orpheus review

Tag: Staff

  • Daylight Saving Playlist

    In honor of the world’s finest holiday, when we change the time for no real reason, here are some songs to get you through the next months of early sunsets and late sunrises.

    Zephyr

    “Daylight Savings” by Mavi

    Luckily for my fellow Orpheus contributors, this article isn’t a competition for the most on-theme song recommendation. Luckily for our readers, “Daylight Savings” is both the perfect track for time-change listening and the perfect introduction to one of alternative hip-hop’s most interesting voices. The dreamy haze of Mavi’s beats provides a distinctly modern backdrop for a flow that recalls the effortless, unrelenting delivery of older artists like Nas and MF DOOM. What more could you ask for? 

    “Time” by Richard Hell and the Voidoids

    It’s always the right time to listen to Richard Hell and the Voidoids, but Daylight Savings Time is the perfect time for “Time.” Offering as much lyrical sophistication as unbridled punk energy, the song was once praised as ‘rock poetry at its best’ — by none other than the New York Times.

    “(Such A) Trip Thru Time” by Rogér Fakhr

    Looking for a folk soundtrack for your fall-weather walks between classes? Nauseated by the sound of Bob Dylan’s voice after watching A Complete Unknown? Lebanese folk-funk icon Rogér Fakhr is here to help. This song is his most obviously time-related, but you won’t regret listening to the rest of Fine Anyway (Habibi Funk 16) if you get the chance. 

    Hope

    “Twilight” by Elliott Smith

    Possibly the hardest listen from Smith’s whole discography. The feeling of things ending and beginning, all at once, imperfectly, on top of each other, and damned inconvenient. 

    “The Summer Ends” by American Football

    Maybe a bit literal for the Daylight Saving theme but summer has ended! There is no going back, only forward. 

    Maddy

    “2:45 AM” by Elliot Smith

    Stripped down, somber, and somehow nostalgic, 2:45 AM catches you up in itself like a dream might, which makes sense, because that’s kind of what it’s about. Though the lyrics don’t exactly reflect a peaceful dream state, there’s something soothing about it all the same, especially when listened to late into the night while romanticizing one’s life. 

    “7:30 AM” by Slothrust

    Best known for their cover of The Turtles’ mega-hit, Slothrust still has its own glories, and 7:30 AM is a prime example. With on-and-off portions of rapid guitar work and building, direct vocals, the short track delivers a punch – as an early morning wake-up might. Best listened to when raging about something unspecific and existential. 

    Anna

    “5:15” by Chris Isaak

    “5:15 is just a train.”

    Apparently not, considering the extent to which 5:15 o’clock insights Chris Isaak’s mourning of his lost love. Quite melodramatic, as per usual.

    “Once I Was” by Tim Buckley

    Once, but no longer. Another lament of love lost to time’s cruelty.

    “Time (You and I)” by Khruangbin

    An appreciation of both love and change. Not mournful, but optimistic about the joy that can be found through the passage of time. “That’s life.”

    Melissa

    “12:51” by The Strokes

    I know this song is about 12:51am but I feel very strongly that this is a Mid Day Song. This should be listened to at 12:51 in the afternoon and not a minute later – it’s the perfect lunchtime-pick-me-up kind of song. 

    “Time (Clock of the Heart)” by Culture Club

    Boy George dancing in a clock tower. Boy George singing the word “time” in 44 separate instances. Boy George in general. Need I say more?

    Neria

    “In Time” by Sly & The Family Stone

    I was obsessed with this song (and album) in high school. I still haven’t put meaning to the lyrics, but as Sly so eloquently puts it, “In time, (in time) feel a little newer.”  

    “I Can See the Sun in Late December” by Roberta Flack

    Oooooweee nothing like a 12 minute song to get you thinking about time. This whole song is pretty striking…the lyrics, the melody, the bridge. Simply put, Roberta Flack. 

    Oona

    “I’m Still Waiting” by Bob Marley & The Wailers

    I think “still” is an important measure of time for me. Often I don’t know where I am in time or where time is but I know a little of what feels familiar. 

    “Once In A While” by Aretha Franklin

    How long is a while? 

