Agnes Obel

Hi, 5 Songs writer Adria Kloke here. Last Tuesday morning, I was two entries deep into writing the January 7th edition of 5 Songs when I saw a smoke plume out my window, about a mile away. We’re seven days into my evacuation now, and I’d like to share some songs for comfort and catharsis from my own personal repeat-spins playlist. Also, there are seven of them. Anything goes this week, right?

Let’s kick off with something serene. I listen to a lot of instrumental music when my brain is swamped or spiraling. This beautiful track from Danish musician Agnes Obel is a favorite for calm, for company, and for a good cry. PS: longtime KCRW listeners may recognize this from a spot I produced for KCRW in 2020 to soothe our collective nerves during the pandemic.

Radiohead

This is my list, so really, the whole thing could be Radiohead. Hard to pick one, but when I am in need of a cathartic release, it’s gotta be “Paranoid Android.” I sing-snarl-scream this song at the top of my lungs, usually twice in a row, cause once just isn’t enough. The build-up and release (and build-up again) in this track cannot be beat. Try it. If you’re in the thick of evacuation/loss/insurance anxiety/primordial fear like I am — even the first line is a perfect match for how your trauma brain feels: “Please could you stop the noise / I’m trying to get some rest.” Me fucking too, Thom.   

Aphex Twin

A second instrumental go-to is this icon of electronic production from the one and only Aphex Twin, aka Richard D. James. I play this song on single-track repeat when I’m writing. I’ve listened to this for eight-hour stretches, no joke. One of the more “accessible” or “normy” cuts from the Aphex Twin catalog, I find this song to be creative-chill while still upbeat and… cheeky? It’s hard to explain. Fun rabbit-hole: fan theories abound about the foley-style samples that make up this track.

Sublime

I’m a SoCal kid raised in the '90s. Sublime is in my blood, ok? Don’t be weird about it. This too-often overlooked track is on the harder side of their limited catalog. Pissed? Thrash and yell with Bradley. It’s a hell of a way to start your day. Not much else needed to say about Sublime — it’s fucking Sublime.

IDLES

I’m obsessed with IDLES. To me, they embody what makes punk music so blindingly brilliant. When they first hit the scene, I saw them play live like, five times. Almost threw my neck out headbanging. I had a weird year and missed their latest album TANGK, but you better believe I’m caught up now. Again, hard to pick one track, but I’m going with 2018’s “Television” because the chorus could not be more cathartic if it tried. Sing along, and by the time you get to the end, you’ll have purged more than you even knew you had in ya. Bonus: this is also a good track for any industry folks pissed about the current state of production in LA.

Fiona Apple

I think I’ve heard this song more than any other song ever. Rapt with Fiona in my teen years (as I am now), I memorized this inconceivably structured track — along with the timed breathing and hyper enunciation it requires — and sang it over and over along to a boom box in my bedroom… and then later in my Honda. I still return to it when I need to get lost in something to turn my brain off, like some people do with a mantra or a rhythmic chant. A magnificent song. Art.

berlioz

Finally, a newer music discovery for me, first heard on KCRW. We may be a bit early in the stages of grief for the tone of this track, but let’s seed it for when we make it to acceptance… and recovery! Jazz-influenced DJ berlioz sets warm-embrace production of sax, piano, and egg-shaker-led percussion against a thoughtful and encouraging take on struggle/evolution from everyone’s favorite actor, Willem Dafoe. I like to sway-dance around my living room to this song with my cat. She’s a Willem fan, too. Hope we will get to do that again someday soon.

Love you all.

xo, A