Kendra Brea Cooper
There are times when you just need chill music. You can’t let go of your love for rock, but you can have the best of both worlds with these albums.
I used to fall asleep to this album in my teens. It was the only one that could put the angst to rest long enough for me to drift off in the middle of Pennyroyal Tea. Little did I know that this was a piece of rock history coming through my speakers and making its home in my dreaming subconscious.
Like Nirvana, Pearl Jam grew out of the grunge scene. Grunge has this way of being able to split between something you can jam to, and something you can chill to. Pearl Jam knows this, and they split their hits into two discs. The downside has songs like “Black” and “Better Man”, which will rock your alt soul into a sweet, plaid-wearing calm.
This album is all mood in the form of sound waves. “Fade into You” melts from the speakers, and fills the room with thick feelings. It’s one for getting lost in the moment.
Classic Tom Petty songs are the best late-afternoon-feet-up tunes to relax with. They’re also good for sun down drives when you’re so inside your own head, you just happen to find yourself again.
The voice in this album is memorable for its ethereal qualities. The songs have no pretentious vibes and the guitar sounds as raw as the lyrics. Justin Vernon (singer) mends a broken heart with each word threaded into the tissue.
Not many would think of Alice in Chains as music you can chill out with, but they can pull you into their sound with the unplugged album. The song “No Excuses” is as edgy as ever, but it sucks out all the tension in the room as Alice in Chains takes it all on their shoulders for you.
If you have something heavy on your mind, Dave Matthews can take it off for the length of a song. That’s why people leave his famous Gorge concert like they’ve had some kind of spiritual experience. The songs have a way of making you feel light on your feet.
A hero to every barefoot guy who brings the guitar to the bonfire, Jack Johnson is the chill king. He makes money off the image of being down to earth, which I guess is the image of a dude carrying a surfboard. Anyway, there’s nothing like Johnson on a sunny day.
In the past few years, the music scene has turned towards the strums of folk rock. Mumford and Sons have an easy going quality, at least enough to chill you out after 6pm on a weekday.
Artistic and ground breaking, the album speaks for itself.
Pop culture and all that ideology sitting in the blind spot. Also crafts.
