Last week, I embraced rageful girlhood and helpless pining. I’ve got less than one month left as a teenager and I’m not taking it well. I’ve got a painful, unrequited crush. 7 songs, 7 days. Let me take you through my week.
MONDAY – “Kill Me” by Indigo De Souza
Indigo De Souza’s “Kill Me” screams in your face. To start off the week, I needed some tragically hedonistic lyrics and guttural vocals to march across campus. Indigo cut straight to my brain with lines like, “No one asked me to feel this fucked up but here I am fucked up”, “No one’s, hearing, what I’m saying. You are, but you are, so far away”, and of course, “Fuck me till my brains start dripping down to the second floor in our home.” By the song’s end, you’ll find yourself screaming with her and a clamor of crashes and snares. Mondays, am I right?!
TUESDAY – “Freequent Letdown” by Illuminati Hotties
The Illuminati Hotties knock it out of the park with “Freequent Letdown”. Each verse lightheartedly examines the artists’ recent life failings through catchy melodies and crunchy, punky guitar strumming. The chorus pulls you in with a cheeky, “Mm, mm” and dives straight into the thoughts of a perpetually insecure, self-conscious, and emotive young woman (myself) by repeating the lyrics “I’m always letting everyone down. I’m always letting everyone know I’m down.” The Illuminati Hotties are there for your Tuesday toilings.
WEDNESDAY – “Hurt” by Arlo Parks
The pre-chorus of Arlo Park’s, “Hurt” asks, “Yeah, wouldn’t it be lovely, to feel worth something whole?” Yeah, Arlo, it would be lovely. Any idea how to get there? In the chorus, she reassures the subject of the song (and the listener), “Just know it won’t hurt so, won’t hurt so much forever” even though Arlo knows that “you can’t let go of anything at the moment”. The simple 3 chord structure of Em, D, and Bm bumps the song along and revs up in the chorus with crunchy electric guitar and a humming bass line. “Hurt” is there to ramp up your Wednesday lull with consolation, longing, and lust.
THURSDAY – “One Million Kisses” by Half Japanese
“One Million Kisses” by Half Japanese sounds like it was recorded in a garage by your dad’s washed-out punk friends clinging to their youth. Jad Fair’s angsty lead vocals and unconventional melody are odd. The acoustic guitar is wild and the drum beat is lively. By the song’s end, the instrumentals have transitioned into full fiery aggression, and Fair hollers the childish lyrics, “You hurt my feelings more than once and made me feel bad once or twice” and “One million kisses for one million girls, and no kisses left for you!” Raw, youthful frustration and charm characterize the performance. Yell this song at pictures of your unrequited crush. It might just make you feel better.
FRIDAY – “Beware of the Dogs” by Stella Donnelley
A British accent, indie electric guitar, and “an architect setting fire to her house” animate Stella Donnolley’s “Beware of Dogs”. Her vocals and echoing guitar seamlessly blend together. As the song progresses, her singing grows increasingly desperate. In each chorus, she sings:
There’s an architect setting fire to her house.
All the plans were there, but they built it inside out
No one will endure what the sign told them they would
Beware of the dogs, beware of the dogs
In the last chorus, she gasps for breath between each lyric, delivering each word with a shaking rasp and aggression. After making it through the week, I was treading water, lungs heaving for oxygen. While listening to “Beware of Dogs”, you and Stella can gasp for breath together.
SATURDAY – “My diet” by Micah Preite
Short, sweet, and melancholic, “My diet” gives the listener a taste of bite-sized sadness. At just under 1 and 1/2 minutes, Micah’s Preite’s soft vocals deliver a sparse collection of gutwrenching lyrics:
Based on my diet I should be feeling better now but it still hangs around
As we say goodbye, I think we share a feeling of a bit of relief
Had to pay to play, If I wanted to stay so late and still stay away
A soft beat and acoustic guitar back his vocals. The guitar transitions back and forth between fast, whimsical plucking and Alex G-esque strumming and chords. The shifts back and forth lurch the listener between an offputting lightness and resonant heaviness. The lurch rocks you enough to feel sick, but by the time you really feel it, the song is over. This song won’t nurse a lingering Saturday slog, but it will allow you to revel in it.
SUNDAY – “Convention” by Julia Jacklin
Julia Jacklin’s “Convention” is there for all of your “Sunday Scaries” needs. The soft plucking of acoustic guitar is the only sound that accompanies her vocals. Her voice is soothing, yet strained. Jacklin sarcastically pleads for unsolicited advice, “Oh, please say something, I’m dying for your advice. I can tell you won’t sleep well if you don’t teach me how to do it right”. She’s getting older and needs someone to, “Call me a ride, I can’t walk home, can’t stand the pain from these shoes I now outgrow”. While you are regretting your actions from the night before, slap on some noise-canceling headphones and let Julia sing you to sleep before beginning another week.
Anguish is a girl’s best friend! I hope some of these songs keep you company while you yearn unrequitedly and grow older (or interpret them however you need). We’ll be alright.
With love,
Grace
