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SONG OF THE DAY

Day #16

Today’s song is Taste by Canadian alternative/indie trio Braids, from their 2015 art rock album Deep in the Iris. Taste is a gorgeous track that's a kaleidoscope of sound. The track feels vulnerable with the lyrics reflecting on a relationship lost, vocals overflowing with love for the romantic subject during the lifting chorus. The tone is sombre but due to the drum beat and piano, it feels optimistic, as if the vocalist is offering an explanation and hoping for forgiveness. The song gets darker during the second verse, longing for any attention from their partner even if it's punishment. It then ends with a beautiful and haunting vocal arrangement and reflection: “We hurt the ones we love most of all.” I really do love this track, especially due to its ability to balance devastating lyrics while feeling light and bright musically.

“We experience the love that we think we deserve

And I guess I thought

I didn't need much from this world

So I left you

But you're exactly what I like

I will give you my whole life”

SONG OF THE DAY

Day #30

Today's song is You’ve Got The Love by UK band Florence and the Machine from their 2009 debut indie-rock album Lungs. The track is an adaption of Candi Staton’s 1986 dance number You Got The Love, but Florence and the Machines track is its own beast. The song was first performed for festival sets early on in their career, and Welch has described how “even in rehearsals, playing it was just the most euphoric feeling. Then playing it live... was like tearing ourselves open and just exploding on the crowd.” As Welch describes, it is an emotionally charged number with its dainty harp, melodious guitar, and of course soaring vocals. It pulls you in with its strings, ensnares you when it expands after the first verse, then unleashes like a top spinning with Welch’s spiritual chants into a glorious run at 1:58. It is cathartic, it is brimming with love, it is a lightning strike of joy… it’s everything I love about music.

Lungs was the first CD I ever bought when I was a teen, and I cried and screamed whenever I made eye contact with Florence Welch when seeing the experience live for the first time in my 20s. I truly believe my life winds and unfurls with Welch’s music since her songs are so tied to many of my life's moments: from playing Cosmic Love while getting ready for a school dance, playing What Kind Of Man while dealing with hormones and heartbreak, playing Hunger as I was becoming my own person, to playing Free while moving out of my parent's house. I know I am coming across as ridiculous, but Florence and the Machine have defined who I am as a person the same way performers like Queen, Radio Head, My Chemical Romance, or even Taylor Swift may have for you.

“Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air

'Cause I know I can count on you

Sometimes I feel like saying ‘Lord I just don't care’

But you've got the love I need to see me through”