Episode 5. Current Faves

I wrote a nice long post about Quincy Jones that I was going to share today, but I re-listened to "At This Point In My Life," at 5:27pm on Monday, and now I just want to share my current favorite songs. By the way, we're moving to Spotify. The sound quality is much better than YouTube. Don't forget to turn it up!

1. Tracy Chapman - "At This Point In My Life" (1995)


As much as I like "Fast Car," this one actually hits me harder. The bass fills the room, and Tracy's vocals are as emotive as possible. The most interesting thing about the song for me is the structure itself. There are very clear transitions between parts of the song, with different sentiments and energies, forming the arc of the story. The instrument that really defines these transitions is the drums. They are non-existent in the intro, so when they finally come in, that rim-shot (the "clack" sound every few seconds) is very powerful. In the next section the energy is boosted with a focus on the tambourine. This is just really well-made music - simple, sweet, and clear. The lyrics are more generic than "Fast Car," which allows the listener to pay more attention to the music. If you let it, it brings on the chills like none other.

2. Little Feat - "Long Distance Love" (1975)


Have you ever heard a love story told in 20 seconds... by a bass and drums? I'll walk you through it: the bass creates a vibe of loving warmth, the immediacy of which is astounding. The guitar and keyboards come in to tell you how sweet it could be, and then right at 0:13 you hear a conflict, as the band seems to choke for a second, and this resolves after a few seconds, until the second conflict around 0:18, which then resolves and concludes the story. And if that wasn't enough, just about the most adorable male/female duet you've ever heard comes in to tell the story lyrically.

3. Feist - "One Evening" (2005)


Like the previous two songs, the bass is full, and creates the atmosphere. The whole song is really well done, and has a lot of little details placed just right, which you can try to spot. Or just sit back and enjoy this chill tune.

4. Tame Impala - "The Less I Know The Better" (2015)


That's some funky bass. Notice how the bass actually comes in on what sounds like a regular guitar, and after a bit it drops into a nice, deep sound. Also note how it's less full than the first three songs - there is a lot of empty space between notes. It's a great line, but it feels like it's forcing you to do something, so he uses a much milder line in the chorus to give you a break.