So, a couple of weeks ago, I asked my Facebook friends to share with me the songs that they personally loved, but were otherwise lesser-known to the world at large. I received 63 songs! I asked the submitters to briefly tell me why they picked the songs they did to give me a starting-off point for my article. Not everybody responded, so that helped bring my list down to 43 songs. I then used RANDOM.org to shuffle the order of the entries and to randomly select one song from friends who submitted multiples to make a final setlist of 33 songs. Nevertheless, I will be listening to EVERY song that was submitted, but I will only write about those 33, which is a challenge in and of itself!
And today I will present the first playlist! But first, I have created a playlist on Spotify called "Other People's iPods" that features every song submitted to me (that can be found on Spotify), including the ones that will not be featured on the blog. Find it here:
So, here is the rules to how I approach the songs sent to me. I only focus on five or six of the songs each week and I do not listen to the others until it is time to write about them. I then do the following with each one:
1.) I read the personal context of the song (as submitted to me) and give the song its first listen. I record my first impressions.
2.) I learn all that I can learn about the song over the course of the next week. I try to become a mini-expert on it.
3.) I try to find someway to make the song mine. Most often, I will try and find a personal song from my own collection that pairs nicely with the submitted song.
When someone has submitted more than one song, I focus only on one song for the blog entry, but I will listen to each of their songs during that same time.
So, are you ready? It turns out my friends have excellent taste in music. Maybe your new favorite song is in one of these playlists!
Playlist #1
Song #1: Yuna - Rescue
Submitted by Ruqayyah Abdul-Karim
The order of the songs was chosen at random, with the exception of song #1. As Rocky was the first to respond to my post, she has earned the coveted position of first song! Here is the song she chose and what she had to say about it:
“I submit "Rescue" by Yuna because it's my favorite pick-me-up song that nobody knows (followed closely by "Feelin' Myself" by will.i.am feat Miley Cyrus. No judgement please!)”
I thought this might be a song that Abby (my wife) my like. After she heard it, she said, "This girl (Rocky) and I need to be friends!" I am still working on not judging the will.i.am entry.
Over the course of the week, this song has been stuck in my head more than any other. It is definitely the most "poppy" of the five songs this week, but that's the point of the song: even though things can suck and seem to overwhelm you, you are still alive and that is awesome in and of itself. And Yuna is such an exciting singer because we do not see many Malaysians or practicing Muslims in the American pop music charts.
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| Yuna can also summon aeons, such as Valefor, unless I have her confused with a different Yuna. |
Yeah/She's got life in her veins/She don't need no rescuing/She's okay.
Interestingly though, Yuna does not see the song as a feminist anthem, saying: “I find it really weird because I don’t consider myself a feminist. And I don’t see how that song is a feminist anthem. It’s just a song I wrote about all the strong women I know in my life."
If we had more time, it would be interesting to have a discussion on how different groups view the word "feminist," especially when viewed from different religious communities. As for a "militant, tear-down-the-establishment" theme, no, "Rescue" is not that kind of feminist anthem. But for a "empowerment, I-got-this-on-my-own" statement, "Rescue" is most certainly a feminist anthem.
But don't worry about all of that! Just enjoy this fabulously catchy song!
Pairs nicely with: Bishop Allen - Rain
Here is another song with an insanely catchy chorus, Afro-pop influences, and a message about being happy even when things suck!
Now that we are energetic and pumped, let's listen to song #2!
Song #2: Brand New - Play Crack the Sky
Submitted by: Spencer Dahl
What he had to say about it: “It's amazing to me because when you listen to the lyrics you can almost feel the painstaking amount of effort that went into writing it. Wonderful metaphors.”
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| See? Crazy right? |
On September 1st, 1951, a party ship named Pelican was hit by sudden bad weather off the tip of Montauk Point in New York. The boat, overcrowded and overwhelmed by rogue waves, capsized in view of the lighthouse, killing 45, including the ship's captain. "Play Crack the Sky" uses this incident for its inspiration, but takes a much more metaphorical approach.
This song is a showcase to the power of lyrics. Some songs are about the beat, or the performance, or the vocals. This one spins on its content. This song can be read as poetry. Here, try it for yourself:
We sent out the SOS call.
It was a quarter past four in the morning
It was a quarter past four in the morning
When the storm broke
Our second anchor line.
Four months at sea,
Four months at sea,
Four months of calm seas to be pounded
In the shallows off
The tip of Montauk Point.
They call them rogues,
They travel fast and alone.
One-hundred-foot faces
One-hundred-foot faces
Of God's good ocean gone wrong.
What they call love is a risk,
What they call love is a risk,
‘Cause you will always get hit out of nowhere
By some wave and end up on your own.
The hole in the hull defied the crew’s attempts
To bail us out.
And flooded the engines and radio
And flooded the engines and radio
And half buried bow.
