Weekly Track Roundup #31
Back 2 School !!
we are all very excited to begin our academics again. It has been too long without homework and exams. aural wes is officially pro-homework
Modest Mouse - “Bankrupt on Selling”
"Well, I'll go to college and I'll learn some big words."
-Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse)
-Allison Hsu (Aural Wes)
Talking Heads - “Artists Only”
The Talking Head’s incessant self-consciousness, especially seen in Artists Only, is a good song for starting at a liberal arts school. The pressure to prove yourself as unique and interesting seems almost unbearable in college orientation. But Byrne's adamant declaration "I don't have to prove...that I am creative!" is a truly comforting one. The hypnotic and disconcerting melody in the intro of the song accurately paints a picture of the discomforts of starting college, not knowing anybody, and attempting to create a new image.
-Meredith Olin
Mom Jeans - “jon bong jovi”
I feel like this song has no relation to going back to school, but it does talk about independence and learning to rely less on others and trust yourself more, while still understanding your roots and knowing how to ask for help from those you're close to! Also Mom Jeans has never put out a bad song, and their newest album is a 10/10 must listen!!
-Gabby Guzdek
Zoot Sims - “So Long”
I’m seriously vibing with some late afternoon jazz on my balcony, for as long Mother Nature makes it possible. I think the Zoot Sims quartet was in that same headspace when they recorded “So Long” in 1983, with its bright piano and laid-back sax solos. Cool stuff. I’m into it.
-Amy Geiger
MICHELLE - “STUCK ON U”
during my ride back to school, I decided to give a listen to the much-hyped and personally anticipated sophomore album from The Lemon Twigs, Go to School. didn't love it tho. STUCK ON U by Michelle, on the other hand, was the perfect smooth jam for that tricky seasonal transition. mmm
-Adam Manson
NF - “Why”
“Nothing to me's ever good enough, I could be working for twenty-four hours a day and think I never did enough.”
I think this song captures my feeling of not trusting the people I'm around, including myself, and just having so much going on in my mind.
Pretending I can do it all on my own.
-Pablo Puente
Belle and Sebastian - “Wrapped Up in Books”
For high-school me, Belle & Sebastian’s brand of twee pop was a portrayal of what I could expect from college life (this was mostly incorrect). I fell in love with If You’re Feeling Sinister, Tigermilk, and virtually all of B&S’s output circa 2000 because you hear a bourgeois restlessness in these songs. The characters have to go school and experience a gnawing sense of alienation as they are forbidden from fulfilling their true aspirations and deepest desires. There’s a universality to these silly romantic quarrels and stifled prurience too. “Wrapped Up in Books” is a track—relatively in-your-face for B&S—that drives forward as Murdoch portrays a tale of frustrated desire. This potential relationship isn’t going anywhere because the characters are, as the title says, wrapped up in books and unable to carry on a real romance. Though the scenario is melancholy for sure, B&S manage to infuse it with some of their signature optimism and that’s certainly something college life could use more of.
-Alex Richwine
