How clearly do you remember your childhood room?
Since my childhood was spent entirely at one house, I remember mine pretty well. The images that stick out most are:
- The orange light fixture, a real 1970s beauty that looked a bit like translucent orange spaghetti.
- The huge map of the country that took up nearly half of one wall and which I stared at constantly.
- The window, which provided a view of the back yard and, if you craned your neck a bit, the tallest building downtown.
- The return air vent which, when opened, provided access to a little hiding spot under the floor for things I wanted to keep out of sight of my parents.
Equally, there are some sounds from my room that I remember. Among them:
- The sound the dresser made when opened.
- The sound of the window blind going up when my mother came in to wake me up in the morning.
- The sound of the fan I would have on when it got hot.
- The sound of my parents’ muffled voices when they had friends over after I went to bed.
Jacob Collier was part of the first generation of musicians to use YouTube fame as a springboard to more traditional musical success. Beginning in 2011, he began uploading homemade split-screen videos of himself singing popular songs with startlingly original harmonies. Soon Quincy Jones was getting in touch, and Collier was suddenly off to play in Montreaux with Herbie Hancock.
When he was ready to record his first traditional album, he did it the way he had done those early YouTube videos; by himself, in his room. He played every instrument, wrote every arrangement. This is the title track.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The shaker, which sounds less like a shaker than an assortment of things found in a bedroom meant to approximate the sound of a shaker.
2. The way he throws in little runs up and down the bass every once in a while.
3. Originally written by a band known for its harmonies, Collier’s version takes those harmonies to the next level. When playing live, he sometimes uses an Imogen Heap-like harmoniser, but I’m pretty sure the recording is just him dubbed over multiple times, and it’s fantastic.
Recommended listening activity:
Making a diagram of your childhood room by memory, as detailed as you can.