Deep breath, everybody—we’re back in the regular swing of the semester. I know, I know; how could this possibly happen? For a single, split second, we were sitting on the shore of some foreign beach, our toes in the sand and a cold drink in our hand, and then—
Then we found ourselves under glaring fluorescent lighting in the same rickety desks with the world’s biggest hand cramp. Your professor is droning on in the front, giving the same “welcome back to campus, here’s a syllabus full of things that we can’t possibly get to in fourteen/fifteen weeks” spiel while you clutch onto your coffee for dear life.
As you stare at your calendar, the one thing that gets you through the mundanity of the regular school week is the weekend. I don’t care what you get up to on the weekend—whether that be going out to River City for the umpteenth time, sitting around in the residence halls or heading out into the city—you need a good soundtrack. The roar of the subway and the sounds of cars honking simply won’t do.
Yes, that’s right—I’m going to start off your fall semester right. You need solid, new tracks to get you through not only the same, repetitive illicit sh*t on the weekend, but to brighten your grey school week via the sound of electronica.
Let the semester commence.
“Holding On” by Disclosure, featuring Gregory Porter, off of their record, Caracal.
“But, Caroline!” you cry, “Disclosure is so mainstream! How come you’ve put them on your inaugural fall playlist?!”
Rolling my eyes, I’ve chosen to ignore you in order to explain to you the greatness of this track.
“Holding On” features the great jazz singer and songwriter, Gregory Porter, arguably the antithesis of everything that Disclosure is. However, with his distinct, warm, flowing voice, Porter binds together the angular, short drum beats in order to create a soulful track that is as easy to do homework to as it is to dance to.
And, of course, since it is a Disclosure track, you have the vocal audio loops and the heart-racing build-up to the post-choral drop.
“Bonafied Lovin’” by Chromeo, remixed by Riot in Belgium and Ooh Ee, off of their EP, Bonafied Lovin EP.
Riot in Belgium and Ooh Ee took David Macklovitch’s sultry, sexy voice and mellowed it out, focusing primarily on the drums and synths of the original song. They’ve also sped it up tremendously, cutting out the slinky, smooth sounding guitar entirely. This is a song to pregame to, to walk out to wherever you’re heading as you flip your hair, saying goodbye to the f*cking children who catcall you.
Roll your eyes and let the synthesizer bolster your confidence to the high heavens.
“All Of You” by Betty Who, off of her record, Take Me When You Go.
Betty Who has a powerhouse of a voice and it roars in crystal clear on this track. While this is a song that has heavy drums and bass, it becomes very apparent that the two instruments know exactly when to bow out and give the spotlight to Betty Who’s incredible vocal talent.
The song is dynamic—not staying put in a certain melody nor at a certain loudness. This same dynamic sound mirrors the frustration of the speaker in the song who seemingly cannot fully gain the attention of his or her beloved.
The post-choral instrumentals will have you shaking your head in the most dramatic of fashions with your best girlfriends as you dance away the stress of the work week.
“Blue Monday” by New Order, off of their album, Power, Corruption & Lies.
This album title might be something that runs through your head as you stare on at your crazy department chair as he touts on about how he is somehow more qualified to teach your course than your assigned professor.
I don’t believe you and, yes, I am throwing massive shade.
The synth melody runs steadily throughout this entire song and, in every sense of the word, commands you to dance. Bernard Sumner’s monotone voice drones on throughout “Blue Monday,” forcing you to focus on the instrumental movement. And trust me, it won’t be hard to hook onto it. This synth line is famous—and for good reason. Prepare yourself for the tightly played guitar and the occasional drum flourishes. If this isn’t your favorite song by the end of the week, then I have failed.
“Tether” by CHVRCHES, remixed by Eric Prydz.
In Eric Prydz’s remix of Chvrches’, “Tether,” he strips it of its original exposed, emotional quality and turns it into a frantic, moving, dance-the-pain-away, electronic track. The focus is no longer the mellow nature of the Chvrches track, but rather the screeching synthesizers that chug mercilessly on throughout the three minute and six second piece.
“Learning To Love” by LA Priest, off of his record, Inji.
I love, love, love the opening to this track. In the beginning, his voice has a classic sound, like as if it is coming out of a scratchy vinyl record from the 1920s. Don’t let that deter you, however. The track explodes into groovy bass line, repetitious vocal lines and trippy, aggressive synthesizer lines. Come the chorus, you will have forgotten entirely about the vintage sounding opening lyrics. The repetitive nature of the song will have you wondering why the speaker is so insistent on “learning how to love again.”
Yes, you will be dancing like a madman or madwoman to “Learning To Love.”
“Need You Now” by Hot Chip, remixed by Moonlight Matters, off of Need You Now (Remixes).
The chaotic grunting at the beginning is enough to turn the track off, I understand, but give the song a moment. It fades into crystal clarity as the original sound of “Need You Now” bleeds through. Moonlight Matters included a build-up to the chorus of the song and added in short, groovy piano chords to entice you a little more to dance to their remix.
Like the Eric Prydz remix, Moonlight Matters removed the dark, heartwrenching emotions from the original song in their remix. However, the sadness is not entirely gone. The overcompensating bass and synth is not enough to erase the panging, longing desperation of the original version.
“Love Like Mine” by Miami Horror, featuring Cleopold, off of their album, All Possible Features.
When I had first heard this song over the summer, I was shocked to see how recent it was written. If you ask me, it sounds straight out of the late 70s or 80s. Let the repeating guitar line catch your attention and draw you in and let the vocals of Cleopold rock you into a slow body groove.
This song has a bright sound, amplified by all of the vocals coming into unison. It’s a feel good track that will certainly ease you into the hellhole that is the beginning of the fall semester and simultaneously let you enjoy the last remnants of the summer.
“My Kind Of Girl” by Citizens!, off of their release, My Kind Of Girl Remixes.
Quite frankly, I might even like this remix more than the original track. While the original song is incredibly sexy and groovy, there is something seductive about The Penelope’s, “My Kind Of Girl” remix. The opening march of synths bleeding into Tom Burke repeating, “you’re my kind of girl” almost painfully catches your auditory attention immediately. The chorus eases off, becoming a far more mellow sound which is reinforced by Burke’s high-pitched, saccharine-sweet voice.
Put it this way, you’ll be shoegazing. Yes, it is still the year of the shoegaze.
“Cream On Chrome” by Ratatat, off of their record, Magnifique.
When I read that this band was from New York, this track made a whole lot of more sense.
There is something inherently cool about this track. The bass seems to not care that you’re listening to it and the guitar is just too chill to even recognize your presence. It occasionally breaks into a fuzzy, distorted moment where the guitar sings and slides all over the fretboard. This track is calm and collected until the end of the piece where the guitar gives you, the listener, relief and into a killer run.
Let the guitar carry you throughout the rest of the week. Good luck this semester, Jaspers, I’ll see you next week.
You can listen to this week’s playlist below via Spotify.