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Mid Week Recs 4.17.2019

It's Wednesday and you're almost out of microwave dinners- take it in stride with some quick and easy music recs. The frozen aisle will be there for you tomorrow.

Full Playlist HERE...

17- The Greeting Committee; Transport yourself into the funny but angsty moment of your very own coming of age dramedy. I love to listen to this song. I really do feel 17 again when I listen to it. Great vibe and CATCHY chorus. Gold star! I'm old now.

Sports - Beach Bunny; Maybe love is over-RATED. Rich vocals and preppy instrumentals, alvvays adjacent and fun. Pairs well with 17 by The Greeting Committee. Beachy Bunny gets the lyrics and melody down to perfection so that this song flows ever so effortlessly while still packing in ALL of the emotion.

Peer Pressure - L Devine; Samples the Heathers- boom there it is. Sad pop girl with a boom boom beat- the tale as old as time. The production itself is a little over-filtered for my hippie ass, but still a solid play. 

Nervous - L Devine; This is the relatable content I feel like I secretly demand. Something about this track is recursive- the lyrical rhythm and airy “whys” throughout allow the song to flow into itself. And that’s why I played this song 15 times in a row recently. I’m fine! It’s playing right now. Everything is fine.

Angel in Your Eyes- Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo present LSD; 

Bababa bumba bumba bum- If you haven't listened to this album yet I'll try not to hold that against you. But go ahead and give it a listen when you're stuck in traffic- you'll like it. They make it hard to dislike these songs because they call back to every form of music ever heard by human ears; and with that train of thought, there's bound to be something you like in there. This particular track starts a little Pacman on uppers and then layers it with a little bossa nova and you're going to feel silly for not already thinking that hyped up Pacman and bossa nova naturally make a good pairing. A little EDM is peppered in for good measure. What's a genre? 

Genius- Labrinth, Sia, and Diplo present LSD; YES TO THIS THEATRICAL SALSA DANCING DRAMA STIRRING UP TROUBLE ON THE DANCE FLOOR AND IT'S WEST SIDE STORY WITH ROBOTS- this is my official statement.

Don't Stop Me Now - The Regrettes; This cover is amazing. For all my fake knowledge about music I can't really pinpoint why exactly it works so well- but damn it does, man. It makes me want to smash stuff with glee while wearing torn up converse and drinking coca cola (full sugar.) Sometimes you just gotta live.

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Songs Inspired. It's Not Living if it's Not With You // 1975

Where do songs come from? And where do they go when we're not watching them? Although there's really no telling what can inspire a song into this world from nothing, one girl (I) takes on the responsibility that literally nobody asked her (me) to do- analyze your favorite songs for possible influences (and we'll all learn a little bit about ourselves on the journey there... cue the Full House sentimental underscore.)

To get this out off the bat- it's not shocking that synth-friendly soft rock band the 1975 has an overall tone of 1980s Miami workout video prompting you to jog in place with some bopping bass licks and metallic guitar; this is their overarching aesthetic. With them, you gotta learn to look past the 90s paper cup design outer layer, because this is a band with some authentic lyrical and melodic prowess that digs down to a deeper, more soulful level than they would have you think at first glance.     When this particular song kicks off with its airy guitar licks, it's easy to assume that this bop could take a turn for "My girlfriend doesn't like the vodka I stole for her... eternal cute and mild angst!!" But to this reviewer's surprise, the 1975 put out a piece with richer layers than that (a fine baklava of sorts.) This is true of the entire album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships- "If I Believe You" will kick you in the neck if you're expecting another "Chocolate." Anyways, guard your loins, and let's get back to "It's Not Living-"     As many who follow the 1975 know, this track is frontman Matt Healy's perspective on his feelings toward Heroin. Not that you would have to avidly follow the band to wrap your mind around the intent here; the song lyrics make the underlying subject transparent- "Got a 20-stone monkey that I just can't beat" pretty much tips any wayfaring listener off.    

With it's upbeat ode to a drug-lationship- at first take of this song originally struck me as a darker nod back to McCartney's screamingly happy love song to weed "Got to Get You Into My Life."  The thing is; while maybe initial inspiration could have come from "Got to Get You.." and while both songs do have in common (other than their long titles) is that they've written a song in a tone usually reserved for romance or sexual feelings toward a drug- the relationships with the drugs are foils, and so are the tones of the love songs themselves.    

"Got to Get You Into My Life" is courting, the yearning and excitement of new romance, while looking forward to a new life together. "It's Not Living" has all of the yearning with none of the courting or excitement, and significantly seems to be dragging it's narrator back in time while they weakly plead to move on. And when it's put like that- the second layer of this song reveals that there are two deep influences at play here.    

Generally, although the signature pastel cloud is on top of everything sonically; looking at the lyrics alone reveals a sardonic twist on classic 50s pop love songs (I need you! I want you! Can't live without you!) with the repeating and saccharine sweet hook "It's not living if it's not with you" and campy lead-ins "It's true that! All I do is sit and think about you!"    

Meanwhile, the song rather shockingly kicks off with a third person story structure ("Danny ran into some complications") which inspires thoughts back to the power ballad story songs of the 80s (This is a story... of Jack and Diane...) Although upon some retrospective rationalization; I, too, would prefer to write something so raw as if it were someone else's story (This same tactic is also how Bundy finally admitted to murdering all those people, food for thought.)    

And in the vein of this, it's worth noting that this track is not a parody of the old school pop love songs nor is it a parody of the 80s epic story songs, it's a genuine rib out of each, absolutely nailing the understated but screamingly yearning lyrics of the oom-bop classics with lines "distract my brain from the terrible news/ it's not living if it's not with you" (Seriously, sit with that one for a few seconds and tell me you don't feel a pang in your stomach) in a fully executed spin from the prior verse's longer form storytelling

“And Danny says we're living in a simulation/ But he works in a petrol station (Selling petrol)/ He says it all began with his operation/ And I know you think you're sly but you need some imagination.”

Surprisingly, neither tactic seems campy or hack; because the thing about music is no matter the genre sincerity comes through. And they nailed it here. Underneath all of the millennial glossing is the yearning, burning, humanity that brings great music into this world. Which, again, is true of not only this song but much of this album where underneath the shimmering production are true blue soul tracks that has the thirteen year old in me screaming for acoustic covers of this whole package (...Youtubers in music school with cameras on your pianos, where you at??) Is this one of my new favorite songs? New favorite album? When did this happen? Why am I lightly jogging in place and holding this 90s paper cup? And that's how they get you.

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