    Kate

    “Reelin’ In The Years” by Steely Dan

    This song uses a lot of time terminology to describe a past relationship. Unrelated, the guitar is really, really good.

    “Running Out Of Time” by Paramore

    “Running Out Of Time” is about, unsurprisingly, the narrator constantly running out of time. Furthermore, they worry that they seem like a jerk since they’ll be seen for their actions rather than their intentions.

    “Killing Time” by Magdalena Bay

    I feel like somebody had to add this song, considering the album’s popularity and the obvious reference to time in the title. The song features a narrator lamenting the passage of time and waiting for a purpose.

    Dani

    “You got time and I got money” by Smerz

    Not really about time… but it has it in the title. Enjoy!

    “Incomprehensible” by Big Thief

    “”I’m afraid of getting older, ” that’s what I’ve learned to say / Society has given me the words to think that way”

    Growing old doesn’t have to be scary! Time isn’t scary! “How can beauty that is livin’ be anything but true?”

    “This Time Around” by Jessica Pratt

    “This time around has it gone so grey that my faith can’t hold out?”

    Time doesn’t always heal, sometimes it just makes the picture sharper. If you ever need a song to cry to at 3am…

    “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” by Simon & Garfunkel

    Because nothing good ever happens at 3 am. 

  • 2025 Staff Halloween Playlist

    Anna

    “Low Red Moon” by Belly

    “You made me cry when I was young…now I got strong arms…he belongs to me…a human bed of roses.” Translation: you hurt me when I was helpless, so I killed you when I was strong enough. All accompanied by haunting guitar and organ-like chimes.

    “You Want It Darker” by Leonard Cohen

    Leonard Cohen could read a children’s book into a microphone, and it would be haunting. When he’s talking about the sins of humanity and torrid relationships with heavenly bodies accompanied by deep choral singing, the scare factor is quite enhanced. 

    “Strangers” by Portishead

    The combination of this song’s unnerving instrumentals and discussion of renunciation of reality put it on the more jarring side of trip-hop. “Done it now, This ain’t real, On this side.” Many interpretations — suicide, dissociation, isolation — none of them joyful, all of them unnerving.  

    Avery

    “Dancing in the Moonlight” by King Harvest

    To some, this song is summer. To me, it is very much Halloween, or fall at least. The instrumentals have a hollow quality, but are simultaneously warm. When I listen to this song, I think of a group of skeleton friends dancing in a circle and enjoying the moon–a celebration of the bizarre.

    Daniela

    “Lesions in the Brain” by Llashwari (Katie Jane Garside)

    “The bitter old lady who watch from the sunrise/ And, oh, God, I’m already scared”

    Feels like I’m being possessed while listening. Disturbing and uneasy in the best way.

    “Blood Bitch” by Cocteau Twins

    Nobody knows what Elisabeth Fraser is saying, but it’s definitely spooky. 

    “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” by David Lynch, Alan R. Splet

    It’s not Halloween until something makes you question if you’re real.

    Kate

    “The Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley

    Quite possibly the greatest Halloween song ever written. I tremble at the thought of The Purple People Eater, because what if it eats me? Its final word of the song, “Tequila,” echoes through my nightmares, and I jolt awake, screaming, as its deranged, chipmunk-esque voice haunts me.

    “Black Eye” by Allie X

    Though not technically a Halloween song, I think “Black Eye” sounds kind of spooky. It opens with scream-like synths followed by a pulsing bass line. The use of organ adds to the dark tonal palette. It’s given an eerie and haunting vibe by its lyrics, which center pain and resilience.

    “This Is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas

    Although the movie can be considered a Halloween or Christmas movie (I usually watch it in the middle, around Thanksgiving), “This Is Halloween” is undeniably a Halloween song. Between the constant repetition of “Halloween” and Danny Elfman’s haunting, energetic score, the song perfectly captures the holiday’s playfully spooky spirit.

    Quimby

    “Halloween” by Phoebe Bridgers

    “Baby, it’s Halloween, we can be anything”,

    This is a song about loving someone so much that you’re willing to be whatever they want. I listened to this a lot when my freshman fall situationship ended mid-October last year. We had planned matching costumes. Terrifying! 

    “Claw Machine” by Sloppy Jane:

    “When my best friend started driving we never went to class, the worst part of the car crash was talking to her dad”. 

