By: Meera Eragoda, Arts & Culture Editor
Editor’s note: All of the Monday Music for the Summer 2020 semester will now be available on The Peak’s Spotify playlist so you can listen more easily!
There’s a lot going on right now with COVID-19. That may leave many of you feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious — I definitely am. When it’s all gotten to be too much, I’ve just binged TikToks for an hour straight to take my mind off everything. But there’s only so much time you can spend listening to the same sound bites that everyone uses for their TikToks over and over again. So instead of further delving into TikTok holes, here’s a selection of some moody, eclectic, upbeat, and energetic albums that you should dive headfirst into.
Break Free by Xiuhtezcatl
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is a 19-year-old Indigenous activist and musician of Aztec descent. While we all know Greta Thunberg, Xiuhtezcatl has been an activist since he was six and has been one of the youth at the forefront of climate change advocacy. He’s done collaborations with Shailene Woodley, and Willow and Jaden Smith. Break Free weaves in violins, piano, and melodics with both English and Spanish rap. Xiuhtezcatl’s message is serious; the whole album is filled with messages of Indigenous resistance, resilience, optimism for the future, and the power of youth. Lyrics such as “our ancestors taught us that although our people were colonised, our temples destroyed, and our ceremonies forbidden, our legacy would live on in flowers and songs” send a clear message of hope. Listen to this for motivation to keep fighting against climate change and for Indigenous sovereignty, or if you generally need messages of hope. Start with “Break Free,” “Sage Up,” and “Tlahuiliz/Light.”
Everything is Beautiful & Everything Sucks by Princess Nokia
This is a dual album drop from Princess Nokia, a multi-talented Nuyorican. Her music combines a variety of different styles: Everything is Beautiful embraces her hip-hop and pop side, and Everything Sucks embracing her harder side, including songs that are a throwback to her youth in the goth/punk rock scene. A lot of her music embraces her Puerto Rican and Caribbean roots, and she also sings in both English and Spanish. Many black women get pigeonholed into certain types of music, but Princess Nokia refuses to let the music industry dictate what she can and can’t do. She has refused deals with larger record albums to retain control over her music. Everything Sucks has a chaotic energy to it but is a compelling listen while Everything is Beautiful has happier and more upbeat tracks but Princess Nokia still manages to infuse it with feminist lyrics. Start with “Sugar Iced Honey Tea (S.H.I.T),” “Soul Food y Adobo,” and “Welcome to the Circus.”
Mother Earth’s Plantasia by Mort Garson
This is a weird, quirky, eclectic, cult classic from the 1970s. It was initially only sold in a record store in Los Angeles, but for some reason, apparently Sears (a department store that no longer exists in Canada) gave away a free copy with every purchase of a Simmons mattress. Garson’s Plantasia is filled with early electro and synth. It’s very ambient, calming, and chill. I can definitely feel the plant energy and sound waves coming off it and it makes me feel like I’m a plant surrounded by other plants, swaying in the wind, living my best plant life. Admittedly, I have also played it for my plants. Honestly, I don’t even know how to describe it, but please listen. It’s an experience. Start with “Music to Soothe the Savage Snake Plant,” “Plantasia,” and “Swingin’ Spathiphyllums.”
In Conflict by Owen Palett
Moody is the best word to describe this album. Brian Eno, a producer and musician credited with creating the term “ambient music,” contributed to In Conflict with synths, guitar, and vocals, and his electro-ambient influence is very evident in several of the tracks. This album features slow lyrics, violins, and piano. It is heavily moody, atmospheric, and at times ethereal. It’s all very mesmerizing, and listening to it makes me feel like I’m riding electronic waves through a cloudy, deep blue sky with the moon shining brightly above me. It feels very paradoxical with Palett’s ability to create music that’s both clear and muddy at the same time. Start with “Song for Five & Six”, “I Am Not Afraid”, and “On A Path.”
