July '14 Favorites: Music

Arabella by Arctic Monkeys

The chills down my spine come from:

• the lyrics to this song
• the spider-like percussion that sneaks in pass the booming bass the first few seconds in
• and the wafting sound of what I can only guess is a muffled mallet thrusted onto the surface a jumbo drum, causing the beat to melt down the bridge of the song (along with my body... down a wall...)

I have a handful of songs in my life that've become attached to memories instantly triggered as soon as the first note plays. One's "Let It Be" by The Beatles, which I can no longer listen to because it was played at a funeral I went to. Another is "Trying to be Cool" by Phoenix, which automatically brings me back to the night (slash morning) I spent in the hospital with my mom. Takes me straight back to that thin, cold cot; my Colts Snuggie; my Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood marathon on the school's rented laptop; and the RAW vegan Coconut Butter Brick cupcake I was munching on quietly with a plastic fork.

This song reminds me of gloriously sweltering summer days-- specifically this summer. It fits like a dream: hand-in-hand with the bonding days I've spent with a friend just this summer. The same friend who actually introduced me to this song months ago. I'd vaguely listened to the Arctic Monkeys' newest album a long time ago. Liked it, but nothing stuck... Until this was played to me through the intricate workings of a subwoofer-- DJ'd by the driver.

Preeetty much play this song all the time now, wherever I go.

Pretty much a necessity.

Super Rich Kids by Frank Ocean ft. Earl Sweatshirt

I've been listening to this album, but it took a loooong minute before the lyrics of Super Rich Kids struck me as genius. Like... This summer. Probably in the past month or two.

I mean... 

Not only do I love the clever play-on-words (she wash my back three times a day/the shower head feels so amazing... COME ON NOW!!!), but I adore the rhythm and especially the soulful, smooth feel it eventually pulls into the song. Initially, the beat sounds monotonous like a metronome... Like a continuous routine, but then loosens up as Frank Ocean spits truth about "Super Rich Kids"!

I just love the artistry that was mastered in this song.

Like I said, it took me forever to fully appreciate a song like this. So yes, I was late on understanding the hype that is Frank Ocean.

Hope you enjoyed my music favorites of July 2014! The words came rushing to me at 5:40am, and I HAD to entertain it. I'm pretty proud of this write-up; I hope you are too!

Now if you'll excuse me... It's past 6am, and I don't think my mind's able to produce much else. It's been fueled by music and has writing haikus for hours now. Definitely time to take a breather and rest. Good (night) morning!

 

What Stealing Taught Me

For awhile now, I've been hearing and seeing more and more of Questlove and The Roots. Just seeing this The Red Bulletin magazine in the waiting room peaked my curiosity to the fullest.

So I stole it.

And boy, did I learn!

The only things I've known The Roots for is playing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and being musical guests on Yo Gabba Gabba... Now, I was generous enough to leave the Yo Gabba Gabba video down below. Don't knock it until you've listened to it! I swear the musical guests on that show always kill it.

Anyway, from reading Questlove's interview, I learned that a lot of talent curated in this man from the time of birth. His parents were a part of the music business, so he had the opprotunity of running every facet that show business calls for.

When asked what his sense of where new and emerging talents were honing their skills, I'd have to say his answer resonated more than anything else in the interview:

"Hip-hop kind of turned its own Ginsu sword on itself in about 1997, when suddenly only winners counted, and losers or strugglers weren't shit... You just want to watch the amazing slam dunks, not well-executed team play. Puffy started that era, in my opinion. The narrative became aspirational and all about winning. It no longer celebrated the water boy, the statistician, or the assistant coach. Those people helped the team as well." -Questlove

Questlove is like a human music history timeline. I wasn't able to finish reading the interview while at the doctor's so I slid away with it, have become enlightened and humbled because of it.

Who would've thought the waiting room was like a permanent library?