30 Minutes to Write #1: Music I've Listened to Lately

I thought it would be a good idea to practice my writing by giving myself a time limit and a topic to write about. I thought 30 minutes is ideal as I can do it if I only have a small amount of time spare during the day.

The first topic I have decided to do is music I have listened to recently. I stuck to songs (and not albums) and I quickly found the music to write about. Then I wrote a couple of lines about each song. I haven't editing them beyond putting them into grammarly. So here they are.

(Father John Misty)

• Stephanie Says - The Velvet Underground

• When you listen every LP from a band you feel sad since there’s no more material to listen to. Except The Velvet Underground have been gracious enough in the years after their original run to give us their outtakes. Along with ‘I’m Sticking With You’ this is their best song left of one of their four LPs.

• The Happiest Days of Our Lives - Pink Floyd

• The song preceding ‘Another Brick in the Wall Part 2’ is often forgotten about but why? It’s a great song with an incredibly catchy guitar riff and the segway from this song to the next is one of the best you’ll ever here.

• Pigs (Three Different Ones) - Pink Floyd

• Another underrated Pink Floyd song also features some amazing guitar work. This time it’s all about our leaders who take themselves too seriously and take our livelihood at the same time. Hahaha charade you are.

• The Youth - MGMT

• While Kids, Electric Feel and Time to Pretend are MGMT’s biggest hits this song somehow mostly goes unnoticed despite coming from the duo’s most successful period. While revisiting this album in light of their new album this song popped out at me more.

• Mr Tillman - Father John Misty

• This song is obviously about Father John Misty (real name Josh Tillman) but he plays with perspective with his lyrics. It’s obviously a hotel clerk but why is he talking to himself? Is there a movie being shot outside or is he just naive and or just a bit mad? Also, check out the music video.

• Little Dark Age - MGMT

• I think Little Dark Age is the most fulfilling album done by MGMT and the lead song represents the album as a whole for me. They keep their pop-rock roots from their early days but they also manage to be the band they wanted to be from the beginning.

• The Next Day - David Bowie

• Before Blackstar, there was The Next Day. Bowie opens his penultimate album with a bang with The Next Day. His vocals on this track prove to us that he still had it in his final days. Had Bowie really been left to die as he suggests with the chorus in this song? Well, possibly but he certainly proved why he shouldn’t.

• Heroes and Villains - Brian Wilson

• I personally don’t think much of Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys but oh man do I love Smile by Brian Wilson. I find this album much more upbeat and fun. The instrument arrangements also sound crisper here as they fluctuate between highs and lows. Wilson’s singing is superb here.

• Closer - Nine Inch Nails

• A band I’ve been meaning to listen to for a while now popped up on my radar recently when they made an appearance in Twin Peaks season 3. The song they performed impressed me but the band’s most famous song is even better. It’s a dirty, filthy masterpiece. I can see why many people have misinterpreted the lyrics over the years but I suppose the edge NIN are walking on is part of the risk.

• Do You Realise?? - The Flaming Lips

• When the opening chords hit you it sounds like a mess but soon it all comes together to create a beautiful mess. The mixture of guitar, drums and electronics is quite memorable.

• Green Light - Lorde

• Yes. I listen to Lorde. This lead single from her 2017 album Melodrama deserves all the attention that it has received. The production is constantly solid and not built around the hook. The lyrics aren’t the most exciting I’ve listened to but I think Lorde hasn’t reached her peak quite yet.

(U.S. Girls [Meghan Remy])

• Velvet for Sale - U.S. Girls

• This art pop/electronic song is catchy but not in your face song. It opens the album and perfectly sets the mood for the rest of the album. As someone who hasn’t listen to much music outside the zeitgeist this song and the album it’s from is quite refreshing.

What music have you been listening to lately?