like a baby at several points, the movie invoked a variety of emotions in me (several of which are absurdly relevant to this blog).
The first was nostalgia, something that I've been experiencing quite a bit lately. The word "nostalgia" comes from the Greek words for "homecoming" and "ache" (credit to Dr. Heth's third-semester Greek class). The etymology of this word is pretty powerful because it describes the elusive feeling accurately, allowing you to both experience the emotion more fully and use the word more pointedly (that was my blatant endorsement of studying language/reading/vocabulary/spelling/etc.). Watching Perks definitely gave me that feeling of returning to something familiar; the author wrote the story in such a way that it resonates with a wide variety of people, regardless of their high school experiences. However, along with that joyous feeling of return - of homecoming - there was a feeling of sadness. The books we read, the music we listen to, the hometowns we revisit...none of them quite live up to our memories of them, and that is a bittersweet realization that often feels painful.
The second emotion was gratitude for the music I was exposed to in high-school. A major theme in Perks is of Charlie being brought in to the world of Sam and Patrick. This "bringing in" echoes in many spheres of Charlies life, but the main metaphor that the author uses to symbolize it is the music that his new friends share with him. One of the first questions that Sam asks Charlie is about his favorite band. Charlie of course responds with "The Smiths," and later says his favorite song is Asleep. That's really the first time that Charlie and Sam really connect with one another, and it's a beautiful moment because music does have the amazing power to draw people together.
There's also something awesome about finding music on your own, something that has become much easier and far less rewarding with the rise of the smartphone. I remember hearing a song on the radio and having to wait weeks to hear it again so I could write down some of the lyrics and hunt it down (Today, by The Smashing Pumpkins), or hearing something awesome and singing a few bars for my dad so he could tell me what it was (Ziggy Stardust, by the one and only Bowie). Sam and Patrick and Charlie have a similar experience in the movie with "Heroes;" it's frustrating to hear a song once and lose it, but the moment that you find it again brings a burst of joy that Shazam is incapable of producing. There's my rant.
So, this list is mostly nineties shoegaze (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoegazing) because most of the music in Perks is nineties rock. I just went through my I-pod and found the songs that a) fit the genre and b) are most strongly tied to that time period for me. There are a few more recent songs and songs that aren't shoegaze (e.g. The Smiths).
Nineties "Homecoming Ache" Playlist
(1985) The Boy With The Thorn In His Side - The Smiths ("Asleep" is actually the B-side of this track which I learned after I made this list. I'm so cool.)
(1994) It's A Kid's World - Disco Inferno
(1995) 1979 - The Smashing Pumpkins
(2009) Stay Alive - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
(1989) Here Comes Your Man - The Pixies
(2001) Spoon - Boris
(1992) Twisterella - Ride
(1999) Spit On A Stranger - Pavement
(1992) Only Shallow - My Bloody Valentine
(2007) Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
(1997) Everything Beautiful Is Far Away - Grandaddy
(1999) Take A Picture - Filter
(1991) Alcholiday - Teenage Fanclub
(1997) Lucky Man - The Verve
(1995) The Bends - Radiohead
(2004) Can't Exist - Joseph Arthur
(2013) Afraid of Heights - Wavves
(1977) Heroes - David Bowie
The first was nostalgia, something that I've been experiencing quite a bit lately. The word "nostalgia" comes from the Greek words for "homecoming" and "ache" (credit to Dr. Heth's third-semester Greek class). The etymology of this word is pretty powerful because it describes the elusive feeling accurately, allowing you to both experience the emotion more fully and use the word more pointedly (that was my blatant endorsement of studying language/reading/vocabulary/spelling/etc.). Watching Perks definitely gave me that feeling of returning to something familiar; the author wrote the story in such a way that it resonates with a wide variety of people, regardless of their high school experiences. However, along with that joyous feeling of return - of homecoming - there was a feeling of sadness. The books we read, the music we listen to, the hometowns we revisit...none of them quite live up to our memories of them, and that is a bittersweet realization that often feels painful.
