My Brooklyn Boombox

Artist: M83
Track: Wait
Album: Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

Every once and a while a song will come along that causes me to stop dead in my tracks… force me to listen. Last year, it was this. I was walking home from the L-Train on Graham after a rough day. Started listening to this album. 5 tracks in, it hits me like a bag of bricks. The quietness of the track in the beginning. The echo of the chorus. The lyrics. All of it. So encompassing of everything I was feeling at the time. The drums coming in at 3 minutes and 28 minutes. The wailing of 4 minutes and 10 seconds in. I began to tear up and I could try to explain why, but I really wouldn’t be able to find the words… recreate the moment. It was a release. The feeling that someone somewhere could possibly relate to what I feeling at the corner of Ainslie St. The return of the quiet at 5 minutes and 24 seconds.

Artist: A.Chal
Track: Roses On Your Silhouette 

Artist: Holly Herndon
Track: Movement
Album: Movement 

Still in the process of warming up to the album, but this video is definitely a standout for me this year. The music video seems to be a dying breed as far as creativity goes. Fuzzy effects with lots of zooming in and out.. still shots of nature… people grinding on each other. I could go on. In any case, it’s refreshing to see someone take the time to actually put together something that acts more as art rather than another cliche.

Artist: WIllow
Track: Sweater

Willow’s “Sweater” is one of the stand out music videos I’ve come across this year. Everything was shot in a single studio using 3 beamers projecting onto a floor and two walls. The video was directed by Filip Sterckx, illustrating a day’s journey without ever leaving the room.