This was supposed to be part of a weekly series talking about music I like but… Yeah that fell through early thanks to various factors. Still, this one was done so I figure why waste the work?
For this week I decided to go outside of video games because believe it or not, I do listen to normal music too. Migranes by Torr is an odd song for me. Objectively speaking, its lyrics are depressing and the tone is a bit of a downer, yet I can’t help but describe it as “vibes”.
According to Torr’s twitter bio, this is pop music. I can’t refute that given my knowledge of pop music was that it was short for “popular” so listen to the person with more expertise. What really stands out from this song is the harmony, if you can even call it that. While torr is singing about “staying up alone” you have these synth/electronic noises playing a much more interesting line than the near monotone lyrics. I mean one of them literally sounds like a bubble popping so I guess it really is pop music
A more subtle part of the song are the low tones that play below everything, they create the foundation for the rest of the song and create a cool rhythm for the harmony and melody to play off of.
The lyrics themself talk about how torr is lonely, waiting for someone to send a message, a lost lover perhaps. They can’t fall asleep from all the pressure of waiting for a message that will never come, and its causing headaches, hence the title of the song. Its real downer music but is entirely on brand for torr’s songs.
Torr serves as a musician that makes songs with very sad lyrics but somehow creates the comfiest song possible around them. I think of other songs like NPC and eviction notice and they’re simply nice to listen to despite the inherently depressing content of the lyrics. This idiosyncrasy might just be because i’m screwed in the head, but its more likely an active choice by torr, which makes it all the more interesting and fun.
All in all, a fun song, I love the instrumentation, if you can call it that. Would it be sound selection? Questions for another day.