WILT_2023-47

A playlist of songs that intrigued me from Sunday to Saturday. Week of 19 Nov 2023 to 25 Nov 2023.

1. GIRLKIND – Sinead O Brien
2. In Bloom – Tony Njoku
3. Hydrangea (Alt Version) – Tony Njoku
4. Clouds – The Vernon Spring
5. Water Cools – Anika
6. Dogs – Blue Divers
7. What Can It Take – Alabaster DePlume
8. A Portrait – Lord Of The Isles, Ellen Renton
9. Snakeskin Sail – Svitlana Nianio, Tom James Scott
10. Tema 2 – Pedro Ricardo
11. Real Talk – Bloc Party
12. The Prayer – Bloc Party
13. Coliseum- Bloc Party
14. Narc – Interpol
15. Rest My Chemistry – Interpol
16. I Need Your Love – CHIC
17. the BLACK seminole. – Lil Yachty

Hyperlink to Spotify playlist: WILT_2023-47

Notes

You could say that this week’s playlist is rooted in the idea of Bloc Party. You see, the Bloc Party and Interpol concert happened on the Friday that passed, and I was trying to psyche myself up for it by listening to the first two Bloc Party albums. However, I wasn’t feeling too excited by any of it because I think I don’t spend too much energy listless on nostalgia. In the end, the generated playlist featured Sinead O Brien whom I’ve featured on this series before. In fact, GIRLKIND appeared in this post, and I’m reminded of what a great intensity backs the music up.

From there, Tony Njuka’s 2023 album Sketches & Noodles of Bloom was recommended by Spotify to me as a trending listen and I’m glad that I took the leap to listen. Overall, it is a beautiful exploration and development of musical ideas that do not require boxes or genres. In Bloom is an earnest piano recital, and Hydrangea soars as a piano ballad with auto-tuned vocals which makes me even wonder if “singing” was involved.

More instrumental pieces (withs some poetry) await the listener with Clouds by The Vernon Spring, Water Cools by Anika, Dogs by Blue Divers, What Can It Takeby Alabaster DePlume, A Portrait by Lord Of The Isles and Ellen Renton, Snakeskin Sail by Svitlana Nianio and Tom James Scott, and Tema 2 by Pedro Ricardo. This entire section will cradle your weary head and caress soft hair while light bathes you with its simplest touch.

The next section features music that stood out for me while attending the Interpol and Bloc Party concert. I was unfamiliar with some of the song titles, so I used the Google App feature to generate search results of songs based on their melodies. For the most party, it was pretty accurate.

Real Talk stood out because the guitar rhythm was quite hypnotic to me. It seemed unnecessarily complicated in its off-time tempo but that’s what made it engaging for me. The Prayer was one of songs I was looking out for because it still stands as one of the most intense and innovative Bloc Party songs I’ve heard. Particularly the brazen nights that I’ve danced to being “unstoppable”. It was the guitar riff Coliseum that intrigued me about the song. I hadn’t heard this song before so it came as a surprise to me that the band was exploring a heavier sound. One of my gripes about Bloc Party is that Matt Tong was no longer playing for them. To me, he was also an instrumental member of the band because of his signature drumming style. 

Narc by Interpol is such a classic but when they do it live it is a whole new experience. The guitars went through some much compression that the sense of rhythm coupled with near-metronome consistency and the amazing light show made for a wonderful live experience. Rest My Chemistry was another song that I was unfamiliar with but its rhythm guitar work really benefited from the live treatment. An amazing guitar tone that carried the song to new heights for me.

I Want Your Love by CHIC and the BLACK seminole. by Lil Yachty were two songs that played on the PA before each set began. I’ll probably listen to more CHIC because I am starting to re-listen to the work of Nile Rodgers, and I’m a huge fan of the horns and strings that the producers employ. the BLACK seminole. features a hazy production with great instrumental moments, also reminds me a bit of Gaslamp Killer and Clams Casino amongst others.