So I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Sum’n To Say, and their newest episode inspired this post. They decided to make five song EPs based on how they were feeling at this current point in time. Listening to them all describe and make these projects inspired me to make my own five song EP on how these past few months have impacted me. There’s a Spotify playlist below with all of these songs in order. So without further ado, here’s my five song EP.
Into the Græ
The title is in reference to Moses Sumney’s adventurous newest album, Græ. In the album, Moses talks about change and multiplicity all throughout that album, and that carries over into these five songs. Society tells us that there’s only two sides to be on, but we need to get back to all being one team, the human race. Sure, we’ll all have different definitions of how to succeed at that goal, but at least we’d all be working towards the same goal. Many of the songs are me trying to figure out where to fit inside of society.
Kenny Mason - “Firestarter”
Kenny Mason has been my favorite artist I started listening to in 2020. His music almost always has this overarching gloominess that helps create this permeates. No matter the subject matter, his tone and sonics always have this underlying sadness that really hits home during this pandemic. That’s why I would start out my project with a Kenny Mason song, but this one in particular hits home, especially with the opening line, “Sorry mama I cannot show weakness.” We all have had to put on this face around everyone trying to pretend that COVID and the abundant hatred isn’t getting to us. But we all know that it is. It’s the type of lie where the person knows that you’re lying as well, so there’s no real reason to do it, but you do it anyway because you hope that maybe lying that you’re ok will end up becoming a reality at some point.
Saba - “Calligraphy”
This one is a bit more literal in meaning than the rest. I started to take writing more seriously during the pandemic to help me work at my craft and hopefully write something good enough to send to actual websites to get feedback. Saba details his music creation and writing in general and a coping mechanism to help him with the loss of his cousin. While the song on the surface is about his cousin, the deeper layer of his depression is what makes this special to so many people. While he was almost certainly feeling immense amounts of despair while recording the song, he doesn’t sound in tears. Instead, he sounds emotionless through much of the song. The only time he really shows emotion is when he sings at the end through autotune. We don’t get to feel the full emotion because Saba isn’t feeling the full emotion in this song either. The loss has left him in an aimless and emotionless depression. It’s not thoughts of wanting to end your life, but rather the lack of any feeling at all. It’s becoming harder and harder to have any emotional reaction, positive or negative, and Saba gives us a perfect look into that mindstate with this song.
The Weeknd - “Until I Bleed Out”
Although this is the final track on his newest project shows up in the middle of this EP. Abel’s done with his journey through the album, and he ends the song by repeating, “I keep telling myself I don’t need it anymore”. He’s trying to convince himself that he’s over his old drug habit, but it’s apparent that it’s unsuccessful. He just can’t overcome the urges and he just accepts his fate until he eventually bleeds out. The video shows a slightly darker picture and easily digestible picture, as he has two different versions of himself; one who fought his way out of his addiction, and one who eventually fell back into his old habits. Even the version of himself that beats his old habit, he still ends up alone in the desert bleeding out. The reality of losing his significant other is too much to bare that he’d almost rather fall into his old habits because it’d be easier. I think quarantine has led many of us back into some poor habits and although most might not be a case of immediate life or death, Abel manages to make it relate to all of us.
SAULT - “Stop Dem!”
SAULT only came onto my radar this year with their powerful album, Untitled (Black is). This song in particular is fairly straightforward, with most of the lyrics being the vocalist screaming out the song title. Her voice really makes this song what it is, as the instrumentation is fairly minimal. She starts out the song saying the phrase in a musical sense, almost containing herself for what would make the song sound the best. By the end of the track, she’s screaming at the top of her lungs. It’s almost representative of the protests over the past few years. People have been screaming for justice for a very long time with no changes, and it’s getting to the boiling point where the screams for change are deafening. And what happens when the screams get loud enough?
If I had to pick one song to describe 2020, it would be this song. The energy is extremely high and fits the outrage and protests that are currently happening in the country. Pharrell details near riots during the introduction, but then follows it up by repeatedly mentioning how it’s working. Shay’s bridge goes into how people are ignoring the blatant racism in this country and the people that are fighting against it, “Act like you don’t really hear a lot. You can pretend when you are; karma makes sure tears will drop. You’ll be wishing that your year will stop, it'll be a thousandfold, one, zero, zero, zero, dot.” Pharrell even brings in a self-empowerment message with the chorus. The whole song feels like a soundtrack to the end of the world, which is what the world feels like at times , especially right now. It’s where we are at this very moment, in the middle of the worst virus outbreak in a century, unarmed Black men and women being murdered by the police, blatant racism by our current president, global warming, and so many other things that contribute to the fire that is the United States right now.
Spotify Playlist:
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