Last month, University of Oregon graduate student Rachel Schwartzman won first place at a statewide karaoke competition in Salem, Oregon. On Nov. 15, she will fly to Las Vegas to compete in the 2018 Karaoke World Tour Championships.

“It sounds so funny when you say it out loud,” Schwartzman said.

Before moving to Eugene a year ago, she had never considered competitive karaoke. During her years as an undergrad, she had always found a creative outlet through dance and a cappella groups, but after graduation, her opportunities became more limited.

“When I got here, karaoke was kind of my option,” Schwartzman said. She began to frequent various karaoke spots on the weekends, eventually finding a community of karaoke regulars. “I got to know the scene really well, and I probably took it more seriously than most people,” she said.

Initially, karaoke was just a way to express herself and push herself out of her comfort zone. But when the competition came around, she decided to give it a shot.

Schwartzman moved on to the state championship after winning a local event in Eugene. As part of a subsequent first place win in Salem, she received free vocal lessons to help prepare her for the upcoming performance in Las Vegas. Organizers of the competition will also be paying for Schwartzman’s airfare and hotel expenses.

“It’s Vegas, so by default that gives it an air of competitiveness, performance and glam,” Schwartzman said. Having never competed at this level before, she is unsure of what to expect.

Singing ability, of course, is a necessary factor. But the criteria of a karaoke championship differ slightly from the average singing contest. Judges will be scoring based on outfits, emotional connectivity and stage presence. The song choice itself is also very significant.

“When I met with the vocal coach, songs that I thought I would be able to sing just ended up not being competitive enough,” Schwartzman said. “That’s one of the things that was stressing me out: trying to find songs that have a competitive edge.”

For her performance in Vegas, Schwartzman is preparing songs by Sam Smith, Chris Stapleton, X Ambassadors and Gnarls Barkley — all carefully selected for a competitive environment. “The general strategy is showing range,” she said.

In more casual karaoke situations, Schwartzman loves to sing Motown; she considers “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” her personal anthem and also enjoys singing anything by The Temptations. She hopes to channel some of that soulful energy into her performance.

But Schwartzman is also trying to stay realistic about her chances. “It would be cool to win, but just not knowing anything about the competition, it would be really hard to anticipate that,” she said. She expects over a hundred people will be present to compete at the event.

According to Schwartzman, there is a “spectrum of dedication” that exists among the contestants. “The people that do karaoke are generally not trying to become the next Mariah Carey,” she says; however, some participants do craft elaborate performances with props, or compete to get their foot in the door for a future career in the music industry.

Schwartzman’s main goals for life lie outside of karaoke. Her graduate work is in special education with a focus on museum programming for people with disabilities. She is also getting a certificate for non-profit management.

But she says karaoke remains a very worthwhile hobby. Both her parents and one of her friends are travelling to support her in Las Vegas. “Everyone is really excited,” she said.

“When you are passionate about something, even if it’s just a hobby, it feels good to be rewarded or just to be acknowledged,” Schwartzman said.

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Have some time to kill between this year’s Halloween festivities? Try throwing on one of these spooky LPs to further immerse yourself in the holiday spirit.

“Floodland” — The Sisters of Mercy

“Floodland,” the 1987 sophomore album from The Sisters of Mercy, is essential to any gothic dance party. A dark and moody guitar riff — matched with a driving, industrial drum beat — makes the album’s seven-minute opener, “Dominion/Mother Russia,” an obvious standout. But the Sisters keep things haunting for the entirety this of dark wave classic with slower tracks such as “1959” and “Never Land (A Fragment).” Frontman Andrew Eldritch leads his listeners on a dim and danceable journey throughout, with a voice that measures up to goth rock legends such as Peter Murphy.

