Today in music - body image, First Nations legends, deconstruction and campfire songs
Tonight, I finally got around to putting up another entry in my ongoing recurring feature - a look at music that, for some reason reason or another, caught my attention over the past few months.
What strikes me most about "Save Me" by Mahmut Orhan isn't the lyrics, or the melody - it's the beat. It's catchy in a way that make you want to clap along. Listening to it, I keep thinking that this is the kind of song you should dance to in front of the campfire - even if campfire songs don't usually involve that much techno :)
I came across "Idea of Her" by Whitney Woerz thanks to a Youtube ad, out of all things. And that ad was basically the entire video. Normally, I would click the "skip ad" button as soon as it appeared, but I found myself captivated. I listened to the whole thing and, I'll be honest, I got a bit misty-eyed toward the end. I found myself thinking about tweelore, and Grace, and a few other women I knew over the years. Listening to the lyrics closer, I'm not sure its message is entirely coherent - but I still enjoy the song.
This song, on the other hand, came from a source that you are unlikely to have come across unless you live in certain cities. FNX (First Nations Experience) is a broadcast TV network that focuses on programming dealing with Native American/First Nations topics (because a lot of tribes historically lived in what are now two separate countries, there is some overlap). In Chicago area, FNX is a sub-channel of WYCC Channel 20, a PBS affiliate operated by the City Colleges of Chicago. It's one of those channels that my antenna only picks up some of the times, so I never know whether I can actually watch it (or any of its sub-channels) on any given day.
One of the days I was able to see it, I caught a music video program that, as you can imagine, showed videos by Native American/First Nations artists. And "Crying Rain" by Injunuity got stuck in my head.
I like Kesha's "Blow" - it's a fun, poppy song with a pretty entertaining music video. But until recently, I didn't realize that she did "deconstructed" versions of several of her hits, including this one. And I like it for completely different reasons. As other people in the comments section pointed out, the change of tempo, the more natural-sounding vocals create something more mournful, something haunting. A complete opposite of the hit version, but, for the most part, the lyrics work just as well both ways.
And finally - this point, I think a decent chunk of people in these United States heard "Makeba" by Jain, thanks to the Levi ad. But what can I say - it's pretty damn catchy. And, so long as I'm writing about songs I like, it feels weird not to include it.
What strikes me most about "Save Me" by Mahmut Orhan isn't the lyrics, or the melody - it's the beat. It's catchy in a way that make you want to clap along. Listening to it, I keep thinking that this is the kind of song you should dance to in front of the campfire - even if campfire songs don't usually involve that much techno :)
Click to viewI came across "Idea of Her" by Whitney Woerz thanks to a Youtube ad, out of all things. And that ad was basically the entire video. Normally, I would click the "skip ad" button as soon as it appeared, but I found myself captivated. I listened to the whole thing and, I'll be honest, I got a bit misty-eyed toward the end. I found myself thinking about tweelore, and Grace, and a few other women I knew over the years. Listening to the lyrics closer, I'm not sure its message is entirely coherent - but I still enjoy the song.
This song, on the other hand, came from a source that you are unlikely to have come across unless you live in certain cities. FNX (First Nations Experience) is a broadcast TV network that focuses on programming dealing with Native American/First Nations topics (because a lot of tribes historically lived in what are now two separate countries, there is some overlap). In Chicago area, FNX is a sub-channel of WYCC Channel 20, a PBS affiliate operated by the City Colleges of Chicago. It's one of those channels that my antenna only picks up some of the times, so I never know whether I can actually watch it (or any of its sub-channels) on any given day.
One of the days I was able to see it, I caught a music video program that, as you can imagine, showed videos by Native American/First Nations artists. And "Crying Rain" by Injunuity got stuck in my head.
I like Kesha's "Blow" - it's a fun, poppy song with a pretty entertaining music video. But until recently, I didn't realize that she did "deconstructed" versions of several of her hits, including this one. And I like it for completely different reasons. As other people in the comments section pointed out, the change of tempo, the more natural-sounding vocals create something more mournful, something haunting. A complete opposite of the hit version, but, for the most part, the lyrics work just as well both ways.
And finally - this point, I think a decent chunk of people in these United States heard "Makeba" by Jain, thanks to the Levi ad. But what can I say - it's pretty damn catchy. And, so long as I'm writing about songs I like, it feels weird not to include it.