Songs of the Week Volume II!
Thanks to all the people who submitted last minute when I called on them last night. You're all awesome! We have a few songs from people at The Tanner Times, and a few from other Peabody High students. We may eventually encourage submissions for songs of the week from all our readers, but for now, enjoy the selections of these select few! Check out the first week's playlist here and read about the songs below. If you want to check out the archive of every song thats been on the Songs of the Week, you can find that here. Do you have a favorite song or just something you've really loved lately? We're opening Songs of the Week to the public, so comment them below or submit them to connor@murphysites.com with a short description of what it is or why you like it!
Tali Malcolm:
This is one of Lana Del Rey's greatest songs from her brand new album 'Honeymoon.' Her voice is completely unique and there isn't even a genre to describe what she comes up with. This song is very calming and relaxing, like much of her work. Her entire new album is great, so don't just listen to this one song!
Edgar Castro:
A contrast from the GY!BE song from last week's post, Mogwai's Yes! I Am a Long Way From Home, off of their album Young Team, takes a different, more contemporary approach to post-rock - on Young Team, instruments from the violin family are absent; instruments that sound like them are rare. Yes! I Am a Long Way From Home starts off with a short monologue by a friend of the band; after that, it is largely dominated by a soothing bass line with tame drums and electric guitar notes that seem to sparkle on top of it, like stars glittering in a very vast and empty universe. Actually, that's exactly what the song feels like: traveling through a field of stars and feeling at peace with the beauty of it all and the insignificance of the self among them. The last sentences of the second chapter of Willa Cather's My Antonia come to mind: "Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep." Like most post-rock songs, the song climaxes about two thirds of the way through, where the once-calm melody becomes energized with a wall of sound and a singing electric guitar; after that, the energy slowly dies down again, and the song ends, just as it began, with a single, human voice giving a monologue; the journey has ended, and your feet are back on the ground. It's a very simple and beautiful song.
The first time I heard this song, it scared me off. It was something so vastly different from any folk song, or any song period, that I've ever heard before. It was different and it was intimidating: the staggering acoustic guitars, the warm, overwhelming synthesizer, and the layers of seemingly incompatible instruments - some kind of horn; the bashing drums; the acoustic guitar; the synthesizers; the soft, almost incoherent voice in the middle of the mess; the many mistakes that are very apparent throughout the piece - threw me off. A while later, though, when I came to revisit it, it became apparent that the "mess" was not some unintended result of amateur music composition but, rather, was an intentional maneuver whose purpose was to emphasize the very chaotic and unpredictable nature of the song's subject matter. For the most part, the song doesn't tell you that existence is at once both intricate and delicate; it suggests that it is through its composition. It touches upon the matter in the last verse - "We're just floating in space over molten rock/ And we felt safe and we discovered that our skin is soft" - but that's about it. The Moon is actually very beautiful despite its first impressions, once you grasp the unusual artistic decisions that Phil Elverum made with its creation. The seemingly incompatible instruments that the song is built up from actually work together strangely well. Listen with headphones for the full experience.
Connor Murphy:
Pull Us All Together is a song by bay-area folk rock band The Mother Hips. Some of my favorite musicians have come from the San Francisco bay area, and The Mother Hips do not disappoint with this relatively laid back song with a very positive message. For a pretty repetitive song, it really just makes you feel good and reflects well on the whole album, so if you like this, it is definitely worth checking out the album, and even the band.
With a nice bouncy, roadtrip feel, English indie rock band Gomez, brings to the table a bit of a contrast to the bluesy feel of the rest of their album Bring It On. For those of you that have heard Ray LaMontagne, this band will definitely appeal to you. Ben Ottewell, one of the lead singers, has a very similar voice to him, and they often a similar bluesy feel to their music. Ottewell's harmonies with the occasionally distorted voices of the other band members creates a really satisfying vocal progression over the relatively constant backing track. This song has a strange feeling of motion to it that many others could not claim. It's great for walking or driving to.
Cynthia Aroke:
I like it because he has a beautiful voice and a strong message and I wonder why I never hear songs like this on the radio. Also it's stuck in my head.
Matt Smith:
The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
Listening to Frontier Psychiatrist will change your life in more ways than one, and after watching, some become confused or go mad. However, some achieve a form of enlightenment beyond this world and ascend to the skies as a creature of pure consciousness and nothing more. Forged by the masters of music known as The Avalanches, this song will answer all the problems and questions you will or may have. Please listen responsibly.