The second emotion was gratitude for the music I was exposed to in high-school. A major theme in Perks is of Charlie being brought in to the world of Sam and Patrick. This "bringing in" echoes in many spheres of Charlies life, but the main metaphor that the author uses to symbolize it is the music that his new friends share with him. One of the first questions that Sam asks Charlie is about his favorite band. Charlie of course responds with "The Smiths," and later says his favorite song is Asleep. That's really the first time that Charlie and Sam really connect with one another, and it's a beautiful moment because music does have the amazing power to draw people together.
There's also something awesome about finding music on your own, something that has become much easier and far less rewarding with the rise of the smartphone. I remember hearing a song on the radio and having to wait weeks to hear it again so I could write down some of the lyrics and hunt it down (Today, by The Smashing Pumpkins), or hearing something awesome and singing a few bars for my dad so he could tell me what it was (Ziggy Stardust, by the one and only Bowie). Sam and Patrick and Charlie have a similar experience in the movie with "Heroes;" it's frustrating to hear a song once and lose it, but the moment that you find it again brings a burst of joy that Shazam is incapable of producing. There's my rant.
So, this list is mostly nineties shoegaze (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoegazing) because most of the music in Perks is nineties rock. I just went through my I-pod and found the songs that a) fit the genre and b) are most strongly tied to that time period for me. There are a few more recent songs and songs that aren't shoegaze (e.g. The Smiths).
Nineties "Homecoming Ache" Playlist
(1985) The Boy With The Thorn In His Side - The Smiths ("Asleep" is actually the B-side of this track which I learned after I made this list. I'm so cool.)
(1994) It's A Kid's World - Disco Inferno
(1995) 1979 - The Smashing Pumpkins
(2009) Stay Alive - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
(1989) Here Comes Your Man - The Pixies
(2001) Spoon - Boris
(1992) Twisterella - Ride
(1999) Spit On A Stranger - Pavement
(1992) Only Shallow - My Bloody Valentine
(2007) Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
(1997) Everything Beautiful Is Far Away - Grandaddy
(1999) Take A Picture - Filter
(1991) Alcholiday - Teenage Fanclub
(1997) Lucky Man - The Verve
(1995) The Bends - Radiohead
(2004) Can't Exist - Joseph Arthur
(2013) Afraid of Heights - Wavves
(1977) Heroes - David Bowie
Monday, July 8, 2013
Essential Artists - Arcade Fire
Summer is in full swing today and brother, it is a HOT one. The sky is that hazy shade of blue and yellow, the air is dead still, and heat is rolling off of the asphalt in shimmering waves. Ugh.
Summer also means nostalgia. It's when you go back to that boring, minimum wage summer job in your hometown, see your high school friends, ride your bike down the streets you grew up on. Nostalgia is hitting me hard this year because I'm out of college and I don't know what the future holds; all I have is my past. Everything that I see and do reminds me of something that I've seen or done. It's like my life is a huge reference to itself, an extended deja vu where everything is familiar but nothing is as good as it once was. As a wise woman once said, "I'm happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time." Simply put...I'm feeling 22.
There are two works of art that perfectly encapsulate both summer and nostalgia for me, and I always turn to them when I start feeling this way. The first is the movie Stand By Me; the second is Arcade Fire's third album, The Suburbs. Since this isn't a film blog, you can probably guess which one that I'm going to talk about...
Arcade Fire made a serious splash when they first came on the scene for a couple of reasons. For one, they're multi-instrumental, employing strings and bells and guitars and horns and organs and hurdy-gurdys (google it) to create a rich-yet-organic atmosphere that wasn't really present in popular music at the time of Funeral's release. The interesting voices of the husband and wife team add another layer of uniqueness.
