Spotify Me Part 20: Playlist Harder

Spotify Me Part 20: Playlist Harder

Mark’s Discover Weekly Playlist for the week of 1/11/2016

This was a really good week for my playlist. I must have like half the songs this week, and it was because I genuinely wanted to listen to them over and over again. At the same time I finally broke down and bought Spotify premium, and have to say I love it so far. I don’t want to go too much into it because Spotify isn’t paying me to talk about them. So instead I’m going to tell you about the Google Cardboard I bought: it’s not here yet. I also bought a dry suit: it’s also not here.

Have you ever bought a gadget and then had to wait for it? It’s really hard. I love going to stores because then I have the gadget right away but right now, I’m sitting here waiting for mail to arrive and its horrible. It’s hard to imagine you used to have to order things through the mail. You send in a letter, wit for that letter to arrive, and then they mail the gadget to you. That’s too long to wait. That’s why I love Spotify, where I don’t have to wait. All my favorite songs are – you see I almost did it right there. That’s what I’m talking about.

Single
Kniles

Modify – Kniles 

Another frustrating game of “I know I’ve heard this song” was played this week. I kept listening to this song though out the week, because it’s a good song. But I could not shake the feeling that I knew it from somewhere. The hunt had no effect on how much I liked the song. It makes you want to move around, if not break into actual dance. It’s a “good times” kind of song that you might hear at a casual party, or in a 70’s teen movie trailer. I have always stated that I wish my generation had more of a chance with disco, and so this type of music usually wins me over. And what really makes the song stand out to me is ironically that it doesn’t fight for your attention. The song is perfectly content to just groove in and create the atmosphere. It’s a great song to listen to to cheer up or have a good time. Oh, and I did figure out where I had heard it before.It was in the Game of Thrones BLR video, which shouldn’t have surprised me.

In the Morning
Jayne Trimble

Meet You at the Gate – Jayne Trimble

One of my favorite albums to listen to is the soundtrack to the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou.” Due to the nature of the film, the soundtrack became a collection of bluegrass and American folk music performed by some of the greatest voices in the genre. Sometimes I listen to that type of music and feel a bit sad that I messed out on that part of American culture, the passing of songs through the generations. Even though that culture isn’t as relevant as it used to be, that style of music is still being written and recorded today, this song being a great example. It’s a quiet slow song, which is as soothing as it is beautiful. The singer has a soft voice that flows so well with the rhythm of the song, and has just enough power to put emotion into the song, but not break the songs tranquil nature. And the sudden rhythm at the end of the chorus is what really reminds me of that classic American folk sound. So, even though this isn’t the song your mother sings to you, because her mother sang it to her, it certainly calls to mind the idea of a time when she may have. And it’s these kinds of images that make me love this song.

Gizmodgery
maximum10

Trunk Fulla Amps [explicit] – Self

Loud, rude, rude and proud, the band Self Gives a very focused description on the exact content of their trunk. Exaggerated distortion floods the speakers as the lead singer boasts away about his clear and apparent abundance of amps. The in your face style of the song makes it as fun as it is obnoxious. The lyrics are fairly simple, allowing the instruments to do the heavy lifting with distorted guitar, thumping drums, and loud builds. The song contains the mood of a teenage rebellion, and the creation of noise for noises sake. But at the same time the song is extremely catchy, and can really become stuck in your head, which is ok as the lyrics aren’t that hard to learn. As we all know, the only thing worse than having a bad song stuck in your head, is having only half of a good song stuck in your head. This is a great song to have running in your pumping you up for your day. However, be warned that language is heavily used, so becarful about singing it to yourself in your cubicle.

Dead Zone Boys
Asthmatic Kitty

You Cried Me – Jookabox

With fast plucky strings and a wailing chorus, Jookabox howls into this week’s playlist. The song takes you for a fast paced ride where the vintage car is constantly veering in and out of control. The style reflects on a youth that is constantly in chase of new adventures and experiences regardless of the consequences. It feels like you have to keep driving with no opportunity to brake or pause. Any delay can result in missing out on what’s going on. The lyrics are simple in their idea. A man tries to warn a girl of the dangers of joining him on this self-destructive journey, and is ultimately unsuccessful as she refuses to leave his side. It’s easy to identify with this type of song, either due to the idea of pushing love away or convincing someone they are worth being loved. The tune and instruments do a great job of matching the raw nerves that can be so exposed, and the risk of chasing the one you love.

F Note
Too Many Zooz

To the Top – Too Many Zooz

So if you sit back for a minute and imagine that a saxophone were an animal, much like a dog or cat, and now consider the noise that animal would make if it were abused horribly. Now add a trumpet to the mix and this song roughly captures that experience. Based out of the New York subway that brought you Moon Hooch, comes Too Many Zooz, a loud an unapologetic Brasshouse (a mixture of jazz, rock and dance) band that is testing the distinction between sound and noise in a pretty incredible way. By using their instruments in all the ways your middle school band teacher told you not to, they create an intense sound, filing every inch of their soundscape with the energy of just three instruments. The band isn’t afraid to experiment to get every possible sound they can out of the instrument and use it in some form or another to make music. All of this adds up to a loud, rough, and chaotic style that somehow works. I would love to see them play live, especially in the subway where they first started to play.