Whether you use music to cure your ADHD habits while studying, or if you are trying to psyche yourself up for a game, music no doubt has a profound effect on how you feel and perceive things. For me, I know exactly what to listen to when trying to change moods. Back in the day, I was always getting psyched out and listening to bands like The Bled and Comeback Kid. Upbeat, a little over the edge, Chugging guitar riffs, all or nothing lyrics, and of course the most important ingredient… GANG VOCALS!!! even if your not at the concert and your listening to the music through headphones, you can’t help but start yelling out the gang vocal parts! ”WAKE THE DEAD!”
I could go on all day about the two amazing bands I mentioned above (and most likely will in a later post), but I wanted to stress how much we rely on music as a form of focus and therapy. I wanted to introduce you to some bands that have given me a chill atmosphere at my new apartment and even (should I dare say… do my work?). I am not going to subject you to the monotonous ocean waves by the window sounds. No… The music that I will be suggesting has intriguing dynamics and a creative mix of synths and samples (some may be considered coffee house music… maybe a techie coffee shop).
First up, a very popular Norweigian Duo called Royksopp. Known for their innovative music video “Remind Me” and for famous tracks such as “Poor Leno” and “Sparks”. Some songs can stretch to be Electronica dance to Trip-Hop but the ones I like, create an atmosphere and an ambiance. You know, the kind of atmosphere where you can holistically look at your life as a good path all because you are doing actual work while feeling good (mainly due to the music). It’s kinda like hitting a runner’s prime. After listening to chill music for 10 minutes, you feel like you could finish a whole project. My personal favorite song and the song I would listen to first if you were going to give the band a chance, would be Remind Me.
The second Chill band for this post is the critically acclaimed English Duo “Everything But The Girl“. The multitude of classifications include the various: Bossa-Nova, Sophisti-Pop, Jazz, adult-orientated contemporary music, House, Trip-Hop. I could probably make up some more phrases to describe this group but that’s not due to my ‘limited’ creativity, but mainly due to the versatility this band can show. Whereas Royksopp has a bit peppier underlying tone, Everything but the Girl has a laid-back, soulful undertone that gives the music a “Sophisticated” feel. The front running song I would download or buy if you are remotely interested in the description of this band is called “Good Cop Bad Cop” from the album “Walking Wounded”. One word to the wise though, you do not want to listen to this if you are going through heartbreaks. The music opens up your mind, but the lyrics could make you rethink your whole life in the relationship areas. Hypnotic to say the least.
The third band may not be as chilled for some people as it is for me, but see I grew up in the Gameboy age of technology and as so, I find the warped two-dimensional Gameboy glitches very conducive to ‘relaxed-working’. In fact, I would say “Crystal Castles” is more electronica than chilled, but what the hey! Again, it seems that the best electronica bands come in Duos. This ‘Girl - Boy’ Duo hail from Canada (outside of the US is also a reoccurring theme) and are supposedly known for out of control live performances. I will let you know when I see one of their shows (if they ever come to Cleveland). I most definitely recommend the song “Magic Spells” off their Self-Titled album.
Listen to some of these bands listed above and let me know what you think.
-yours truthfully,
Kurt
Erlend Oye would fit nicely on this list…”sudden rush”…”like gold”….and crystal castles might be the most obnoxious band out there. “Love and Caring” is great though. I would love for a rapper to use that beat.
James I should take your “top 5 picks” from facebook and write a post on them! just to show your crazy taste in music! haha
Amazing! Not clear for me, how offen you updating your motherofdiversity.com.
Zoran, we just launched the site this week. We are updating weekly, so stay tuned!