7 vibraphonic songs that will make you pound the pavement (and walk for miles)
Beating around the bush is for the work-shy and beating in the bush is something completely different and certainly not advised. Listen, all this chat is about vibraphonic tunes that will make you pound the pavement and walk for miles. If there was a point, and it it was as sharp as this, we’d be in a bathtub shouting “Eureka!”, friends. Too weird? Get aural. Gaural.
I’m no Forrest Gump, but I’ve got my dreams. And Mr Motivator isn’t exactly my bag, but he’s got the kind of consistent energy you might wanna grab for this kind of caper. Do you remember when we had walkmans and we’d actually walk? That was probably the gateway to this main character syndrome playlist, because suddenly we all had a soundtrack to our lives and I lived in mine, I can tell you. I remember pulling the classic trick of “oh, I’m staying at hers” and she was “staying at mine” and we both caught a lift from some dude to the town just over. There was one set of headphones between us and a four and a half mile walk home along country roads, lined with trees, to get back and sneak in. The cars on the corners was pretty sketchy. Full moon. Epic walk. Bad style.
Hoyle Road, Pedestrian
Let’s easy in to the xylophonic—the vibes don’t enter in for a bit, but that’s because he’s telling us he needs to leave and can’t. Has it all gone Hotel California? Not in the slightest. Time is disappearing from all of us, and the gorgeous irony is that you should have escaped into a pace just in time for that melody to kick in, as you get set to pounding the pavement. Landscape sounds are panning phat in the background, claps keep us steady, and reverb is everything on those kicks and moans—hold! Catch a breath. Yesterday is gone—and then get stuck right back in to that beat.
Lamb, We Fall In Love
Those little droplets absolutely slay me. There’s a lucid moment of such gentle there that belies for a swift moment the harsh reality: love is hard, too—“all is lost and won” sings out right before the battle drums. There’s a marvellous war going on here, fighting and then forcing one path, treading together. It’s delicate, it’s honest, it’s pounding—and it’s chaotic. Distorted beats crash at the peak and you can get a little lost there, but stick with it. You can’t fight forever.
Pantha Du Prince, Bohemian Forest
Forest feels more than apt, as you’ll start off at twilight with twinkles and steps filtering in, fluttering full like leaves. Let’s call the feedback slow car swerves and headlights, before you get a stomp on. The random patter locks down and starts to make sense—we’re going on a journey through undergrowth and onto a midnight path. Sure, it’s going to get a bit Medicine Man, but we can just imagine England’s pastures green as the Amazon, no bother. Because, when that tremolo kicks in, shine and bass notes plucking away at your footsteps, there’s no way you’re stopping here.
Paradis, Le Ballade de Jim
Once you’ve cleared those trees you’ll need a solid somnambulate down the road. Reverb for days (and nights) and a whomping bassline is going to keep you chugging at perfect pace. Get your nodding dog on to this one, lads, and dance it out with your shoulders—those little notes are so curious but they never leave us hanging. As for Jim, he’s not doing too well, but you can ignore that for now and just soak in that soft French song. Unless you parle, d’accord? In that case, remember: gin is for night caps, not for night driving.
Vintergatan, Sommerfågel
Things are going to get a little fantastical, here. It starts with a turn-key, the wind-up doll of a vibraphonic stomping ground, and off you shoot into the night. You just can’t ignore the crashing, the momentum, the absolute joy of this propelling you forward, and onward, and outward into your own epic adventure. Every moment is striving and striding towards the next—a soft moment to collect your thoughts—and then plunge the fuck back in. If you’re not soaring on dragons, flying off cliffs, and running with your arms in the air by now, maybe you need to practice imagination.
Kelpe, Grappling Hook
Now it’s really gotten dark. Those echoes that start it all off are going to feel like shadows and that eerie string-thing melody doesn’t help—especially with the twisting and scraping and stretching racking your ears. Sync those feet, keep your hands in your pockets, don’t look at strangers, and let your left-right go stratospheric at 1.58 when some unreal panning hits your ears. Until then, you weren’t sure the vibraphone was even there, right? Go ahead. On this first listen you can totally skip back and replay. (Who am I kidding. I do it almost every time.)
Télépopmusik, Stop Running Away
It’s only appropriate for the end of your jaunt—this is 4am music, and it should be at least that by now. It’s going to get light ever-so soon, and since you got out of those woods alive, it’s time to get back to computer game mode. Truth: I don’t think they’re vibraphones or glockenspiels or whatever, but I can’t be sure for any of these. It’s a vibe thing, anyhow. Punintended. Are you dreaming yet? Are you syncing your limbs to the layered vocals? Are the clouds clearing right now? Stop running away.