Atmospheres In Music
Below is a list of different atmospheres that appear on albums. There a more out there, but these are the ones that stand out most to me. |
| 1 |  | Weezer
Weezer
FUN: A fun atmosphere is one that can make you smile, sing along, and, if the time is right, dance. It can make you feel good, and might even get some laughs out of you (if you're not a stiff). I think Weezer's debut embodies this atmosphere excellently. Every song is catchy, and even the albums one serious song, "Say It Ain't So", is hard not to sing along to. |
| 2 |  | The Pogues
Rum, Sodomy & The Lash
ROWDY: A rowdy atmosphere is in the same vein of a fun atmosphere, just more fast-paced and chaotic. This is generally awesome music to drink to. The Pogues' 1985 masterpiece of Celtic punk/folk is as rowdy as they come, even while having some slower, folky songs on it. Listen to "The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn" for a perfect example. |
| 3 |  | Waka Flocka Flame
Flockaveli
PUMPED/ENERGIZED: A pumped atmosphere takes rowdy to a whole other level. Sitting still is basically impossible, and the urge to wreck something is quite hard to quell. There is a reason this type of stuff is what athletes listen to before a big game. Flocka is a true master of this atmosphere, no question. |
| 4 |  | The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Are You Experienced
STONED: On the other end of the fun spectrum, a stoned atmosphere is slower-paced, psychedelic, and generally sounds better under the influence. The Jimi Hendrix Experience perfected this style in 1967, when they released this classic as well as Axis: Bold As Love. Any Hendrix song is a great example, but my personal favorite is "Hey Joe" |
| 5 |  | Explosions In The Sky
The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
BEAUTIFUL: A beautiful atmosphere just emanates beauty, obviously. It makes you think of beautiful moments in your life, and can make you appreciate all that is beautiful around you. Explosions In The Sky captured beauty in all it's essence with this album, and songs like "Your Hand In Mine" and "The Only Moment We Were Alone" proves that. |
| 6 |  | My Bloody Valentine
Loveless
DREAMY: A dreamy atmosphere is like if beautiful and stoned had a baby. It sounds otherworldly, and is great to listen to when you're just lying around on a lazy day. It's the type of music you'd hear in a dream (hence, the name.) My Bloody Valentine nailed this style down to every last detail on Loveless, the essential shoegaze album. |
| 7 |  | Atmosphere
Overcast! EP
MURKY/GRITTY: A gritty atmosphere (can't really avoid the puns there, can I?) is usually lo-fi, often accompanied by static. It gives off an authentic feel, while showing a human element more prominently. The debut record of hip-hop group Atmosphere captures this feeling pretty easily, with production that sounds as if it was recorded on a cellphone (for the better, of course). |
| 8 |  | Brian Eno
Ambient 1: Music For Airports
PURE/CLEAN: A clean atmosphere is the antithesis to murky, as it is generally clear in production and execution. It doesn't have to sound perfect, just clear and easy to listen to. Brian Eno's electronic ambient masterpiece sounds pure even in this day and age, setting the standard for ambient music as a whole. |
| 9 |  | Thee Silver Mount Zion
He Has Left Us Alone...
SAD/DEPRESSED: A sad atmosphere is one we've all heard and all understand. A lot can happen in life that can get you down in the dumps. This atmosphere can make you feel as the creators of the music feel: dreary and unhappy, even if you're otherwise feeling fine. Thee Silver Mount Zion's debut record permeates this feeling on their debut record, dealing with the sad state of the world. |
| 10 |  | The Hotelier
Home, Like NoPlace Is There
GRIEF-STRICKEN: A grief-stricken atmosphere is a lot like a sad/depressed one, but this time it's focused on the specific loss of someone or something, which we can all relate to, making it much sadder as a result. The Hotelier's new record is a fresh take on this grief, as part of the album deals with the suicide of a dear friend. |
| 11 |  | City Of Caterpillar
City Of Caterpillar
HEARTBROKEN: A heartbroken atmosphere is the saddest of them all, feeling as if there is no purpose in living, and as if you're wandering aimlessly among your own pain. This is what it sounds like when someone has hit the bottom. City Of Caterpillar's only full-length is captures this feeling exactly, and pulls no punches with it's heart-wrenching instrumentation and lyrics. |
| 12 |  | Earth
Earth 2
TIRED/SLEEPY: A tired atmosphere is for those days when you feel overwhelmed, and you just need a good nap. Some call it boring, but I think of it as entrancing. Drone metal kings, Earth, really know how to put this type of atmosphere to good use. Listen to "Seven Angels" for a great example. |
| 13 |  | Eminem
The Marshall Mathers LP
ANGRY/MAD: An angry atmosphere is one of the most common, as there seems to be many reasons to be angry in the world today. It allows listeners to blow off emotional steam with ease. Anyone who has heard "Kill You", "The Way I Am", or "Kim" knows that Eminem is quite the angry dude. |
| 14 |  | Converge
Jane Doe
ENRAGED: An enraged atmosphere takes angry and cranks it up to 11. This is the type of stuff born from years of pressure and trauma that only certain people are able to understand 100%. That being said, I don't know if anyone but the man himself could understand just how enraged Jacob Bannon was during the time he and his band, Converge, recorded metalcore masterpiece Jane Doe. |
| 15 |  | Death Grips
Exmilitary
PARANOID: A paranoid atmosphere can make you think that someone, or something, is watching you from afar, or is out to get you right at this very moment. It can make you feel like cops are surrounding your house, even though you've done nothing wrong. Anybody who's heard a Death Grips album all of the way through knows exactly what this atmosphere sounds like. |
| 16 |  | The Dillinger Escape Plan
Calculating Infinity
PSYCHOTIC: A psychotic atmosphere is what you get when you mix angry and paranoid. You get the feeling that these musicians are either nuts, or were going nuts when making the album. I'd spazz out too if I had to learn and memorize everything The Dillinger Escape Plan played on their debut. How they do it is beyond me. |
| 17 |  | Winter
Into Darkness
COLD: A cold atmosphere has the ability to send chills down your spine, give you goosebumps, and make you reach for a blanket, even though you're safe within the warmth of your home. Winter created one of the coldest albums in existence in the form of their death/doom metal epic, Into Darkness. |
| 18 |  | Lantlos
Melting Sun
WARM: A warm atmosphere can make you feel content and at peace within it's comforting aura. This music is the perfect antidote to those cold, rainy days you spend inside. Lantlos' new record is bathed in warmth at every turn, even though the type of music they play is made cold by other bands. |
| 19 |  | Godspeed You! Black Emperor
F#A# (Infinity)
APOCALYPTIC: An apocalyptic atmosphere can make one feel as if they're scouring the ruins of their once proud city, or witnessing the event that caused it's destruction before their eyes. However, a sense of hope tends to remain. There is no better album that employs this type of atmosphere than Godspeed You! Black Emperor's debut (my favorite album of all time.) |
| 20 |  | Burial
Untrue
HOPEFUL: A hopeful atmosphere may seem bleak and uncertain at first, but eventually makes itself known later in the album, sometimes even becoming the main message of it. I think Burial's garage/dubstep opus, Untrue, embodies this very well. The album is dark and dreary at first, but hope becomes more and more prevalent throughout its run-time. I don't know why the hope is there, but I guess the point is that it is there. |
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