by ImperfectFifth | Apr 10, 2019 | soundtrack, wolf tracks
I created this collection of songs because they represent what inspires me in music. They all have an essence of authenticity. It’s that mix of an infectious melody and a rebellious spirit that ultimately drives me as an artist, and influenced my upcoming second album, True Nature.
I included “Electric Chapel” by Lady Gaga because she inspired me tremendously when I was 17 and decided I was going to be a pop star. That song is so specific to her. I love the twisted romance of it all, and the distorted guitar that ties the whole song together.
When I was 18 and moved to New York City, David Bowie, Prince, and Madonna became the soundtrack to my life. I have vivid memories of listening to “Rebel, Rebel” in my headphones while strutting through the East Village, or sitting in my dorm room at night watching Madonna’s early music videos.
I had to include one of my favorites by Chet Baker. Once I was a senior in college, I began writing songs more prolifically than ever, and I would let the smoothness of Chet’s singing and trumpet playing guide me. I also included my favorite song of mine, “Luvline”, off my new record out this Spring. “Luvline” is my favorite track of mine because it sounds like my heart is singing, even when I hear it now, and that’s how I feel about the songs I chose for this playlist. I’m attracted to music that doesn’t hide from the truth, and these songs are a piece of the artist’s soul.
___
Keep up with Wilder Daze here.
by ImperfectFifth | Apr 2, 2019 | soundtrack
As a 90’s baby, I have always been a lover of the music that came from that generation. Anything from Norah Jones to Maroon 5 I love to listen to. My music was very influenced by the 90’s soul vibe, so naturally I also love it when new artists attempt to incorporate that in their music as well. This playlist is a mixture of songs that I listened to growing up along with songs that I have discovered over the last few years.
Sunrise – Norah Jones
Sunday Morning- Maroon 5
Make you feel my love – Adele
Never be the same – Camilla Cabello
Many the miles – Sara Bareilles
Fallin’ – Alicia Keys
Valerie – Amy Winehouse
Mercy – Duffy
Save me from myself – Christina Aguilera
Gone – Lianne La Havas
Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
At all – Suzy Jones
Thinking ‘Bout You – Dua Lipa
Bound to you – Jocelyn Alice
___
Keep up with Kat Holland here.
by ImperfectFifth | Apr 2, 2019 | singles, soundtrack
If you’re into music that’s a little more edgy – music that could make you go absolutely mad – then Omaha-based rock collective Awaiting Eli has just the soundtrack for you. Check out their “madness” playlist, jam-packed with throwback favorites like Korn, Alice In Chains, Sevendust, and P.O.D.
I Apologise – Bring Me The Horizon
Sugar Honey Ice & Tea – Bring Me The Horizon
Youth of the Nation – P.O.D.
Going In Blind – P.O.D.
Execute the Sounds – P.O.D.
You Walk Away – Filter
My Long Walk To Jail – Filter
Risen – Sevendust
Denial – Sevendust
Would? – Alice in Chains
Them Bones – Alice in Chains
Man in the Box – Alice in Chains
Black – Sevendust
Freak On a Leash – Korn
Rooster – Alice in Chains
Down In A Hole – Alice in Chains
Interstate Love Song – Stone Temple Pilots
Even Flow – Pearl Jam
Far Behind – Candlebox
Will You – P.O.D.
No Excuses – Alice in Chains
Tomorrow – Silverchair
Keep up with Awaiting Eli here.
by Meredith Schneider | Mar 22, 2019 | soundtrack, wolf tracks
March has been mad for more reasons than just basketball, and we’re here to share those reasons with you! Each month, we round up our favorite new song releases in a Spotify soundtrack feature for our fans. Whether you like sad boy music, hip hop, indie, alternative, or a little bit of twang, there is a little bit of something for everyone in this collection. Alycia Lang, New Luna, Kat Saul, Good Fuck… And it’ll just keep growing from here, so check back regularly throughout the remainder of the month for more new gems!
by Meredith Schneider | Mar 11, 2019 | singles, soundtrack
Music week at SXSW 2019 has descended upon Austin, TX, and we are experiencing major bouts of missing out. It’s the first year in a hot second that we don’t get to come down and cover all of the insane music first-hand. But we are also insanely lucky. This year, as in years past, we have found a host of incredible musicians to give their point-of-view a shot on our Instagram page all week! Check @imperfectfifth for the lineup and updates all week long!