The real money, though, was in Arcade Fire's lyrics and album themes. First album "Funeral" was about dealing with death; "Neon Bible" about religion; "The Suburbs" about - you guessed it - growing up in the suburbs. One concept album is brave. Three is really brave. Successfully pulling off three concept albums is miraculous. Arcade Fire somehow succinctly captures three extremely heavy and complex themes by blending earnest and personal lyrics with lush music, calling to mind songs like "I'm On Fire" and "Baby We Were Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen (or more recently, Death Cab's Transatlanticism ).
On these "Essential Artists" posts, you should listen to all of the artist's albums. But here is a little teaser list to get you started.
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Two kids band together while their parents grieve a death. Beautiful piano riff throughout joined by a jangly guitar and a steady drum.
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
The confusion and frustration that attends neighborhood kids who don't quite understand whats going on in their parents world.
Rebellion (Lies)
Amazing song. Interpret it as you will.
Keep the Car Running
The most Springsteeny song on the list.
Intervention
Pipe organs fit well with the theme of an oppressive church. Majestic and tragic.
The Suburbs (Whole Album)
Listen to the whole thing and then listen to it again. And again. And again.
Summer also means nostalgia. It's when you go back to that boring, minimum wage summer job in your hometown, see your high school friends, ride your bike down the streets you grew up on. Nostalgia is hitting me hard this year because I'm out of college and I don't know what the future holds; all I have is my past. Everything that I see and do reminds me of something that I've seen or done. It's like my life is a huge reference to itself, an extended deja vu where everything is familiar but nothing is as good as it once was. As a wise woman once said, "I'm happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time." Simply put...I'm feeling 22.
There are two works of art that perfectly encapsulate both summer and nostalgia for me, and I always turn to them when I start feeling this way. The first is the movie Stand By Me; the second is Arcade Fire's third album, The Suburbs. Since this isn't a film blog, you can probably guess which one that I'm going to talk about...
Arcade Fire made a serious splash when they first came on the scene for a couple of reasons. For one, they're multi-instrumental, employing strings and bells and guitars and horns and organs and hurdy-gurdys (google it) to create a rich-yet-organic atmosphere that wasn't really present in popular music at the time of Funeral's release. The interesting voices of the husband and wife team add another layer of uniqueness.
The real money, though, was in Arcade Fire's lyrics and album themes. First album "Funeral" was about dealing with death; "Neon Bible" about religion; "The Suburbs" about - you guessed it - growing up in the suburbs. One concept album is brave. Three is really brave. Successfully pulling off three concept albums is miraculous. Arcade Fire somehow succinctly captures three extremely heavy and complex themes by blending earnest and personal lyrics with lush music, calling to mind songs like "I'm On Fire" and "Baby We Were Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen (or more recently, Death Cab's Transatlanticism ).
On these "Essential Artists" posts, you should listen to all of the artist's albums. But here is a little teaser list to get you started.
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Two kids band together while their parents grieve a death. Beautiful piano riff throughout joined by a jangly guitar and a steady drum.
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
The confusion and frustration that attends neighborhood kids who don't quite understand whats going on in their parents world.
Rebellion (Lies)
Amazing song. Interpret it as you will.
Keep the Car Running
The most Springsteeny song on the list.
Intervention
Pipe organs fit well with the theme of an oppressive church. Majestic and tragic.
The Suburbs (Whole Album)
Listen to the whole thing and then listen to it again. And again. And again.
Monday, July 1, 2013
You Don't Know The Power of the Dark Side.
Well, if anyone actually reads this blog, this is the point of no return: the plunge into electronic music. If you stick with me through this post, you can stick with me through anything. An important thing about being a discerning music listener is an open mind when it comes to new genres, so drop your preconceived notions and get on board!
