Aux-In

CHILL OUT SESSIONS: PART I OF II

Welcome to my chill out session, where this is as slow as I'm going to get with any of the music you will hear in this journal. I'm going to hit these songs in two chunks. This is part I.

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In some respects, I could say that this first one is too fast for this session, but the slow intro and equally slow background beat compels me to add it. It surely isn't the alien creature with the big vinyl-disc-shaped head that's putting me up to this. Can't be...


The video: it has crew members in black turtlenecks, desert donkeys (are those even donkeys?), orbs of light, red planets, buildings shaped like cancer sticks that turn into rockets, and an alien that does what any self-respecting terrestrial would do -- control minds. What's not to love? Musically, the track starts slow until it eventually builds to the vocals:

Welcome
To my world
We are not alone
Stay
You are not alone

Ultimately, "Four Three" crescendos into a moderately-paced violin fury, and this enables it to firmly plant its flag on the surface of my playlist.

Fun fact: "Four Three" made it into the CSI: Miami "Wheels Up" episode.


This is a slow-moving (but catchy) electro-pop song from a duo based out of The Netherlands. I can draw two possible takes on the social commentary that exists within the lyrics: (a) a critique on modern city life and/or (b) a critique of homogeneous suburban culture, where a stereotype can sometimes exist that there's a facade built up between neighbors, just before they close their doors, of course. I'm going to spend more time on the first one, because I think that's closer to the narrative.

*My interpretation in blue. I added the / to split the ideas between work and ordinary living so I can cover both interpretations (sorry if it's hard to read).

We've come together where the buildings rise (individuals have arrived at work/home)
We're crawling up where the concrete meets the sky (walking up a high-rise building)
We walk in line (walking into the office/home life with a sense of detached readiness)
We've come together in our daily grey (drudgery of work life in a cubicle/boredom of home life in a domicile or complex)
Where all our private boxes look the same (cubicles look identical/homes looks the same)
In every possible way (in every possible way)

Sell our souls when the market's right (has a job that pays but sucks the soul out of them/perhaps this is about Wall Street trading as the album this song is on was released in June 2009/unable to relate this to a home thing)
Shake hands as we're pulling down the blinds (day is done, so feign comradery to wrap up a day's work/say hello to a neighbor, make small talk, then get on with things)
It's almost fine (It's not fine. It's an empty feeling from unsatisfying work/too much modernity can feel cold and distant; removed)

We've been missing out on daylight lately (working too much/spending too much time indoors and missing out on the things that matter in life)
Killing time with late night TV (TV is a poor and plastic substitute to fill an empty void that would otherwise have been filled with people interactions and going outside like they used to do in "olden times")

I didn't touch on every line in the song, but I think that paints a pretty decent picture of what Anderson is trying to get at. The video itself is comprised of old movie clips from the mid-20th century, which is evident in both the analogue video style of the recordings, as well as the clothing styles of the people it features. The aforementioned is mixed with sped-up/time-lapsed traffic scenes which depict the hubbub of modern life. So, by using the old clips and juxtaposing them with those of the modern era, Anderson could be harking back to a supposedly simpler time where everyone knew their neighbors and there was a pie in every window.

I'd be fine with either of the above interpretations, (a) or (b). Hell, perhaps there's a (c) or a (d).

Originally, I thought the title was weird, where it has a person's name, Michael, and then the rest of the track's title. I kept having to do a double-take to make sure I wasn't looking at some sort of typo on this relatively-obscure track. Low and behold, in preparation for this write-up, I was able to find an article that tells me that Anderson's vision for their album It Runs In The Family, on which this song appears, was to have an idea of a family that was spread out all over the world, each of them having their own story. Read more: Anderson Interview. Subsequently, each track on the album has a person's name in it. That's certainly an interesting concept, and I think I'm going to have to check out the rest of the album.


Andain is the duo of Josh Gabriel and Mavie Marcos, and they released this trance classic all the way back in 2003. Although I'm posting the original, it's only because an official video for the Gabriel & Dresden Unplugged Mix was not available, even though it's the best mix. This is not the best video by any stretch of the imagination. However, if you need your Tiesto fix, this will be the only time you may see him in my journal. He's the DJ in this recording.


*Blackmill is an unsigned artist from Carrbridge, Scotland.
*At a current count of 7,232,543, this is both Blackmill's and Veela's most-popular song.
*I have no idea what the lyrics mean. It seems to be about two lovers who are tentative about starting something, but I could be wrong. I like it that way, though, as I think that I've mentioned before that I prefer ambiguity in lyrical content.
*It's a calming, melodic dubstep tune.


Such a cool, chill track. "First Snow" has some vocal samples mixed in with some nice chord arrangements, as well as some intricate piano work. The vocal sample at the end is unconventional and I'm not sure if it's supposed to be funny, but it works for me. And sure, that snow leopard with the Photoshopped eyes is awesome. I would not want to mess with that beast. Great photography.

(to be continued)

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