Balling Out in Nonfiction

  Many people have intense hatred for country music, and maybe it is because of my farmer relatives, but I do not think it is that bad. Once you get past the outward conservative layer, you can find an incredibly rich genre. Butterflies by Kacey Musgraves is a sweet, upbeat song which can lift your mood within seconds. The song encapsulates the feeling of finding a new person in your life. When I visualize the song I see sunshine and rainbows. My favorite lyrics are “Now you're liftin' me up, 'stead of holdin' me down.You're takin' my hand, 'stead of takin' my crown” and I truly think Kacey gives great advice here. Any relationship in your life should be equal in what you bring to the table. Find yourself someone who lifts you up and supports you, and also do the same for them. It’s an amazing song I would recommend to anyone, not just country fans. 

  Night shift by Lucy Dacus is an incredibly emotional song while simultaneously being about numbness. The lyrics tell a story of a person reminiscing on an ex-partner longing for some sort of closure, but feeling an overwhelming urge to distance themselves hence the lyrics “you’ve got a nine to five, so I’ll take the night shift” (one of the best metaphors I have seen in a while). Lucy’s vocals are raw and emotional. The slow nature of the song allows you to digest each word as she sings them and you get really connected to the music. The genre of the song falls into the indie/alternative category so if that is something you enjoy, I would highly recommend this track. 

  This song is the essence of sadness. That is the best way I can describe how listening to it will make you feel. It represents a tiresome relationship filled with affection, but also depression. That is the best way I can put it. The lyrics from which I can draw this conclusion from are “All the skeletons you hide, show me yours, and I’ll show you mine” and you cannot tell me that those words do not make you want to cry. Phoebe Bridgers’ vocals are soft, delicate, but filled with emotion. A savior complex consists of helping others to the point where you ignore your own well-being and Phoebe perfectly captures this definition in her song. A beautiful song that everyone should listen to at one point in their life. 

  One word I would use to describe this song is saxophone. This indie pop song recreates what I believe ascending to heaven would feel like. I have yet to fully understand what the song is truly about, but I listen to it anyway. One lyric, which Michelle Zauner sings several times is “obsessing in the dark” and it provides me with the biggest clue as to what the true meaning of the song is. My leading theory at the moment is that this song is about coming to terms with identity and wanting to become a better person. While I cannot be confident about my understanding of the lyrics, I can be confident that it sounds amazing. Michelle Zauner’s voice is incredibly smooth and the instrumentals are beautiful. I would 120% recommend that you check out Slide Tackle by Japanese Breakfast.  

  “I might kill my ex, not the best idea. His new girlfriend’s next, how’d I get here?” might be some of the catchiest lyrics released in 2022. Now, I have never seen the movie Kill Bill , so I have no clue if the song actually has anything to do with the film and I am just interpreting the lyrics from a non-Kill Bill the movie perspective. I think what makes this song so good is SZA’s delivery of the lyrics and the instrumentals. The music itself is so upbeat and SZA sings in a dreamy voice, almost as if she is frolicking through a meadow. It is such a stark contrast to the darker lyrics of SZA professing she would rather be in jail than be alone. The larger project which this song is a part of is called SOS and it is SZA’s newly released album. I highly recommend going to have a quick listen because it may just change your life. 

 Listen. I know that Grimes willingly had a child with Elon Musk, but this song is just so incredibly catchy. The opening lines “I never walk about after dark. It’s my point of view ‘cause someone could break your neck, coming up behind you, always coming and you'd never have a clue” will never leave your head. Grimes, in a few words, creates a feeling of loneliness which is not scary at all, but rather comforting. The structure and genre of the song are so vastly different from my normal music preference. It falls into many categories, but I think the main ones are synth-pop, electro/dream pop, futuristic dance. I am not completely sure. What I am completely sure of is that I like the way it sounds. Listening to the sounds is what I imagine floating through a cartoon version of space would be like. I like to imagine it would be on Super Planet Janet’s playlist. 

  I highly recommend Ethel’s album Preacher’s Daughter, but only cool people are allowed to listen to it. It is an intense story following Ethel coming of age and then meeting her demise to a psychotic cannibal, but that is beside the point for the purposes of this post. In just 4 minutes and 18 seconds, Ethel manages to capture every single feeling of longing a teenager could ever experience. She tells a story which feels familiar to growing up in the midwest. The song feels like warm air, freshly mowed grass, mosquito bites, and a more crunchy lifestyle as you come to terms with existence. If that all makes sense. My favorite lyrics in this master piece are “Say what you want, but say it like you mean it. With your fists for once.” and I just think they perfectly encapsulate the feeling of identity. Ten out of ten I whole-heartedly recommend the entire album (only if you are a cool person though).

 It is now about songs that I find good at the time of each post!