Playlist #24: Balance in all things, ideally
Maybe listening to more pop radio can make my playlists a little brighter than usual... or maybe not. To be honest, I wasn't really trying.
I found myself listening to pop radio this past month. And I mean current pop.
I don’t know why either. I guess I really just felt like it, and more importantly, I was more willing to tolerate hearing the same song every three hours or do. That was really my gripe: not the type of music, but how often the same songs come around.
I remember the ex once saying, most likely disparagingly, that I’m really a pop music guy and not an indie music guy. But yes, I do listen to alternative radio stations more, because my exposure to those formed the bulk of my musical education, especially when I was in uni and had more freedom to connect those dots. But then, what I was turned on to was also informed by all the pop radio that I listened to in high school—I thought listening to the Magic would make me cool—and before that, al the smooth jazz radio that I grew up with. (It also helped that in the mid-noughties, alternative bands were really big in the UK, so there was a lot of indie rock in the daytime.)
This time around, I hedged by bets. The Aussie network Triple J is targeted towards young audiences, but it’s not exactly a pop station. I don’t think any of these straightforward top 40 stations would play Daisy Grenade, even if they were signed to Fueled by Ramen at some point. But then, that’s my younger me speaking: there was a time when all I heard was Fall Out Boy and Paramore and All Time Low, although the latter was really my sister’s fault (also see Hyperfocus #10).
I heard “Hypocrite” one day and felt that rush of blood to my veins… which wasn’t a good idea as I don’t want to slip in the shower. But that chorus is irresistible. It’s relentless. You do want to smash things in your line of sight. But, again, in my case, it’s the showerhead and some bottles of shampoo and the tiles on the walls. I have a phobia of things that can kill me.
Also, yes, I do realize that pop punk isn’t that big now as it was a decade ago, but there’s always a comeback looming. Between writing that essay on Linkin Park and all that radio listening, I remember that it’s these sounds that are influencing this current crop of musicians and bands. In fact, there’s even a bit more of a 70s punk ethos in there, because the songs are really short.
Okay, that can be annoying. I know, TikTok. Songs have to be under three minutes so the whole thing can be placed in a TikTok video. Maybe it’s because I’m not on that platform, but sometimes a song can, and should, be given the time to build and build. Not everything can be as efficient as, say, Rosé’s “Apt.” (I have yet to listen to her album, but the vast majority of the songs were under three minutes long. Sign of the times, I know.)
My ADHD means I’m not necessarily a fan of really long songs, though. As always, balance. Take Wallice’s “Heaven Has To Happen”, which I also heard on the radio (Radio 1, in this case). This song packs a lot in three and a half minutes. It’s a stealthy song, lulling you into complacency while adding layers and effects… and then the dirtiest saxophone kicks in, forcing you to just release everything that’s inside.
But the fullest effect of this song can only be realized if you listen to the album. The Jester—her first after several EPs—is a bit more of a hodge-podge than a fully conceptual record, but the opening track, “The Opener”, sets the tone—and the defeated-but-defiant vibe which I can absolutely relate to—with a similar intricacy. (Also, the metaphor is pretty smart. And funny, considering I just realized Wallice was in Manila last year to open for the 1975. Now I remember wondering about her and then not following up on it.) And it takes its time: the song runs for almost six minutes, but you don’t notice it. Then that motif goes in the background until “Heaven Has To Happen” comes in just before the album ends, and you realize The Jester is a lament about being left behind.
Again, a vibe I can absolutely relate to. Now that I’ve thought about it, if I had just followed up and come across this song earlier, this would’ve been perfect for the playlist. But, you’ll say, not another sad playlist!
Well, I can’t help it. You tend to put more of yourself in the playlists you make than you intend to. Not that this hour is an attempt to redress the balance and be a little upbeat. I don’t plan things like that. It just happens.
And besides, this hour also has another Sarah Blasko track, from her most recent album I Just Need to Conquer This Mountain. (She’s also in last month’s playlist.) If you know her stuff, you’d know how she’s a master of the emotional peak, of how she can convey so much feelings in the way her songs are built. The new record somehow exemplifies that more, both in the sparse production and in the themes, inspired by her religious upbringing (under controversial circumstances, alluded to in album opener “The Way”) and the end of a friendship.
I had the album on loop at the beginning of last month, and I had “Goodbye!”, a duet with fellow Aussie singer Ryan Downey, at the top of my mind.
She calls it her attempt to write “the ultimate farewell song”, but somehow knowing how these things can’t happen instantaneously, she takes her time. At over five minutes it’s the longest album on the record, but that’s five minutes well spent, telling a story, painting the landscape—before justifying that there’s no option but to let the whole thing burn down.
I suppose it’s inevitable that I would latch on to that song. I mean, I’ve been dealing with goodbyes for the past couple of years. I don’t like goodbyes. I’m not sure I can deal with them, never mind the fact that we all have to face it at some point. But I suppose it all boils down to how it’s almost always that I’m the one being left, rather than the one doing the leaving. I feel deprived of what little control I do have, and that leaves me adrift.
But the funny thing with goodbyes is, while they sound permanent and feel permanent, they don’t always end up being permanent. Imagine having to deal with things all over again because people won’t stop talking about (and making memes and marketing campaigns out of) screen grabs posted in the middle of the night. Suddenly I’m the one who looks like I haven’t coped. Off-balance, once again.
Yeah, another sad playlist, I guess. Maybe I should’ve just written about flying to Hong Kong again, and why I finally put Emmy the Great’s (aka
) “Mahal Kita” on this playlist. It’s another song I had on loop, specifically while riding the train from the airport to the city center… but I talked about it on Instagram already.That’s it. I’m officially on holiday break, because a lot has happened on the Once Monthly front this year and I need a proper breather. That means there’s no new Plaka Note this month, but I have a doubleheader coming on 24 January. But before that, a new playlist will drop on 10 January.
It’s been a pretty big year for this publication, and if you’ve been with me from the beginning or joined somewhere along the way, thank you for sticking around and making it this far. May your year-end holiday be happy and may your new year be safe. And may mine be better. But I’d probably say something else under different circumstances, and once I really learn to act like I deserved the win when I do win.
On this playlist
Florence + the Machine—“Ship to Wreck”
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015)Daisy Grenade—“Hypocrite”
single release (2024)Linkin Park—“IGYEIH”
From Zero (2024)Amyl and the Sniffers—“Big Dreams”
Cartoon Darkness (2024)Jax—“Jelly Beans (The Purge)”
Dear Joe, (2024)Wallice—“Heaven Has To Happen”
The Jester (2024)Olivia Dean—“Time”
single release (2024)Joesef—“Cynical”
single release (2024)Ruel—“Cats on the Ceiling”
single release (2024)Kenya Grace—“Strangers”
single release (2023)Sumner—“Half Myself Without You”
single release (2024)Tems—“Burning”
Born in the Wild (2024)Mk.gee—“Rockman”
Two Star and the Dream Police (2024)Courteeners—“Hanging Off Your Cloud”
More. Again. Forever. (2020)Super Furry Animals—“Y Gwyneb Iau”
Mwng (2000)Emmy the Great—“Mahal Kita”
single release (2017)Sarah Blasko—“Goodbye!” (featuring Ryan Downey)
I Just Need to Conquer This Mountain (2024)Tomoki Kikuya—「憧れの」 (Longing For)
Bocchi the Track! Volume 2 (2023)