Life can be ugly, overwhelming and too much to handle at times. This is "Chaotic Bliss Through Sonic Resonance," a curated playlist designed to help listeners reach chaotic bliss, which is accepting and finding comfortability in the midst of turmoil and all of its accompanying feelings.
1. Boiler- Limp Bizkit
"Boiler" is off of Limp Bizkit’s third studio album, "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water." The name sets a tone of chaos within itself. The guitar chord intro leaves a lingering trace of melancholy just as ferocity ensues through the song's heavy beat drop. Front man Fred Durst then enters with his opening line, “looks like I’ma do everything myself / maybe I could use some help.” He later goes on to say, “it used to be a lie / I used to feel pathetic and now I get it / what’s done is done / you just leave it alone and don’t regret it.” Durst awakens a sense of confusion within his lyricism, blurring the lines of self-pity and self-realization. The song ends with a hidden interlude, telling the listener to kick back and think about everything they have heard, encouraging them to sulk into the madness of this track.
2. Crack Baby- Mitski
Continuing the trend of intrinsic lyricism where the vocalist wears their heart and thoughts on their sleeve is "Crack Baby" by Japanese-American artist Mitski. Just as the name hints, "Crack Baby" is about a relationship that has run its course yet is still addictive. It relies only on its evocative verses to bring forth a sense of distress that is unexpected due to the song's lush, dreamy tones. "Crack Baby" paints a vivid picture with lines such as “went to your room thinking maybe you’ll feel something / but all I saw was your burning body,” and “you don’t know what you want / but you know you had it once / and you know you want it back.” Mitski takes her listener on a poetic journey where they find that love is nothing short of dangerous at the end. Mitski paints a world where love, which can at times feel like an unhealthy addiction, is simply synonymous with pain.
3. Consideration- Rihanna ft. SZA
This song's infectious drums blast through your ears with Rihanna verbosely exclaiming she came "fluttering in from Neverland." In Neverland, she seeks solace. It's where she goes to get away from the feelings of turmoil she addresses in the song. Rihanna sings, “I needed you to please give my reflection a break from the face it’s seeing now / ooh darling, would you mind giving my reflection a break from the pain it's feeling now?” She is both demanding and pleading to be given respect and consideration while dealing with her own emotions of self-inadequacy. SZA, the writer of the song, accompanies Rihanna singing, “when I look outside my window / I can’t get no peace of mind,” providing a sense of solidarity to Rihanna’s feelings and showing one is rarely alone when life feels too much to bear.
4. Sparkle Tape Break Up- Hiatus Kaiyote
"Sparkle Tape Breakup" by Australian band Hiatus Kaiyote details the emotions one deals with after the storm of chaos has raged. Nai Palm, the lead singer, begins the song by singing, “no, I can’t keep on breaking apart,” ever so gently, as if she’s singing a lullaby to herself in the form of a mantra. Hearing this line gives listeners a sigh of relief, letting them know everyone is bound to have trying times. Palm later sings, “maybe if I was hard and not so emotional,” alluding that if she were equipped with heavier emotional armor, she would not have endured so much pain. Ending the song with her initial mantra-like lyricism of, “no, I can’t keep on breaking apart,” the song creates a full circle moment where its listener comes back to earth, gaining slight peace in the midst of insanity. Palm has a way of singing that fills her listener with the very emotion she’s conveying through song. In this case, she makes the listener feel that the mayhem one experiences is a part of life and builds a sense of renewal once the storm has settled.
5. I Gotta Find Peace of Mind- Lauryn Hill
Following her successful 1998 debut album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," Hill retreated from the public eye, focusing on her motherhood and living life out of the limelight of fame. Her return was marked by her 2002 MTV Unplugged performance album, "Lauryn Hill Unplugged No. 2.0." Both the performance and album were panned by critics due to Hill's long speeches and songs that had heavy, confusing biblical references. Among those songs is the chaotic gem that is, "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind." Upon first listen, it’s easy to assume Hill is singing about a troubled relationship with a man. Lyrics such as, “he says there’s no me without him / he takes all my energy / trapped in my memory,” eventually turn into the lines, “you love me despite myself / sometimes I, I fight myself / I just can’t believe that you would have anything to do with someone so insecure.” In the song, Hill is actually singing about her relationship with God. It's only Hill and her guitar, and the song has such a raw quality that the listener almost feels as if they’re intruding on a private conversation. As she sings, you can hear the strength in her voice and the weakness of her heart. Hill is audibly weeping by the end, showing that in the midst of chaos, one can find their own personal solace, achieving chaotic bliss.
