5 Songs We Can't Stop Listening to is a collection of our newest favorite songs. And Every week we ask an artist that we love to tell us about the music they love.
Listen to the whole thing in the player below.
1. Warpaint picks “Pale Shelter” by Tears for Fears
Every week we start the week by asking one artist that we love to tell us about a song that they love.
Warpaint is a band from Los Angeles, California. They have three founding members, one of which is Jenny Lee Lindberg, who is here with me today. They have a new album called “Heads Up,” were playing the song “So Good.” I’m here with Jenny Lee Lindberg, founding member of Warpaint.
Justin Barney: Jenny, what is one song you can’t stop listening to?
Jenny Lee Lindberg: Um, Tears for Fears, “Pale Shelter.”
So, I feel that that’s a song that I’ve loved since I was a child. And it still feels like the first time listening to it whenever I listen to it.
Justin: What’s your relationship with Tears for Fears? Why do you identify with them?
Jenny: Why do I identify with them? I think that they’re really, I don’t want to say “weird” because that sounds negative, but, I feel that they have a very eclectic sound, yet it sounds very much like themselves. And they are pretty original.
Justin: And then why this song? Why does this stand out?
Jenny: It’s funky. It’s kind of disco-y at times but then it’s also melancholy. And I like that combination. I think it’s really great when you can do that. You can have maybe a happy song but the lyrics are sad. I really like the dichotomy of the emotions.
- “Pale Shelter” was released on Tears for Fears 1983 album, “The Hurting.”
- Listen if you like: New Wave, nostalgia, Dori Zori
2. LCD Soundsystem – “oh baby”
Let’s be honest, all I’ve been listening to lately is the new LCD Soundsystem record, “American Dream.” When it came out last Friday I couldn’t believe that I was listening to a new LCD Soundsystem album for the first time. What a gift. I started it on my way home from work. I peddled my bike right to Ruch Mor Records in Bay View. Dan had it waiting for me behind the counter. I scooped it up and rode home.
I just laid on the ground and listened to the whole thing. All four sides. At first I fell in love with "how do you sleep?" A 10 minute dirge that builds layer on layer until the moment of ecstasy. Then I reached the emotional center of the album, “tonite,” “call the police,” and “american dream.” Ugh. My heart.
But, as I’ve gone back, oh baby has become my song. James Murphy is so tender as he croons, oh baby, to someone he loves, having a bad dream in his arms. So caring, tender, soft, and beautiful.
- LCD Soundsystem’s new album, “american dream” is out now.
- Listen if you like: electronic music that can be tender, lullabies, comfort
3. Morly – “Sleeping In My Own Bed”
Here we have caught singer/songwriter Katy Morly in a vulnerable spot. She’s post-breakup, and she’s missing. You know, she’s missing this person that she’s had. And maybe she’s scrolling through Instagram and seeing pictures of this person living their best life and here she is saying that she’s not living her best, that she is still missing and lonely. Here she says you can find her in her own bed at the end of the day. With all of the longing and the frustration and the loneliness that comes with that.
Her voice is full of this soulful sadness. It’s really touching and you feel for her.
- “Sleeping In My Own Bed” is available as a single now.
- Listen if you like: smoky female vocals, Regina Spector, Norah Jones
4. Sports – “Making it Right”
I LOVE SPORTS
Okay… if you know me you know I don’t mean athletic activities, but the wonderful pop punk purveyors of the same name.
When their new song “Making it Right” popped up today I tripped over my keyboard to pre-order the single as quick as I could and I wasn’t even 30 seconds into listening to the song yet.
Their last release “All of Something” in 2015 was one of my favorite albums in a long time. Every song on that record made you equally sad and empowered. Singer Carmen Perry is not afraid to get personal and somehow that makes the songs even easier to put yourself into. When I interviewed her around that release, she said “the more I write about specific things, the more relatable they seem to be. You can see yourself in them, they take on new meaning.”
That album was meant to be their last as the college friends moved on across the country and so the fact they released anything at all is really special. And the song is amazing, of course! They’ve had solo releases in the interim, but Carmen really found a confidence in her vocals that was a little more timid on the last. It’s just as full of emotion and it’s great to have this come out right as the seasons are changing and it’s nice to kind of brood over internal doubts over rollicking riffs and synth leads straight out of The Rentals tool kit.
Please enjoy “Making it Right” by SPORTS. –Amelinda
- “Making it Right” is available as a split single with the band Plush on Father/Daughter Records.
- Listen if you like: The Rentals, Waxahatchee, college rock
5. Dent May feat. Frankie Cosmos – “Across the Multiverse”
I’ve always had a soft spot for crooners. Voices in a lower register, but that are still playful with their dynamic range, and, often, with heavy sentiment. Every singer used to be a crooner, but music’s changed a lot since the 40’s. So, how do you croon in 2017 without sounding like you’re from a bygone era?
I’d like to point an example to Dent May. It’s a croon in full form, even complete with a string section, yet not only does it sound modern, it’s futuristic. He’s managed to take this style that, at least, was universally loved, and make it sound brand new.
- Dent May’s new album, “Across the Multiverse” is out now.
- Listen if you like: crooners, Tame Impala, Frankie Cosmos
5. Girlpool – “123”
Girlpool’s music is like an inner voice externalized. Part lullaby and part anthem, “123” bass line humms you off into a dream as its guitar twinkles over your head and the drums, a new addition for Girlpool, crash in and throughout giving a heartbeat to a song that already has so much heart already.
Girlpool reaches perfection in “123”
- Girlpool’s new album, “Powerplant” will be out on May 12th.
- Listen if you like: Frankie Cosmos, Alvvays, the song “Only In Dreams” by Weezer
