I can’t promise I’ll have new ear worms every month, but I typically accumulate songs that I just can NOT get out of my head sometimes. New music, old music–it varies.

For October, I’ve had three songs that I just can’t get away from. I wake up, I hear them. I go to sleep, they are the last things I think as I fade into the void of unconsciousness. They are as inescapable, for me, as death and taxes.

And so, I share them with you, and I’m going to continue to share others with you for as long as I get music stuck in my head.

Christine and The Queens – People I’ve Been Sad

History

I have to confess I was first exposed to this song shortly after Coachella this year (2022), via Caroline Polachek, though the song was actually released in 2020 (and Christine and the Queens has been making music since 2010). I had heard Polachek a handful of times previously, but had never really paid much attention to her–to be honest, I think I had written her off as “pop,” forgetting that even if it WAS pop, not all pop is inherently bad or undeserving of being listened to. And Polachek presents a surreal, ethereal experience in her music, which I came to enjoy. The more I listened to Polachek, the more I began to look into artists she has collaborated with, and that brought me to Christine and the Queens; Polachek actually played a part in Christine and the Queens’ short play, La vita nuova (which features People I’ve Been Sad, along with the other songs from this EP), and can be seen at around the 10-minute mark. Also worth noting, the title is shared with a work by Dante Aligheri from 1294, which was intended to be a collection of Dante’s work from preceding years, and was largely centered around concepts of love, especially as an elevated form. People I’ve Been Sad is the track that the play opens with, and whether you first encounter it in the play, or by itself, this song will hook you. It is completely unsurprising to me that this song was recognized as song of the year (2020) by Time, and part of the top-three lists for NPR, Pitchfork, and The Guardian.

Experience

So what is it about this song? I wish I could tell you; I’m mystified by it. The relative simplicity that the song opens to is approachable and comfortable, it reminds a listener of music from the 80’s. The synth and drum track are easy to enjoy. Like Polachek’s work, there’s a breathy, ethereal quality to things, but Chris’ strong vocals and frank appraisals of his current emotional/psychological status is immediately relatable, and suddenly the song opens into the chorus, “if you disappear, then I’m disappearing too, you know the feeling.” The song feels conversational, like you are talking with an old friend, commiserating about life being difficult and the nature of overcoming hardship together, of having support from at least one reliable source. It just gets epic. And while I don’t speak French, the fact that about 50% of the song is sung in French does not deter me from attempting to sing along with it, it is too catchy not to try. The reverb and the pitch-shifted vocals all come together to create this upswelling effect that makes the whole song feel just so, so BIG. This song is blue, purple, and teal, and cloudy, foggy, kind of semi-opaque. There’s a sense of being lost, and of being found. Elements of both sadness, and a kind of magical quality. I almost can’t get enough of it. For those of you who REALLY can’t get enough of it, this is a 1-hour version of the song, showcasing Chris’ vocal talent.

Brown Bird – Bilgewater

History

This song is a mystery to me. The first time I heard it this month, the very first thing I thought was “how do I know this song?” I recognized it, even knew parts of the lyrics, but for the life of me I couldn’t place it. I’ve checked every playlist or station I’ve had in the past 10 years, I simply can’t figure out why I know this song. Maybe someone put it on a mix CD for me, back when those were still popular? Regardless, my inability to figure this out has been driving me slightly crazy–and worse, every person I’ve showed this song to has said the same thing “wow that sounds so familiar…”

The story behind Brown Bird is, sadly, a tragedy. Its two primary members, Dave Lamb and MorganEve Swain met in 2008, while touring together on separate projects (Dave had started Brown Bird in 2003). After four shows together, they moved in together and became Brown Bird as you hear them in Bilgewater. The song Bilgewater was released on the Salt for Salt album in 2011, but in 2013 while the duo was touring in support of their next album, Fits of Reason, Dave became ill and was eventually diagnosed with Leukemia. In 2014, Dave succumbed to his illness. MorganEve released the final Brown Bird album, Axis Mundi, in 2015, a collection of work spanning their musical career together. In some strange way, the tragedy of Dave’s passing seems almost like a continuation of the song–life is going to be hard, you can’t give up, especially when things are hard; life’s challenges have a purpose.