Arguably, the birth of viable electronic music was the song "Cars," by Gary Newman. The eighties, as most people know, was a breeding ground for synth driven music, so much so that the market was oversaturated; it's easy to look back at the eighties and dismiss the whole decade as a synthesizer-filled nightmare, lumping great bands like New Order and Tears for Fears with duds like The Human League or Rick Astley. The same thing happened in the seventies with disco (Donna Summer and ABBA = Good, Village People = Bad) and the nineties with grunge (Nirvana = Gold, Creed = Total Crap). Despite these gross over-generalizations, the eighties laid the groundwork for some great stuff that is starting to come to fruition.
I'm going to write two lists of ten: The Light Side and The Dark Side. I must admit that I resonate more with The Dark Side...there is something about driving through a city at night with the windows down playing loud, throbbing music that sounds like the soundtrack to a better version of Tron. That kind of music is destructive and nihilistic, and I think that it's cathartic to let some of that out every once in a while. On the other hand, the Light Side is pretty awesome too. Get ready.
AUTHORS NOTE: There is plenty of wonderful music that heavily features synthesizers (Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division, anything by The Cars, It's A Kid's World by Disco Inferno, Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants). However, the songs on this list rely almost exclusively on electronic sounds.
ADDITIONAL AUTHORS NOTE:
I deliberately left Radiohead off of this list because they deserve a whole article and their music needs to be appreciated as a whole body of work; Radiohead is VERY important in the evolution of electronic music.
The Light Side:
I Belong In Your Arms - Chairlift
Lead singer Caroline Polachek channels Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie for this upbeat, lighthearted love song that's perfect for a summer date. The Japanese version is equally good.
Similar Songs:
Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac cover) - Vampire Weekend
You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac
Side of the Road - Big Black Delta
Newcomers Big Black Delta blend deep drumbeats with an almost Tempatations-esque motown pre-chorus, not to mention a driving, excellent hook.
Similar Songs:
Eight - Grimes
Oh Lamour - Erasure
One - Yeasayer
African drums and a fervent Tears for Fears-era synthesizer combined with thoughtful lyrics make for an almost perfect dance song.
Similar Songs:
Ambling Alp - Yeasayer
Waveforms - Django Django
A Real Hero - College ft. Electric Youth
You really need to see the movie Drive to appreciate the full significance of this song, but even those of you who haven't seen the movie can appreciate the airy vocals supported by a slow, dreamlike backbeat.
Similar Songs:
Warm in the Winter - Glass Candy
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) - Arcade Fire
Need You Now - Cut Copy
My favorite song on this list. Vocals reminiscent of Simple Minds. Sweet, nostalgic lyrics. All carried by a quick, steady beat that recalls feelings of taking off in an airplane or driving fast to meet the sunrise. "Need You Now" starts out quietly and conversationally and ends in a passionate, hopeful plea that sounds almost triumphant - probably would've worked at the end of The Breakfast Club. Killer track.
Similar Songs:
Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
Do it Again - Holy Ghost
Heartbeats - The Knife
The Knife are royalty when it comes to electronic music and melody. That's really all that can be said here.
Similar Songs -
Kids - MGMT
Amor Fati - Washed Out (I strongly endorse this whole album, actually: it's called Within and Without)
The Mother We Share - CHVRCHES
Scottish pop band CHVRCHES have the uncanny ability to create infectious hooks. Think Lonely Island's Jack Sparrow; it digs into your mind against your will and stays there. Add in a pure pop backbeat and some masterful use of autotune/vocal manipulation and you've got the "turn it up" song of the summer.
Similar Songs:
Closer - Teagan and Sara
Recover - CHVRCHES
Steve Mcqueen - M83
Put stadium rock, a sci-fi soundtrack, and a hymnal into a blender. Serve it in a shiny clear glass at a diner in the dead of night. In space. That's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming by M83. It's a great album with plenty of standout tracks, but this is my favorite; I specifically remember blasting it while driving through the mountains at night with a good friend, stars in the sky and windows down. Almost a perfect moment.
Similar Songs:
Reunion, Midnight City, Intro, or Wait, each by M83
Genesis - Grimes
I love Grimes. She's my age, she recorded her first album with garage band, she floated down the Mississippi on a raft with her best friend, she's an outspoken and articulate feminist, and her music is unlike anything you've ever heard. She's weird, but it's the kind of weird I like.
