Songs To Know Me + Weekly Playlist
This is Quarter Notes, a newsletter for music discovery and discussion by me, Chris Thiessen. Right now, it’s a pressure-free space to share songs and albums I love, as well as the occasional longer essay on music, culture, and whatever.
For the time being, Quarter Notes is free, but if you like what you read/hear and want to make it easier for me to keep doing this, tips are always appreciated (though never necessary)!
Songs To Know Me: A Playlist Challenge
My friend John challenged me to make a list of “Five Songs To Know Me.” Not my five favorite songs, but five songs that define me in some way. Now, I hate this type of thing. YOU CAN’T PUT ME IN THAT SMALL OF A BOX! my inner voice screams. But also, I love this type of thing, and so I quickly scrolled through thousands of Liked Songs on Spotify and came up with a compromising 25. It’s not final—10 of these could be different if I did it tomorrow—but it is typical. It makes me sad that different artists or genres don’t show up here, but I just tried my best to listen to my gut and balance both songs with resonant lyricism and sounds that deeply appeal to my aesthetic palate.
It’s a fun, silly exercise, and you might surprise yourself if you try it yourself. For example, I knew I needed Taylor Swift, but I did not expect to see myself reaching for “Cruel Summer.” Maybe it was that I needed more pop-banger representation. It’s also cool to see a clear through-line in the songs you choose. For me, it’s clear I’m just a “peace, hope, and love” hippie, and I’m OK with that!
So try it out this week. Don’t overthink it. Pick 5 (or 25) songs that say something about you, your life, and your loves. Send it my way! I’d love to hear them.
You Like Black Eyed Peas? Try Group 1 Crew
The Playlist
“Overtime” - Home Front
First time hearing Canadian punk/new wave-ish rockers Home Front, and I’m immediately drawn to their passionate melodies that at times recall the Cure or Tears For Fears. This mid-album song from their debut Games of Power really got me with the line “One foot in front the other / Keep running down this road alone / Am I running away or towards a better version of myself?”
“Ni Santas Ni Putas” - Roxiny
A haunting anthem that rejects a moral binary imposed on women, “Ni Santas Ni Putas” employs spare, but disruptive guitar and drums to undergird the NYC-based artist’s chants “for a future that nurtures equality for us, for our daughters, and generations of girls to come.”
“Just A Girl” - Florence + the Machine
It’s rare that I latch onto a cover of a song. But sorry, Gwen Stefani, this is Florence Welch’s song now. It’s just how it has to be.
“Shadowboxing” - Domo Genesis
Former Odd Future member Domo Genesis is nimble here, ducking punches (“haters tried to put Satan on us”) and throwing knockout jabs back (“I'm eating hearty where the heartless exist”) over Evidence’s gorgeously soulful production.
“The Severance” - J. Arrr x Greeneryy
“Work ethic of a Goku and the pride of Vegeta / But that goes without sayin’ / Y’all playin’.”
“A Lotus in Purgatory” - Sick Jacken
Long-time LA rapper Sick Jacken (of Psycho Realm alongside B-Real) is commanding here, offering the wisdom gleaned from 30+ years in hip-hop a cold and gusty beat: “If you’re thinking you got all the answers / I put my money on the chances that we’re dealing with a closed mind.”
“Daily News” - Bartees Strange
The crescendo here gets me on this lush bonus cut from Bartees Strange’s 2022 record Farm To Table. Plus the little saxophone inflections? *chef’s kiss*
“Assumptions - Kaytranada Edit” - Sam Gellaitry x KAYTRANADA
In the hands of KAYTRANADA, this poppy declaration of love turns psychedelic and, of course, endlessly danceable.
“Better Love” - Eliza Rose
What a crisp, yet funky breakup song. Rose isn’t vengeful, despite having her heart broken here. Instead, she’s playful, almost teasing, and content to move on to something better.
“Set Me Free” - TWICE
Nothing groundbreaking here, but this one is just pure nu-disco fun from the K-pop superstars.
“Handstand” - Miley Cyrus
The new Miley Cyrus record is fine, nothing too adventurous except for this weird psychedelic synth-heavy track with an opening spoken piece about manta rays and red venom electric eels that then inspires some sexual gymnastics, I guess? I’m afraid of what it says about me that this is my favorite song on the record, ha!
“Nothing’s Free” - Angel Olsen
A stellar, moody ballad from Angel Olsen, “Nothing’s Free” speaks to the freedom of forward movement, of breaking out of “that old cell / the one you thought had kept you safe.” Her play on “breaking free” and feeling “broken” is worthy of meditation. Can we break the things that bind us without breaking a little bit ourselves? If not, the thought can be paralyzing as we try to escape brokenness. But “nothing’s free like breaking free,” Olsen reminds us before the track launches into a showstopping outro of wandering saxophone and overwhelming organ.
“Glorious Game” - Black Thought x El Michels Affair
GOAT-discussion MC Black Thought flows across a woozy stream of bass and phasing drum fills here, maintaining it’s up to us to recognize the “glory days” in the present moment, in the grind, in the excitement of the game.
“Tin Man” - feeble little horse
The guitar work is indie rock perfection on this lead single from Pittsburgh rock group feeble little horse’s new album Girl With Fish. Looking forward to this one coming out!
“Malahani” - Ali Farka Touré
Speaking of guitar work, this previously-unreleased song from Malian desert blues legend Ali Farka Touré’s posthumous album Voyageur is light, spacious, and affecting in its simplicity.
“The Alabama Moon” - Drayton Farley
Up-and-comer country songwriter Drayton Farley might still be trying to find his particular voice as he follows closely in the steps of Jason Isbell. But then again, there are far worse songwriters to emulate. And the songs I’ve heard thus far are solid!
What I Listened To This Week
Dude, so glad you're back at this.
HELL. YES. I can't wait to dig into this!