The Appealing Uneasiness of Listening to L’Rain (Live at JBL)
Switched on Pop23 Heinä 2021

The Appealing Uneasiness of Listening to L’Rain (Live at JBL)

L’Rain is the musical persona of singer and multi-instrumentalist Taja Cheek, whose new album, Fatigue, begins with a lyrical quandary: “What have you done to change?” What follows is a journey of self-discovery, the songs interwoven with home recordings of practicing piano, clapping games, and everyday life. The first full length song, “Find It,” repeats the mantra “Make a way out of no way,” looking for a path out of darkness. An unexpected sample of a preacher at a friend’s funeral service — recorded with permission by L’Rain — interrupts the chant promising that “Good days outweigh my bad days.” But L’Rain doesn’t provide quick solutions for making change. Rather, she takes us on a journey that evades easy understanding. By avoiding conventional structures, L’Rain asks the listener to lean in close to the music. The sounds are at times unsettling — on “Blame Me,” the guitar warbles in and out of tune — though the uncomfortable moments are blanketed over on songs such as “Take Two,” where warm synthesizers mix with angelic voices. The melodic hooks and captivating rhythms on “Suck Teeth” reveal L’Rain’s command over the experimental work — she is meticulous about building layers of sound on her many instruments. Had L’Rain pursued a more traditional style of songwriting, or further fleshed out Fatigue’s catchiest moments, the record might be an easier listen — but not as rewarding. Instead, its undulating moods and nonlinearity mirror the unpredictability of human emotion and the up-and-down nature of personal change. To help decipher this album, Switched On Pop’s Charlie Harding spoke with L’Rain at JBL’s flagship store in Soho in front of a live audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jaksot(525)

How Spotify hacked our ears (and our data)

How Spotify hacked our ears (and our data)

Behind Spotify's promise of infinite music lies a carefully engineered system that shapes not just what we hear, but how music itself gets made. Journalist Liz Pelly's explosive new book "Mood Machine...

4 Helmi 202551min

25 Predictions for 2025: Grammys, J-pop, kazoos and more

25 Predictions for 2025: Grammys, J-pop, kazoos and more

2024 was an unpredictable year, and 2025 seems to be cut from the same cloth. So for this episode of Switched On Pop, Nate, Charlie, and Reanna look into the crystal ball of pop music to create a (pla...

28 Tammi 202555min

Bad Bunny's love letter to Puerto Rico

Bad Bunny's love letter to Puerto Rico

The first great release of 2025 is already here: Bad Bunny's newest album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. Over the course of its 17 tracks, the Puerto Rican reggaetonero crafts an intertextual, anti-colonial t...

21 Tammi 202546min

The biggest theme song fail

The biggest theme song fail

What happens when your podcast’s theme song—cobbled together from GarageBand loops—gets called “game show music” and likened to a cereal commercial? You rewrite it. In this episode, we take you behind...

14 Tammi 202539min

Have Disney musicals lost their edge?

Have Disney musicals lost their edge?

Critics are not feeling the love tonight when it comes to Disney's latest sequels, Mufasa and Moana 2. They've called the animated films "lifeless and bland." But save some sympathy for the composers ...

7 Tammi 202539min

Going Off Book

Going Off Book

On this very special episode, we join forces with the hilarious podcast OFF BOOK. When our powers combine, Zach and Jess of Off Book, plus their killer backing band of Scott, Dana and Brett create an ...

31 Joulu 20241h 31min

Auto-Tune always and forever

Auto-Tune always and forever

Popular music changes all the time, but there’s been one consistent element in practically everything released in the last two decades: Auto-Tune is everywhere. What started as a simple audio processi...

24 Joulu 20241h 2min

Santa Claus is coming to town and stalking America

Santa Claus is coming to town and stalking America

The first time you hear "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," it probably registers as just another cheery holiday standard. But hiding within this seemingly simple song is a remarkable story of American t...

20 Joulu 202433min

Suosittua kategoriassa Viihde

anni-jaajo
tuplakaak
grekovit
hei-baby-3
terveisia-perheesta
the-harlin-show
dear-shirly
antin-palautepalvelu
bella-table
antin-elokuvakerho
everypodi
verhon-takaa
dear-shirly-ja-arttu
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
nonsensepodi
get-jassud
tahtitehdas
terkuin-jenna
hollywood-love-stories-2
tervo-halme