“Bad Moon Rising” — Sonic Youth

The flaming, pumpkin-headed scarecrow on the cover of Sonic Youth’s “Bad Moon Rising” is enough to make the record a perfect choice for Halloween. Released during the band’s earlier no wave period, Sonic Youth builds a harsh aesthetic throughout this 1985 album with discordant guitars and abstract lyrics focused on the darker underbelly of American culture. “Ghost Bitch” and “I’m Insane” are most relevant to the Halloween theme, but guest vocals from the gloomy songwriter Lydia Lunch on the album’s closer “Death Valley ’69” are also worth a mention. For a deeper dive, check out the aptly-titled “Halloween,” a murky bonus track sung by bass player Kim Gordon.

“Blood Bitch” — Jenny Hval

On her 2016 album “Blood Bitch,” the Norwegian songwriter Jenny Hval melds together a handful of poignant themes such as desire, menstruation and vampires. Building on the literary influence of Virginia Woolf and borrowing from the aesthetic of classic horror movies, Hval crafts an art pop concept album — in her words, “an exploration of blood” — that is gothic, foreboding and deeply layered. On “Female Vampire,” pulsing synthesizers help craft an anxious mood, before transitioning into the sounds of heavy breathing on “In the Red,” which could fit comfortably into any slasher film chase scene.

“6 Feet Deep” — Gravediggaz

“6 Feet Deep,” the 1994 debut from the hip hop supergroup Gravediggaz, is a bonafide classic. Two of the album’s heavyweights, RZA and Prince Paul, took on new monikers — RZArector and The Undertaker, respectively — to craft this grim exploration of violence, mental illness and the supernatural. But along with the dark subject matter comes an exaggerated and cartoonish quality, similar in tone to the “Evil Dead” movies, that keeps this album entertaining throughout. Over a number of ominous beats, each emcee comes through with their own bone-chilling delivery. Over 25 years later, “6 Feet Deep” remains a cornerstone of the horrorcore subgenre, having lost none of its edge.

“The Drift” — Scott Walker

Scott Walker’s 2006 album “The Drift” contains some of the most unsettling music ever recorded. With constant suspense and dissonance, the album often achieves moments of vivid cinematic quality. Ominous footsteps descend down the stairs on the track “Jolson and Jones” and an eerie radio broadcast fuzzes in during the intro of “Buzzers.” At times, Walker even roots his lyrical imagery in disturbing realities, such as the execution of Mussolini and Elvis Presley’s stillborn twin brother, adding another layer to the album’s discomforting atmosphere. “The Drift” was the second entry in a trilogy of equally bleak avant-garde records, all highlighted by Walker’s ghoulish baritone voice.

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Mild High Club, the jangly solo project of LA-based musician Alexander Brettin, performed a free show at the EMU Ballroom on Friday night. Brettin, along with his touring bandmates, brought a set of hazy, jazz-inspired indie music to the ballroom’s relaxed atmosphere. The concert also featured an opening set from the local Eugene band Laundry.

Prior to the doors opening, a line had already snaked around the McMillan Gallery on the second floor of the EMU.

The crowd, however, consisted of a predominantly college-aged group. The trendy attire — crewneck sweaters, tasteful graphic tees, carefully constructed color palettes — likely tipped off passersby to the type of alternative music being performed.

Laundry took the stage shortly after 7 p.m., after everyone had shuffled in.

Despite its role as the opener, the band received a large amount of attention from the audience. Self-described as “punk funk,” Laundry has recently made a name for itself in the Eugene music scene, with regular billings at various house shows around town.

The band’s performance Friday night kept a high energy, contrasting quiet bedroom pop moments with loud, bluesy guitar rock. Laundry’s entire set lasted around 45 minutes.

After Laundry, members of Mild High Club came out to prep the stage. The headliner then started its set around 8 p.m., with a fitting opening number, the instrumental “Club Intro.”

Brettin and his bandmates kept a casual vibe throughout, with music that was somewhat hypnotizing — sleepy but never boring. Most of the hits, from both the debut and sophomore albums, made their way into the setlist.

