Track 005: Often - "Palm Trees"
There is one question I get asked the most when it comes to music:
Where/how do you find these songs?
Honestly, I just spend a lot of time on Spotify (like, way more time than any person reasonably should). In college, scrolling through Spotify was my favorite way to procrastinate (and it still is). I’m procrastinating right now as I write this damn newsletter; it’s a vicious, never-ending process of not wanting to do work and just wanting to listen to music all day instead.
In late November of my senior year, I was preparing to go home for the first time all semester for Thanksgiving break. But, as usually happens before a big break, I was inundated with work. Three papers due before I could even go home! That week sucked the way that only a shitty week of college can suck - eating poorly, barely sleeping, sunless days and far too many hours clocked in at the library. Well, I’ll tell you: I don’t remember how I did on those papers, but I do remember the best thing to come out of that week. I put an unfathomable amount of time curating Turkey Day Toe-Tappers - my first annual Thanksgiving playlist - that week (I really didn’t want to write those papers). Easily the most egregious aspect of that process was that I chose not to just dive head first into building this playlist; instead, I first ripped out a piece of looseleaf, college-ruled paper from my notebook and began to write down names of artists that would be a good fit for this playlist because I wanted to draw out the process of making the playlist. In other words, I was even procrastinating my procrastination.
There are 60,000 new songs added to streaming services every single day, and nearly every one of these songs has at least a single redeemable quality. So it can be difficult to explain why I add some songs to my rotation, but not others.
At the risk of sounding too vague, I’m looking for artists that are special: artists who break rules, challenge norms, tackle important issues; artists who use their own lived experience to make authentic, relatable music. There are a million different things that can make a song special, and I suppose that on some level, we listeners must decide which songs are special and why that is. (If that ain’t some beauty is in the eye of the beholder type shit.)
By my definition and judgment, Often has released more than a few special songs in their time. An LA-based singer-songwriter who hails from Atlanta, Often has a uniquely delicate indie-R&B style that allows their hauntingly beautiful songwriting to shine through on just about every song they release. The song that gets to me every time is “Palm Trees,” a soft track that makes use of a gentle soundscape to allow the artist’s vocals to really stand out; this choice accentuates the true, genuine emotion of the song’s lyricism. Often has described “Palm Trees” as something of a goodbye to an old best friend, and this song perfectly captures the bittersweet nature of a farewell: there is so much to look back on fondly, but also so much to look forward to. As Often says, “There’s kind of a knot in the song, a lump in your throat of all the things left unsaid, but it’s ultimately a simple goodbye. An acknowledgement of what was and the peace of knowing when it’s time to turn the page.”
God damnit, I really love that quote.
Favorite quality of this song:
The song’s arrangement. The melodies on this song are sublime, and I love the way that Often ties everything together; nothing is out of place. The production, the songwriting, and the vocals complement each other perfectly.
Make no mistake about it, this is the work of a seriously impressive artist who is in complete control of their craft.
Favorite moment:
The chorus. In the chorus, the production picks up ever so slightly, and Often allows their vocals to shine just a little bit more. I also love the lyricism in the chorus:
Yeah, I'll be waving somewhere by the palm trees
A little sand kicking up serendipity
Favorite lyric:
Got too used to picking you up off the floor
I know I'm not supposed to say that
What a way to open a song.
Stream the song:
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