Between Instagram updates, I’d test out some of the up-and-comers on the playlist below. This happens to be a host of our favorite SXSW 2019 artists, all compiled in one place so you can stay up-to-date with the industry’s fresh faces. We will be updating the playlist all week, so stay plugged in to hear new things every day!
Support the publication and become part of our community at imperfectfifth.com/merch!
by Meredith Schneider | Feb 13, 2019 | soundtrack, wolf tracks
While half the country is being pummeled by snow, w’ve been searching far and wide for the best new tracks of February 2019. Most of this is because we were originally supposed to go on a weekend getaway to Seattle this past weekend, and since that was canceled (HELLO, SNOW!), we have had a little more time on our hands. So, this month’s soundtrack is stacked already. And it’s only heading toward more greatness because – as you know – we continually update this sucker all month. So check below for newbies from Hugh Marsh, Gold Connections, Emarosa, Cheat Codes, Celeste, and more below!
Come back for more additions to the playlist throughout the month of February!
by ImperfectFifth | Jan 30, 2019 | soundtrack
The first four songs on our list – “Good Times Bad Times” by Led Zeppelin, “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles, “With or Without You” by U2, and “Goodbye Stranger” by Supertramp – are collective choices. They’re also songs we covered on our recently released EP “Them.” We started playing music together in our family’s bluegrass band (we’re all brothers) when we were little kids. As we grew up and started playing electric instruments, we’ve had many influences, but the earliest were bands our parents turned us on to including Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Supertramp. We all kind of discovered U2 individually, but they’re a big part of our collective musical DNA. The idea of the EP was to strip the songs back and record them as if we’d written them ourselves.
We each chose a few songs individually:
Kurt Doerfel (Percussion)
“Lost Tonight” by Saje – When Ed & Ben first started going to Nashville, I’d stay behind and have mini vacations and just enjoy myself. One day I was out with a buddy shopping in Key West and we heard this song in a fishing store. The sound grabbed both of us and we immediately shazammed it. It’s such a simple and groovy tune, but sonically, something I never got tired of listening to. This song inspired me to get serious about producing & writing. I wanted to make something that sounded THAT good.
“Beautiful Escape” by Tom Misch – I hate to sound like that guy, but I was listening to Tom years ago when he had under 10k followers on Instagram. I knew he had something special just by his sound. The classic disco groove, the jazzy/unique melodies, modern hooks, and quality of his music really set him apart from everyone else. I was so eager for him to release music, which he does slowly, but it was always worth the wait. It has been amazing watching his status grow. I definitely think we can all learn something from him.
“Changes” by Mutemath – Mutemath has achieved the perfect balance of siiiick audio production and live performance. In pop these days, I am SICK AND TIRED of a snap sample driving the percussion in a tune. I have only found it to be acceptable and perfectly fit in this tune specifically. These guys have been around for a while but have adapted perfectly to how music is evolving whilst maintaining their roots.
“Way to Go” by Empire of the Sun – Okay, so apparently these guys have been around for a LONG time. My cousin would show me their songs every now and then and we’d just laugh over their music videos and how outrageous they were. I had no idea who they really were because we called them “Dragon Boys” for some reason. One day he told me their actual name, and I actually took time to listen to their most popular songs on Spotify and fell in love. I love everything about them. The simplicity, vocals, synth drums, classic but unique sound, the outfits…all of it! They’ve inspired me to not try too hard to mimic what’s in fashion right now and just let the creative process go where it truly calls, even if it may seem uncomfortable. Every time I’m sad I listen to these guys!
Joseph Doerfel (bass/vocals)
I don’t really have something specific to say about these songs to be honest. I’m more of an album guy. I don’t have favorite songs, I have favorite albums. When I listen to music, I can’t help but put my favorite bands’ tunes on and just spin the whole album and lose myself in the atmosphere it creates in my mind. These songs just happen to be my favorites on some of my favorite albums.