    This song was written for I Saw the TV Glow. It’s fundamentally about reaching for something you’re not able to hold on to.

    “John Wayne Gacy Jr.” by Sufjan Stevens: 

     “Oh the dead, 27 people, even more, they were boys, with their cars, summer jobs, Oh My God. Are you one of them?” 

    A haunting narrative about clown serial killer John Wayne Gacy, and about the boys he preyed on. It’s hard for me to listen to this song. 

    Neria

    “Let Us Go Into The House of The Lord/Butterfly Sunday” by Harold Budd

    I feel that this song is a perfect listen for getting into the spooky mood. I would love to go trick-or-treating with Harold Budd. 

    “If Only Tonight We Could Sleep?” by The Cure

    Another great song to get you ready to scare some people! The Cure is a great group Halloween costume, too. 

    Oona

    “Child I Will Hurt You” by Crystal Castles

    This song is a bit spooky. Happy Halloween!

    Hope

    “Goo Goo Muck” by the Cramps

    A cover by the Cramps, originally written by Ronny Cook and the Gaylads. Is this a song about zombies? Cannibalism? It is unclear, but undoubtedly spooky.

    “The Killing Moon” by Echo and the Bunnymen

    Although there is a popular cover by Pavement, I am still partial to the original Bunnymen version (chalk it up to primacy bias). To me, nothing seems scarier than a killing moon, whatever that is.

    Isaac

    “Psycho” by Jack Kittel

    Written in the 1960’s, “Psycho” is a country ballad narrated in the first person that tells the story of a serial killer. I would encourage reading about the writing and recording of the song–about Leon Payne and Eddie Noack. Their stories seem to mirror the unsettling tone of the song. 

    “Gyroscope” by Boards of Canada

    This song sure is creepy. Marcus Eoin supposedly dreamt of the sound of this song in a nightmare, and that is what inspired him to write it.

    Melissa

    “Goodbye Horses” by Q Lazzarus

    Anyone who has seen the horror classic The Silence of the Lambs can confirm: this song is freaky. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, it is undeniable that the ominous synth melody playing throughout “Goodbye Horses” is totally spooky. And I highly encourage you to read up on Q Lazzarus – especially the way her song was featured in that movie to begin with. 

    “In The Cold, Cold Night” by The White Stripes

    Nothing says Halloween like a Hammond organ, and this song has a lot of it. The constant, low hum of the organ matched with the haunting soprano voice of Meg White gives “In The Cold, Cold Night” an unsettling, eerie quality that makes it the perfect Halloween listen. 

    “Run With the Hunted” by Edinburgh School for the Deaf

    Unintelligible vocals? Freaky title? New wave-y guitars distorted beyond belief? Check, check, check. If I was listening to this while walking home in the middle of the night, I would be sufficiently unsettled. And that’s what Halloween is all about. (Also – their song “Orpheus Ascending” deserves an honorable mention here as well because, obviously.) 

    Zephyr

    “Skeletons” by Stevie Wonder 

    Nothing says ‘Halloween’ like skeletons, and nothing says ‘Skeletons’ like the title of this 1987 R&B hit. Full disclosure — compared to classics like “Monster Mash” and “Thriller,” the song isn’t especially spooky. What it lacks in fear factor, though, it more than makes up for in funk factor. 

    “Skeletons Coupling” by mark william lewis

    Other than the aptly Halloween-y skeleton reference, this DIY dream-pop track has virtually nothing in common with my first pick. Consider this proof that Halloween is for everyone, from 80’s soul icons to the rising stars of the London experimental scene. 

    “Seismal” by Shelf Life

    “Seismal” is my favorite song from an album called Hello, It’s Halloween, which is arguably the best work of former Alex G drummer Scotty Leitch. Leitch’s years of collaboration with the indie-pop star are definitely apparent in the album’s sound, but a hefty dose of shoegaze and just a hint of goth make the tracks unique (and perfect for any Halloween playlist).  

    “Voice-Over Intro/Voice-Over Session” from Thriller 

    If Halloween were a person, that person would be Vincent Price. Listen to the secret second verse of his famous “Thriller” rap in this behind-the-scenes recording.