Saturday, September 2, 2023

Music and Me

What's up. I am Augustine and I like music because why not. I was born at a young age, and ever since, I have been into music. I enjoy music that is detailed, complex, and most importantly, artistic. That's what I believe music is fundamentally. I am originally from Binghamton, New York, a small town in the upstate known as the "Carousel Capital" of the country. I hate carousel music. At the less younger age of 13, I started taking piano lessons before moving to South Carolina. In a time of desolation, I picked up a cheap toy acoustic guitar that lay in my house and began learning every part of all my favorite songs. I don't think I would have been a musician in any other universe, but now I'm going to college for it and am obligated to label myself with such a goofy title. Like previously mentioned, I am into complicated music as I feel it's very fulfilling. My favorite genres include indie, rock, indie rock, shoegaze, math rock, indie, folk, indie folk, and indie, and other stuff like that. Ten years from now I'll probably be very broke and out there in terms of mentality, but that's just part of being someone who is fascinated with music enough to make a career out of it.

Here is some cool music that I like that you should listen to...


This first one is my go-to right now. Indie folk/rock group Bright Eyes recently released a bunch of EPs of alternate "companion" versions of their most well-known songs featuring folk female duo First Aid Kit. The song includes a lot of chordophones like guitars and mandolins and has really cool drums. The lyrics sound like it's a song about uncertainty and death but the fun music makes you forget about that nonsense. What I like most about this band is that the lead singer's vocals kind of suck, but they're supposed to so you have to pretend that you like it until you gaslight yourself into actually liking it. Then you can brag about it and act like you're more intricate than all your friends. But his voice layered with First Aid Kit's voices bring a lot of energy to an otherwise basic folk song and make you want to dance to it or something.

Next up is Sufjan Stevens. You may have actually heard of him from TikTok but I've been listening to him before he was famous, I promise. This song is important to me because it's kind of like the music that I like to write. In this specific piece, you will find a lot of complex layering of sounds and melodies and countermelodies and cool stuff like that. It's also kind of funny how at one point it sounds like a very calming choir piece before going full rock with heavy electric guitars and drums. Towards the end, we are introduced to the coda which mixes all of the previous sections of the song into one in a satisfying way. 


Last and least is Katy Perry's "Firework." I think it sounds pretty good until she starts singing. The lyrics sound silly and some of the metaphors like plastic bags in the wind don't stick very well. It also encapsulates my beef with pop songs very well i.e. the same 4 chords literally throughout the whole song and overproduced sounds and synths that make a track sound lifelessly robotic to me. I guess there are some people out there who like it and all I can say is sorry.




2 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed listening to your selections! That contrast between the darker lyrics and brighter, more carefree orchestration in Jejune Stars is so interesting. That juxtaposition of the lyrics against the music makes both of them seem almost exaggerated? I like it a lot. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Hey Augustine, I have actually never heard The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts even on tiktok, but I really like the complex layering of the melodies. I think it's really cool that you found the song before it got on to tiktok it can be hard sometimes to find artists with such little popularity. I looked at a couple other songs by Sufjan Stevens and I really liked them as well. Which other songs by them would you recommend? I also agree with Firework by Katy Perry being overproduced it is nostalgic for me because I listened to it when I was younger however now as I get older I realize the quality of the song is not what I thought it was when I was young.

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