WORK SUCKS - Songs to Survive The Work Day
The weather is warming up, the sun is shining bright, flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and you’re stuck at work… what a bummer. Instead of doing your work diligently, how about you throw on this playlist and escape to another world? Here are some songs to help you escape, whether by way of a story, or a vibe that you can just dissociate to, staring into the blue light of your computer screen, wishing that you were anywhere other than serving those that keep you employed.
Pretend - Alex G
Perhaps one of the easiest songs to zone out to, Alex G’s “Pretend” is a warm weighted blanket of fuzz, imperfect harmonies, and psychedelia. The slow pace of this nearly 6 minute epic is hypnotic, but has enough variation in it’s structure to keep you engaged and not dozing off. “Leave your body, leave your mind” is indeed the exact thing you’ll want to do as you listen, almost as if your soul were to rise from your physical being like you’re in a cartoon, ascending towards the great beyond. Mellow acoustic guitar, a chill rhythm section, and transcendent guitar solos that are flanged out and dreamy as hell. Throw this one on when in need of a quick, enlightening escape.
33 “GOD” - Bon Iver
Remember when Bon Iver got “weird”? Ditching the more traditional folk and Americana elements for a more experimental approach to music, 2016’s 22, A Million by Bon Iver is a breathtaking exercise in embracing the unknown, experiencing sounds and textures and introspection. One could recommend the entire project as an escape from the mundane everyday experience (I do… I highly recommend it), but for the sake of the playlist, put on “33 ”GOD””. With bright piano chords, chipmunk samples that both drive the song and punctuate lines, and strings that wisp throughout, accenting the song with a cinematic feel, it’s a wonderful bed of escapism. The truly transcendent moment of the song occurs 1 minute 26 seconds into the song though, when a wavering, pitchy bassline and hard drums kick in, pushing this delicate song into another realm, transporting you exactly wherever you’d like to be. A true spectacle to be heard, this song is one for the day-dream journals.
You Say I’m In Love - Bane’s World
My goodness this song is dreamy. The guitar on this track is drenched in so much reverb and delay that it nearly sounds like its dripping, lending itself to the romantic dreamyness and sensuality of it all. Imagine a movie scene, two people looking at each other across a room full of people, exchanging subtle, shy, warm smiles, having never seen each other before, but seemingly have always known each other somehow. That’s the moment. The two leads are tied to each other and for the course of the movie, we’re rooting for them to last forever. And just like that, you’re already taken away from whatever you’re doing at work. This song is so transportative from the second it begins, making you feel warm and fuzzy, like you could be one of the two in the movie scene, like you just realized you’re completely helpless to love, like you’re no longer yourself (the office drone). Much like the feelings you have towards someone you admire, you can’t help but escape reality when this song is playing.
Dizzy On The Comedown - Turnover
Is Turnover’s “Dizzy On The Comedown” a 4 minute package of romance and dream pop dancey-ness? Yes. Is it also about daydreaming yourself out of your current situation? Maybe (lyric analysis is not a strong suit of mine - my brain is a bit too smooth”. But it can absolutely help you do exactly that. If this is a playlist for escaping your workplace for a few moments, then throw this song on and prepare to not pay attention to anything. The song is a sweet one, and it does a fantastic job of making you feel as though you’re spinning away into something warm and cozy. Turnover do a great job utilizing the quiet/loud formula popularized by bands like The Pixies, Nirvana, and other early alt-rock acts, though it’s more of a soft/hard sound rather than quiet/loud, going from the floaty verses to the more overdriven and slightly more rough chorus, creating a push/pull effect that is hypnotic and almost meditative, while also being catchy as hell. Am I rambling? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention
Wildflowers - Soccer Mommy
Ever wanted to be something you aren’t? Ever thought about your personal growth, and considered that perhaps the thing holding yourself back is you? Let’s get anxious! I know damn well it’s fun to dream, but more times than not, losing yourself in thought can lead to a lot of internal monologues. Wildflowers is similar to most on this list; full of space, reverb-heavy, etc. But what places it on this list over others is the imagery and overall theme of the song - self realization. What a revelation it is to realize your own worst enemy can be yourself. “I found God on Sunday morning laying next to you, my arms stretched out like Jesus, white sheets nail me down to the bed, my heaven burns on Monday, with a broken heart and an aching head” sings Soccer Mommy’s Sophia Allison, realizing that a religious experience she finds herself in time and time again can lead to confusion and conflict and pain. Sometimes we can’t help but find ourselves in a nightmare of a daydream, but this song can help you feel less alone in your worries.
Day Go By - Karen O
"When I was 27 I crushed a lot. I wasn't sure I'd ever fall in love again.” This is what Karen O posted to her website when she released her debut solo work Crush Songs in 2014. What is crushing if not imagining what life would be having your crush be your partner? Taking it a step further, Crush Songs sounds like a collection of demos, full of flubbed notes and background noises, but full of charm and personality; what is a song demo if not an imagination of the final product? Talk about Inception. Karen O - The Christopher Nolan of indie music. In all seriousness, “Day Go By” is a song that really nails the feeling of “I must be crazy for liking this person”, a happier sounding acoustic bop that questions the feelings that she has. Karen O sings “Don’t call the doctor doctor, God save the doctor something’s wrong, gonna call the doctor doctor, gonna tell him that my pain is gone”, as if she’s thinking “what am I getting myself into” but ultimately deciding that it’s going to give her joy. It’s a fun time to sit down with this song (and 25 minute album as a whole) and just day dream about taking those big risks.
Me and Michael - MGMT
Remember the Ryan Gosling lead 2011 film Drive? Remember that 80s synth inspired soundtrack that complimented the movie so well? “Me and Michael” from the 2018 MGMT album Little Dark Age would fit so perfectly in that movie, as the second it begins immediately transports you to 1986 with its opening drum hits then glimmering keys, a solid steady synth bassline driving the song as the composition as a whole dances delicately. Those sweet moments in Drive between the two leads, with the sweeping close ups and lens flairs would be right where “Me and Michael” would be placed. MGMT’s Ben Goldwasser said the song “developed into this ambiguous story, and we really liked that – writing a catchy song that gets you pumped-up, but you have no idea what the message is." (Take that, lyric analysis). This one’s all about the vibe, and the vibe is just right.
The Melting Of The Sun - St. Vincent
Anne Clark of St. Vincent wrote “The Melting Of The Sun” as “a love letter to strong, brilliant female artists” such as Joan Didion, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Tori Amos (amongst others also mentioned in the song. Set against a hazy psychedelic track reminiscent of the late 60’s/early 70’s, the song lifts up the strong female artists it speaks on, wishing they stay remembered as timeless artists until the end of time, until the sun melts away. It spoon feeds you short glimpses of hardships that these women have faced, but it chases it with a spoonful of sugar in the form of a groovy composition of pop music past, complete with distinct background singers to drive home the 20th century of it all. Does your back hurt from that office chair? Do your feet hurt from standing all day? Give this a listen; it’s like floating away on a Puff the Magic Dragon style cartoon cloud, drifting off towards an orange, mustard yellow, and brown sunset.