Tag: mirror

Morning Commute: Madge – “Alice”

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Alright guys. Let’s get weird this morning. This song blew me away with how unique it is. I hear a 90s Dre sort of whine going on the background, there are sing-songy children vocals, there are so many instruments I can’t even point them all out. This song is truly unique, which is something that I rarely can say even about a lot of the music I’ve always liked.

After reading up on her background a bit, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising how unique this all sounds.  From her press release:

“Delving into the legacy of her Mormon upbringing in Utah, contemporary spirituality, and a passion for 80s dark wave, Madge has created her own lane with a DIY approach to maximalist pop, drawing comparisons to Grimes and Charli XCX along the way.

On ” Alice ” an unforgettable bassline sets the foundation for witchy vocals that float atop wood-block percussion, wood-winds, and a cat’s meow. The song is interjected by a call-and-response made up of childlike voices, representative of the self-destructive voices inside our heads. The line “…boys be wary, Alice gonna check you like a good library” is about as badass as it gets. ”

I really wish I could say anything nearly as neatly intricate as that summation, but I’ll just say this: Very few artists are being as simultaneously experimental and catchy as this track is, and I’m very anxious to see how this develops over time. In the meantime, go listen to this song over an over on her SoundCloud or on our Spotify playlist, which you can find here. 

Video of the Day: Esbie Fonte “Ace’s High”

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I have a perfect video for you guys for the Tuesday blues. This song is all about dissatisfaction in corporate America, the mind-numbing nature of 9-5 work. It’s also a bit about the deep existentialism that comes with getting stuck in a loop. It reflects on a tedium that never seems to end and always repeats again every week, slowly draining your remaining life hours away from you inch by inch.

“Ace’s high, and I’m so low

Getting by on tomorrow”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve certainly felt this despair, and I mostly like my job. I also get summer’s off. I just think human freedom is somewhat at odds with forced labor. I know, I know, its’ not literal forced labor. There’s no slavery involved, but most people don’t really have other options besides working to afford the basic tenants of comfortability in this society.

“If this is life, then why am I afraid,

9-5 just to survive in vain”

Image result for esbie fonte

Definitely watch the video intently. The lyrics tell the story I’ve already laid out, but I appreciate that the video also seems to intersperse how our home life is somewhat of a loop too. And that these home lives are mostly just ways to cope with our career life, and our meaninglessness.

To end on an uplifting note: I assume many of you out there feel just like the song says. Do not get stuck in a career you hate for the next 30 years. Start making moves now to do something you’ll feel more happy with. Make sure your work/life balance is in order. It doesn’t have to be something you fix tomorrow, but make sure your intentions are towards fixing it in the next 5 years. I assume Esbie Fonte has made moves to get away from 9-5 life through her artistry. Seth and I are slowly working our way away from it by creating a space for you guys to hear music you wouldn’t hear otherwise. None of us are quitting our day jobs yet (though I can’t speak for Esbie, maybe she is, her talent is already there for sure), but I’m also not wasting my days assuming that my only option is to continue down the same path as the baby boomers. I have no interest in living to work. I just want to live. Start making a game plan for you to do the same. We do not have to buy the lie that there is only one path.

-Caleb

You can find this song and all of our June posts on our monthly Spotify playlist right here. 

 

TOTD: Robin Hayes “Autopilot Hijack”

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Let’s get weird one more time today. What are you really doing other than panicking about work tomorrow? Let this track chill you out. I mean maybe not the lyrics, which certainly give me a bit of an existential “what the hell are you doing with your life” vibe. The title itself, which is repeated several times throughout the song, kind of lends itself to that vibe. Even the hijacking is in autopilot. Which I suppose could be some sort of commentary about automation, but I’m going to take it more metaphorical.

As far as the instrumentals go, it should actually chill you out. Unless you focus too hard on the dissonant percussion that leaves you feeling a little uneasy in the best way. I guess Psychedelic rock is all about capturing the sublime right? Capturing that feeling of awe and shock that is similar to a drug experience, or seeing a dinosaur in person, or 30 ft waves, or thinking about space for too long. I think this song has all of that wrapped into a neat little package that keeps me coming back. Now go to sleep. Capitalism calls tomorrow.

-Caleb

You can find this song and all of our June TOTDs at this Spotify link right here. Holy shit, you didn’t even know you were reading a link did you?

TOTD: Keatsu “Mirr(I)ror”

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You guys ready for a experimental track? This was definitely one of those situations where I listened to it, and couldn’t completely figure it out, but it felt important. Art is like that sometimes, a lot of my favorite artists across multiple platforms aren’t creating things I can immediately figure out, but it makes me want to sit with it for a while. Luckily in this case, I was able to talk to the artist a bit about his inspiration on this track. I’ve pasted his response in several short messages below:

“I was listening to James Blake a lot these days 

So piano came up quickly even tho I’m rather guitar player than piano

 And well I was looking at mirror listening to instrumental so I thought I’m little narcissistic

While making an album, I created album list where I made a typo

 Instead of Mirror I wrote Mirrior

And it made track even more “broke ” so to speak” -Keatsu

Now, a few things really stand out to me about his explanation.

  1. I definitely hear the James Blake influence.
  2. The art flowed out of him on this one, which is always interesting to me. When something comes easy, like the muses spoke to you or something.
  3. He talks about his narcissism and something that stands out to me about that is that he owned even his mistake (the misspelled Mirror). So it’s narcissism with a sense of self deprecation as well?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments on what you got out of this song. And if you enjoyed this, I’m going to throw another one your way that I happened upon because of Spotify shuffling after I finished listening to this track.

 

If that track has some elements that sound familiar to you…Then you may just listen to other good music 😉

-Caleb

As always, you can find this song and all of our June TOTD’s on our Spotify playlist right here.