'Hypnotic' is the best way I can describe these songs. They're mesmerizing, finding just the right balance of repetition and intrigue to pull you into a trance where your mind starts to go numb and you forget where you were born. Or maybe it's just me; either way they're good songs.
As a reminder, the volume should be turned up as loud as is comfortable, otherwise it's like going to an art gallery with glasses that aren't for you.
#1. Robert Palmer - "Woke Up Laughing" (1980)
Robert Palmer may have looked like a used car salesman, but he was apparently the "artist's artist" and is known for the hit song "Addicted To Love." This is one of his more obscure tunes. I recommend checking out the beautiful lyrics for this one. Just the idea of waking up laughing is bizarre, and he pulls you right into his bizarre little dream world. There is an instant magical, fairyland kind of feel to this song because of the high pitched xylophone, and also that noise in the background that sounds like a drum stick sliding against a ribbed piece of wood. If you try to count the beats you'll find that there are three (or six) per measure rather than the usual four or eight, and he often starts singing on the fifth or sixth beat (before the next measure starts), whereas lyrics typically start at the beginning of the measure, so there is a very loosey-goosey freedom that adds to the intrigue. His singing style is remarkably unique and perfect for this song; kind of haunting but in a good way. There are variations in the music, but not enough for it to feel like you ever stray from the dream world. 10/10.
#2. Kurt Vile - "Wheelhouse" (2015)
Kurt Vile released one of my favorite albums of 2015, b'lieve i'm goin down. The hypnotic quality of Wheelhouse is mostly in the repetitive, rising and falling sensation from his low-tone (the opposite of piercing) guitar, but also in Kurt's super-lazy drawling vocals. His voice and guitar melt into each other since they have almost the same range. Because the bass and guitar are so repetitive, the drums stand out as the main source of flavor in the song, with some distorted guitars howling in the background. If you like this, check out "Life Like This."
#3. Ali Farka Touré - "Lalayche" (1988)
A king of African blues, Mali-born Ali Farka Touré is probably one of the lesser-known guitarists on Rolling Stone's top 100 guitarists list (he was #76). Like in the previous song, the vocals and guitar become one. You could fall into a trance to anything he plays. Part of it is the way he uses drone notes (a note that keeps repeating nonstop). In this case the drone is the deepest note and acts like a really simple bass anchor. I'll get into lead guitar more later, but the way he plays guitar is different than the typical American blues guitarist. He'll play a one or two-second lick, and then return home, focusing on the drone note, and then keep doing that in different ways, so he's sort of reinforcing his message with little exclamations, whereas most American blues lead guitarists will solo for maybe 20 seconds to a minute or more, telling more of an extended story. Here's an example of that from the American counterpart of Ali Farka, blues legend John Lee Hooker- Boom Boom (1961).
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