samismusicjournal

[samismusicjournal]

Lana Del Rey’s “Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd”

1. The Grants

I love how Lana is already using her true vocal potential. She’s not holding back like she does when she’s singing more stylisticly. I love the almost country John Denver-esque refrain this song has.

2. Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd

This is such a sad sentiment. To me and according to some research I did, she is worrying about being thrown away and discarded like the tunnel under Ocean Blvd, which is a real tunnel actually. It’s called the Jergins Tunnel. This is a really beautiful song though. I had already heard it when it came out and I was not very into it when I first heard it. Now I seem to be in a more receptive mood since the whole album is out and the songs are in context.

3. Sweet

I feel like I just got to heaven and all my dead relatives are greeting me. The song sounds so airy and cloud-like. 

4. A&W

I have had a real hot affair with this song, which is funny because the title fits so well *wink wink*. I listened to it maybe a day after it came out, and immediately I thought, “There’s something really cool about this song and I don’t know how to explain it.” It’s a good mix of an acoustic, moody track to a song you can’t help but nod your head to while you listen to it in the car. It goes from ballad to banger. I read online that this song can be described as a rant track, and I would agree with that but in the best way. 

5. Judah Smith Interlude

Didn’t make a ton of sense to me why this song was there unless it was just a sermon that particularly resonated with Lana. Based on what I’ve read, this preacher that the song name and sermon are taken from, has some shitty beliefs, so I’m not sure how I feel about her giving him a platform unless Lana agrees with him. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it just didn’t sit right with me while I listened to it, and I listened to ALL of it.

6. Candy Necklace (feat. Jon Batiste)

There’s something nightmarish and haunting about this song. Maybe it’s the fact that a candy necklace seems like such an innocent thing, yet in this song it’s an abusive relationship that she just can’t seem to bring herself out of. She’s addicted to his “candy necklaces.” I personally think candy necklace could be an allegory to hickeys, but it also means his “love”. Spooky song.

7. Jon Batiste Interlude

Immediately I love the chord progression. It’s one of those progressions that I could listen to by itself for a really long time and not get bored. I would love to see this, what appears to be a brainstorm track, realized into a fully-produced track. It has fantastic potential.

8. Kintsugi

Maybe this is a song that will resonate with me in five years after everyone’s forgotten about it. That seems to happen to me a lot more often than you think. I just don’t really feel anything towards it yet. It’s not a bad song, I just feel neutral towards it.

9. Fingertips

I admire that this song doesn’t follow a traditional structure. It’s a very sad look into Lana’s innermost thoughts. It very much feels like a stream of consciousness which can make it harder to follow, but overall I think I can understand what’s being said.

10. Paris, Texas (feat. SYML)

Immediately, there’s something very whimsical about this song. It’s one of those pieces that I imagine someone using a spinning wheel to. I love the 3/4 time too, I think it adds to the whimsicality of the song. It’s a good piece about moving on almost with a nomadic feel to it. Added it to my witchy playlist.

11. Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing (feat. RIOPY)

This almost feels like a piece from a prog-rock opera, if such a thing exists. I also love the spiritual implications with the “3 white butterflies to know you’re near.” My mom always looks at butterflies as signs from spirits, and while I don’t know if every butterfly is a sign, I believe that some of them are when they’re in the right scenario, so this song resonates with me in that way.

12. Let the Light In (feat. Father John Misty)

“Flirtatious” is the word that first came to mind when I heard this song. The instrumentation is so flowy, it reminds me of the beach in a way. To me, this song depicts a relationship with its good parts and the negative parts. There are some parts that are very risque and very trademark for Lana, like the line, “You know I got nothin’ under this overcoat.” It’s cool to see a woman embracing sexuality and not being ashamed of it.

13. Margaret (feat. Bleachers)

This is such a sweet song, and the context in which it was written makes it even sweeter. It was written about Bleachers’ fiancee, and he wanted it to be played at their wedding. I don’t know why, but this elicited such an emotional reaction for me. I think maybe because it’s really about finding your soulmate, and that’s what everybody wants. This is one of my favorites from the album for sure.

14. Fishtail

This is a good heartbreak song. And I like that it strays from the more acoustic sound we’ve heard for most of the album. It’s a good middle finger to someone who’s trying to bring you down and butter you up at the same time, i.e. braiding your hair and wanting you to be sadder. 

15. Peppers (feat. Tommy Genesis)

This is just a fun, feel-good song that feels like it’s all about freedom and not giving a shit. Not quite as compelling as A&W, but I can appreciate it.

16. Taco Truck x VB

I love the instrumentation in the Taco Truck portion of the song. And the vocals are really alluring too. And then it goes into an alternate version of Venice Bitch (hence “VB”) which is from one of my favorite Lana Albums, Norman Fucking Rockwell! which was part of the soundtrack to my freshman year of college admittedly.

