Culture
Quarantine Playlists: Emma Schultz
< < Back toAlthough gathering for live music will be impossible for a little while, WOUB Culture is trying to keep the groove alive by asking members of the regional music scene about the music they have been relying on to get through these strange times.
Emma Schultz is a local musician and songwriter in the indie rock band no stars. She has been writing songs and singing since she was a kid, and playing guitar since she was a slightly older kid.
The opening lines of this song might be a bit on the nose right now (“My God, I’m so lonely so I open the window to hear sounds of people”), but that’s part of what makes this song so perfect for this moment. This song balances a yearning for love and affection with a fun beat and catchy melody, making it seem like it was written to be blasted in the event of a pandemic that separates us from the people we love. “I just want somebody near me” is a punch in the gut from Mistki anytime, but today’s context turns that punch into a forcefully fired cannonball. When the song builds up and explodes in a chorus of “Nobody” over and over again, it feels like a long-awaited catharsis.
I always come back to Laura Marling’s music, as she’s a huge reason why I started writing music back in high school. She has always been a sort of elusive figure publicly, never using social media very actively or personally, but, recently, she’s started doing guitar tutorials on Instagram from isolation. Her presence is so calming, and her approach to guitar (she uses a lot of open tunings and interesting fingerpicking and strumming techniques) has been really inspiring to me these last few weeks. The tutorial for “Sophia” made me listen to the song with fresh ears and reminded me how truly fantastic it is. A soft beginning and gentle guitar eventually give way to stacked harmonies and a driving rhythm you can’t help but be swept away by.
“Spanish Pipedream” – John Prine
One of the events during this pandemic that has made me viscerally feel the weight of the situation was John Prine being put on a ventilator due to COVID-19. I don’t think you need me to tell you how legendary and universally beloved his songs are, so I’ll just tell you that this particular song carries a beautiful sentiment, now and always. We all need to carve out a space for ourselves to find peace right now, as the people in the song do. Blowing up our TVs and throwing away our papers sounds pretty good too when all we’re getting is an influx of equally terrifying and infuriating news. Listen to this song and keep John Prine and his family in your thoughts.
“I Like (the idea of) You” – Tessa Violet
Sometimes you just need to play a pop song and dance in your kitchen, and that’s where this track has been coming into play for me lately. With a pumping beat and Tessa Violet’s light vocals, “I Like (the idea of) You” forces you to forget about our impending doom and just enjoy yourself for a few minutes. Violet has been doing a “tour” of livestream shows on YouTube since mid-March, called “The Something to Look Forward to Tour” for some much-needed connection and distraction, so head there if you want to go to a free “concert” from your bedroom!
“Workin’ at the Car Wash Blues” – Jim Croce
This is another great track to dance around your apartment to, whether you’re getting some cleaning or cooking done, or you just need to move around a little after playing Animal Crossing all day. The lyrics of the chorus are simply fun to sing, even as they’re expressing the protagonist’s serious discontent for his situation, working at a job he hates. I debated including a more serious Jim Croce song on this playlist instead, but I think this one is underrated, and it’s a good time, so here we are.
“The Water feat. Laura Marling” – Johnny Flynn
It doesn’t technically count as two Laura Marling songs if this is only a feature, right? Regardless, this song is a beautiful and calming depiction of the relationship between a person and the water on which they sail. Since I was an angsty teenager, “The Water” has been a go-to for me when I feel anxious and need to take a few minutes to breathe. The steady ebb and flow of the guitar in 6/8 time somehow seems to imitate the feeling of a boat gently rocking back and forth – a welcome escape right now – and the harmonies between Marling and Flynn complement each other so well throughout. It has been nice to return to this song as a means of slowing down during this tumultuous time.
WHY?’s most recent album, AOKOHIO is a masterpiece in composition, sampling, and production. The accompanying visual album only adds to the experience created by the music, and I highly encourage you to watch it all on YouTube. AOKOHIO was released in six parts in 2019, and it was incredible to see how each section strung together with the last as it was slowly assembled over a period of weeks. As an individual track, “Peel Free” stands out to me, with Yoni Wolf singing about “shaking off a shadow” and emerging a new man. It’s a hopeful track, delivered with beautifully layered instrumentation and deliberate vocals. If you like the song by itself, you’ll love it even more within the context of the whole album.
The opening track on Gia Margaret’s debut album, There’s Always Glimmer, carries the very message stated in the album title. In an intimate and soft way, Gia sings about making it through tough times with the help of another person. I’m grateful right now to be quarantined with someone I love very much, who helps me find the glimmer during scary, difficult times like these – I think I would have had a full-on psychotic break if not for him being here and making me laugh. All that is to say, call your friends and family, because the only way we’re getting through this is together. It may only be April, but the first line of this song, “It’s safe to say it’s been a hard year,” is undeniably true.