“Death and All His Friends” by Coldplay – The first time I heard a Coldplay song, I honestly did not like them at all. I had no idea who they were, or how long they’d been around for. By the time I gave them another chance, it was easy to see that there was something to their sound that kept bringing me back to listen again and again.
“Stay With Me” by Thrice – Thrice is my favorite band of all time. They’re the first band I ever listened to that made me really focus on what they were writing about and singing in their songs. That and the way they have evolved their sound is something that I always think about when trying to make new music.
“Of Mind – Nocturne” by TesseracT – TesseracT is pretty much my hype music. The melodies and push and pull feel they have are mesmerizing and so easy to listen to.
Ben Doerfel (guitar/vocals)
“Where I Belong” by Switchfoot – Switchfoot is an essential piece of my musical life. “Where I Belong” is my ultimate on-repeat-always-hard-hitting-slow-jam-of-destiny. From the beautiful melody to the fat drum sound and the grungy guitars comes a masterpiece that never leaves my head. Lyrically it helped me If I was ever down, it would remind me why and that its all good in the hood.
“Falling Out” by Relient K – Relient K introduced me to the amazing world of alt rock. I wore out their album “Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right” and more specifically, “Falling Out.” This was the first song I heard that I actually loved the singers voice. Matt Thiessen has been my favorite singer since my 1st listen of this song. The tight rock groove and again beautiful melody made me feel like listening to this song I could accomplish anything!
“Between Me And You” by Brandon Flowers – From a songwriter/producer stand point, this song is just incredible. There are so many aspects of this emotional pop crusher that it’s hard to find just a few talking points. This song made me want to be a great songwriter. Brandon’s lyrics are so unique. Simple yet complex lines that anyone would say but hardly anyone sings. Wrapping the verse around the chorus so it comes back around and falls right where he started, all the while slowly building the song into a massive thing of beauty.
Edward Doerfel (keys/mandolin/vocals)
“Ode to A Butterfly” by Nickel Creek – This is probably one of the most meaningful songs of my musical history. It was the song that really got me into the mandolin way back when I was around 9 years old. Early in my mandolin career I embarked on a musical journey to learn it note for note to play in a competition. 6 MONTHS later of non-stop practice I played it and took home 2nd place. It was an encouraging point in my young career.
“Needle And Haystack Life” by Switchfoot – This song “fueled my fire” in a big way. This was the opening track of the Switchfoot album that turned me into a fan for life! I always liked the band and casually listened to a few of their songs here and there, but growing up I was never a die-hard until the first time I played this song and album, saw them play live for the first time, and also met front man Jon Foreman! Switchfoot even said in an interview that this was a turning point for them musically as a band. It has inspired me both lyrically and musically.
“Forget And Not Slow Down” by Relient K – When I “forget and not slow down” I strive and make leaps in my creativity….just trying to be clever with the song title.. But in all seriousness, I listen to this song when I’m feeling down or uninspired about something. It’s a reminder to me that sometimes creativity doesn’t just come. You need to work for it.
by ImperfectFifth | Jan 24, 2019 | soundtrack
I’m an Aquarius. We are spontaneous, free thinking, innovative, sometimes aloof and obstinate (!) and we don’t like to follow the crowd. This playlist represents a period in time that was so inspiring for me as a musician and fledgling producer. I spent a lot of time between London, New York and Los Angeles, the hip hop and RnB of that time was everything. These were the artists that carved out their own paths, with respectful nods to jazz and classic soul, which, combined with taste maker producers like J Dilla, influenced a genre of music, that some considered ‘neo-soul’, but with a dash of spirituality and a heartbeat that made you screw your face up and nod your head hard, became my ‘good place.’
Keep up with SJae here!
by ImperfectFifth | Jan 16, 2019 | soundtrack
Her step, though dainty or deep, can make any land quake.
The Theme is songs that inspire me to be strong and true to who I am and what I believe in, but also let me get loose a little bit.
Keep up with Casii Stephan here.