Experience

The first 20 seconds of this song will immediately tell you if this song will appeal to you or not, it comes in strong with a heavy bass-line combined with guitar and the percussion against what sounds like an acoustic guitar, and low, growling vocals that portray hard work, and a hard life lived. The whole song is filled with maritime references and sentiment, but while you might expect the subject to result in something more like a shanty, instead we find something more bluesy, with elements of rock and folk. The lyrics tell the story of hard labor aboard a ship, but the chorus and pre-chorus reveal a surprisingly encouraging message: when you aren’t sure if you can keep going, steer into the challenges; if life was easy we would never survive the challenges we faced, so the difficulty brings us strength. This song feels, at times, just as murky as the “oily black bilgewater” mentioned in the opening lines, but the message is, contrary to one’s expectations, a message to stand your ground and stay strong in the face of it all. This song feels brown, and dark, and a little dirty. You expect to see hands covered in callouses, dirt, blisters, cuts, and scars. Heavy, and smokey. If you’ve ever needed some encouragement in the face of tribulation, Bilgewater has your back.

Black Pumas – Colors

History

Black Pumas are new to me, and relatively new on the scene compared to Brown Bird and Christine and the Queens, but their sound feels much more experienced. If I had to guess why Pandora picked this group for me, I suppose it might be my previous interest in Khruangbin,and I’ll grant that there are some stylistic overlaps in the psychedelic elements to their sounds, but Black Pumas bring a power to their music that I find Khruangbin lacks–Khruangbin, for me, is a very mellow experience, and that’s one of the things I like about it. Black Pumas can do mellow, but their guitarwork has a level of complexity that is downright impressive, courtesy of Adrian Quesada, who might be recognized from his work with Grupo Fantasma. Quesada is joined by Eric Burton on vocals and guitar, and with the rest of their ensemble these guys have been turning heads since their first (self-titled) album released in 2019. Black Pumas have been performing on TV and winning awards basically since their album dropped, starting with “best new band” at the 2019 Austin Music Awards, but 6 Grammy nominations followed shortly thereafter, as well as 6 performances on TV programs including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and more. They even played for the Biden inauguration in 2021. Despite everything they’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time, somehow, everybody I’ve talked to about them doesn’t know them. The only friend I’ve discussed them with who already knew of them is a fan of Latin music, so I suspect Grupo Fantasma might have been the connection there. Regardless, these guys are going somewhere.

Experience

Start to finish, this song strikes me soul–and perhaps not coincidentally you’ll hear elements of soul throughout, meshed with elements of jazz, and psychedelic. The song opens with high pitched acoustic guitar, followed by the imagery of the blue sky. From there the lyrics journey through the day, and the colors experienced along the way–blue, green, brown, and later on, gray and blue and white too. I think part of the beauty of this song is this kind of duality of meaning I pick up–one message from the song is about the nature of all of the different colors coming together to form a kind of beauty or richness of experience which can be directly related to issues of racial harmony and diversity, but in addition to that, I pick up, very specifically, the sense that every little detail of our day-to-day lives is brimming with impact and importance. The green of the leaves, the brown of one’s skin, the blue of the sky or the white of the clouds, each of these elements has meaning, and beauty. These things are worth noting, and they bring a richness to our existence– “it’s a good day to be, a good day for me, a good day to see my favorite colors.”

And the harmonies, my God. You might think halfway through the track that this is just going to showcase Burton’s incredible singing, but as the harmonies join in, and especially for the section “and we gon’ oooh-oooh, oooh-oooh, oooh-oooh, oooh,” I can’t listen to it without getting chills. It came out and caught me by surprise in the moment, after I’d already begun thinking this song was great, during my first listen. And you might be skeptical, like I was. “There’s no way they can be that good.” Well, the live version of the song is pretty incredible too, and it showcases Quesada’s guitar work a little better. This song, for me, isn’t really any specific color, it’s like a kaleidoscope. Its effect on me is not to summon images of any specific colors or shades, but rather it feels as though it transforms my surroundings. Every thing around me, everything within sight, feels instilled with significance and meaning and beauty. Burton’s right, it IS a good day to “be.” I’m reminded that the world around me is a beautiful place and sometimes I just need to shut up and take it in. This song makes me feel… good. It makes the world around me feel better. More appealing. It makes the beauty that’s already there easier to see. I can’t listen to this song without it lifting my mood and making me feel like things are better than I thought they were before the song came on. Heaviness in my chest eases, the stress of the day fades, and I take in my surroundings, and remember… all my favorite colors.

Closing

Alright y’all, those are my three for October. Check them out, and while you’re at it check out some of the other links I posted if you feel so inclined, hopefully I might be able to turn you onto something new that you’ll enjoy. If you like what you hear, let me know, and if you want me to check anything out, say so in the comments and I’ll try to include it in future posts.