Final Thoughts

This album is absolutely a success for Lana. I know a lot of people haven’t been as happy with some of her more recent albums like Blue Banisters and Chemtrails Over the Country Club because they lack Lana’s moody, romantic sound that her original albums had. However, I think she’s circled back to that vibe in Ocean Blvd while also exploring the acoustic ballad side of her abilities. Lana’s vocals really break through in this album, but they also harken back to her older style. This is especially seen in songs like Candy Necklace, where her voice almost sounds resigned and hopeless. Her more feminine, fluttery vocals come through in songs like the John Batiste Interlude and Ocean Blvd. I’ll definitely be listening to this album for a while. All the songs have something great to offer, whether it’s expertly-crafted instrumentals, powerful vocals, or a deep story. It’s good to have some new Lana work in my life again.

[samismusicjournal]

Ethel Cain’s “Preacher’s Daughter”

1. Family Tree (Intro)

This song is so cinematic, I love it. It’s a walking-in-slow-motion song and very badass. It’s a powerful elegy about generational trauma (”The Fates already fucked me sideways” meaning she was doomed from the start due to her circumstances).

2. American Teenager

A tonal and emotional shift from the previous song. Very fun and angsty.

3. A House in Nebraska

We really explore Ethel’s artful lyricism in this song. The images are so distinct. It’s a very mournful song that anyone going through a heartbreak would probably vibe with and cry to.

4. Western Nights

There’s a very desolate and resigned atmosphere to this song. It talks about being “in love” with someone with serious problems and red flags.

6. Hard Times

This is such a sad song about abuse. It has a similar resigned tone to Western Nights, like we’re experiencing the abuse in real time, just having to let it happen. It’s terrible to think that someone who you idolize and respect and love so much could hurt you so bad.

7. Thoroughfare

I love the folksy vibe this song has. It has a romantic western/rock feel to it. Oh my god I’m listening to it now and it’s quickly becoming one of my new favorite songs. It has the same adventurous and devil-may-care attitude that America’s Horse With No Name has.

8. Gibson Girl

This is another badass- sounding song, but this one is about the dark parts of her new relationship. She’s being objectified and drugged by someone she thought she could trust.

9. Ptolomaea

Instantly, I’m creeped out by this song. It is so doom-filled and foreboding, it sounds like the soundtrack to a nightmare.

10. August Underground

If what I’m reading is correct, Ethel is dying in this song, and she’s being held hostage by Isaiah. For not having any lyrics, this song sure does pack a disturbing punch. I recognized the title as the infamous snuff film, so it makes sense that the subject matter is so terrible.

11. Televangelism

What I read about this song is that it’s her ascension into Heaven after her brutal death.

12. Sun Bleached Flies

This was the first song I heard before listening to the album in its entirety. It came up on my Discover Weekly on Spotify, and I really liked it. Now, hearing it in the context of the album, it’s even more emotional. This is Ethel processing her traumatic journey. At the end of the song, she admits that she never stopped loving Willoughby, her first love.

13. Strangers

Isaiah takes Ethel out of the freezer and eats her, but she warns him that she will be “turning in his stomach and making him feel sick.” She also laments the fact that she will never get to see her mother until she gets to Heaven, and that her mother will “wait up” for her when Ethel appears on the side of a milk carton as a missing person.

Final Thoughts

This is a haunting story. It shows how people trapped in the cycle of abuse are more likely to find themselves in troubling situations. Although Cain’s demise of being cannibalized is a little extreme, it serves the album well by using the shock factor to make the listener pay attention. The whole story just makes your heart ache for her because all of her circumstances are so unfortunate, and none of them are really Ethel’s fault. Generation trauma that was handed down to her by her father’s abuse, her strict religious upbringing, losing her first love, losing her second love in a shootout, running away from home, and being betrayed by one of the only positive male influences in her life. I’m definitely going to do more research into the story of this album because I’m very intrigued by it. This was a great listening experience, although I would never have figured out any of the plot if it hadn’t been for the numerous articles and Genius annotations I read. I like when artists include little hints as to what’s going on in the story of their music, and Cain does a decent job of that (especially the part where she is cannibalized). However, the loss of her second lover in a shootout with the police after a robbery was not clear to me at all. Neither was the transition between her being drugged and her death. But knowing the story makes this album all the more enjoyable. I’m glad people online have come together to figure it all out. Will definitely be listening to Thoroughfare a lot over the next week at least!

[samismusicjournal]

Melanie Martinez’s “K-12″

Date listened to: Not sure, sometime in September, but I watched the movie on September 12 of 2022.

Favorite Tracks: Class Fight, Show and Tell, Lunchbox Friends, Orange Juice, High School Sweethearts

Thoughts/Analysis: I liked this album so much that I got it in vinyl, and the record is PINK! It’s so cute!

