It’s that time of year again when you just want to be out on the road listening to your favorite songs with your windows rolled down. Summer is almost here and that carefree feeling is setting in. Why not celebrate it with some new songs to add to your playlist?
- “Talk Too Much” by COIN
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American indie pop band COIN formed in 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2012 and 2013, band members Chase Lawrence, Ryan Winnen and Joe Memmel released their extended plays titled Saturdays and 1992. In 2015, the group began to gain attention upon the release of their self-titled album COIN with the hit single “Run.” In 2017, the band released their second studio album How Will You Know If You Never Try? featuring “Talk Too Much” which harbored them a more mainstream fanbase and earned itself a spot on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. They are scheduled to release a third album in Spring 2019.
If you’re looking for a feel-good bop, look no further. “Talk Too Much” by Coin is the quintessential stream-of-consciousness of a speaker having to navigate conversation. Band member Chase Lawrence described the song as a “notepad” of his thoughts when someone speaks to him. The whole song surrounds the idea of saying the wrong things and just blurting out words before thinking about them. In the opening verse, the speaker gives a run-down of your typical small-talk conversation as he mentions the “plastic weather” and “discussing current events.” He wishes he could just cut to the chase and not have to be bogged down by all of the dull and meaningless chit-chat, wanting to “leave it unsaid.” He fantasizes about just stopping all the conversation and kissing the person whom he’s talking with. Instead, he has to “tightrope across the table” to ensure that he’s not saying anything controversial. While he wants to be carefree and do whatever he wants, he has to be conscious of the people around him.
- “Tongue Tied” by Grouplove
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Grouplove, an American alternative rock band, formed in 2009 and is backed by Atlantic Records. The group is made up of vocalist and keyboarder Hannah Hooper, vocalist and guitarist Christian Zucconi, bassist Sean Gadd, guitarist and vocalist Andrew Wessen and drummer Ryan Rabin. On September 3rd, 2011, Grouplove released their debut album Never Trust a Happy Song and gained popularity with their single “Tongue Tied.” In 2016, the group released a second album, Big Mess. During their world tour to promote their newest release, they raised over $40,000 for the charity:water organization, a non-profit providing drinking water to people in developing countries. In 2017, the band followed up their second album with the release of an EP titled Little Mess, extending the narrative of their previous work.
“Tongue Tied” is a quirky track about hanging out with your friends and the happenings of the teenage experience. While the lyrics lack extensive intellectual depth, they sure are fun to sing along to. The opening lines of the song refer to their habitual partying habits as the speaker sings, “Take me to your best friend’s house, roll around this roundabout.” The act of getting drunk and high and immersing themselves in the party culture has become so routine to them that it is as if they are stuck in a “roundabout.” In the chorus, the phrase “Don’t take me tongue tied” is repeated to reference the idiom that means to render one speechless or to make them trip over their words. Here it seems the speaker is pursuing a possible love interest, but cannot muster up the courage to actually get the words out. Maybe this guy should take lessons from Mr. “Talk Too Much.”
- “Sober- English Version” by HYO feat. Ummet Ozcan
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Kim Hyoyeon, professionally known as HYO is a singer, dancer, D.J. and television actor. She first debuted as an artist with the South Korean girl group Girls’ Generation but has recently started a solo tour as a D.J. Hyoyeon began learning dance as early as elementary school and has mastered the styles of jazz, hip-hop and Latin dance. Hyoyeon first auditioned for SM Entertainment in 2000 at the age of eleven in the hopes for her and her mother to meet the boy band H.O.T. Before debuting with Girls’ Generation, Hyoyeon had the distinct opportunity to work among distinguished artists such as the Electric Boogaloos and Janet Jackson.
Though there is both an English and a Korean version of “Sober,” the lyrics change drastically in meaning from the original Korean to the Americanized English release. While the Korean version of Sober is melancholy in tone and describes having to give someone up, the English lyrics speak more to empowerment and making smart choices. The song centers around the idea of sobriety as a time to check oneself before making hasty decisions. In reference to her previous actions, the speaker says, “I know that I’m a mess, do things that I regret. Can’t help that I can’t help myself.” She feels as though when she drinks, she gets out of control of herself and she’s trying to clean up her act. She tells the person she’s addressing “I ain’t looking for love” because she knows that she’s not in a place where she can handle that right now, but still agrees that “if [he wants] tomorrow,” he could come back and she might consider seeing him when she’s sober. She no longer wants to be a girl that gives her love away and knows that she has to take charge of what she does now.
- “Broken Drum (feat. Fitz of Fitz and the Tantrums)” by Cash Cash
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Roseland, New Jersey-based electronic music group Cash Cash formed in 2002 and is made up of three D.J.s: Jean Paul Makhlouf, Alex Makhlouf and Samuel Frisch. In their musical trio, they do all music recording, producing and mixing amongst themselves. Under Big Beat Records and Atlantic Records, this music group’s biggest hit song has been “Take Me Home” featuring singer Bebe Rhexa. Under the original name The Consequence, Cash Cash put out three records, their debut being Your Own Place in 2004. Their latest full studio album Blood, Sweat & 3 Years came out in 2016, but the group has been remixing for other artists and doing collaborations since then.
