by bulb

With three months or so to update the ol’ playlists, it’s about time to bring you another edition of Somnolescent Radio. As the first one went, each Somnolian has chosen a song dear to them at the moment and written a bit about it. Have a listen.

taywen: C418 – “Subwoofer Lullaby” (from Minecraft – Volume Alpha, 2011)

If there was any song that I could call pure childhood nostalgia, it would be “Subwoofer Lullaby” by C418’s Minecraft Alpha OST. Otherwise known as the song that signals the dawn of a new day. This is simply a beautiful and fantastic mixture between soft and bombastic sounds. As well as the soundtrack being a coalition of lovely piano keys and vibrant strings. It is able to both wake you up and put you back to sleep, making this the perfect song for spring in both the real world and in Minecraft itself.

mariteaux: Tom Jones and The Cardigans – “Burning Down the House” (from Reload, 1999)

If this doesn’t sum up my life at present, I don’t know what does–something I already liked (The Cardigans), but make it more Welsh. Hot take, “Burning Down the House” isn’t the Talking Heads’ brightest moment. Weak arrangement, spastic rhythms, irritating vocals–and I like David Byrne. By going for a more traditional (dare I say throwback?) approach, using such crazy things as grooves and good singing, this one bops instead. I only wish Tom would stop looking at me like that.

Caby: Ventura Highway – America (from Homecoming, 1972)

I spent a decent amount of time just kind of not listening to music, thanks to my old earphones dying on me a little while back. But since getting my new headphones, I’ve been all over the place, not really pinning down any specific genre or musician or anything. What I have been chasing however, is summer vibes. It’s getting warmer outside and I’m finding myself sitting in my bedroom with the window open more often. One thing that reminds me thoroughly of Summer is long car trips, where my dad would have put together a CD of tracks for us to listen to on the way. Since the whole lockdown started I’ve found myself drawn to those old songs that would be our “car songs”. This is one of them. Just a very light, summery feel to it, good memories of leaning out the window of the car on a sunny day. Long journeys across country going on holiday, juiceboxes and the smell of petrol in a petrol station, stuff like that. The song itself is about travel and good vibes, so it feels fitting.

borb: Linkin Park – “Bleed it Out” (from Minutes to Midnight, 2007)

It’s got edgy lyrics, but listen. It’s a bop and you know it. uwu Listened to a lot of Linkin Park in the 2000s so it’s also got a bit of nostalgia to it. Speaking of nostalgia, I decided to link a lyric video made in Windows Movie Maker. Remember those things? >:3cc

mon: Thundercat – “A Fan’s Mail” (from Drunk, 2017)

It’s a song about wanting to be a cat. What more could you ask for? There isn’t much I have to say about this song, except for the fact that (in my opinion) the song sounds better when you slow it down a tad. That’s actually how I initially heard the song, though I assure you, it sounds great either way.

Also check out other masterpieces from Thundercat such as the music video for “Dragonball Durag”. It’s beautiful.