Performances of the melancholic “Skiptracing” and the tightly-arranged “Windowpane” lived up to the quality of their respective studio recordings. Brettin, who remained on guitar for the majority of the set, moved over to the synthesizer for the song “Kokopelli,” which featured some controlled psychedelic freakouts.

A jazzy instrumental — similar to Mild High Club’s guest work on last year’s King Gizzard album, “Sketches of Brunswick East”— highlighted Brettin’s musical roots. The artist studied jazz music during his time at Columbia College in Chicago, and this influence shined through when the band covered the infectious Roy Ayers track, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” at the end of its set.

The crowd may have noticeably dwindled toward the end of the show, but everybody hanging around remained enthusiastic. People danced in the open space near the back. A large disco ball periodically lit up the venue.

Brettin also appeared to genuinely enjoy his time performing, thanking the audience between many of the songs. There wasn’t much stage banter, but Brettin did ask at the beginning of the show if anyone could give him a Ducks shirt. Unfortunately, the Duck Store had already closed.

The concert felt slightly anticlimactic when the band strolled off stage at the end of night. But Mild High Club didn’t need a big ending. The band’s psychedelic pop music was tight, polished and pleasant throughout, providing for a great Friday evening.

The free show, presented by the University of Oregon Music and Concerts Team, was open for anyone to attend.

The post Review: Mild High Club brings hazy indie rock to the EMU Ballroom appeared first on Emerald Media.

On “Bassackwards,” a ten-minute single from “Bottle It In,” the twangy indie rocker Kurt Vile recalls spending time as a guest on a friend’s radio show. “There wasn’t no format because well, we like it like that,” he sings. “He was out of his mind and I was way out of mine.”

This casual and free-flowing attitude is indicative of the music on “Bottle It In” — the eighth studio album in Vile’s growing discography, counting a recent collaborative effort with his friend and contemporary Courtney Barnett. The artist takes his time throughout this new record, letting his songs unfold in a meditative fashion, often pushing far beyond the lengths of radio-friendly rock hits.

His indifference towards brevity, or even standard song structures, brings a pastoral charm to the album. Vile’s singer-songwriter sensibilities come through with reflective lyricism and folksy guitar parts. But instead of carefully crafted compositions, the artist creates a wandering and aimless atmosphere, filled with care-free, back porch fingerpicking.

But that doesn’t mean the record lacks in studio flourishes. “Bottle It In” employs a nice variety of instrumentation to pair with Vile’s melancholic guitar, whether that’s a drum machine on the track “Hysteria” or a bass-heavy synthesizer to round out the mix on “Check Baby.”

The production also works noticeably well on “Cold Was the Wind,” found towards the end of the album. The sound of a crackly vinyl record sits behind the music as obscured field recordings fashion themselves into the beat, complimenting Vile’s warbling, beachy guitar.

To craft the album, Vile recorded in various studios across the country with a handful of producers — perhaps the most notable being Peter Katis, who has worked with both the National and Interpol. This keeps the record away from any type of monotony, but at no point do things become overproduced. Vile even messes up the lyrics in the beginning of “Skinny Mini,” another one of the album’s ten-minute tracks, before starting things again from the top.

Those kinds of touches give “Bottle It In” a very personal feel, and help to showcase what’s truly at the heart of this record: Vile’s excellent songwriting. He offers up plenty of candid and introspective lyrics throughout — “Did I mention that I’m afraid of dying / Think I heard my daughter crying / So I pick her on up, spin her around, live it on up, of what I found” — which often come with their own homely, poetic quality.

The acoustic guitar on “Mutinies” is beautiful and plays out like a Red House Painters song, with a similar patience and payoff. Even on “Rollin With the Wind,” a cover of T.G. Sheppard’s 1975 country hit, Vile is able to fit in his own personality, giving the song a new life.

