music

My Top 10 Songs of June 2013

I can’t believe 2013 is half done. The first half of the year has been so good for music, if I had to cull everything together to make a top 100 list right now, I’d have trouble doing so. I have no earthly idea what I’m going to do come year’s end. I’ll worry about that later though. Here are the songs I listened to/liked most in June:

10. Chvrches – Gun

Maybe it doesn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of “Lies”, “The Mother We Share”, “Recover”, and “Now Is Not The Time”, but the more I listen to “Gun”, the more I dig it. I really like the way Chvrches employ a double chorus/hook-hook song structure on many of their tracks. “Gun” is a shot of pure pleasure. Chvrches are on bloody fire. And apropos of nothing, Lauren Mayberry is adorable.

 

9. The Besnard Lakes – People of the Sticks

This is The Besnard Lakes at their badassest (say that 10 times quickly). The song is transfixing. The video is highly unusual. I’m down with all of it.

 

8. Phosphorescent – Muchacho’s Tune

This is gorgeous music. Melodic and melancholic with a sliver of sunlight in the dark, distant sky.

 

7. New Politics – Harlem

This song is a mischievous, cockroachian pest. Once it builds a home in your brain, good luck getting rid of it.

 

6. Preatures – Is This How You Feel?

This song reminds me of about 472 other songs. It has the soul of an old rock/blues song, yet somehow, it sounds unwaveringly fresh. I call that magic.

 

5. The Belle Game – River

That voice. My oh my, that voice.

 

4. Cold War Kids – Loner Phase/Lost That Easy

I love “Loner Phase” and “Lost That Easy” equally. They’re two of the several phenomenal songs from what I think is Cold War Kids’ most consistent album, Dear Miss Lonelyhearts. The media linked below is one of the coolest lyric videos I’ve seen yet. Cold War Kids just keep getting better.

 

3. Paramore – Still Into You

Paramore’s latest (eponymous) LP is, quite frankly, a revelation. I had no idea Hayley Williams, Taylor York, and Jeremy Davis had this in them. They tackle seemingly every subgenre of pop/alt, and they do it with such ease and vigour. The album is a confluence of many factors that (luckily) clicked at the same time. I’m not sure they’ll ever top it, but I’ mustn’t dwell on such things. I’m just going to continue to enjoy the hell out of a gobsmackingly good record. “Still Into You”, the second single from the album, is a downright juggernaut. This is takeover music.

 

2. Robin Thicke f. Pharrell and T.I. – Blurred Lines

I liked “Blurred Lines” at first, but I don’t think it really hit me until I was bludgeoned over the head with it — that’ll happen when a song is played on every format in existence on a loop for months. If there can be such a thing, it was an enjoyable bludgeoning. “Blurred Lines” is, by light years, Robin Thicke’s best song ever. In fact, I would argue he never even had a good song until he made this. I also believe that Pharrell is probably the sole reason why this song is so catchy, such is his power/ability. Alan’s kid has a great talent at nicking stuff from Justin Timberlake, and a good voice, but considering how many albums he’s released with nary a song worth remembering, I’d say he’s extremely lucky Pharrell decided to let him sing on this behemoth of a beat. But I digress. The song is a bloody monster, and it may or may not (read: may) have been made even more seductive by the unrated version of the video (google that ish and you’ll see why).

 

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Despair

A couple weeks ago, I watched the video for Yeah Yeah Yeah’s new single, “Despair”, and I was overcome with emotion. Here’s how I described it at the time…

Honesty: I heard YYY’s “Despair” today, and I shed tears. I love music so much because occasionally, overpowering moments like that happen. Music is the art form that marinates my heart, beckons for it, keeps it tender, nurtures it. And in turn, my heart beats for it. As for YYY’s “Despair” itself, it couldn’t espouse a feeling further from its title. It’s the power of 1000 suns. It’s brighter. It’s a revelation. The video only heightens the feeling. The ebullient faces of Karen O & drummer Brian Chase make my soul stir, my pores goosebump, me live.

I still feel that way and I don’t think it’ll change any time soon. Music The All-Powerful.

To Earplug Or Not To Earplug

… That Is The Question.

Dog rocking out, full blast. (Don't do it.)

Dog rocking out, full blast. (Do not try this at home.)

I refer to the age-old quandary that I’m sure many have faced when going to see a concert. Is aural protection a necessity? The question is a tough one to answer. On one hand, no one wants tinnitus that lasts for hours or days. Even worse, no one wants to end up like Foxy Brown. Hearing loss accumulates slowly over time, so often it’s difficult to notice until it’s too late. The sobering truth is that once those little hairs in our ears are gone, they’re gone for good.

On the other hand, the connection to whatever live music is being experienced is immeasurably better with no aural impediments. It just is. I’ve watched quite a few shows with earplugs, even more without. I’m beyond resolute in saying that the shows I felt a deep emotional/spiritual connection with were always the ones where I didn’t wear earplugs.

Having fun at a concert, sans earplugs. What'd you say?

Having fun at a concert, sans earplugs. What’d you say?

Sure, most earplugs provide good functionality, and you can hear pretty much all the sounds that emanate from the source (perhaps there are even sounds that one can hear with earplugs that one couldn’t if bare-eared), but there’s just something that’s lacking. It’s not the volume per se. I think it might be the energy. When you’re free of aural encumbrances, you’re closer to the source, where the connection to the band/singer seems so much more natural. I don’t recall ever having any goosebump moments at shows I wore earplugs to. I know I helped my hearing by wearing them, but I feel as though I missed out on the truest form of the experience.

I also think earplug manufacturers can do better — much better. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to have an earplug that fits comfortably in the ear, doesn’t fall out, and offers protection yet doesn’t take anything (or much at all) from the experience. I don’t think we’re there yet, and that’s sad.

What are you saying bro?

I hear you bro.

I believe another point worth nothing is that listening to music (or all sounds for that matter) is an art in itself, a talent that some have, and many can learn. It’s analogous to someone who has a fantastic palate, 20/10 vision, or acute olfactory abilities. I believe some can listen to loud music and not “ruin” their hearing because they don’t have to dedicate the full power of their ears to the endeavour. Whatever sounds come in, although fully internalized and experienced, don’t tax the ears and those little hairs that allow us to hear.  Who knows, maybe I’m way off with that idea, but I don’t think I am.

In the end, to earplug or not is a personal choice. One has to be aware of the consequences of frequenting concerts without protection. Though the connection to the art is always better for me when my ears are free of encumbrances (there’s a condom joke in here somewhere), there are risks to living on that edge. Ideally, earplugs would offer comfort and stability while taking nothing away from the experience. I’m looking at you Google. Help.