The strangeness continues. I like the synth or whatever is it right off the bat from 0:10 to 0:20; it’s harsh and overwhelming. It sounds a little like a siren heralding something ominous, with bass and drums creating a disorienting jittery beat. But then suddenly a soothing riff starts at 0:27, followed by some ethereal singing. How does this relate to the noise earlier? It’s unclear. Then a jarring cut at 1:00 back to the wild stuff. Then back to the calmer lyrics, which seem to be about looking for answers in some hidden places.
Look where they won’t tell you
Is what I would advise
To get what you never wanted
But need, to change your mind
I like this song because it creates a world out of two juxtaposing styles. The song ends in the beautiful mode, not the jarring one, which feels hopeful. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to call this a pandemic song. This is definitely miles away from my normal playlist. (Without googling, name the song: “Expanding the horizons and expanding the parameters/Expanding the rhymes of sucker MC amateurs”)
Submitter note: “This is softer/more trancy than your examples, maybe a little long, but if you let it work on your brain a bit you may like it.”
I don’t really play video games, but I hear that “world-building” is a thing. This song finishes first because it creates a world and a mood, and fills it out. The mood is a chill electronic throb, with these lyrics repeated throughout the song
Don't think about all those things you fear
Just be glad to be here
It has a kind of floating-in-space vibe. This is the sort of feel I don’t get from my usual playlist. It starts with some organ-sounding keyboard, and quickly heads into some computerish notes (0;13 and 0:21) that repeat throughout the song. Computer noises, yes, but not from your dad’s sterile and harsh IBM—from your cool uncle’s mellow computer, the one with Deadhead stickers and pot resin on it.
The vocals are a little breathy and airy, with maybe a touch of autotune, which would normally bother me, but here it adds to the ambiance. They’re not trying to cover anything up. A gentle wash of percussion rain starts at 0:55. Some flourishes/breaks spruce things up (e.g. 2:30). I loved it while sober, give me a gummy and I could float in here for quite a while.
I’ll have to listen to the top half of the entries later, but just wanted to say a few things:
6th place wtf fuck you.
I’m really glad you decided to switch up your previous habit of reading UP but barely posting. This was a great reveal even if the results drove goatnitski to the bottle.
Pitchfork ranked Thought for Food as the fourth best album of 2002, and as the 125th best album of the 2000s. In 2015, Spin ranked Thought for Food at number 285 on its list of “The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years”.
Quite enjoyed the podium, and now that I know a bit more about what floats your electronic boat, I would very much like to know if this would have done well for you @crash_face