With only thirteen tracks to stretch out across the album’s hour and twenty minutes, “Bottle It In” can feel a little lengthy. But luckily, Kurt Vile’s music is comforting enough to make the whole thing worth hanging around for.

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Some might see Terry Bozzio’s enormous drum kit and assume he is compensating for something. The musician’s 38-drum setup, known simply as “The Big Kit,” took up the entire stage at WOW Hall on Thursday night during a solo show — but nothing was excessive or even gimmicky. Throughout his intimate performance, Bozzio demonstrated a complete mastery of percussion as well as a deep love for music in general.

Bozzio first made a name for himself in the 1970s as a member of Frank Zappa’s backing band — a notable feat on its own — playing live and in studio for a number of classic Zappa records such as “Sheik Yerbouti” and “Zoot Allures.” During the 1980s, he went on to co-found the new wave band Missing Persons with a few other Zappa veterans.

For his show in Eugene, however, which came near the end of his 2018 “Reality Tour,” Bozzio kept to his own solo musical ventures. Over the course of two sets, he played a number of tight and dynamic pieces, which felt less like self-indulgent drum solos and more like fleshed-out musical compositions.

Compared to most other drummers, Bozzio’s style is unique. His setup includes over two octaves worth of tuned drums, which allow for a precise and melodic sound.

For most of the show, Bozzio sat encapsulated in the middle of everything. A myriad of cymbals stretched out above his head on a complex racking system. He also controlled eight different kick drums, among other things, with a multitude of foot pedals.

His performance was technical, but also captivating and accessible for its listeners. The titles for each of his pieces were simple, usually meant to describe a musical style or structure. On a piece entitled “Africa,” Bozzio played around with complicated African-inspired polyrhythms. On “5=7,” he paired together two unusual time signatures to create an incredibly intricate drum solo that was difficult to even tap along to.

At various times during the set, Bozzio would emerge out from behind his insane contraption to play a number of more modest percussive instruments, including tongue drums, shakers and a cajón. Even with these seemingly novice instruments, he was able to achieve impressive and complex rhythmic patterns.

It was during these moments that Bozzio would address the crowd, fostering an intimate environment. He shared stories about Frank Zappa, detailed some of his DIY instruments and explained his idea of music as a metaphor for the universe — framing musical tempos and frequencies within a scientific context.

Throughout all of this, Bozzio remained humble, thanking the crowd numerous times while also expressing love for his two tourmates: his drum tech and his wife.

Bozzio finished off the night with an intense drum solo that utilized extended drum rolls and complex fills. He attacked the cymbals above him with a fierce yet precise velocity. As he concluded, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. His performance not only satisfied the large number of music nerds in the audience, but also justified his use of a comically large drum set.

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The California-based Joyce Manor — one of the more respectable acts to come out of this whole “emo revival” of the last decade — is back with another 20-minute album. On “Million Dollars to Kill Me,” the band keeps things short with its trademark, punk-inspired anthems while also veering into the realm of power pop.

Some of these songs take a notable influence from a few of the more sentimental acts of the 1990s. “Gone Tomorrow,” the album’s penultimate track, could easily be mistaken for a Teenage Fanclub song with its vocal harmonies and driving power chords. The same goes for “Silly Games,” which adds in piano keys and bells to compliment the song’s already catchy, pop melody.

It’s more than a cheap imitation, however, and closer to a charming pastiche, a sound that merges well with Joyce Manor’s emotive subject matter.

Then there is the painfully sincere “Friends We Met Online,” with lyrics that wouldn’t feel out of place on a 2000s era Weezer album. That probably sounds like a bad association, but it doesn’t have to be. The band’s lead singer, Barry Johnson, is aware of how corny things get. “I know that it sounds kinda lame when I say it out loud,” he sings. “But it’s true we met there / It’s where we spent most of our time / Talking to friends, friends that we met online.”