I find that I enjoy music so much more when it has a really fleshed-out story to go along with it. That’s why I loved watching the K-12 movie so much, because it helped me visualize the songs and put them into context. The narrative of the album portrays the trials and tribulations of being in the school system, like obnoxious kids on the school bus, fighting on the playground, struggles with body image, dress codes, and getting caught in the growth of the budding sexuality of one’s peers.

My absolute favorite song from the album was High School Sweethearts. That song is such a bop I can’t stand it! It’s incredibly catchy and has a great chorus melody. This song (and the whole album, really) has this “no-bullshit” attitude that I really identify with. One’s formative years can be filled with so much childish drama, at least mine were, so it’s great to hear an artist (a female one, nonetheless!) calling it like it is and rising above the immaturity.

Melanie’s pastel Lolita aesthetic really helps boost the imagery in the movie. For example, all the girls wear pink dresses, and the boys wear blue shirts and pants. The school itself is also filled with pastel colors that create this sense of innocence, like a newborn baby’s room. Now, when I listen to the music, all I can see are those colors and Melanie’s split-dye pigtails.

I’ve seen some people online compare K-12 to The Wall by Pink Floyd since they both had movies to accompany the albums and how K-12 isn’t quite the narrative explosion that Pink Floyd managed to accomplish. I agree with this to an extent, however I look at The Wall as more of a rock opera with a more woven story. K-12 is almost like a long-form music video with a narrative. I think Melanie was inspired by Pink Floyd, but I think she took her own approach to it.

If you like pop music that isn’t super mainstream and has a more theatrical element than most, I would definitely listen to the album and watch the movie. The movie can be viewed on YouTube!

[samismusicjournal]

Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon

Date listened to: 8/15/2022

Favorite tracks: Breathe (In the Air), Money, Us and Them, Brain Damage, Eclipse

Thoughts/analysis: Okay, I hope no one gets mad at me for this, but I liked The Wall a lot better than this album. I guess I’m a sucker for a unique story. DSOTM is a more basic concept album, which I suppose makes it more digestible for the more mainstream listener. And that doesn’t make it bad! I definitely loved some songs on it, as I’ve listed above. And as I said when I wrote about The Wall, I am in love with David Gilmour’s vocals. He’s my dream collaboration partner at the moment.

I also really like the angsty “screw society” attitude that these songs carry. Whether it’s about money and greed, mental illness, wasting of life, or death, I can see where other British rock bands get their inspiration from. There’s a certain nihilism contained in this music that really resonates with the listener. I think that’s what makes so many people praise this album.

I definitely think this album is worth a listen if you like prog rock concept albums.

[samismusicjournal]

Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”

Date listened to: 7/27/2022

Favorite Tracks: In the Flesh?, Goodbye Blue Sky, Hey You, Comfortably Numb, The Trial, Run Like Hell, Another Brick in the Wall pt. 1

Thoughts/Analysis: Congratulations to Pink Floyd for writing what I consider to be a haunting rock opera! Technically where I first heard the music was at a light show at the St. Louis Planetarium but they didn’t include all the songs so I considered my first full listen to be yesterday in the car when I was driving back to Springfield. This album is an incredible example of storytelling with dark themes of loss of innocence, being subject to others’ pains and fears, and isolation. David Gilmour’s haunting vocals and Roger Waters’ striking voices provide such fantastic contrast. The image of the wall itself is very threatening and feels like a monster. It stands as a symbol for every anxiety and trauma that Pink has been scarred by. Also, especially after watching the movie adaptation of the album, the image of Pink becoming a Hitler-esque dictator is so iconic (for lack of a better word). The shaved-off eyebrows, the slicked-back hair, the black uniform with two crossed hammers displayed on the armband. All of these are so memorable.

In the Flesh? is such a great opening number. It brings me right back to the light show. 

I think my favorite song on the album is Goodbye Blue Sky. I know I keep using the word “haunting” but I can’t think of any better word! It is possibly the most haunting song on the album. The way it convinces the first-time listener that it’s going to be a happy, major-sounding song, and then moves into the dread-filled chords and accompanying lyrics, “Did you see the frightened ones? Did you hear the falling bombs?” creates an upsetting, sun-being-blocked-by-the-clouds effect. The implications of this song are extremely dark. Pink’s world has been overtaken by the results of war (obviously losing his father in WWII) and the sky is no longer clear.

And don’t get me started on The Trial! It’s my goal to memorize the entire thing just like Josie did. It’s so reminiscent of a musical number that it’s hard to believe it’s part of a rock album. The Trial has so much character (in sound, and in the literal sense!) that I could listen to it over and over again, which I admittedly have done.

I absolutely recommend this album to everyone. I would just suggest doing research on the story before listening. Thanks to the St. Louis Planetarium for putting on an amazing light show to the songs of the album as well!