Similar Songs:
Oblivion - Grimes
Vanessa - Grimes
Too Much - Sufjan Stevens
The King of Indie Folk journeying back into electronic territory. In a big way. Start with his album Seven Swans and work your way up to Age of Adz. You won't be sorry.
Similar Songs:
I Walked - Sufjan Stevens
The Vesuvius - Sufjan Stevens
The Dark Side:
Lofticries - Purity Ring
I'm going to let this song speak for itself. It's just incredible. Everything that Purity Ring does is incredible. Make sure you start this one off loud - you're going to thank me when the beat first drops.
Similar Songs:
Teardrop - Massive Attack
Capsize- Big Black Delta
Big Black Delta with another great contribution; this one, a perfect blend of a cathedral choir and the soundtrack of Inception. In space. This song still blows my mind after countless listens.
Similar Songs:
Swallowing the Decibels - Yeasayer (Credit to Chris Baker for this one)
NightCall - Kavinsky
Another song from Drive. See the movie and then drive through downtown Chicago at midnight with this song playing. You'll get it.
Similar songs:
Television Rules the Nation - Daft Punk
Shout - Tears for Fears
The beautiful thing about Shout is the layering. It starts with a distant drum and a single, chanting voice, but with each new chorus another layer of synth or percussion or vocal is added, until the song finally becomes a rich, precisely synchronized choir of sound. The angst in the lead singer's voice adds a layer of violence to this already penetrating song. Eighties music at its best.
Similar Songs:
Rock Me Amadeus - Falco
Silent Shout - The Knife
Silent Shout starts out quiet, like a faint heartbeat. Picture being half asleep in your bed... and all of a sudden a fire alarm goes off. The melody in this song is complex and addictive.
Similar Songs:
Ingenue - Atoms for Peace
Standing on the Shore - Empire of the Son
Closer - Nine Inch Nails
Layering again. Picture "Shout," but in a factory. Instead of angst, lust and rage. Nine Inch Nails invented and perfected a genre - industrial rock - and nowhere is the dark, machine-like aesthetic more present than in Closer. My favorite song on this list. (Warning: Graphic language)
Similar Songs:
Angel - Massive Attack
Shoom - Trust
Cavernous. Listening to Trust is like spelunking in an ancient cave and hearing someone - or something - singing miles underground. The music sounds like it is echoing, or literally dripping off of a cave ceiling. The beat stays the same speed all the way through, which makes the transition into the second half sound organic while still sounding monumental. Crank this one loud.
Similar Songs:
Bulbforms - Trust
White Foxes - Susanne Sundfor
Most of the songs on this list are carried by their music. White Foxes, on the other hand, is carried by Susanne Sundfor's incredible voice, supplemented by subtle, rippling synths.
Similar Songs:
Running up That Hill - Kate Bush (or, for a slower, darker version, Placebo. Both are excellent in their own rights.)
Lose It - Austra
Black Tin Box - Miike Snow ft. Lykke Li
I just love the arpeggiated synth in this song. The steel drums - a la "Heartbeats" - are a nice touch. The way that Miike Snow manipulates his voice is surreal and almost robotic. Like a talking toy when its batteries are dying.
Similar Songs:
Silvia - Miike Snow
Hold My Liquor - Kanye West
Kanye has churned out several candidates for this list, but Hold My Liquor holds my interest. The strong presence of Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver) provides a template for a powerful melody on top of steady undercurrent of drums and synth strings. Plus an airhorn. Kanye spits some sweet rhymes, and there's a guitar that sounds like it was borrowed from Ratatat. But strangely, it all fits together. Praise Yeezus.