Much of the other lyrics on “Million Dollars to Kill Me” consist of the typical emo fanfare: loneliness and messy relationships. Joyce Manor has never shied away from awkward and personal topics, so vulnerable song titles like “Think I’m Still in Love with You” shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

The lyrics also get harsh and self-deprecating on the album’s emotional title track — “One day you will realize / You are nothing, nothing without her / You’re an asshole from a bar / On a break in a break room / And you’re never happy” — but they glide by smoothly with a confident vocal delivery that pairs nicely with the song’s punky lead guitar.

The album reaches its high point during these moments, when the band is playing to its strengths, but some of its more surprising tracks also help to keep the album interesting.

“Wildflowers,” the album’s upbeat closer, is much brighter than most Joyce Manor songs, but despite the sunny instrumental, the band manages to keep a melancholic mood. “Wildflowers / At the side of the road / Caught my eye / And turned my heart to stone,” Johnson sings. The lyrics aren’t really anything to write home about, but they’re probably just enough to make the tears come on an especially bad day.

The band also shows some versatility with a decent acoustic venture on “I’m Not the One.” The musings on money and morality bring some nice variation in the album’s lyrics, but overall the track is a little too soft to be noticed.

There’s enough satisfying moments on the album, however, to make up for its weaker points. “Million Dollars to Kill Me” may not be groundbreaking — and with its noticeably short length, it really couldn’t be —  but Joyce Manor still manages to bring some fun into the melodrama of daily life.

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Before the Oregon-Stanford football game on Saturday, Duck fans received a sneak preview of the upcoming “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” for the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo partnered with the Wendy’s College Tailgate Tour in order to bring a demo version of the much-anticipated fighting game to Autzen Stadium.

Jordan Kent, a University of Oregon alum and former wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks was also present at the event to promote “Ultimate” with the video game company. “To come here at Eugene and be a part of the first stop on the Tailgate tour was something I couldn’t pass up,” Kent said.

Earlier this year, Kent was inducted into the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame. During his time as a student, he participated on the football, basketball and track teams, making him the first three-sport athlete at the UO since World War II.

He now broadcasts for the Portland Trail Blazers as well as Pac-12 football and basketball. It’s this line of work that eventually led to his involvement with Nintendo.

Back in 2017, he joined the video game company at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles as an emcee and commentator. In 2018, he again helped commentate for the “Super Smash Bros.” Invitational.

“Transitioning from sports to eSports didn’t really feel too different,” Kent said. “When it comes to eSports, depending on the game, it just feels like in general the action is much faster.”

Kent, who is an avid Nintendo fan himself, says he can appreciate the amount of skill that eSport athletes put into competitive gaming.

“I’ve really been impressed by the amount of dedication and focus on their craft,” Kent said. “You look at how much they have mastered these games and the amount of time it takes — it’s no different than [being a] football player, I’m spending hours honing a particular skill.”

Elements of “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” — the fifth installment in the “Smash Bros.” franchise — will cater to the competitive nature of its fanbase. Nintendo will release it Dec. 7. “It’s blending a lot of elements from ‘Melee’ [for Nintendo GameCube] and ‘Super Smash Brothers’ for Wii U,” Kent said. “I like the speed of this game.”

The widespread appeal of “Smash Bros.” comes from its pick-up-and-play design, as well as its large cast of playable characters  — drawn from a multitude of beloved Nintendo franchises.

At the demo event, classic characters such as Mario and Donkey Kong were available to play. But fans could also try out brand new characters in the “Smash” roster, such as Ridley from the “Metroid” series and Inkling from “Splatoon.”

The early chance to play the game made for a constant line at the Nintendo booth near Autzen.

The stop at Eugene marks the beginning of Nintendo’s College Tailgate tour, which will continue through November with other stops around the country.

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A new music video for the Aphex Twin single “T69 Collapse” would have made its television debut on Adult Swim earlier this summer. The video’s erratic CGI visuals, however, ended up failing the Harding test, and the network subsequently pulled it from the programming in order to protect those with photosensitive epilepsy.

