SotW Contributor Showcase: Connor Murphy
Connor Murphy both runs Songs of the Week and is its single most active contributor, having submitted the most songs since the column started. His taste is varied and mostly energetic, exhibited by his most-contributed artists, Elbow (5), Titus Andronicus (3), Fleet Foxes, Gorillaz, Palehound, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and The Kinks (2 each). Connor has been interviewed before, but this time, music was the focus instead of the Songs of the Week column itself.
Edgar Castro: So, the last time I interviewed you about Songs of the Week, we focused on the column itself and its effect on the school. I want to know, what about its effect on you? Has Songs of the Week helped to further develop your musical tastes? Connor Murphy: Songs of the Week has been a great way to keep me striving to discover music, if for nothing else but the fact that I need to constantly have songs to write up for the article. I've also discovered a great deal of music through your submissions, and those of a few other contributors. I've also been constantly filled with a work ethic that comes from the weekly deadline of the article. It's nice always having something that "needs" to be done, even if it's mostly self-imposed. EC: Is there any music that has stood out to you in the articles so far? CM: Of the submissions I've received, most of the music that has stood out to me has been yours. Groups like Fleet Foxes, Mogwai, and a few others have been added into my collection since you submitted them. A few other contributors I've discovered music by were Demetri Cassidy and Sean Cox. EC: Are there any particular qualities shared by those artists that make them stand out to you? What do you look for in music? CM: I think music really only has to hit a few marks to be at least worthwhile for me. It has to be a product of emotion, and make some statement about that emotion. And I think that in general, I look for music that makes me feel something. It doesn't matter much to me whether a song is catchy or filled with hooks, but when it sends a chill down my neck, that is definitely a song worth remembering, and listening more to. Music needs to be raw, charged, and always made with feeling. EC: Do you find yourself drawn to a certain genre or genres because they exhibit those qualities more consistently than others? Are there any genres that you avoid? CM: In a broad sense, music from every genre has made me feel. Genres tend to get more nitty gritty than what I'm referring to, for instance I have never heard a black metal song that gave me any sort of emotion; however, metal songs from other subgenres have made me feel. Of the broad, umbrella genres, the only ones I have tended to shy from are country and metal, but both have occasionally surprised me. My favorite genres would have to punk rock and folk, but even some of my favorite songs wouldn't fall into either of those categories. I think every genre has something to offer, and it's a crime confining oneself to a single one. EC: Speaking of country and folk, what would you say is the difference between folk and country? Is there any hard line drawn between the two, or is it decided sort of on a case-by-case basis? CM: I think, most importantly, that labelling music is primarily a tool for the listener to group music together when sharing or discovering it. Genres are a good way to discover music similar to that which they have heard and enjoyed. So, while there definitely exists a line between country and folk, it is not all that important. I would, however, say that the line between country and folk is mainly due to the strict, southwestern United States leanings of country. Folk music has always been a term to identify music that is ingrained in a culture, passed down through the people of that culture generation by generation. The instrumentation of American midwestern folk was then repopularized in the era of protest music, and so folk music as we know it today was born. I believe the difference in sound is mostly due to southern accents, or lack thereof. Also country music tends to have a twanginess factor to its guitar parts, and that is one of the major contributors towards being called "country-ish." EC: That was pretty informative. Just because I'm dying to know: would you consider Wilco or Songs: Ohia to be country, based on those standards? CM: I think that when a band's genre is thrown into question, it becomes more of a question of whether the label is important. I would say that calling either of those artists "country-ish" is enough to do everything genres are in place to do, in my opinion. EC: All right. Some last questions: what are your favourite songs that you have submitted so far, and what is your favourite pepe, if any? CM: My favorite songs of those I have submitted would definitely have to be Ted Leo and the Pharmacists' "Biomusicology" [64] and Elbow's "Starlings" [72]. Both have given me chills on almost every listen. My favorite pepe would have to be the minimalist pepe I first saw at pepe-princess.tumblr.com.
The pepe in question
EC: That pepe appears to be quite moist. I'll be sure to add it to my collection. Is there anything you'd like to add? CM: Submit songs! Also tell your friends. It's almost over, and I want this article to represent As many people as possible's music tastes!
Connor's Submissions:
AWOLNATION - THISKIDSNOTALRIGHT
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - S.O.B.
Gomez - Whippin' Piccadilly
The Mother Hips - Pull Us All Together
Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood
Rivers Cuomo - I Was Made For You
Brendan Benson - What I'm Looking For
Titus Andronicus - In A Big City
Gorillaz - Dracula
The Raconteurs - Carolina Drama
Leroy - Good Time
Rubblebucket - Came Out of a Lady
The Builders and the Butchers - Bottom of the Lake
Junip - Far Away
Sam Roberts Band - Brother Down
Wilco - Jesus, etc.
Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young - 4 + 20
Portugal. The Man - People Say
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Me and Mia
alt-J (∆) - Breezeblocks
Childish Gambino - Sweatpants feat. Problem
Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity
El Ten Eleven - My Only Swerving
Elbow - New York Morning
Marconi Union - Weightless Pt. 1
Fleet Foxes - Mykonos
Maps & Atlases - Solid Ground
The Mars Volta - The Widow
Band of Skulls - Close To Nowhere
Primitive Radio Gods - Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand
Violent Femmes - American Music
Simon & Garfunkel - 7 O'Clock News/ Silent Night
They Might Be Giants - Santa's Beard
Three Dog Night - Joy To The World
Heartless Bastards - Gates of Dawn
Tigerman Woah! - Koopa
Titus Andronicus - Fired Up
Langhorne Slime & The Law - Past Lives
Palehound - Cushioned Caging
Palehound - Dry Food
Talking Heads - Road To Nowhere
The Mars Volta - Goliath
The Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love
Elbow - any day now
The Acid - Tumbling Lights
The Shins - We Will Become Silhouettes
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Will You Smile Again for Me?
Graham Nash - Better Days
Love - Alone Again Or
Courtney Barnett - History Eraser
Elbow - The Birds
Langhorne Slim & The Law - The Way We Move
Electric Guest - This Head I Hold
Queens of the Stone Age - I Wanna Make It Wit Chu
Soundgarden - Never The Machine Forever
Fleet Foxes - Drops in the River
The Kinks - This Time Tomorrow
Two Gallants - despite what you've been told
Beulah - Emma Blowgun's Last Stand
Portishead - Roads
The Drones - Shark Fin Blues
Bleached - Next Stop
Masters of Reality - Rabbit One
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Biomusicology
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons - Take Off Your Sunglasses
Jim James - State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)
The Kinks - The Village Green Preservation Society
Brendon Benson - Metarie
Jeff Rosenstock - You, In Weird Cities
Titus Andronicus - My Eating Disorder
Alice in Chains - Don't Follow
Elbow - Starlings
Pile - idiot the chef
Gorillaz - Demon Days
Elbow - lucky with disease