David Bowie

(David Bowie, "Life on Mars." My favorite music video ever, directed by Mick Rock. Lyrics here.)

Dear Bitch readers, it's time for me to leave you.

Thanks for indulging me in all manner of things, from my teenage crushes on Axl Rose and Trent Reznor to my all-consuming current Robyn obsession.

But I did save the best for last. And I'm not even equivocating on that one.

Because I'm not a musician, I'm a writer, I tend to like and analyze and pick at the lyrics of songs. But at the same time, to be any sort of a pop music critic I have to look at the whole package, not just the lyrics. Each part of a pop song is a deliberate choice, and sometimes those choices deliberately contradict one another, undercut one meaning and substitute another, add layer upon layer and give you things to think about with each listen.

It's something I can never quite put my finger on but I use certain songs to play my own emotions like a musical instrument, to change the way I feel (as long as I can handle feeling something intensely).

Which songs do it for you?

 

 

 It's Halloween, and even though we all know that the holiday is mainly about a.) dressing up in lingerie and some kind of animal ears and b.) candy, it's important not to lose sight of the fact that it's also an excuse to bust out some truly chilling tunes -- songs that aren't Halloween-themed so much as they are sincerely creepy. My picks are mostly classic-rock selections that I heard for the first time as a kid and have since had visceral, chilling reactions to. Share your own spooky playlists in the comments!

 

I've been feeling kinda stressed lately—and it shows with my BitchTapes mix. I collected a group of tracks about the external pressures we deal with day-to-day. You know, stuff like: Am I pretty enough? Tough enough? Smart enough? and on and on. The genres I've chosen are each so different, but the themes all come back to same stuff we all deal with at some point in our lives. Have a listen: