Haito's music recommendations 03/23

Welcome back to my blog! This is the segment where I tell you about my month in the form of music I have been listening to on repeat.

I've made it to Japan! Although I spent most of this month in Germany, Japan left such a big impression that it feels like the rest of march didn't exist. Before coming here I met many friends to say goodbye, and although it was bittersweet it was a month full of fun encounters and talks. And then I went to Japan, and this is the happiest I've ever been before (maybe). I won't go into too much detail since there will be a lot of posts coming soon but know now that Japan is everything and more than I could have ever imagined.

Anyway, let's get into this month through songs!

Here is the link to my Spotify playlist!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6AtcIsGHUxDOuVrZ7XgCxP?si=e8b890c4d177456c

This month's cover - Of course some of the last Sakura blossoms in Kyoto.

01. Without U - Beach Goons (2016)

The thing that first drew me to this song was definitely the bass line. Then I stayed for the chill atmosphere.

For:

02. anything - Adrianne Lenker (2020)

I found this one in a playlist made by an artist I like, I think it was Flynt if I remember correctly. There is a song coming by them in this playlist as well. The accousticness and sweet singing make for a lovely song with wholesome lyrics. I especially liked “I don’t want to be a part of your fantasy, I wanna be a part of your family”, which hit close to home in a way I can’t explain. It even found a place in my lyric collection

03. Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living) - Eels (2005)

Once again, here mainly for the lyrics! Good lyrics can make or break a song for me, and since I always try to sing along in one way or another it is crucial that I like the message of the song.

Lately, I am thinking a lot about the meaning of life and what I want to achieve in mine. Although I am not even remotely close to a conclusion or some form of “enlightenment”, if there even is such a thing, one thing that I have decided for myself is that I want to live life to the fullest. This song somehow encompasses that feeling of living, with all its downfalls and setbacks. Since life just is that way, a rollercoaster!

For: those energetic, happy hours of the day (or week), where you just want to dance in the kitchen.

04. Karlshorst - SIND (2022)

A German song for once!

For those of you who don’t know, German is my native language. But although I speak German fluently and have been living there for most of my life, german music just was never for me. Recently I have been scouring Spotify for new music and have come across this gem of a song, with an interesting beat, nice instrumentals (a very good guitar solo), and german lyrics. In most cases, this somehow ruins the vibe of a song for me, but for this one, it just adds that extra bit of nostalgia. He sings about his childhood in Berlin, and although I've only been to Berlin once I can totally understand what he's singing about.

05. Take Care - Blaenavon (2017)

This song took me over like a whirlwind. Once again I found it in a Spotify playlist, it might even have been Discover Weekly. I liked it enough to add it to my Liked Songs, and since the bass also sounded quite nice I added it to my bass playlist as well, just for good measure. I kind of forgot about it, until I found it again a few weeks later and decided to write down the bass tab since I couldn’t find a finished one on the internet. And only when writing down the tab I noticed the absolutely crazy rhythm in the verses, which - if I wrote it down correctly - changes from a 7/8 to a 6/8 and then back to a 7/8, only to switch to 2/4 for the main chorus. There is this genre, math rock, which plays around a lot with different time beats, and I think this song could be classified as math rock. If anyone wants the bass tab you can contact me and I’ll gladly send it to you!

06. Hot Piece of Ass - The Reality Kings (2015)

A very musically gifted friend of mine is part of a band from Stuttgart, The Reality Kings, and they published two songs on Spotify. Since we were in contact quite a lot this month I wanted to share his music on my blog. I would be happy if even one or two of you could check them out!

07. Trying to Kill the Moon - Motherfolk (2017)

This song was an addition to my lyric collection as well. The line “I never wanted it all until I found you” is so simple yet endearing that I couldn’t help but write it down. It conveys in a few words what many couldn’t express (why waste time say lot word, when few word do trick?). It helps that the song itself is also quite good. I wouldn’t classify it as anything special or complicated, but sometimes special and complicated isn’t what we are looking for in music, but comfort and emotions are. This song is exactly for those times.

08. I Belong to You (+Mon Coeur S’Ouvre a Ta Voix) - Muse (2009)

A song that works like a symphony, which is exactly my cup of tea. I love it when songs are long enough to be allowed to evolve into several parts and sequences. “I Belong to You” is such a song. It starts out with the main theme, a unique, beat-heavy piece with the typical sound of Muse songs - and beautiful singing of course, who are we kidding, this is Muse (name?). Then they transition into this mesmerizing part sung in french which reminds me of 40s songs (genre?), accompanied by piano. Then it goes back once more to the more modern main theme. So much fun!

For: people who understand French (which I don’t) and people looking for Muse songs with a different sound.

09. Victoria Falls - Flyte (2017)

You know the drill: Spotify recommended it to me. I liked it quite a lot from the start, but then at a friends gathering I played it on speakers and one of my friends knew it too. He told me about the band a little bit, how he first saw them in France, how they aren't very big yet and that I should check out their whole discography. So I did, and although they're still fairly small as a band they have a very big sound.

Awesome, forward-driven song with a strong beat accompanied by bass guitar - of course. This is also very much fun to sing along to!

10. Only In Dreams - Weezer (1994)

This is the best song I have heard this month, probably even this year. I put it at the end because honestly, nothing is even close to good enough to follow up on this absolute masterpiece.

A little bit of backstory: I first listened to this song shortly after starting to learn to play the bass guitar. A friend had sent it to me saying "the bass line is nice and not too difficult, you could give this a try". And so I did. Although I already liked the song in the beginning, it didn't hit home nearly as close as it does now. After a few months of sometimes practicing the bass line and nearly never listening until the end of the song (since the bass really is the same thing on repeat and it has a special tuning which is always a hustle to tune) I had kinda forgotten about the song. Until this month.

I was on a road trip with my best friend and we blasted some rock anthems while speeding across the autobahn. She played some songs by Maneskin and one of them reminded me of Only In Dreams. I hadn't listened to it in quite some time, but it had still lingered in the back of my head.

The beginning of the song is already quite epic. The bass really does take you along to some kind of rock paradise and the raw vocals are everything I want from a song. The thing about this song is, though, it has two breakdowns. One about two-thirds into the song and one at the end. I had forgotten about the second one, so once the first breakdown - which is already excellent - quieted down, it sounded to me as if the song was over. But then the bass continued playing and what followed must be the most epic build-up in rock song history. The instruments set in one by one, creating a homogenous soundscape that dragged me at a deathly slow speed to the breakdown. It took my breath away and made me cry a tiny little bit. I am sitting here trying to describe the excitement I felt whilst listening to the ending of this song, but no words can express the epicness of the build-up and absolute explosion this song delivers.

100/10, listen to it when driving in a car with the volume on max.

For: People who want to see God in a song.

This was a wild ride. I’m excited to see where I will go with these music recommendations. I hope I can continue with this format since music plays a big part in my life and I like to share my finds with the world. Maybe some things will change with my new life in Japan though, and I will see where this year abroad will take me.

If you want to help me not only depend on Spotify recommendations for music, you can contact me via Instagram or Email! I’ll gladly read your music recommendations if you have any.

Thank you for reading!