October is when Fall feels real to me, even if the weather is still unseasonably more than warm. What is seasonable nowadays. The earth is too warm, the weather unstable, and so many people struggling. My anxiety rattles in my chest, playing tunes on my ribs, squeezing my heart until it feels like it might just explode. I keep going though. I keep singing. October is my favorite month, after all.
GIVE ME FIVE…OCTOBER 1, 2022
SONG 1: “THIS IS WHY” BY PARAMORE
“This is why I don’t leave the house.
You say the coast is clear,
but you won’t catch me out.”
The new Paramore single is making my week so much better. I love Hayley and the boys, and am so very excited for their new album to release. This song hits in all that post-pandemic (but is it really?) fucked up emotional state/mental state of me. I do leave the house, but more than sometimes I really don’t want to.
To hear more, and to get all the latest – including upcoming tour information – click here.
SONG 2: “DAISY (SPOTIFY SINGLES)” BY WET LEG
“I’m crazy,
but you like that,
I bite back
Daisies on your nightstand,
never forget it.”
The original version of “Daisy”, by Ashnikko, was a favorite of my younger daughter during 2020-2021. It was a car-soundtrack-constant, especially in the summer months. When I stumbled on this cover I didn’t realize from the title alone that it was the Ashnikko song. I recognized something in the opening notes, and then the lyrics sounded even more familiar. Once the chorus hit I was delightfully in the know.
The more I hear of Wet Leg the more I like. A lot.
To hear more Wet Leg, and to get to know their music more, click here. They have upcoming tour dates, too.
SONG 3: “THE BOMB” BY FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
“But if I was free to love you,
you wouldn’t want me,
would you?
Unavailability is the only thing that turns you on.
Come here, baby,
tell me that I’m wrong.”
Dance Fever is one of my favorite albums released this year. It is incredible, rich, layered, ethereal, sensual, and full of stories to uncover. The more I listen, the more songs I take in – deep – the more I fall hard for this album. “The Bomb” is so spot on. Anyone who has been in an unavailable relationship will recognize what I mean. Anyone who has blown up their life for someone will know what that “bomb” is.
Florence is touring, too. With Wet Leg as opening guests. Want to know more, hear more, and check out show dates? Click here.
SONG 4: “SMOKING SECTION” BY ST. VINCENT
“Sometimes I stand with a pistol in hand.
I fire at the grass just to scare you right back.
And when you won’t run,
I’m mad,
but I succumb.
Let it happen, let it happen, let it happen.”
I saw St. Vincent live for the first time this week. Wow. I knew I’d be enthralled, and I was that, and then some. I was blown away. Digging deeper into her albums, into deeper tracks, sliding in ear buds and turning up the volume. “Smoking Section” is today’s deep dive and I’m spinning around in the darkness and the edge and the enthrall.
To hear more St. Vincent, and to see if/when you can see her live, too, click here.
SONG 5: “I KNOW THE END” BY PHOEBE BRIDGERS
“But you had to go.
I know, I know, I know.
Like a wave that crashed and melted on the shore.
Not even the burnouts are out here anymore.
And you had to go.
I know, I know, I know.”
Phoebe’s album Punisher was one of my saving graces during the 2020 lockdown year. I held on tight to her music, feeling the sting, the dark, the light, the recognition, the hope even in songs about endings – like this one. Her music will forever live inside me, and I will be forever grateful, and forever singing-a-long.
To hear more from Phoebe, click here now.