In a similar vein, the music on Aphex Twin’s recently released “Collapse” EP is hyper stimulating. The pioneering electronic producer — also known as Richard D. James — takes hard left turns on this project, packing in a mind-altering amount of glitchy beats and eccentric soundscapes to create the type of dense music he has become known for.

It is a noticeable step away from the last proper Aphex Twin release, 2016’s “Cheetah” EP, which was slower in tempo and more minimal in its approach. On “Collapse,” James returns to jerking his listeners around a bit, with unexpected sonic shifts and hyperactive drum machines.

“T69 Collapse,” which serves as the EP’s intro track, features a beat that refuses to settle into anything close to predictable. The drum kit, seemingly fluid in tempo, mutates throughout the composition, held together solely through James’ idiosyncratic synthesizer.

James also lets in a subtle hip-hop influence on the track “1st 44” with an indiscernible vocal sample and some record scratching. Midway through the song, the music begins to work its way towards an ambient house feel, just before yanking the listener back into another rabbit hole with a heavy-handed record scratch, deep bass lines and some alien-like sirens.

The haunting “abundance10edit[2 R8’s, FZ20m & A 909]” is more straightforward, but no less exciting. James takes advantage of some older hardware instruments — conveniently listed within the brackets of the excessively long track name — in order to create something that feels caught outside of time.

It’s easily the most danceable track on the EP, and things are only made better by its ghostly spoken-word sample: “Give me your hand, my friend, and I will lead you to the land of abundance, joy and happiness.”

“MT1 t29r2” also stands out for its effortless transitions between contrasting moods. It begins with a foreboding synth line but later shifts into a comforting yet upbeat passage that feels both lifelike and inquisitive.

This is no doubt electronic music and the production feels rigid where it’s supposed to be. But magically, James is able to inject all of his compositions with an explorative vigor.

It’s unusual that an artist would receive so much hype and attention around the release of a new EP, but Aphex Twin is no typical artist. Since the early 1990s, he has maintained a remarkably  high standard of quality, which in turn has garnered him a significant fanbase.

One of the few negative things that could be said about “Collapse” is that it feels like more of the same. This is unmistakably an Aphex Twin project and it calls back to some of his aforementioned 1990s output. But when the music is this good, that’s hardly a complaint.

The post Review: Aphex Twin plays up his strengths on the hyperactive ‘Collapse’ EP appeared first on Emerald Media.

Admit it, summers are boring. The season may be something to look forward to at the end of the school year, but when summer actually comes around, your friends are gone, it’s too hot outside and there’s hardly anything fun to do. For those patiently waiting on things to pick up again, here’s a handful of songs to listen to while you spend another night alone in your room.

“Computer Love” – Kraftwerk

The German electronic group Kraftwerk was often way ahead of its time. The pleasant and approachable “Computer Love,” taken from the band’s 1981 album “Computer World,” deals with themes of mass media, computer culture and postmodern isolation. The song’s simple lyrics — “Another lonely night/Stare at the TV screen/I don’t know what to do/I need a rendezvous” — are biting, and perhaps too real. It’s hard to imagine this one was written nearly 40 years ago, way before both Netflix and Tinder.

“Sometimes” – My Bloody Valentine

“Sometimes,” the moodiest track on My Bloody Valentine’s seminal sophomore release “Loveless,” is held up by Kevin Shields’ simple yet heavily-textured guitar. The song’s lack of drumming helps move the sound away from MBV’s tendency towards noise rock and into something both calming and melancholic. The track’s rich production also works well for headphone listening.

“Night Falls on Hoboken” – Yo La Tengo

This 17-minute Yo La Tengo track, “Night Falls on Hoboken,” is anything but grandiose. Instead, the band chooses to develop things slowly, easing into the nighttime with acoustic guitar, light drums and a softly sung melody. The song builds with a bit more energy in its latter half, just before washing into a pure, ambient bliss in the end with spacey textures and a mellow organ sound. Given its mood, the song is probably best enjoyed in the quiet hours approaching midnight.

