STAFF PIX 11/14: Calm

“If Not For You” by George Harrison

Off of George Harrison’s triple-album All Things Must Pass (1970) is Harrison’s version of Bob Dylan’s “If Not For You,” a cover that’s smooth as it slides—literally, thanks to Harrison’s Dobro slide guitar—into a love song sweet enough to swoon over. Keyboardist Billy Preston on the organ, Alan White (drummer of the band Yes) on drums, and Ringo Starr playing the tambourine… Harrison’s arrangement slows down Dylan’s original song into a moment of serenity with lyrics such as “If not for you / The winter would hold no spring / Couldn’t hear a robin sing / I just wouldn’t have a clue / If not for you.” “If Not For You” begs you to sit still for a moment and look at all life has to offer with a gentler eye. And you might just fall in love with George Harrison, too. — Heather Thorn

“Faced With Fire” by Margaux

Off of Margaux’s 2019 EP More Brilliant Is the Hand That Throws the Coin, “Faced With Fire” is a silky smooth ode to the intensity of new love. It’s beautifully arranged with a sliding guitar, brassy horns, and a warm layer of strings. It’s an intricate poetic dedication that compliments the relaxing intonation of Margaux’s voice. Featured on almost all of my playlists from 2021 to now, the track has always been a staple for me and remains as one of my favorite songs of all time. — Sophie Parrish

“Vapor Trails” by Grouper

Less “chill out” music and more like an all-subsuming quicksand of sound that sucks you in and refuses to let go. It’s ambient music, sure, but once you’re truly in the thick of it, “Vapor Trails” becomes something far stranger and more emotive than just background music. Over the course of an all-too-brief nine minutes, Grouper’s nurturing hand guides the music onwards and upwards, latching onto fleeting wisps of reverb and gently guiding them heavenbound towards the song’s opaque tonal center, like a great stormcloud gathering droplets. Her voice resonates on a purely emotional level, at times melting into the music as just another drone, and at others piercing a hole clean through the haze, as if calling out directly to the listener. It’s like looking through stained glass and seeing distant memories whirl by on the other side in silhouettes, of people, of places, of days gone by. It’s all there, faintly, but you know at some point, it was more real than the present day. — Lucca Swain

“Carry Me Ohio” by Sun Kil Moon

Released in 2004, on Sun Kil Moon’s album, Ghost’s of the Great Highway, Mark Kozelek reflects on the death of his ex-girlfriend in the 6 minute hypnotic ballad, “Carry Me Ohio.” Introduced to me a few years ago by a close friend, it has consistently been a song I can put on over and over again without ever getting tired of it. Kozelek asks for the subjects’ soul to be healed after her death, and carried on through the Ohio River, from which he is from, reckoning with the death of someone once so close to him. In a simple chorus he sings, “Heal her soul/ Carry her, my angel, Ohio.” The lyrics uncover raw and honest emotions as he sings over a repeating acoustic guitar, giving the song both a depth, and a drone-like quality to it that keeps me coming back to it. — Hanlon Lowther

“Thirteen” by Elliott Smith

To me all Elliott Smith songs sound like one of two things: watching The Royal Tenenbaums and drinking a cup of tea on a wonderful October afternoon, or having an emotional breakdown of biblical proportions in your childhood bedroom. Thankfully “Thirteen” is the former—probably because it’s a cover of a folk-pop song from the ‘70s, so its lyrics lack the knife-to-the-heart quality of the rest of Smith’s music. It’s an ode to adolescent innocence set to simple acoustic guitar, with just the right amount of melancholy to feel like a three minute long warm hug. If you’re in the mood for Elliott but don’t particularly want to relive your most painful breakups or feel the need to call your therapist, “Thirteen” is a pretty safe bet. — Mimi Newman