Your tongue is a rudder.
It steers the whole ship.
Sends your words past your lips
Or keeps them safe behind your teeth.
But the wrong words will strand you.
Come off course while you sleep.
Sweep your boat out to sea
But the wrong words will strand you.
Come off course while you sleep.
Sweep your boat out to sea
Or dashed to bits on the reef.
The vessel groans
The ocean pressures its frame.
To the port I see the lighthouse
To the port I see the lighthouse
Through the sleet and rain.
And I wish for one more day
And I wish for one more day
To give my love and repay debts.
But the morning finds our bodies washed up
But the morning finds our bodies washed up
Thirty miles west.
They say that the captain stays fast with the ship
Through still and storm.
But this ain't the Dakota, and the water is cold.
We won't have to fight for long.
But this ain't the Dakota, and the water is cold.
We won't have to fight for long.
(This is the end.)
This story's old but it goes
This story's old but it goes
On and on until we disappear.
(This is the calm.)
Calm me and let me taste the
Calm me and let me taste the
Salt you breathed while you were underneath.
(We are the rising.)
I am the one who haunts your
I am the one who haunts your
Dreams of mountains sunk below the sea.
(After the storm.)
I spoke the words but never
I spoke the words but never
Gave a thought to what they all could mean.
(Rest in the deep.)
I know that this is what you want.
A funeral keeps both of us apart.
I know that this is what you want.
A funeral keeps both of us apart.
(Washed up on the beach.)
You know that you are not alone.
Need you like water in my lungs.
You know that you are not alone.
Need you like water in my lungs.
This is the end.
Never
to see any other way…
Pairs nicely with: Brand New - Jesus Christ
I first heard this song soon after finishing my two years as a Mormon missionary, so at the time I was made apprehensive by the song's title. But, like "Play Crack the Sky," this is another song that rests entirely on its lyrical poeticism and is an amazing confessional of a man trying to believe. It's also another downer, so, sorry Yuna!
Song #3: Talk Talk - New Grass
Submitted by: Sean Uranga
What he had to say about it: “It is such a mellow song, that I just get lost
in it. Even though it is a long song (over 9 minutes, WOOF!) most of the
instrumentals besides the drums and the main guitar rift are improvised, and
based off of raw takes, making the song feel fresh and dynamic the whole-way
through. Also, Mark's voice is so haunting the entire time. I like how it just
blends in with the music, and doesn't overtake it.”
First impressions: I’m already in love with this project. This is a
song I need to own. Reminds me of playing around with my own recordings. If
“Rescue” is a pick-me-up, this calms you right back down. Makes me think of
driving at night. The drums are the road, the instruments that come in and out
are passing cars.
Sean has always had a good taste in the music he recommends to me.
Sean has always had a good taste in the music he recommends to me.
Over the course of the week: As I gave this song several listens and learned more about the recording of the album this song comes from, I eventually decided I needed to buy the entire album. While nine-minute-long, jazz-influenced, post-rock may not be your typical listening fare, I challenge you to put on some nice headphones, close your eyes, and just let this song pass over you. I still get the feeling of night-driving, even if no one else does. But all it takes is a simple Google search to see how many people have been profoundly influenced by this song. And then you find the song this band is famous for:
First off, those two songs could almost not be any different! Secondly, Gwen Stefani sounds different than I remember.
"New Grass" is an example of what can happen when an artist is given complete control over the creative process. I recommend this account of the recording process. I was especially fascinated by these comments:
Hollis believed – according to Pidgeon’s interview – that “the first time something is played it is at its finest, and the minute you try to recreate that it becomes an imitation of something that was originally better...But that takes a large amount of time because… ninety percent of what you play will be rubbish. If you’re improvising, if you get 10% which is any good then I think you’re doing really well. I think you’re doing amazingly well if you get half a percent!”
...Laughing Stock was painstakingly assembled from sessions in which a vast cast of musicians were brought in “to improvise on sections without hearing the full track,” Aspden says. With just a basic chord structure at most, they were encouraged to try out anything their hearts encouraged them to, and then, thanks to the emerging digital technology, any results felt appropriate were employed, sometimes in places for which they had never originally been envisioned. Most of it never made the cut. “It takes a strong discipline to erase 80% of the music you record,” Brown observes. “Few have the discipline to get rid of ‘stuff’.” It is this, as much as anything, that gives Laughing Stock ... its otherworldly, abstract, innovative character, but, though the procedure sounds random, Hollis himself was a perfectionist, precise in every choice he made, and the album retains a coherent structure, albeit one very different to what his former pop peers were employing.
I have never heard of a musician claiming their first performance of a song to be their best! This also made the music impossible to perform. Maybe not surprisingly, the two remaining band members did not stick together long after the exhausting process of recording this album, which has helped contribute to its cult status.
