What I'm listening to right now

Saturday, February 15, 2014

SONG OF THE DAY: "The Best Day" by Atmosphere

From time to time, I will set a theme for a series of SotDs that can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on how much material I wish to cover. This week's theme will be rap songs!

RAP WEEK SONG #7!

Atmosphere is one of the better-known groups going in the alternative hip-hop game, which is only fair since they've been doing their thing since 1997. The group has released seven albums and sixteen EPs in that time, including several highly-regarded classics of the genre. So, with a group as prolific and of such high quality as Atmosphere, I could have easily dug up a heavy deep cut like "The Woman With Tattooed Hands" or "Scapegoat." I'm not going to do that though. It's Saturday night, so to conclude RAP WEEK, I feel it's only appropriate to pick a party song, as well as one of my favorite Atmosphere songs.

Ant and Slug (the two current members of Atmosphere) are founders of the Rhymesayers Entertainment record label and rap collective, which features many heavyweights in the scene, such as Aesop Rock, P.O.S., Musab, and Brother Ali. Atmosphere first began gaining widespread notoriety following the release of 2003's Seven's Travels, released on Epitaph Records, the legendary punk label. Their association with the punk scene led to their appearance on the 2004 Warped Tour, which they returned to the following year. The music video for "Trying to Find a Balance" was played on MTV2 and other various channels, and "The Keys to Life vs. 15 Minutes of Fame" was included on the 2004 Warped Tour Compilation. From there, the group took off. "Say Hey There" from 2005's You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having and "You" from 2008's When Live Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold were also very successful, establishing the group as a major player in rap and proving that alternative rap can find mainstream success.

One thing I love about Atmosphere is their versatility. One minute, they're writing songs about extremely heavy subjects, like domestic abuse ("The Last to Say") and working poverty ("Guarantees"). The next they're singing about beautiful weather ("Sunshine") and beautiful women ("She's Enough"). They also excel at blending heavy subjects with upbeat music, as they do on "Yesterday" (the death of a parent) and "The Waitress" (homelessness). They have songs to party to, songs to bob your head to while doing homework, songs to drive to, songs to make you think, and songs to entrance you in the music. Slug is an incredibly visual storyteller, writing funny, sad, heartbreaking, clever, angry, motivational lyrics that are both intensely personal and easily relatable. Their success is no accident.

What I love most about "The Best Day" is how optimistic the song is, serving as a reminder not to let the crappy days bum you out too much. Just grit your teeth, accept it, and move on. The lyrics are smart and sneaky, describing scenes that can sound tired and overplayed in a way that gives them life again. I especially love the section about school. Give it a listen and brighten up your day to get pumped for the night!


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