Song of the Week - Metronomy featuring Pan Amsterdam - Nice Town

 

This week’s Song of the Week blog post is a little different insofar as I’m not writing about the song itself, but instead highlighting the Breaking More Waves New Music Weekly playlist on Spotify, where the Song of the Week will always feature.

There’s a handful of points I wanted to make about this playlist.

1.This playlist ultimately is made for me to listen to as much as you. And I do. They are all tracks that I like – if I can’t get behind a particular track, it doesn’t go on the playlist.

2. The playlist is always around 1 hour long. There are two reasons for this – I don’t really see the point of a six-hour playlist, who genuinely sits through something that long in one sitting? I certainly don’t. And the point of my playlist is it’s meant to be listened to in one listen, in order. The tracks are positioned in a way that makes sense to me – even if nobody else understands! Think of it like a movie or a story. There’s a definite beginning, middle and end together with closing credits.

3. I have listened to every song that goes on the playlist in full at least once and normally several times before it goes on the playlist. I must like it! This is key. 

4. I’ve seen this style of playlist described as ‘hyper-curated’. Well, if hyper-curation is for a niche audience and I’m making it just for myself, that’s pretty niche I guess. You’ll always find some indie and some pop on there but I’m not averse to any genre if it’s something I come across that I like.

5. I read an article about “people who intricately craft a playlist and put their life and soul into it.” Personally, I think that’s bollocks. It’s just a frigging playlist. Yes, I put some thought into it, but that’s a few minutes thought. Not my life and soul. There are more important things in life to dedicate my time to. Let's not try and make playlist curation anything bigger than it actually is.

6. And finally, of course, given the name, every track placed on the playlist has been released between the previous Saturday and the Friday the playlist is updated. That’s why it’s called New Music Weekly – but that’s obvious, right?

So, here’s my favourite track from last week’s playlist. It’s Metronomy featuring Pan Amsterdam – an old school rap piece with some neat jazzy trumpet that shows us that Metronomy are still able to surprise us after all these years.

You can find and follow the Breaking More Waves New Music Weekly Playlist by clicking here.

Metronomy featuring Pan Amsterdam - Nice Town

metronomy · Metronomy and Pan Amsterdam - Nice Town (Original)

Song of the Week - Laufey - Goddess

 

This week's song of the week is Goddess by Laufey. 

I’m often surprised that despite playing sold out shows across the world, winning a Grammy and having released acclaimed records such as Bewitched and Everything I Know About Love, when I mention Laufey to many of my peers they look at me with a puzzled expression. “Never heard of him / them,” they often say.

Maybe Goddess will be the track where Laufey finally enters their world. 

“Now you know I’m not your fucking goddess,” she sings on a song that deals with the contradiction of appearing on stage and being idolised and the reality of being a regular human being at home - and in this case the song is personal as the idolisation isn't just from fans but a single individual who has fallen in love with her stardom rather than anything else. From the opening soft piano to the swelling orchestration it’s a stately piece of music that’s taken from a new deluxe edition of the Bewitched album released at the end of April.

Laufey - Goddess

laufey · Goddess

Song of the Week - Nemo - The Code

 

This week’s Song of the Week is a Eurovision song contest entry.

Originally the plan (last Friday) was to feature Olly Alexander’s Dizzy, my home (UK) entry as Song of the Week. The signs all looked good. Olly has plenty of experience at performing, the song was co-written and co-produced by Danny L Harle (who co-wrote Bunny Is A Rider with Caroline Polachek and Houdini by Dua Lipa) and the initial clip of the track posted on Instagram sounded suitably hooky.

However, whilst the song bounces along giddily enough, it doesn’t have any real climax moment – something that seems almost essential to win Eurovision these days. It’s enjoyable enough, but I’m not 100% behind it.

Enter then the Swiss entry, also released in the last seven days. The Code is really quite something. You want climaxes? This one does multiple orgasms. Fast.

Imagine Bohemian Rhapsody given a jungle remix with extra rapping and a personal lyric about a true journey to find the artist’s (Nemo) non-binary identity in life. I love the fact that the song is clearly personal and not one that takes vague big picture concepts about love and peace to try and gain universal Eurovision acceptance. 

At first you’ll probably think the track is bonkers, then it gets under your skin and before you know it you’ll be declaring it a Eurovision styled masterpiece.

There’s already some tough competition for Eurovision (Italy’s song is very good, Croatia’s is bound to be a fan favourite (and in places sounds like the KLF - always a good thing), The Netherlands have a mad happy hardcore moment in their track that no doubt will have Eurovision fans going crazy and you can never discount Sweden who nearly always deliver and Finland’s fireworks / no pants production is hilarious, but I’m putting Nemo and Switzerland up there as a colourfully magnificent outside bet. And even if it flops / doesn't qualify through the semis, at least it won Breaking More Waves Song of the Week.

Nemo - The Code