Pairs nicely with: Sigur Rós - Festival
I considered suggesting a Bon Iver song, since, as the article above suggests, his music is the descendent of Talk Talk's later work. But I'm suggesting another nine-minute, atmospheric song, largely because I have a more personal connection to it. "Festival" shares the mellowness and the fade-in/fade-out feel of the instrumentation with "New Grass," at least at first, but then the band takes the song in an entirely different direction halfway in.
Song #4: Polaris - Hey Sandy
Submitted by: Liz Buchanan
What she had to say about it: “This might seem weird but the theme song from that old Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete and Pete is pretty awesome. It's called Hey Sandy by Polaris. Fun fact - the lyrics are so difficult to decipher, people complained to the TV network because they thought they might be secretly offensive. Now that the internet is a thing, the general consensus is that it's about a Kent State student who was killed during the Kent State shooting.”
First impressions: Good old-fashioned 90s guitar garage rock. I love when the guitar solo hits in the middle. Reminds me of just getting my old high school band together and jamming out, singing whatever came to our heads. Short and sweet.
After the soberness and mellowness and nine-minuteness of the last few songs, it's nice to get an uptempo, two-and-a-half minute dance-rock song!
Over the course of the week: Liz was not wrong about the debate over the lyrics! Just read the comments section here, for example. It seems to most people, the interpretation of this song all hinges on the mysterious third line of the first verse. Is it "Can you settle to shoot me?" or is it "Can you settle a sure bet?" or is it something dirtier? Here is the singer having fun with it:
You start to wonder, why keep it a secret? Only a small number of people are still following this song, begging to know. Then I realized, that's what gives the song its power (besides being a fun, danceable piece of nostalgia). What could have been throwaway lyrics have now been analyzed over and over and over. The fact that the song shares its title with a famous folk song about the Kent State shooting frames the lyrics in a different context. The fact that the lyrics are so cryptic for a kids' show's theme song fuels a fun debate about mischievous rockers. It gets people involved and interested, so I doubt he will ever tell more.
Pairs nicely with: The Solids - Hey Beautiful
It doesn't have the same lyrical debate as "Hey Sandy," but it is another surprisingly good theme song with a garage-rock grind to it. It also starts with "Hey!" When it finally kicks to the recognizable bridge, the hair stands up on my arms. By the way, the show's producers are both members of the band.
Song #5: Brad Mehldau - Paranoid Android (Live in Tokyo)
Submitted by: Christopher Clarke
What he had to say about it: “The passion! The depth and breadth of emotion and feeling. It is solo piano at its finest.”
First impressions: It’s best to lay back, close your eyes, and just get lost in the performance. In spite of its length, there are several moments where I noticed it got my heart racing. It may be a cover of a rock song, but it’s a fine example of modern classical piano. It represents what is so rewarding about long compositions. The listener is committed to paying deeper attention, so the composer gets to take his or her time to tell a longer story. In a piece like this there are characters and plot, a rise and fall.
Over the course of the week: So, to get to know this song, I also had to get to know the Radiohead song Mehldau is covering. I naturally assumed it was going to be 20 minutes long. It isn't.
When this song came out, some compared it to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." While the comparison seems out of place now, I am fascinated by how this song came together. They tried to emulate The Beatles' "Happiness is a Warm Gun" by stitching different songs together. The result is a fascinating, prog-rocker. Even more interesting is how they managed to get the thing made into the album's lead single.
Radiohead struggled to play the song live, often more than doubling its playtime. Interestingly enough, Brad Mehldau has a studio version of "Paranoid Android," played with his jazz trio. It is also half the length of his live version, but it also considerably more faithful to the original song.
It turns out jazz musicians love to cover Radiohead. Their experimentation with harmony and time signatures makes excellent fuel for improvisation. In fact, I found an actual scholarly article, with an abstract and everything, about this specific cover song. It talks about exactly how a cover version can have interpret a piece beyond the original author's meaning and to give it a new life.
I really enjoy Mehldau's two cover versions, especially his Tokyo performance. It is the type of music I study best to: not too forceful to distract me, but with enough energy to keep me awake.
Pairs nicely with: Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VII Main Theme (Piano Version)
The only two similarities between these two songs may be that they are both piano solos. This song may not be nearly as long or technically complex, but it is one of my favorite pieces. You do not have to have played the video game it is from to appreciate its beauty. Enjoy!
So that's it for playlist #1! It was such a success, for me at least, that I cannot wait to get started on the next five songs. Until then, get to know these ones!
The only two similarities between these two songs may be that they are both piano solos. This song may not be nearly as long or technically complex, but it is one of my favorite pieces. You do not have to have played the video game it is from to appreciate its beauty. Enjoy!
So that's it for playlist #1! It was such a success, for me at least, that I cannot wait to get started on the next five songs. Until then, get to know these ones!
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