Songs That Make You Wanna: Swag Around Campus
By Scott Smith, Album Reviews Editor
You know the kind--walking to class, big noise-cancelling headphones, in a world completely their own, oblivious to goings on around them. They’re just walking to class, and like any music enthusiast, opt for a few quick tunes to pass the time before the next two hours of lecture monotony.But that’s the thing: they’re not just walking. The music is resonating on such a level that it’s actually affected their bipedal locomotion. It’s that strut, that swagger that the song embodies that’s being unintentionally put on display for the hilarity of all of us--and hopefully a little envy too. There’s something admirable about have such a lack of self-awareness, someone pulling back the curtain on the play we’re all participating in, if just for a for a few minutes.So if you want every moment of your life to be like that scene in Saturday Night Fever while “Stayin’ Alive” blares, or when Henry Hill takes Karen on their first date, look no further. These are the songs that make you want to swag around campus.
1. "GNG BNG" by Flying Lotus
Off his instrumental hip-hop album from the future, Los Angeles, this particular beat is built from the ground up for about a minute and half before a quintessentially Flylo “Wait, what is he doing!?” moment where he takes us all into another dimension. The first half is joyous and celebratory, complete with a sitar for that extra-gooey peace and love—sort of feeling. The latter is aggressive and powerful, sounding like a revving engine of some intergalactic bounty hunters space rig circa 2071. One song, two distinct swaggers. That’s called getting your money’s worth
2. "New Beat" by Toro y Moi
This song and its accompanying story is what inspired the playlist. Whilst on a road trip from Cleveland to Chicago, my friend played this song and proceeded to tell me about how he was listening to this song on his way to class and was called out on his incessant swagger. The woman made a scene of the whole affair as to make sure everyone around knew what was happening. She stopped dead as she was walking past him, pointed, and yelled at the top of her lungs, “LOOK AT YOU STRUTTIN’ RIGHT NOW!” To his defense, this song is absolutely infectious. Highly recommended for during the springtime and especially if you’re running late.
3. "Sun (Altrice's Only What You Gave Me Remix)" by Caribou
Within the first 15 seconds of this song, you are likely to develop more confidence and a mean snarl. That combination of bravado and a look that says “I’m lookin’ for some trouble” could attract the wrong kind of attention, so walker beware. Luckily this song only puts one on the verge of wanting to start a fight for no reason, it never goes all the way. There’s just enough calming in Caribou’s voice to combat the aggressive electronic textures and heavy percussion and keep one within themselves.
4. "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) by Arcade Fire
Not all swagger is intense and testosterone-fueled. There’s happy swag too, and it can be revealed with the right timing. After a particularly good morning (maybe you made a great breakfast, maybe you got a good night’s rest or maybe you got laid the night before) if you open that door to leave for class and see a sunny shimmer on everything as this contemporary disco gem tucked away at the end of The Suburbsgets started, and you will bounce to class. Some of you may be reading this and thinking, “No way. Not me. Not that song.” But that’s the beauty of this: it happens whether you want it to or not, and despite your best efforts.
5. "Go It Alone" by Beck
Beck has always had a knack for making music that’s loyal to rock’s roots and yet incredibly contemporary all at once. “Go It Alone” is just guitar, bass, vocals, handclaps, and a little keyboard--a far cry from the denser electronic music we’ve already heard. This is that change-of-pace track, and if you’re going to be traversing the diverse landscapes of Ohio University for this long, you’ve got to have equally diverse rhythms with which to aid you on your journey. Beck is one of those artists that you can always rely on, and this situation is no different. He has so many different styles and approaches to songwriting but I think “Go It Alone” can be summed up with the phrase “inexplicably soulful white boy.”
6. "He Would Have Laughed" by Deerhunter
Here is your oddball. A song dedicated to a fellow musician and friend who died recently? No, no, no; we’re looking for something to make us forget about the world for a little, right? Exactly, and while Bradford Cox’s farewell to his friend Jay Reatard has its somber moments, it acts as the best time-killer. This seven-and-a-half-minute track, with its shimmery guitars and repetitive, chugging drumbeat, will make those cold, lonesome winter walks feel a little shorter. It’s like the musical bullet train: it’s long, sleek and straightforward, but most importantly it gets you where you need to go with comfort and convenience.
7. "Vinca Rosea" by Metal Fingers
Metal Fingers, MF Doom, King Geedorah? Whatever he’s going by, his real name is Daniel Dumile and he’s had so many different stage names and monikers he makes Sean Combs look like a guy who can make up his mind. Metal Fingers appears to be the name he uses for his instrumental releases; DOOM the producer, if you will. From 2001-2005 he released 10 volumes of instrumental work which he called Special Herbs. “Vinca Rosea” the first track off Special Herbs 9 & 0 begins with some atmospheric chimes and a beat and bassline that look to be building towards something slowly before the keyboard kicks in and everything else falls into place, including you.
8. "Sandwitches" by Tyler, The Creator featuring Hodgy Beats
You really think we were going to do a playlist about swag and not have Odd Future on here somewhere? As the immature behavior has piled over the past few months and the lukewarm reception of Tyler’s latest album Goblin, the public more or less cooled on Odd Future as the calendar turned to 2012. “Sandwitches” remains the group’s most triumphant moment. It’s united, rebellious, angry, and sinister--a shit-talking, offensive, purposely insensitive microcosm of everything your parents didn’t want you to be exposed to when you were young and impressionable. Swag is an age-old idea; Odd Future didn’t think it up, they just reinvented the wheel like so many before them have
9. "Stop What You’re Doing (James Blake remix)" by Untold
I guess I should start off by saying this is a dubstep track, since that word seems to have become a little taboo recently. This is real dubstep though, not the terribly derivative ‘brostep’ that has permeated the American airwaves. The wubs are there, but they are merely one small piece to the final puzzle. Everything typical from Blake’s earliest work is present here--the cold synths and soulful vocal sample that’s clearly been electronically altered to barely resemble its original self. The song structure is relatively simple--it builds until you hear the wubs, and then breaks down only to build itself up again, but there’s a violent edge to this song that’s absolutely undeniable and sure to get anyone’s heart rate racing.
10. "Method Man" by Wu-Tang Clan
A song named after yourself that starts with a minute-and-a-half of torturous death threats before channeling The Rolling Stones for one of the best opening lyrics in a rap song ever (“Hey! You! Get off my cloud / You don’t know me and you don’t know my style)--this is the epitome of swagger and confidence. With good reason too, Method Man unleashes a verse for the ages with a casual flow like he was just grabbed off the street and handed a microphone. Seriously, Method Man is an incredible rapper (like most of Wu-Tang) and I don’t know what happened in history to change that perception. Was it How High? Where did it all go wrong?
