social media soul’

By Harry sHook Staff Writer

rapturous retreat — induced dementia — swipe scroll tap stare laugh cry empty — syringe fed voices — i’m trapped in rabbit holes — down to my wonderland — forged by algorithms — forgotten likes and views prescribe and read my mind. my fingers are sore after a long day’s work — my hand my grasp my obsession my craving. i live on moving walkway feeds — a stagnant purgatory — remote controlled dopamine — the escalator towards crispy corneas melted brains an inner green eye. i bask in this blissful blue haze — this labyrinth void i made. stillness merge — forgotten cravings lingering aspirations. what more can i discover? a single pump of blood, an itch behind my ear trapped in my pillow, the smell of burning plastic live streams — rouse me foggy headed from social media ecstasy

13 BEATS: FEMALE LEADS

Tess Dunkel Staff Writer

1. “No Ordinary Love,” Sade (1992)

The UK band Sade released “No Ordinary Love” as the primary single for their fourth studio album, “Love Deluxe.” Sade Adu blends sounds of jazz, soul and R&B into a track that encapsulates the feelings of unreciprocated effort within a relationship.

RIYL: Erykah Badu, Jill Scott

2. “Silver Springs,” Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Stevie Nicks sings an ode to her bandmate and ex-boyfriend, Lindsey Buckingham, in “Silver Springs.” Nicks and Buckingham worked through their breakup publicly through music. The line “You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you,” alludes to the odd experience of being in a band with an ex.

RIYL: Steely Dan, Steve Miller Band

3. “(They Long To Be) Close To You,” Carpenters (1970)

Originally written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the song never saw commercial success until Carpenters covered it in 1970. Buttery romantic vocals over soft piano chords and instrumentation cement this track as a classic love song. It has been famously covered by Stevie Wonder on a live talkbox medley, and interpolated in Frank Ocean’s “Close to You.”

RIYL: Carly Simon, Stevie Wonder, Frank Ocean

4.“Linger,” The Cranberries (1993)

Dolores O’Riordan sings heart-wrenching vocals detailing the pain of drawing out a failing relationship. The chorus sings “You’ve got me wrapped around your finger/ Do you have to let it linger?” She cannot let go of her love for an impossible relationship.

RIYL: Alanis Morissette, The Cardigans

5. “Gimme All Your Love,” Alabama Shakes (2015)

Written and sung by the soulrock band’s lead vocalist, Brittany Howard, “Gimme All Your Love” was released as the second single promoting the album “Sound and Color.” The band utilizes strong vocals, rhythmic changes through guitar solos, and emotional complexities within lyrics depicting a struggle to love fully while balancing a busy life.

RIYL: Dr. Dog, Houndmouth

6. “There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart),” Eurythmics (1985)

Eurythmics led the early breakout of the synth-pop genre in the 1980s, blending heavily layered production with traditional vocals, leading to commercial success. Annie Lennox’s lyrics encapsulate the feelings of ecstasy and excitement when pursuing a new love interest, and blend perfectly with a featured harmonica solo from Stevie Wonder. RIYL: Duran Duran, a-ha, Tears for Fears

7. “Drunk in LA,” Beach House (2018)

“Drunk in LA” is a dreamy, poetic track off of Beach House’s seventh studio album, “7.” Victoria Legrand wrote and performed the song, expressing the feelings of empathy and love that arise during traumatic phases of life, and the hardships of the music industry. The entire track is filled with abstract sensory lyrics that transport the listener into a dreamlike state.

RIYL: Beach Fossils, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Loving

8. “Stoned Love,” The Supremes (1970)

Written by Frank Wilson and Ken Thomas, “Stoned Love” was a single for the group’s album, “New Ways But Love Stays,” released under the Motown label. The song, like many of its period, was laced with political activism as a response to constant war and America’s role in the social plight in Vietnam. The term stone love refers to an unchanging bond between two people; The Supremes call for international understanding, empathy and love in this track.

RIYL: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Thee Sacred Souls

9. “Fu-Gee-La,” Fugees (1996)

Haitian hip-hop group, The Fugees, including Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras, released two studio albums, blending hip-hop, soul, reggae and R&B. “Fu-GeeLa’’ includes verses from all three members, but is known mainly for Lauryn Hill’s interpolation of “Ooo La La La” by Teena Marie. Hill raps “I’m super-high/ On the Fu-GeeLa,” revealing the song’s namesake, bragging that she’s high off of her band’s commercial success.

RIYL: The Roots, The Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest for new relationships,” she’s caught off guard by her strong attraction.

RIYL: Toni Braxton, Eve

12.“When The Sun Hits,” Slowdive (1994)

“Souvlaki” by Slowdive is a cult classic album in the shoegaze genre. Heavily layered synth, guitar and drums complement melancholy lyrics, sung in harmony by lead vocalists Rachel Goswell and Neil Halstead. They sing of a short-lived relationship that begins strong and fast, yet fades as quickly as it came on. Though feelings were lost, the couple mourns their time together.

10.“Illusion,”

Destiny’s Child

(1998)

Destiny’s Child was an iconic R&B group that included Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. On this groovy track, the three vocalists sing of the confusion that follows a new romance, wondering if the feeling is real or if the connection is only fantasized.

RIYL: Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Jazmine Sullivan

RIYL: my bloody valentine, Drop Nineteens, LSD and The Search for God

13.“All Tomorrow’s Parties,” The Velvet Underground, Nico (1967)

11.“Diggin’

on You,” TLC (1994)

Written and produced by Babyface, “Diggin’ on You” was released as the final single before TLC dropped their sophomore album “Crazysexycool.” Vocalist

T-Boz (Tionne Watkins) outlines a situation of falling for a romantic interest that she had never considered before. Although she sings that she “Did not want to participate / In no silly conversations,” and “Had no time

“The Velvet Underground & Nico” is an album best known for its iconographic collaboration with 60’s pop artist Andy Warhol. Nico’s somber and transcendental vocals reference the common nursery rhyme, “Monday’s Child,” which was told to tell fortunes for children based upon what day of the week they were born. The song focuses on Thursday’s Child, who is born with the burden of having ‘far to go,’ and being mournful, living in the phase in-between week and weekend.

RIYL: Pattie Smith, Galaxie 500, Daniel Johnston

Contact Tess Dunkel at tdunkel@colgate.edu.