Welcome to The Soundtrack, a column where we plumb the depths of our musical knowledge to bring you the best* (subjective) music to listen to for very specific life situations. This week, we help you walk home alone at night with a touch more confidence.
There’s really nothing quite like a solo stroll. Calming, good for the environment and introspective – even cathartic – we wholeheartedly endorse walking as a mode of personal transportation. However, walking alone at night can bring its own set of issues. Of course, violence can occur at any time of day, and let’s dispel the myth of “a stranger hiding in the bushes” being the primary cause of it right off the bat. But that doesn’t mean that most of us don’t feel a little uneasy when trotting home under cover of darkness by ourselves. That goes double for those who identify as women/non-binary/LGBTQ. I’m not saying we’re fragile lil kittens who need constant reassurance we’re going to be okay (altho that does sound pretty nice tbh), but the reality is that these groups are by and large the most targeted by this particular brand of assailant. Of course, listening to music isn’t going to assure physical safety, but what it can do is provide a much needed confidence boost when you’re thinking about recent incidents in your area and flinching at every shadow or cicada noise. We gotchu.
friendships – When I Feel Like Killing, I Murder
I’ve always felt unreservedly intrigued by friendships. The Melbourne duo are more of an art project than a band, pairing Nic’s audio with Mischa’s visual to hypnotic effect. This cut, driven by dark, skittering synths and a monster-esque pitched-down vocal, is positively horror movie worthy. BUT you’re the one listening to it, so guess who the big bad wolf is that everyone within five suburbs should be terrified of? You. You’re a force to be reckoned with, and friendships are gonna make sure you don’t forget it. Ignore every passerby with a steely glare. They scatter to the sides of the pathway as you cleave through the streets to your dwelling with only one thing on your mind: that really great book you’ve been reading and a cup of herbal tea.
Sleigh Bells – Rule Number One
Pretty much any song in Sleigh Bells’ discography would be right at home on this week’s The Soundtrack. But this track – which I’ve already sung the praises of – honestly takes the cake. Pop rocks and coke make your head explode, according to Alexis Krauss, but we beg to differ. It’s this song that really puts you in danger of cranial combustion. And we mean that in the best way possible. Rule Number One marks the part of your journey were you really start to get your strut on; the strut of a person who could burn their enemies to the ground with a snap of their fingers. Nobody is a match for you and your immense power. May god have mercy on the souls of all who’ve wronged you, because you won’t. You’ll just unhinge your jaw, eat their souls, and launch them into the sun.
Grimes – Kill V. Maim [Little Jimmy Urine remix]
One of our favourite things about the endlessly talented producer is that she flat-out refuses to write about romantic relationships, preferring to mine more unorthodox premises for her art. According to the almighty Grimes herself, this track is basically about The Godfather if all of the mobsters were vampires. How fantastically batshit is that? Anyone familiar with this song will know it’s already as ferocious as a rabid jaguar, the sort of song that threatens to throw the earth off its axis. Maybe invest in some anti-gravity boots to wear on your walk, or something, because this remix takes it to a level we didn’t actually know existed. Personally, when I’m feeling a little anxious walking home alone, I like to take one earbud out for maximum awareness of my surroundings, but like I’m not rly sure that’d even make much of a difference with this one cos it’s so ~hectic~.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll [A-Trak remix]
Ahhhh what a classic – except – different? If you saw that (imho) very dumb movie Project X a couple years back you’ll recognise this from the soundtrack of that. Erase that memory and from this day forward, only recognise it as being from The Soundtrack Of This. This is equal parts threatening and bouncy, so you can kind of get your walk-dance on while you give the mental middle finger to the world for being so awful that the simple act of walking home is troubling. There’s enough of a blatant party vibe here to get lost in that hopefully you won’t have the energy to freak yourself out over whether that white car is the same as the other white car that passed you ten minutes ago. That is *not* to say don’t be alert and safe. It’s just to say, take care of yourself, babe.
Sampa the Great – F E M A L E
This is definitely the most chill track on this playlist, sonically speaking. How many tracks in your collection boast a bloody upright bass? Hell yessss, that is cool as heck, and that’s to say nothing of Sampa The Great and what she unpacks on this track. Sampa is a certified badass and she’s all about shouting out to empower others. This song will help you focus on all the things that make you such an untouchable boss. The adversity you’ve overcome (and keep overcoming every day)? I can’t speak for everyone, but that shit feels like water off a duck’s back while I’m mouthing along with Sampa: F E M A L E, F E M A L EEEE. Would recommend screaming the same at anyone who ever gives you grief over the course of your life, honestly.
Image: The Mary Sue/A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Once upon a time, the only glowing objects held to the sky at a concert were lighters. These days the airspace at any given performance is clogged with glowing the LED of a thousand mobile phones. We’re so desperate to record and inform others of our musical extracurricular activities that we miss the very point of why we’re even at these venues in the first place: the live experience.
Given the ubiquity of mobile devices, apps and social media, we are constantly competing for attention – as are Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and so on. You’d think that if you fork out $25 – $150 dollars for a ticket, you’d want to enjoy the experience, as opposed to watching it on a screen at home. But for many, we seem to be more focused on capturing the moment instead of living it.