“Don’t Let Our Youth Go to Waste” – Galaxie 500

Built around a bare-bones Jonathan Richman melody, “Don’t Let Our Youth Go to Waste” functions as a centerpiece to Galaxie 500’s groundbreaking 1988 debut, “Today.” Over the course of seven minutes, this droning anthem works its source material into something hypnotic and fully-realized. Dean Wareham’s reverberated guitar playing is the focus here, working towards the song’s emotional climax.

“A Rainbow in Curved Air” – Terry Riley

“A Rainbow in Curved Air” is one of the most famous works of minimalist composer Terry Riley. Released in 1969, the track takes advantage of both electronic instruments and overdubbing techniques to create a largely improvisational piece that is absolutely euphoric. This experimental oddity would foreshadow various elements of progressive rock, new age and electronic music that would develop in the decades following its release. But even by contemporary standards, Riley’s piece remains vibrant and spirited.

The post Friday Playlist: Songs to listen to while you’re alone in your room at night appeared first on Emerald Media.

Admit it, summers are boring. The season may be something to look forward to at the end of the school year, but when summer actually comes around, your friends are gone, it’s too hot outside and there’s hardly anything fun to do. For those patiently waiting on things to pick up again, here’s a handful of songs to listen to while you spend another night alone in your room.

“Computer Love” – Kraftwerk

The German electronic group Kraftwerk was often way ahead of its time. The pleasant and approachable “Computer Love,” taken from the band’s 1981 album “Computer World,” deals with themes of mass media, computer culture and postmodern isolation. The song’s simple lyrics — “Another lonely night/Stare at the TV screen/I don’t know what to do/I need a rendezvous” — are biting, and perhaps too real. It’s hard to imagine this one was written nearly 40 years ago, way before both Netflix and Tinder.

“Sometimes” – My Bloody Valentine

“Sometimes,” the moodiest track on My Bloody Valentine’s seminal sophomore release “Loveless,” is held up by Kevin Shields’ simple yet heavily-textured guitar. The song’s lack of drumming helps move the sound away from MBV’s tendency towards noise rock and into something both calming and melancholic. The track’s rich production also works well for headphone listening.

“Night Falls on Hoboken” – Yo La Tengo

This 17-minute Yo La Tengo track, “Night Falls on Hoboken,” is anything but grandiose. Instead, the band chooses to develop things slowly, easing into the nighttime with acoustic guitar, light drums and a softly sung melody. The song builds with a bit more energy in its latter half, just before washing into a pure, ambient bliss in the end with spacey textures and a mellow organ sound. Given its mood, the song is probably best enjoyed in the quiet hours approaching midnight.

“Don’t Let Our Youth Go to Waste” – Galaxie 500

Built around a bare-bones Jonathan Richman melody, “Don’t Let Our Youth Go to Waste” functions as a centerpiece to Galaxie 500’s groundbreaking 1988 debut, “Today.” Over the course of seven minutes, this droning anthem works its source material into something hypnotic and fully-realized. Dean Wareham’s reverberated guitar playing is the focus here, working towards the song’s emotional climax.

“A Rainbow in Curved Air” – Terry Riley

“A Rainbow in Curved Air” is one of the most famous works of minimalist composer Terry Riley. Released in 1969, the track takes advantage of both electronic instruments and overdubbing techniques to create a largely improvisational piece that is absolutely euphoric. This experimental oddity would foreshadow various elements of progressive rock, new age and electronic music that would develop in the decades following its release. But even by contemporary standards, Riley’s piece remains vibrant and spirited.

The post Friday Playlist: Songs to listen to while you’re alone in your room at night appeared first on Emerald Media.