“Broken Drum” is that punchy, upbeat song that’s just there to get you going. The lyrics are mostly simplistic and are complementary to the overall experience of the song, while the real power lies behind its dance beat. The song reflects on a former love that still “haunts like a melody.” The speaker refers to his heart as a “broken drum” because he hasn’t been quite himself since the person he loves left. While he knows that the person may not have been right for him (see “even out of key, you were still a song to me”), he feels a draw towards them. In fact, he compares them to the “hook” of a song that pulls in the listener. While this love song may be “played out,” it seems this guy still can’t get over it.
- “Cardiac Arrest” by Bad Suns
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In 2012, American rock band Bad Suns formed in Los Angeles, California with members Christo Bowman, Gavin Bennett, Miles Morris and Ray Libby. Signed to Vagrant Records, they released their debut album in 2014 called Language & Perspective. Drawing from artists such as Elvis Costello and The Cure, this band backs its sound on ‘70s and ‘80s post-punk. In 2016, the band released their second album Disappear Here.
“Cardiac Arrest” is a song about lies and deceit and finally getting caught. The main speaker of this story is ashamed of something he’s done and he’s been trying to hide it from his loved one for a long time. Now that he’s owning up to the truth, he feels the onset of “cardiac arrest.” In the first verse, the speaker is found to be berating himself over his past mistakes saying, “Yeah, my tongue will let it slip. Why’d I do those things I did?” He knows that he has to fess up, but he’s mad at himself for messing up in the first place. He describes the sensation of “high voltage in her lips” not only to mean that her kiss is intense and paralyzing but also to convey the feelings of unease he has in the situation he’s created for himself. When things come to a head, he knows that he won’t be able to escape the outcome because this girl knows him and will be able to tell if he lies.
- “Love Me” by The 1975
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Manchester’s own English pop rock band The 1975 formed from the band members’ times playing together in high school. Consisting of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matthew Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald and drummer George Daniel, this band landed on their name after having read one of Jack Kerouac’s books on the Beat Generation. In 2013, the band released a self-titled debut album, preceded by three extended plays released in 2012. In 2016, the band released its second album i like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it which reached number one on the album charts in both the U.S. and the U.K.
“Love Me” works to comment on the narcissism associated with fame and how celebrity affects a person’s life. In the beginning verse, the speaker says “Next thing you’ll find you’re reading about yourself on a plane.” While one moment, you can feel like your life is inconsequential to the masses, next thing you know, your face is showing up in in-flight magazines and you realize that you’ve actually gotten somewhere. This feeling can be exciting, but it can also inflate one’s ego. The chorus speaks to this aspect as the line “love me” appears more like a demand than a sentiment, representing the person taking on the role of a public figure to be idolized and worshiped. The speaker continues to reject the materialistic attitudes of the famous people he knows as he writes in one line “‘You look famous, let’s be friends.’” Here, he uses the quote to mock those who value their fame above their integrity or their passions, doing it solely for the attention and not a greater purpose. “Love Me” is an all-too-haunting truth.
- “The Greatest” by Raleigh Ritchie
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Are you a fan of Game of Thrones? If so, then you already know who Raleigh Ritchie is. Jacob Anderson (aka Raleigh Ritchie) is an actor on the hit television series, starring in the role of Daenerys’s most trusted soldier, Grey Worm. As a musician, he released his debut album You’re a Man Now, Boy in 2016. Anderson grew up in Bristol, England, but is of Afro-Caribbean descent. Knowing he wanted to pursue a career in R&B, he moved to London at 17. His latest single released in 2018 is titled “Me Myself and I.”
“The Greatest” is an entertaining party song about living your life in the moment. Ritchie sets the scene at a party venue in a state of disorientation after having had a full night of drinking and living it up. He refers to the previous night as “sordid,” meaning that his actions lacked a sense of moral responsibility. He continues by saying that he thinks they might be missing one of the people they came with, but he can’t be overly concerned with that fact since he wants to enjoy his time in the present. At the chorus, he rallies a sense of camaraderie with his other party-goers and the members of his generation, refuting the “lazy millennial” narrative that is assigned to them by older generations and asserting instead that his generation is “the greatest.” The second verse reflects on the difficulties that millennials now have to deal with in the wake of a failing economy and an overly competitive job market. He points out the fact that soon they will have to abandon their carefree attitude in lieu of children and government jobs. While “The Greatest” may seem like just another dull party anthem, it’s really a commentary on the unfair expectations put upon the people growing up in this new age.
Whether you’re someone who enjoys rolling your car windows down or not, we all need music that can make us feel worry-free. It’s time to relax and just enjoy the music.
Listen to the full playlist here!