The GardenDespatches from The Satyrs’ Forest

Playlist suggestions wanted

Spurred on by a brief shower thought, i’ve tried my hand at making a playlist “for the bad days”: songs (mostly rock) with big, soaring crescendos that feel like an out-of-body experience. Your “Bitter Sweet Symphonies”, your „Hoppípollas”, your “‘Heroes’-es” — the songs that make you have faith in humanity, and make you not want to jump out of a thirtieth-storey window so badly.

I’ve been asking around for suggestions on the usual (Discord) channels, and have got some cracking songs in return — so, do any of you want to try your hands at it? I’d love to hear your ideas. :-)

Here’s the current set of songs on the playlist, to give you an idea of the general “vibes” — exceptional examples are highlighted in bold.

  • The 1975, “I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)”
  • Bleachers, “Rollercoaster”
  • Arcade Fire, “My Body Is a Cage” (thx, Pike)
  • David Bowie, “‘Heroes’”
  • Kate Bush, “Cloudbusting”
  • Coldplay, “Viva La Vida”
  • Daft Punk, “Giorgio by Moroder”
  • Elbow, “One Day Like This”
  • Sam Fender, “The Dying Light”
  • Fun; “Some Nights”
  • Keane, “Somewhere Only We Know”
  • LCD Soundsystem, “Dance Yrself Clean”
  • The Naked and Famous, “Higher”
  • Oasis, “Don’t Look Back in Anger”
  • Oasis, “Champagne Supernova”
  • Radiohead, “All I Need”
  • Radiohead, “Videotape” (live at Bonnaroo)
  • Porter Robinson, “Unfold”
  • Sigur Rós, „Hoppípolla”
  • Snow Patrol, “Chasing Cars”
  • Suede, “Life is Golden” (thx, Pike)
  • Tame Impala, “Let It Happen”
  • The Verve, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”
  • The War on Drugs, “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”
  • The White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army”
  • The Who, “Baba O’Riley”

3 comments

  1. kitty says…

    Cardiacs - The Everso Closely Guarded Line

    i have listened to... a maybe unhealthy amount of Cardiacs. but this song in particular has two crescendo parts which are in a whole league of their own holy shit

  2. Xanthe says…
    2w8373gz

    To preëmpt the inevitable: I mulled over adding “A Day in the Life”, but decided against it, as the only kind of out-of-body experience its climax reminded me of was a bad <span class="all-sc">DMT</span> trip.

  3. Pike M says…

    My Body Is a Cage by Arcade Fire. There's a video on YT that someone did where the song is set to scenes from Once Upon The Time in the West, crescendo timing at a great point.

    Life is Golden by Suede although it doesn't have a crescendo as such, it lifts and breaks at multiple points.

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