Of course, nobody is wholly innocent. I too, have been a culprit of the film-or-forget mentality. After some concerts, my phone’s memory has been stuffed to the brim of shoddily shot footage that is barely audible due to the thousands of screams overloading the phone’s inadequate recording mechanism.
But how many of us actually go back and watch these grainy videos with poor audio? There’s nothing really interesting about shoddy phone footage, when the click of a button can bring you high-def audio and visual components online.
It’s so frustrating to see audiences watching a stage through a tiny screen. What is the point? As bad as it is for us as fellow audience members, I can hardly imagine how annoying it is for the actual artists who spend their time practising and perfecting their craft specifically for these live performances.
A thread currently circulating on Reddit recently details the account of a concert-goer at an Ellie Goulding concert. Apparently Goulding asked everyone to put away their phones for the final song with the promise that if they did, they might be in for an extra song.
However, the plea fell on deaf ears.
“3 seconds into the song the arena lit up like a night sky with phone torches on recording. After the song she commented again. She’d like no phones and people just ignored her,” wrote Ollie Crook.
Crook bemoaned that although people had recorded the concert for the past three hours, they couldn’t even refrain from not filling the last three minutes. He then reposted an Instagram of Goulding’s that her drummer had taken of the sea of lights.
Although the perpetual phone-fiend is just your run-of-the-mill fare at concerts these days, it’s important to remember that this kind of dissociative behaviour has been going on for a while. The Beatles, at the height of their popularity, could barely hear themselves play for all the screaming going on at their concert.
Seriously, it was that loud that they simply could not compete with the volume of their audiences gleeful screams. Even after they acquired powerful 100-watt amplifiers. If you think it’s implausible that a group of people could scream that loud, you have to remember how incredibly popular the Beatles were. When they visited Adelaide in 1964, approximately 300,000 people lined the streets to see them. The population of Australia at that time was just over 11 million.
Eventually, the Beatles grew tired of having to compete with the ecstatic screams of their fans and they stopped touring, concluding that their performances were no longer about the music. Fans were so busy screaming that they forgot what they were even screaming about.
And that brings me to my point. Have we become so obsessed with narrowcasting our entire music spectatorship that we’ve forgotten what the magic of live music is all about? Seriously, a Snapchat disappears after 24 hours. But if you properly engage with what’s happening in front of you, that memory lasts a lifetime.
Think about the instances where you can’t actually access your phone, like at a music festival. Now I turn my phone off as soon as I enter the festival site because let’s face it, it’s going to die anyway, and there’s hardly ever decent reception. After a few hours, I already start to feel… lighter. As if this cellular anchor has been cut loose from me and I can actually just live in the moment. Does the fact that I can’t document the event with my own audiovisual output mean I wasn’t there, or I had a worse time, or that I wasn’t as invested or passionate about the artist? No. Not even close.
As well as limiting your own live music experience, it’s disrespectful to the artists and everyone around you. How many times has an errant arm desperately trying to capture a phone video 9that is realistically just bobbing heads with some noise in the background) smacked in you in the side of the head when you were simply just trying to watch the show?
Some musicians have gotten so fed up with the practice that it has prompted them to pre-emptively request that fans refrain from doing so. Case in point was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who had a very specific request for their audience:
The not-too-subtle request. Image: Spin.com
Maybe it’s time to heed their advice. Instead of spending the entire concert wasting your perfect view of the stage desperately trying to record your favourite song, put your phone down. Seriously, just put it away. Someone else, with better technical expertise has undoubtedly got you covered already. You are wasting your time and your money and your life experiences.
So for next time: please put your fucking phones away.
Image: Rolling Stone
Little May have been up to anything but little over the past few months, having recorded their debut album with The National’s Aaron Dessner, completing headline tours across Australia, Europe and America and more.
Now, they can add a Rookie Magazine feature to their rapidly growing resume, covering Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Skeletons for the mags monthly theme song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZnIDwnWJtA
The cover maintains the moody atmospherics of the original, with the addition of the electronic-indie folk fusion sounds and rhythmical drive that has become a trademark for Little May.
The result is a much more driven rendition of the usual 5 minute slow-burner And don’t forget the beautiful harmonies that kick in for the second verse and continue through to the outro of the song, sealing the Little May envelope with a kiss. Listen below:
The cover serves as an extension of the brooding sound the band has developed, which was recently showcased on their debut album For The Company released last month. The record is a significant milestone for the band, with us at Howl and Echoes describing it as “a mature and thoughtful record, the band show us emotional honesty, thought-provoking lyricism, and masterful production.”
Little May will play Falls Festival over the New Year before a run around the country with City and Colour in March. Dates below:
FALLS FESTIVAL
Monday 28th December- Falls Festival, Lorne, Victoria
Tuesday 29th December, Falls Festival, Marion Bay, SA
Thursday 31st December, Falls Festival, Byron Bay, NSW
CITY AND COLOUR TOUR DATES
Saturday 26th March – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Adelaide Monday 28th March – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
Perth Wednesday 30th March – Red Hill Auditorium, Perth
Saturday 2nd April – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
Monday 4th April – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Friday 8th April – Anita’s Theatre, Thirroul