Enjoy It While It Lasts
Project 365 here 365Pieces
Jul 23rd, 2010 @ 1:47 am
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Tell ‘Em by Sleigh Bells
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped and mad
Finally, a challenge post that I’ll actually enjoy writing (days 6-9 have been the bane of my life so far).
Happy: When I’m in a good mood, I wanna keep myself like that. So what i tend to do is put on the playlist I have for when we’re in Viv’s bar. Its just full of happy summery songs. The usual, from the likes of The Drums, Marina & the Diamonds, Lady Gaga, The Smiths, a lot of Glee (I’m the only one who enjoys it though), Florence, La Roux, Two Door Cinema Club, Crystal Castles, Pheonix and of course, California Gurls. There’s loads more but I’m not gonna list it all. With that playlist I’m trying to cater to everyone’s taste (the bar crew’s taste I mean) but the music that’s playing is usually just something I want to hear.
In the past few weeks I’ve really been liking Villagers’ new album. Namely the single Becoming a Jackal. It has this mysterious yet joyous kinda feel to it which is really appealing when you’re in a good mood. In fact, most of that album is like that. Especially songs like Home and That Day. Check him out.
Sad: Hate to break it to you guys, but there’s only one musical cure for a sad Ian. And that’s glee. Hate on Glee all you want, but that perpetual optimism that the show exudes will always set me straight after a bad mood. Yes the songs are cheesy, and sometimes auto-tuned to death, but it’s what I listen to when I’m sad. Obviously I don’t want to stay sad, so I’mma do something to cheer me up. Glee does that better than anything on my iPod as far as I know, and I ain’t got no problem with that. Especially these ones.
Of course, if I want to be pessimistic, I’ll just listen to the Best of Joy Division and cry myself to sleep. Or maybe some early Editors and Jimmy Eat World. But no, Glee’s the one for me.
Bored: Well, usually when I’m bored I’ll download new music. Recently, I haven’t gotten much. I downloaded all the Beatles stuff but haven’t listened properly. I got the Bombay Bicycle album there the other day but have yet to listen. Some new music I got that I’m enjoying is Sleigh Bells’ album Treats (but I’ll get to that later) and Kele Okereke’s album The Boxer. I usually just let my iPod or iTunes shuffle when I’m bored as well…
Hyped: Well, I definitely have one song that hypes me up. And it’s Glee again. It’s their version of Don’t Rain On My Parade. This song just has powers, ok? Seriously, I had very little confidence before my music practical exam but that song just had me pumped! Like I was ready to fucking run a marathon, I was that determined. I’ve written about it somewhere before, but I’m not bothered to link you, so I linked to the youtube. Go find it in the oul archive (Do I even have one of those?) if ya want. Also, the xx tends to pump me up a bit. Weird, yeah, but that dreamy yet determined quality in the music makes me wanna do shit.
Mad: This means angry, yeah? Ok, just checking. Well, when I’m angry I tend to just blog or go on my drums and lash the fuck out of them. Listening to music isn’t something I tend to do when I’m angry. I’m never really that angry anymore, come to think of it. But this brings me nicely along to the song at the top of this post; Tell ‘Em.
I decided I’d upload this song because Sleigh Bells’ songs usually put me in a good mood so I was gonna centre the post on the happy songs. But then I realised that that song can pretty much apply for all of the situations listed. Tell ‘Em is exactly the sort of assault on you ears that will put you in a good mood (happy: check). If you’re in a bad mood, stick on the album and it’s just the kind of aggressive, loud music that snaps you right out of whatever silly mood you were in (sad: check). Bored; well, it’s great music to get your freak on to, so you’re sorted there! It’s good for pumping yourself up because of it’s aggressive and loud and in your face and kinda makes you just wanna scream along (hyped: check). Then, if you’re angry, put Sleigh Bells on and just go crazy (mad: check).
I’m in two minds about their album. All the songs sound the same; but that one sound is just oh so appealing (it’s like Annie fronting Slipknot, with Wavves producing). They’re being lauded by critics for “redefining loud” and all this bullshit, but to me, Sleigh Bells is just about crazy music for losing yourself in. Flash in the pan? Probably, but it’ll be cool to see what they do (if they do anything at all) next.
