Lately I've found myself in a music rut, listening to playlists I made years ago or repeating the same songs - my comfort songs. I have been so busy surviving, going through the motions, that I started feeling disconnected from myself. I couldn't seem to figure out how to get back to the closeness to my emotional center that, for better or worse, I am so used to feeling.
"there's something about living life deliberately.. [ext]..listening to songs and creating playlists that excite you and represent your actual mood, not just listening to songs that you've downloaded for years that don't make you feel anything special anymore. It's very easy to stay with what you're comfortable with and it might take a bit of experimenting before you find what feels like a deliberate choice that reflects more of you."
In an effort to live more deliberately, I realized how much can change around you when you're not paying close attention. Some of my "comfort" artists, that I would normally rely on for their signature sounds, have been branching out and exhibiting a lot of experimentation in their newer work. Young The Giant released their debut album in 2004, breaking into the indie scene with a fresh new sound. They capitalized on the lack of indie music at the time focusing on the primary use of strings and acoustics, the violin a prevalent instrument used throughout the project. Over the years, they incorporated more synth, pop-flair, and most recently on their single Wake Up, samples from traditional Indian folk music. I'm looking forward to hearing more from their newest project, American Bollywood and experiencing more of their continued evolution. It's been 18 years since their debut, and as we all grow as humans - we can and should expect artists to grow and shift their sound as well.
I've had a little more trouble embracing this thought process with another long time favorite band - Turnover. Turnover began their musical journey as a pop punk band, but quickly found a genre seemingly more suitable for their sound - indie surf rock. Their 2015 album Peripheral Vision is a fan favorite, and what most fans would consider the height of their discography to date. I personally hope that with every new release, they will reproduce some of the magic we heard on PV. Their more recent work can be classified as something closer to psychedelic rock, which is a far cry from their pop punk roots. Similar to Young the Giant, their debut was 11 years ago - and I know that when I was 18 I was not nearly the person I am today at 29. Judging music by its quality is fair - but judging an artist's project against different sounds they have experimented with feels like a denial of a natural human evolution. If anything, a band willing to explore and produce albums that can fall into 3 different genres is incredibly impressive. A fluid fan base is something only few artists are able to obtain during their careers, and should be celebrated.
This has been a time of great evolution in my life, and I can't help but to draw may own parallels to this theme. I have noticed myself leaning into different interests, meeting new people and slowly closing doors to things that no longer serve me in ways that they used to. If we as individuals are given freedom without judgement to be who we want, work and live where we want, drift in and out of relationships - we should extend that grace to the artists that supply our daily soundtracks.
I hope you enjoy this playlist complete with a few of my aforementioned favorites, Young the Giant and Turnover, a brilliant Father John Misty cover by Lana Del Rey, a few hits off of Soccer Mommy's new album and more.
What's your opinion?