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Auxiety: Quarantunes
20W FNR superstar Sidney Gish, AKA my lyricist idol, perfectly captures the stifling boredom of being stuck in one (suburban) place for too long in this song. Gish playfully employs the use of random household objects like ping-pong balls and chopsticks to create her signature, spunky mashup of sounds. Listening to this song, which doubles as a stream of consciousness, I feel immediately transported to a Lady-Bird-esque bedroom alongside Gish as she records (as captured in her iMovie-made music video.)
I recommend reading through the whole song since it’s all applicable, but the most relatable lines to me are: "...Retire to her room, sit around and count the hours down till June, July and August end, and in this state I got like 4 friends left."
“Bored in the USA” by Father John Misty
You can call him pretentious, snobby, elitist, and inaccessible, but Father John Misty is also pretty close to perfect when he sings, "How many people rise and say, 'My brain’s so awfully glad to be here for yet another mindless day?' '' With his aloof tone, detached lyrics, and artificial laugh track echoing in the background, Misty passively details the ennui of the quotidian. (He actually ghost-wrote that last sentence).
“Nobody” by Mitski
Obviously, I have to conclude with the Queen of Angst and Loneliness herself, Mitski Miyawaki. Because how can you not hear her opening lines of, “My god I’m so lonely so I open the window to hear sounds of people, to hear sounds of people,” and not relate, even if in actuality you’re perfectly fine?
Each song on Be The Cowboy seems to cover a new facet of isolation and loss, but I find this one especially compelling as it tackles heavy topics with musical lightness. Opening taps on the high-hat set a fast pace, piano chords push the song towards its catchy chorus, and the repetition of the title word begs to be sung back by listeners. Yet, when you listen to the lyrics, Mitski is far from the buoyant ease of these musical cues.
I admit, quarantine has not truly been filled with such angst and misery that these songs convey– my ABBA playlist has made many appearances and there’s always 100 gecs to listen to. But, there is something to be said about the above-average levels of loneliness many college kids feel at home or in isolation right now. Hopefully these songs can ease some of those feelings of isolation, or at least remind us how these artists are just as disconsolate as we are (but they make it look cool).
While these songs all thematically link to the quarantine experience, they are each fairly disparate from the others, both musically and emotionally. Yes, this is a testament to idiosyncratic musical styles, but also, each artists’ different approach to a shared theme of confinement reflects how there is no singular right way to feel in quarantine, and that’s okay. Isolation, sadness, and anxiety can manifest themselves in lots of different ways: raw guitar riffs, quippy lyricism, sparse instrumental interludes, or anything in between. In quarantine, I can experience all these musical motifs and corresponding mental states in just one day, one playlist. And now you can too.