Arguably, the birth of viable electronic music was the song "Cars," by Gary Newman. The eighties, as most people know, was a breeding ground for synth driven music, so much so that the market was oversaturated; it's easy to look back at the eighties and dismiss the whole decade as a synthesizer-filled nightmare, lumping great bands like New Order and Tears for Fears with duds like The Human League or Rick Astley. The same thing happened in the seventies with disco (Donna Summer and ABBA = Good, Village People = Bad) and the nineties with grunge (Nirvana = Gold, Creed = Total Crap). Despite these gross over-generalizations, the eighties laid the groundwork for some great stuff that is starting to come to fruition.
I'm going to write two lists of ten: The Light Side and The Dark Side. I must admit that I resonate more with The Dark Side...there is something about driving through a city at night with the windows down playing loud, throbbing music that sounds like the soundtrack to a better version of Tron. That kind of music is destructive and nihilistic, and I think that it's cathartic to let some of that out every once in a while. On the other hand, the Light Side is pretty awesome too. Get ready.
AUTHORS NOTE: There is plenty of wonderful music that heavily features synthesizers (Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division, anything by The Cars, It's A Kid's World by Disco Inferno, Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants). However, the songs on this list rely almost exclusively on electronic sounds.
ADDITIONAL AUTHORS NOTE:
I deliberately left Radiohead off of this list because they deserve a whole article and their music needs to be appreciated as a whole body of work; Radiohead is VERY important in the evolution of electronic music.
The Light Side:
I Belong In Your Arms - Chairlift
Lead singer Caroline Polachek channels Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie for this upbeat, lighthearted love song that's perfect for a summer date. The Japanese version is equally good.
Similar Songs:
Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac cover) - Vampire Weekend
You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac
Side of the Road - Big Black Delta
Newcomers Big Black Delta blend deep drumbeats with an almost Tempatations-esque motown pre-chorus, not to mention a driving, excellent hook.
Similar Songs:
Eight - Grimes
Oh Lamour - Erasure
One - Yeasayer
African drums and a fervent Tears for Fears-era synthesizer combined with thoughtful lyrics make for an almost perfect dance song.
Similar Songs:
Ambling Alp - Yeasayer
Waveforms - Django Django
A Real Hero - College ft. Electric Youth
You really need to see the movie Drive to appreciate the full significance of this song, but even those of you who haven't seen the movie can appreciate the airy vocals supported by a slow, dreamlike backbeat.
Similar Songs:
Warm in the Winter - Glass Candy
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) - Arcade Fire
Need You Now - Cut Copy
My favorite song on this list. Vocals reminiscent of Simple Minds. Sweet, nostalgic lyrics. All carried by a quick, steady beat that recalls feelings of taking off in an airplane or driving fast to meet the sunrise. "Need You Now" starts out quietly and conversationally and ends in a passionate, hopeful plea that sounds almost triumphant - probably would've worked at the end of The Breakfast Club. Killer track.
Similar Songs:
Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
Do it Again - Holy Ghost
Heartbeats - The Knife
The Knife are royalty when it comes to electronic music and melody. That's really all that can be said here.
Similar Songs -
Kids - MGMT
Amor Fati - Washed Out (I strongly endorse this whole album, actually: it's called Within and Without)
The Mother We Share - CHVRCHES
Scottish pop band CHVRCHES have the uncanny ability to create infectious hooks. Think Lonely Island's Jack Sparrow; it digs into your mind against your will and stays there. Add in a pure pop backbeat and some masterful use of autotune/vocal manipulation and you've got the "turn it up" song of the summer.
Similar Songs:
Closer - Teagan and Sara
Recover - CHVRCHES
Steve Mcqueen - M83
Put stadium rock, a sci-fi soundtrack, and a hymnal into a blender. Serve it in a shiny clear glass at a diner in the dead of night. In space. That's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming by M83. It's a great album with plenty of standout tracks, but this is my favorite; I specifically remember blasting it while driving through the mountains at night with a good friend, stars in the sky and windows down. Almost a perfect moment.
