Home Arts & Entertainment Art Tracks for the rainy weekend ahead​

Tracks for the rainy weekend ahead​

Pier walkers use an umbrella and bundle up with rain jackets amid light rain showers in Manhattan Beach, Calif., on February 28, 2019. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Editor’s Note: This is a weekly music article recommending new as well as old songs to diversify your playlists. You can find the playlist here.

By Paul Ce

I hated the rain when I was a kid because it always signaled a thunderstorm coming and I was deathly afraid of thunder. This was especially true when I lived in Florida, every time I saw dark clouds coming I feared a biblical proportion of water was about to come followed by the bone-jarring snaps of thunder. I’d always hide under my covers and play Pokémon until it was over. Now when I see rain I just smile because I know I’m about to have a killer sleep. There’s just something about the way the rain pounds the pavement outside as you lay in bed that just makes mysleep quality increase tenfold. So as we head into what looks like a hot, rainy, and muggy weekend, here are some tracks to kick back to as you stay inside trying to stay dry.

First up is “Cigarette Daydreams” by Cage the Elephant. This is the type of song that will play in a movie as the main character is contemplating their actions as they look out the window. It’s not a song that will make you want to dance, but it’s more of a subtle bop that you can get lost in your thoughts with.

“Space Song” by Beach House is next up and this song is a trip. It features their signature synths and psychedelic atmosphere and vocalist Victoria Legrand does an exceptional job, as usual, at drawing you into their songs. Each instrument they use in the song is used to maximum efficiency creating a kaleidoscope-like energy when you listen to the song. It’s like being at a sad disco.

After that is “If You Want To” by Beabadoobee. It’s a straightforward, simple song with a catchy hook and melody, but what makes it stand out is Bea’s voice. It is heavenly, especially in the pre-chorus. She hits some notes I could never sing, “Bed bugs in my mind, Keep them all alive. Insomnia creeps at night. Sleep paralysis till I die, die.” The music video is also incredibly dope, I always enjoy when artists go above and beyond to express their creativity.

I’m hitting you with a 2000s’ classic with this next song, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day. I always think of the movie “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” when I hear this song. It just fits that mood of being like an edgy kid and liking this movie that nobody around me watched. Billie Joe Armstrong goes in on this track though as he describes how it was when his father died of cancer and he does an exceptional job displaying the scene with his lyrics.

I felt a palette cleanser was needed after that heavy of a song so “Someone to Spend Time With” by Los Retros was a good choice. After multiple listens I realized that they weren’t even rhyming at all in this song and it still somehow got stuck in my head. It is difficult to make something stick in your head without rhyming, I would say at least 90 percent of any song that is stuck your head rhymed. Other than that I really enjoy the guitar in this song, it feels like he’s playing the guitar lazily on the coach while the other vocalist is also depressingly sprawled beside him.

“Myth” by Beach House is next. The instruments in this song take the spotlight for me, especially the cowbell. It slowly builds towards the chorus and as it hits the climax towards the end of the song and is carried out by the instrumental, coming to such an immensely satisfying end.

Finally is “Japanese Denim” by Daniel Caesar. Hopefully the sun is poking out by this point in the playlist because it’s perfect for moments like that, or any moment to keep it honest. His flow in this song is so silky smooth, especially the second verse where he sings, “I’m reaching nirvana, goodbye sweet Rwanda, high school was never for me.” And like the song before it the ending is killer. For the last 30 seconds he just vocalizes and it is addicting to listen to.

I hope you enjoy the songs for the week and if you have any songs to recommend to me, email them at paulce@email.grcc.edu.