Solange
Solange catalogs a long list of failed coping mechanisms for an unnamed sorrow, building an inventory of avoidance that…
avoidance and denial depression/emotional exhaustion consumerism as false comfort
Curtis Mayfield
A eulogy that refuses to sentimentalize its subject, using the death of a small-time hustler named Freddie as a blunt instrument…
addiction and exploitation urban poverty complicity and blame
Otis Redding
A man who has moved across the country sits by the water in San Francisco, watching ships come and go, admitting he is doing…
idleness and drift migration and displacement loneliness
Aretha Franklin
This is a driving-metaphor party song: sex and romance recast as a joyride down an open highway in a pink Cadillac. It's…
romantic/sexual liberation escape and momentum playfulness and flirtation