From the land where people are always upside down and native animals rule the food chain, Jimmy Recard, by Australian hip-hop artist Drapht is one of my personal favorites. Extremely catchy, and probably the second greatest thing to come out of Australia (after Hugh Jackman, of course).
Kyra Bresnahan:
I like this song because Chris Cornell has a great voice.
Evan Murphy:
This tune has been stuck in my head for about a week now and for good reason. It starts off pretty calm, soothing even, but quickly transitions to a very catchy, head-bobbing, feel-good chorus. But the calm melody from the intro returns to prove itself effective in both the role of an introduction and a resolution.
The message of this song really makes you look at life from a different perspective. As if you don't have to worry or stress about a single thing, because everything's in the hands of fate. Although I might not have as much to say about this song as I did about the last, it doesn't need a single word to analyze it, the song clearly speaks for itself.
Fernando Francisco:
Because this songs says that sometimes thing can turn out better than you think.
Bobby Manning:
R&B love jam by pianist/soul singer from John Legend from his 2013 album Love in the Future. Cover of the 1980 Bobby Cadwell song by the same name brought to the next level with Legend's overpowering, soul-filled voice. Beat follows essentially the same melody as the Cadwell original with some added mixes and modern flare added from Kanye West's production. Very worthwhile listen, the intense piano melody that drives the song goes in line with Legend's amazing voice almost seamlessly.
This hip-hop classic samples Cadwell's "Open Your Eyes". The big hit off Common's highly acclaimed "Like Water for Chocolate" in 2000, J Dilla mixes the refrain off Cadwell's 1980 song to create one of the great production works in hip hop that year with the chorus being a direct cut off Open Your Eyes. Right in the midst of Common''s prime as one of the genres great conscious rappers; he speaks to his girl through a spoken letter discussing some of their differences including distance while stressing their one strongest bond, love. What I love most about Common is that voice, one of the coolest you'll ever hear.
Jason Gibson:
It's a really good song xD
Rebecca Dubois:
This song was only supposed to have one meaning, which is when you lose the love of your life to someone else, but the way I take this song as when you lose someone you love to suicide. It talks about how jealous you are that they are happy now, while you're alone and depressed without them in your life. It's says that you're jealous of how much happier they are without you. It's a song that really speaks to me, and if you have ever felt similarly then you would understand it as well.
Natasha DaSilva:
It's really hard to expain why I like this song. I just do. I like that its relaxed and not over-produced. (Yes, his voice ACTUALLY sounds like this lol)
I LOVE THIS SONG GUYS! This is a song that I'm sure everyone has heard. It is such a fun song and so danceable. I am a fan of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis so this song, like the rest of them, was a huge hit for me.
Demetri Cassidy:
This comes from the Australian band's third and latest album, Currents, which is also their major label debut. While working on this project, bandleader Kevin Parker heavily discarded the band's previous psychedelic rock sound in favor of one that's heavily inspired by 80's synthpop and disco music, claiming to have desired to see this kind of music be played in dance clubs. While it is very hard to see this kind of stuff playing alongside more traditional EDM nowadays, this song is very catchy, and is easily one of the best songs off this album.
This song comes from the band's well known double album from 2000, Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. (the album also celebrates its 15th anniversary this week on October 9th, which funnily enough, is also my birthday!) This track starts off with a monologue from a random guy the band found on the streets, a moment which is now (in)famous among fans. He talks about his memories of going to Coney Island as a child, and how things have changed since as he grew up. The music actually begins with very melancholic melodies played on guitar and violin, with what sounds like loud whailing floating in the background (it's actually a member rubbing a screwdriver against the strings of his guitar). As the song progresses, drums come into play as the song gradually speeds up and becomes louder, leading to its abrasive climax. The next part of this song starts right after the climax with some gentle guitar strumming and someone lightly playing a glockenspiel. It then leads into the track's beautiful and uplifting finale, which is a great way for the band and the listener to calm down right after the noisefest they just went through.
Richard Moore:
Carolina Crown - Inferno*
This demonstrates music in a Drum and Bugle Corps setting. (Can be used for both)
*Not present on the Spotify playlist because it is not on Spotify.