Weekly Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FQuqtPiQvvb3lxUdZS06P?si=2efa0bbe40b74b93 

Daija’s picks 

1. The 1975 – “All I Need To Hear”
2. Noah Kahan – “She Calls Me Back”
3. Leah Nobel – “Slow Burn”

“All I Need To Hear” is from The 1975’s recent album “Being Funny in a Foreign Language.” The song is about Matty Healy needing his ex-partner to tell him they love him one more time before they break up. Healy, the lead singer, doesn’t care “if you’re insincere / Just tell me what I wanna hear.” The melancholy lyrics match well with the piano ballad’s almost acoustic-esque melody and Healy’s high-pitched, but soft, vocals. 

Following the theme of exes, “She Calls Me Back” tells the story of a man reminiscing about a past relationship to the point where he becomes a bit obsessive. Everything reminds the man of her. He even remembers her phone number and gets the urge to dial it all the time. He may still love her, but he knows they can’t be together again because “there was Heaven in your eyes / I was not baptized.” The upbeat acoustic guitar makes “She Calls Me Back” a catchy song.

“Slow Burn” is a single from Leah Nobel’s 2018 album “Running In Borrowed Shoes.” Nobel tells the story of meeting someone new but finding it hard to open up and wanting to take the relationship slow because she’s been hurt before. The song takes on a different kind of slow burn that isn’t about a hot and passionate love affair, but more about the complexity of relationships and patience. 

Caleb’s picks

1. Lady Gaga – “Boys Boys Boys” 
2. Steve Grand – “All-American Boy” 
3. The Weather Girls – “It’s Raining Men” 

For this week’s picks, the songs are all about liking and being attracted to guys. Starting off, I chose “Boys Boys Boys” by Lady Gaga. This song was first released in 2008 as a part of Gaga’s album “The Fame.” I wanted to lead with a song that represents the different stages of love and attraction. In “Boys Boys Boys,” the love is fierce and intense. The song’s lyrics play perfectly into this theme as Gaga belts about going out, dancing with guys and how much she likes guys. This mirrors how I felt when I first came out and wanted to go out all the time and meet guys. I thought it was glamorous and flashy, and I just wanted to live in the moment; this song really highlights those feelings. 

For my second song, I chose Steve Grand’s debut single, “All-American Boy,” originally released in 2013. In this poignant and deeply meaningful song, Grand pines after his straight best friend. He sings about not being able to stop thinking about him and wishing they could be together. This is a sentiment I can understand, as this feeling is why I stopped talking to one of my closest friends when I was a teenager. Feelings can be difficult to handle when they are unrequited. The lyrics present a very relatable situation, which is one of the reasons I find it difficult to maintain friendships with guys. This song is a little slower but it has a nice country beat. 

To end the theme, I decided to raise the energy back up with a classic, The Weather Girls’ 1982 hit “It’s Raining Men.” In the song, the girls sing about men coming down from the rain as if they’re special gifts from above. In “It’s Raining Men,” the group urges single people to leave their umbrellas at home and run to the streets to find the perfect man. Honestly, this song feels really good for me right now. I’m at a place where that’s exactly what I’m looking for: a man. All in all, the lyrics are very catchy and the beat is perfect to dance along to. 

Sarah’s picks

1. Steve Lacy, Fousheé – “Sunshine (feat. Fousheé)”
2. Frank Ocean – “Pink + White”
3. Suki Waterhouse – “Good Looking”

“Sunshine” is the ninth track off of Steve Lacy’s 2022 album “Gemini Rights.” Lacy sings about a surprise encounter he had with his ex-lover who he still has feelings for. Singer and musician Fousheé joins Lacy by singing from the point of view of the ex-lover in “Sunshine.” Fousheé repeats the lyrics “Where you are, where you are / But I’m always gonna be where you are” to emphasize that she will always be on Lacy’s mind, no matter how hard he tries to get over her. Fousheé’s and Lacy’s soft vocals blend to create a mellow, rock jam. 

Frank Ocean reflects on a deceased loved one in his 2016 song “Pink + White.” The chorus “You showed me love / Glory from above / Regard, my dear / It’s all downhill from here” can be interpreted as Ocean’s relationship with the deceased is going to get easier now that he’s remembered all the good times they had together. In the outro of the song, which includes background vocals from Beyoncé, Ocean compares keeping the memories of the person he lost alive in his mind. As long as the memories remain, that person is never really gone. 

“Good Looking” by Suki Waterhouse was released as a single in 2017. Waterhouse sings about a past relationship and how she is uncovering who her ex really was. The chorus “I thought I’d uncovered your secrets but, turns out, there’s more / You adored me before” indicates that Waterhouse’s ex was a secretive partner and now that they are broken up, she is seeing who he truly is. Throughout the song, Waterhouse sings about her emotions and how she thinks the world is collapsing. 

Nick’s picks 

1. Tyler Childers – “All Your’n”
2. Dolly Parton – “9 to 5”
3. David Kauffman, Eric Caboor – “Kiss Another Day Goodbye”

As the weather started dropping this week, I turned to some folky, twangy music to warm up my musical diet. The first song I had on repeat this week was Tyler Childers’ “All Your’n.” This song was released on Childers’ third album, “Country Squire.” The highly rhythmic guitars, drums and tambourines make the song feel like dancing in a barn on a late night. “All Your’n” is known for its chorus, “So I’ll love you ‘til my lungs give out I ain’t lying / I’m all your’n you’re all mine.” The cheeky love of Childers’ lyrics is made genuine by his real and gritty voice.

Going back to some retro folk, Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” is a kitschy and cute country track featuring one of my favorite instruments of all time: Parton’s acrylic nails. Taking the place of the washboard and thimble, an americana staple, Parton rubs her nails together, creating a new percussive instrument that sounds sort of like a typewriter. Parton’s patented vocal capabilities along with her funny, working-class songwriting combine into a groovy pop-country song that warms me up on these chilly fall days. 

Finally, staying with the twang but not with the upbeat nature of the first two songs, “Kiss Another Day Goodbye” by David Kauffman and Eric Caboor gained no attention when it was released in 1984, according to Kauffman in a Vice interview. Most of the song’s first vinyl pressings went to radio stations; but decades later, the song was found by music communities. After cries from this community in the early 2010s, the whole album was re-released. The song is melancholic and full of acoustic guitars with subtle reverb and echoes. The chorus wails out, “I don’t know / How much longer / I can kiss another day goodbye / Kiss another day goodbye.” This depressing line rings out as the final words of the song as well, kissing another song – and another week of Spotify playlist choices – goodbye.