Cathartic - Tumblr Posts
Cashier: uhhh… wanna bag or nah
Me: Just let it all… *makes motion of sand falling through gaps in my fingers* disappear…
SONG OF THE DAY
Day #15
Today’s pick is Spaghetti by American Artist K.Flay featuring Kid Sistr. From their 2023 album MONO, which is heavily influenced by their Labyrinthitis diagnosis and sudden partial hearing loss, resulting in vulnerable, biting, emotion-laced tracks (Kerrang, 2023). Spaghetti captures raw angst and self-commiseration, using wordplay to lighten the track into an empathetic generational anthem similar to Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo. Indie rocker triad Kid Sistr's contributions melodically ties the track together with strings that ground the song throughout, then flourishes in a solo during a break in the chorus to sell the cathartic tone. It ends with a harmonised angelic vocal, then a harsh artificial tone routing back to K.Flays hearing loss, building on the song’s edginess. It’s an indie/alternative rock track that is pessimistic yet playful, a fun fuck you to growing up, being an adult, and the pressure felt by sometimes simply existing.
“Life gives me spaghetti, I turn it into knots
Life gives me lemons, I eat em on the spot
Fuck
Life gives me confetti and I smoke it like it’s pot”
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”
