Weekly Track Roundup 11/20/23: Better on Headphones
It’s been a month since the last track roundup. Really testing the limits of “Weekly”, aren’t we?
These songs sound much better on headphones. Don’t listen on speakers.
Jean Dawson — “BAD FRUIT*”
There's something so beautiful and cinematic about this track. It reminds me of space, or driving through the nighttime. Jean Dawson's voice combined with a quiet night and noise canceling headphones creates an out of body listening experience similar to floating.
—Emmett Favreau
Bladee — “1D”
I think in general Bladee sounds better on headphones, at least older Bladee songs do. You get more of the fullness of the sound in your headphones as opposed to on speakers, and this song has been stuck in my head all day.
—Lily Lazar
The Strokes — “The Adults Are Talking”
The panned guitars in this song almost sound like a conversation at points. It really does feel like you're a kid and the adults are talking. Outside of the context it's still great, but it loses something to me.
—Elijah Davis
Kali Uchis — “Te Mata”
Kali loves to put tons of hidden melodies and instruments that can't be picked up from just playing her tracks off a device. To always get the full Kali Uchis experience, especially as we move into the new era, headphones are a requirement!
—Nolan Lewis
Gorillaz — “Empire Ants” (ft. Little Dragon)
Sounds like a dream and the switch to the second half of the song is magic. Wonderful nighttime headphone listen.
—Isaías Pagán De Jesús
Éliane Radigue — “Kyema (Intermediate States)”
This is the first song from Éliane Radigue’s masterpiece: Trilogie De La Mort. This album is slow. It’s three hours of slowly shifting synths. When I played it for my mother she told me it made her jaw hurt. I don’t even know what that means. I do know that this album is one of my all time favorites. Kyema itself is an hour long and it’s riddled with intricacies. This piece is entirely in the details. The shifts are gradual and subtle. You grow used to a certain idea only for it change without you noticing. This is a song that, when given your full attention, can pull you into its little world. Yes it’s an hour of drone. It’s still going to bore most listeners. I won’t pretend that this is necessary listening for those who don’t care for drone music. I love it though. To me it’s the perfect headphones album because it rewards close listening more than anything else I’ve heard. Check it out.
—Bennett Gottesman
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra - “Movement 7”
This might be my favorite album of all time and it's also one of the best sounding albums in headphones I've ever heard. I wholeheartedly think that the most important instrument in this thing is the stereo field, and if you ever listen to it you should use the very best sound system you can get your hands on. It's made up of 9 movements but it's really just one continuous piece of music, so I try not to listen to it out of order, but I wanted to single Movement 7 out. There's one specific part in there where Pharoah's sax bursts in surrounded by synth arpeggios that swirl around you, and I don't know why, but every time I listen to it I feel compelled to tilt my head up to the sky.
—Nathan Hausspiegel
Overmono — “Bby”
I have yet to listen to this song on a good speaker system, but I imagine it would bang there too. For now, hearing the sub-bass rip through the mix, a little high off an edible walking around campus, that feels like heaven. The entire world starts moving.
—Philip Keith