Similar Songs:
Reunion, Midnight City, Intro, or Wait, each by M83
Genesis - Grimes
I love Grimes. She's my age, she recorded her first album with garage band, she floated down the Mississippi on a raft with her best friend, she's an outspoken and articulate feminist, and her music is unlike anything you've ever heard. She's weird, but it's the kind of weird I like.
Similar Songs:
Oblivion - Grimes
Vanessa - Grimes
Too Much - Sufjan Stevens
The King of Indie Folk journeying back into electronic territory. In a big way. Start with his album Seven Swans and work your way up to Age of Adz. You won't be sorry.
Similar Songs:
I Walked - Sufjan Stevens
The Vesuvius - Sufjan Stevens
The Dark Side:
Lofticries - Purity Ring
I'm going to let this song speak for itself. It's just incredible. Everything that Purity Ring does is incredible. Make sure you start this one off loud - you're going to thank me when the beat first drops.
Similar Songs:
Teardrop - Massive Attack
Capsize- Big Black Delta
Big Black Delta with another great contribution; this one, a perfect blend of a cathedral choir and the soundtrack of Inception. In space. This song still blows my mind after countless listens.
Similar Songs:
Swallowing the Decibels - Yeasayer (Credit to Chris Baker for this one)
NightCall - Kavinsky
Another song from Drive. See the movie and then drive through downtown Chicago at midnight with this song playing. You'll get it.
Similar songs:
Television Rules the Nation - Daft Punk
Shout - Tears for Fears
The beautiful thing about Shout is the layering. It starts with a distant drum and a single, chanting voice, but with each new chorus another layer of synth or percussion or vocal is added, until the song finally becomes a rich, precisely synchronized choir of sound. The angst in the lead singer's voice adds a layer of violence to this already penetrating song. Eighties music at its best.
Similar Songs:
Rock Me Amadeus - Falco
Silent Shout - The Knife
Silent Shout starts out quiet, like a faint heartbeat. Picture being half asleep in your bed... and all of a sudden a fire alarm goes off. The melody in this song is complex and addictive.
Similar Songs:
Ingenue - Atoms for Peace
Standing on the Shore - Empire of the Son
Closer - Nine Inch Nails
Layering again. Picture "Shout," but in a factory. Instead of angst, lust and rage. Nine Inch Nails invented and perfected a genre - industrial rock - and nowhere is the dark, machine-like aesthetic more present than in Closer. My favorite song on this list. (Warning: Graphic language)
Similar Songs:
Angel - Massive Attack
Shoom - Trust
Cavernous. Listening to Trust is like spelunking in an ancient cave and hearing someone - or something - singing miles underground. The music sounds like it is echoing, or literally dripping off of a cave ceiling. The beat stays the same speed all the way through, which makes the transition into the second half sound organic while still sounding monumental. Crank this one loud.
Similar Songs:
Bulbforms - Trust
White Foxes - Susanne Sundfor
Most of the songs on this list are carried by their music. White Foxes, on the other hand, is carried by Susanne Sundfor's incredible voice, supplemented by subtle, rippling synths.
Similar Songs:
Running up That Hill - Kate Bush (or, for a slower, darker version, Placebo. Both are excellent in their own rights.)
Lose It - Austra
Black Tin Box - Miike Snow ft. Lykke Li
I just love the arpeggiated synth in this song. The steel drums - a la "Heartbeats" - are a nice touch. The way that Miike Snow manipulates his voice is surreal and almost robotic. Like a talking toy when its batteries are dying.
Similar Songs:
Silvia - Miike Snow
Hold My Liquor - Kanye West
Kanye has churned out several candidates for this list, but Hold My Liquor holds my interest. The strong presence of Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver) provides a template for a powerful melody on top of steady undercurrent of drums and synth strings. Plus an airhorn. Kanye spits some sweet rhymes, and there's a guitar that sounds like it was borrowed from Ratatat. But strangely, it all fits together. Praise Yeezus.
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