Thoughts on Every Song I Have Ever Liked* Part 1

 *on Spotify or YouTube


I've had the idea to put down my thoughts on every song I ever listened to for a while. But it's basically impossible, so I'm going for this much more restricted set instead (which is 932 "liked" songs on Spotify, not counting playlists which consist of songs that I did not "like".) It's also an attempt to get me back into music.

The best way to do this, I think, is to go chronologically and anti-chronologically at the same time. This is mainly to add more variety since the first lot of songs are mostly Kero Kero Bonito. I'll put the date I added it the playlist next to each song.

Fish Bowl by Kero Kero Bonito, added 11th February 2018

The lyrics are delivered so casually, but YES I do pine for the sea, and I haven’t even thought about what I’d do if I reach the ocean. Songs like this inject a bit wonder into the mundane. It reminds me that to (try) to stay humble enough to see my reflection within a goldfish. 

 

Flamingo by Kero Kero Bonito, added 11th February 2018

Definitely the most iconic song KKB ever produced. The first time I heard this song it was so entirely unlike anything I’d heard before. I think what I liked about it, and this era of KKB as a whole, is the idea of taking non-serious things seriously. I felt it fit into my aesthetic (of the time) of being predominately serious but very casually into silly things at the same time.

Once, I went to stay over at a friend’s house for an indoor sleepover, they put on this song as I arrived. That was one of the first times I felt truly loved by my friends. 

 

Try To Believe by Oingo Boing, added 29th December 2024

Really enjoy the sax-guitar combo. The lyrics are (mostly) pretty simple (except for the final few), but delivered with a very relatable conviction. The simplicity only makes sense since optimisim, at it’s core, is very simple: you just carry on believing. Although it’s the song is more so about regaining optimism, rather than having it in the first place (even though you could argue that wanting to be optimisic is already quite optimisitic). But seeing base-level optimism as something which can go away and come back is quite comforting—in the times where my optimism has left me, I’ve certainly felt dissapointed with myself, while this song makes me feel like that’s okay.

It’s the sort of thing that should probably go in my playlist “The Unyielding Optimism Which Permeates the Foundations of My Being” which I listen to when I do feel that void of optimism.

Seven Lines, Mechanical Symphony by In Strict Confidence, added 19th December 2024

Not going to lie, I don’t remember this one at all, but I see why I liked it. It’s so dramatic.

OH, when the chorus started I got chills. THIS is definitely why I liked it. I think I definitely enjoy very long songs with a slow build up like this.

Is this what they call an eargasm?

I also really enjoy the darkly confident delivery of the lyrics. If I ever decide to go to the gym, this is definitely going in the playlist. The line “If you kill me, break my neck. Seven Times I resurrect” sticks in my head. I wonder if it’s a reference to something specific—it definitely feels Biblical.

 

Break by Kero Kero Bonito, added 11th February 2018

I definitely cried about this at some point when I was overworking myself. I also remember using it as a reminder to myself to take breaks (somehow it alleviated the guilt before I was able to do that more effectively by internal mechanisms).

Casting Agents and Cowgirls by Busdriver, added 11th February 2018

Busdriver’s rapping style really vibes with my brain for some reason. I think his style is what would typically be classifed as “lyrical miracle”. I’m not sure if the surrealism is par for the course, but I appreciate that too. There’s probably a lot of allusions I can't get here, but it’s a fun song to listen to. I can tell that it’s at least a very scatching critisism the the hedonism of celebrities and the culture that supports that.

Here’s a fun chain of links:

Busdriver (Regan Farquhar) has collaborated with both Islands (on their album Return To The Sea) and also David Firth (yes, that David Firth, of Salad Finger’s fame). Regan potrayed a news presenter in a movie called Kuso which honestly grossed me out too much to finish watching the first time (but maybe I’ll come back to it). David Firth and Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison, who is primarly known for his music which I admit I’ve never listened to before now) co-wrote Kuso, and also co-directed the music video for his own song Fire Is Coming which features none other than David Lynch (yes, that David Lynch). Well, I only just found out this last connection, so I had to look the video up, and ... what the fuck did I just watch (/positive).