Since I was a youngin’, I had trouble sharing certain music with my friends. With a fear of being judged I kept a lot of gems to myself growing up. I enjoyed many spectrums of music, Rock n’ Roll, Country, J-Pop and even DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) hits. Where I was from, my taste in music was deemed weird to others.
Of course in life, we go through many phases. I for one had several phases that were shaped around whatever music I was interested in at the time. Reggae was my Bob Marley phase, Rock N’ Roll meant various band tees, a guitar and green highlights that I wore to school. And my favorite phase, the Indie Phase. Within my Indie phase, I had dreams and aspirations of becoming an artist living in my Brooklyn studio apartment. Enjoying coffee shops and rare sightings of Matt and Kim. I enjoyed every hit that came out of Green Label Sound. As the years went on, I kept that part of my life very near and dear to my heart. Even now I go on an Indie binge and rock out to Peter, Bjorn, and John, Matt & Kim, Theophilus London (Early Theo), Holy Ghost!, etc. The list honestly goes on and that’s why I am sharing this with you all every other “#IndieThursday”.
“Tamale” , “Tame Impala”, “Tah-Meh Imapaley”, Kevin. Greatness. I introduce to you all a force to be reckoned with. An artist that has entered the new millennium with impeccable riffs, angelic vocals, and production to die for.
I came across Tame Impala in the most cliche, college way. My final semester of college, I was in my apartment, kicking back and chilling (If you ever visited my place in Hampton then you know what I’m talking about). It was a Wednesday night and the promo for “Atlanta” by Childish Gambino came on. Of course, intrigued by the promotion for Season 2, the choice of the song is what captured my interest. “Feel like a brand new person, but you make the same old mistakes” played on a loop for that commercial. At the moment I had never heard of a song that was so closely related to what was occurring in my life. I had to know which 70’s group had been resurfaced to fit the theme of this new season of “Atlanta”!
Thanks to Google, I punched in the lyrics and behold, “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” by Tame Impala was the first hit. “Tame Impala? My dad never got me hip to this group” I said to myself. Who was this Tame Impala? Was I a new person but making the same old mistakes? Was Childish Gambino on to something? I don’t know and to this day, I still don’t. I did know one thing, that song was the greatest shit I had heard since Snoh Alegra's “In Your River”.
So this is Tame Impala, a group with a sound way past its time but will be greatly appreciated in the future. That’s one thing I do enjoy about music, during the time that a song or album grows, it becomes greatly appreciated and turns into a classic. Anyway, discovering Tame Impala opened a new window of feelings. It was like my indie-soul revisited me in 2016/17. Every chance I got, I had “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” playing as if it was my tv shows opening or closing theme song. It was the perfect fit for the times.
I was completely enamored by the psychedelics of Tame Impala’s sound. A great deal of their talent can be attributed to the genius of Kevin Parker. Although they appear as a band, Kevin is the “One man, one band, one sound” of Tame Impala. With 3 studio albums and 2 live albums, Tame Impala fits the five senses of music; touch, hear, feel, see, and taste. Now you’re sitting there asking yourself, “how do you taste music?”. I hadn’t felt that in tuned with a musician since @thedarkwaveduchess ABRA. Months and thwn years had passed and during that time I studied Tame Impala. What inspired Kevin’s sound? What was he ultimately trying to create when new projects came out? A lot of those questions were answered once I overplayed and over-analyzed his most popular album “Currents”. I feel as though that if you want to get started on listening to Tame Impala, start with “Currents” or listen to a Maxo Kream song .
If you’re ever looking for that one song that fits your mood of uncertainty, Tame Impala has a whole album dedicated to that. “Currents” is like no album I’ve come across. Maybe it’s because I’m a lyrics over sound person. Either way, it fits. You can dance around in a poncho while listening to the guitar riffs on “Less I Know, The Better” or you can cry while listening to the lyrics. Whatever direction you go in when putting “Currents” on your Spotify or Apple playlist, just “Let it Happen”. "Currents" to me has been deemed an album that can also capture your reality when it comes to situations, relationships or your inner-self. “Currents” was the album that reminded me that, shit happens. You may see your ex at a party and although that encounter may be triggering, the more you stand in ignorance that better things will be (“Less I Know, the Better”). Or sometimes the things we do to others is because that’s just how we are made and we do what we want (“Cause I’m A Man”). And even when you think you’re evolving, you still find yourself making the same damn mistakes (“New Person, Same Old Mistakes”).
Let’s get this straight though, Tame Impala isn’t any under the rug type of singer. You would be surprised how many artists have either used Kevin Parker as a producer, contributor, songwriter or sampler. From Maxo Kream listed above down to Princess Rihanna, Tame Impala has made an impact in the short period that he has been on the map. Click here to see who has sampled his work.
Tame Impala is one of those artists that will continue to make timeless music and that’s what's needed in this day and age. Covering all aspects of instruments, production, and visuals, Tame Impala has the longevity to be impactful in the music industry. I wrote this piece in hopes to snag free tickets to his DC show but whatever it’s passed! So, if you want to check out the work of Tame Impala with your friends, your shorty or by yourself, I suggest you get you a lava lamp, high-quality cannabis or CBD for you working folks, and play “Currents”, “Lonerism” or “Innerspeaker” on your speakers and just vibe out.
I hope you all enjoyed this piece. Leave a positive comment below if you would like. Check out the music that I listed above you might enjoy a few of my Indie throwbacks. If you want to do the activities listed above hit my line!
Selah,
Raven
“Indie Thursday” will be dedicated to an indie band, artist or album that I would like to share with you all. Since I’m older I’m more open to sharing those weird gems I discovered when I was younger. Not only will I be sharing my old finds but also discoveries which bring you here this Thursday!
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