Credit: ANTI INC.
Credit: ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION
We’ve all been in fights with our friends at one point or another. Usually, they’re just small misunderstandings. (Why’d you bring me mustard, man? You know I hate mustard! Aren’t we friends?) But other times, arguments explode into full-blown feuds, to the point where your friendship comes into question.
Many a movie has included such a fallout, and like any movie, this explosion and its aftermath should have a soundtrack.
One day, you and your best friend get into an argument. It doesn’t start off as anything big ““ maybe it was just another heated discussion over condiments. You’re already having a bad day, and you let the heat of the moment throw your self-control to the wind. The argument explodes into a full-out yelling match and ends with both of you fuming and questioning your friendship.
This all happened because of one thing: You woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Luckily, there’s a song that channels this phenomena perfectly. It’s by Sean Rowe and is appropriately titled “Wrong Side of the Bed,” off the album released on Feb. 21 titled “Magic.” It explores all the little things that could set your day off on the wrong foot.
Rowe details one minor occurrence that set one man’s day off badly: “I just got cable and I had to see what kind of mindless shit they’re sticking on TV / My suspicions were confirmed / I just went back and read / Well, I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”
The music to the entire song is subtle and brooding. But at the same time it’s not too heavy; though the music is dark, it’s a little bit funky.
Still, the damage is done. You and your former best friend, your former brother- or sister-in-arms against the world, don’t speak to each other for weeks. But out of the blue, you hear your friend is in trouble. Usually, you’d be the first to jump in on his or her behalf. This gets you thinking about your friendship.
As you think, the perfect song to play in the background is “Daniel In the Lion’s Den” by The Low Anthem, a bonus track off the deluxe version of their album titled “Smart Flesh,” which was released on Feb. 21. Now, regardless of the situation you find yourself in, it’s easy to relate to a song about a friend in trouble, just like it’s easy to relate to an angry song when you’re angry or a sad song when you’re sad.
Amid the sounds of organ and simply strummed electric guitar that bring to mind the rock of the ’90s, The Low Anthem’s front man sings, “Poor old Daniel in the lion’s den, gone to fetch the water from the well / What is taking him so long? / Who will go find him ‘fore the morning come?”
The music itself, along with the yearning and anguish with which the vocals are delivered, makes this a perfect song to listen to while sitting on a windowsill on a rainy night, pondering the fate of your friend. You know that you should help him or her … that you want to. So, seeing as you’re not an awful person and you do still value this friendship (whether you’d admit it or not), you help.
Helping a friend you thought you had lost is a powerful thing. It can break down barriers that two young people have built up, either out of anger, hurt or pride. It can get you back to the way things were, or at least a step in that direction.
And, as you take those steps in the right direction (preferably in slow motion), it’s time to play “Never Forget You,” by Lupe Fiasco featuring John Legend. The song is available through the Lupe Fiasco iTunes Pass, a sort of musical season pass that allows listeners to gain early access to musical material related to the artist on the pass. Lupe’s upcoming album, “Lasers,” is set to be released on Tuesday.
Lupe sings of reconciliation in what is an extraordinarily well-written rap with a real heart behind it. In addition to piano and drum beats, Lupe is backed by John Legend’s vocal talents at the chorus. Legend sings, “Take me to that old familiar place / Take me to the memories we won’t erase / Take me to all that we had, good and the bad.”
When it comes down to it, getting back to the foundation of a friendship is always a good way to go in the midst of an argument. There’s common ground deep down under all the noise; otherwise, you wouldn’t have become friends. Cue the cheesy fade-out music.
If people have mistaken your arguments for nuclear explosions, e-mail Bain at abain@media.ucla.edu.
“Single-Minded” runs every Friday.