I've listened to this song too many times. Help me get off the loop.

October 20, 2013 6:15 PM

The world is full of great music, I know that on a rational level. But on an instinctive level, on an animal level I have slipped into a rut where there is only one true song.

hilltop hoods : rattling the keys to kingdom

I'm not claiming this song is objectivly, rationally better than all other music,
but it seems though excessive listening at work,
(headphones on to shut out the converation around me)
I have laid down have a highway system of neurological pathways dedicated purely to bombing my mind with dopamine in response to fast beats and hard strident syllables which can be heard round the 0:35 and 2:00 mark.

I'm turning into the musical equivalent of one of those people who only eat cheese sandwiches.

Please help me build a bridge, a playlist of beats back to the the wider world of music,

cheers

eye

(I'm current listening to outkast remixes on soundcloud, my work gets upset about the extra Gig associated with listening to music via youtube because of the additional video bandwidth)

posted by compound eye to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

Best answer: I'm not sure if you want things that are radically different from the song you're addicted to right now, or if you want stuff that's working a similar vein but just different enough.

But, this quarter, here's my favourite new or new-to-me music that's still relatively-new. Maybe you are looking for stuff that's a bit more recent, but everything below was released within the last 18 months or so:

tUnE-YaRdS (sample song: Es-So) (great loping rhythm, great vocals; I am super taken with the entire w h o k i l l album. Ignore the silly capitalization and spacing, if they are initially off-putting)

Janelle Monae (sample song: Give Em What they Love, feat. Prince) (Janelle Monae is so exciting and basically has a song in every genre; I just picked this one because it's from her new album and I find it compelling)

Grimes (sample song: Oblivion) (a lot airier and more ethereal, but it's still got a good pulse)

I take from what you posted that rhythms > melodies for your brain?

Sorry about the youtube links!
posted by erlking at 6:29 PM on October 20, 2013 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Go listen to some Mano Negra/Manu Chao. I think that'll give you some stuff that hits the right buttons.
posted by phunniemee at 6:50 PM on October 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Stromae, especially/including his songs Formidable and Papaoutai.
posted by southern_sky at 7:12 PM on October 20, 2013

Best answer: This kind of reminds me of "Handlebars" by the Flobots.
posted by christinetheslp at 7:13 PM on October 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: "a highway system of neurological pathways dedicated purely to bombing my mind with dopamine in response to fast beats and hard strident syllables"

When I listened to that I was reminded of how I feel at 2:20 in Melancholy by Chill Bump. Brain gets all like "yeah yeah YEAH here it comes" and it hits every time.
posted by komara at 8:54 PM on October 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Prefuse 73 - Life/Death? 0:29 is pretty dopaminergic for me.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:14 AM on October 21, 2013

Best answer: One line from this song is a quote from Organized Konfusion's Stress.

If you like Oh Shit pauses, check out the new Pusha T album especially this nuclear bomb with Kendrick Lamar.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:26 AM on October 21, 2013

Best answer: Don't have any soundcloud links for you, but the Dert remix of Aceyalone's Greatest Show on Earth has what you're looking for I think. Also Cee-Lo & Ludacris - Child's Play, Twista & Luda - Higher, Murs & El-P - The Dance.
posted by cashman at 7:34 AM on October 21, 2013

Best answer: When I get in a loop with a few tracks I turn to sites like this and then hunt down any new albums that look interesting. Stockpile, rinse, repeat.
posted by 0 answers at 11:26 AM on October 21, 2013

Response by poster: Thank you for all the answers, there is no objectively provable correct answer to this question, but I asked for assistance and you have all provided it, so everybody gets golden star.
posted by compound eye at 5:31 PM on October 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Homeboy Sandman - "The Carpenter"
posted by little_dog_laughing at 7:04 PM on December 7, 2013

Response by poster: casper : hinterland a little bit into this and it's fitting the pattern, a bit more indie than my search target, definitely more indie than my usual 'music I like' envelope, but i'm enjoying it. Thank you laughing dog, I'll listen to carpenter next.
posted by compound eye at 3:40 PM on February 9, 2014

Response by poster: on 'casper' I'm enjoying this, but feeling a strange feeling. of not quite sure whether I'm enjoying something the cool kids like, or if I'm guzzling from the pop hose of a 'Germany's got talent'. The sooner I embrace the truth that I am not one of the cool kids the easier this is going to be for me, and I can stop looking round the room for someone to tell me whether I like this or not.
posted by compound eye at 4:08 PM on February 9, 2014