Song Club #24: Magical Mundane

There’s a particular magic present in the tiny, seemingly inconsequential details of daily life.

This week I stumbled upon and fell in love with the album Unessential Oils by Unessential Oils. It’s a smooth, vibey record inspired by jazz, folk, and Tropicália that digs deep into the mundane aspects of life.

Its lyrics are laced with ordinary details that are instantly recognizable and resonant.

On ‘Overwhelmed and Unprepared’, Unessential Oils mastermind, Warren Spicer sings:  

In the hot night, in the summer
I like awake and try to go under
Though my mind should be more present
I am consumed by things I haven’t done’ 

On another personal favorite, ‘Suds’, Spicer reflects: 

It was like a little piece of paradise
To be left alone for an hour
It was like a hard, hard drug
To be left alone with a cold beer in a bathtub    

These observations aren’t meant to be mind-blowing, but their smallness and specificity also makes them kind of revelatory. 

One of my favorite humorists and podcasters, John Hodgman, has a sort of catchphrase about specificity being the soul of narrative. The same is true for song lyrics. And there’s a particular magic present when that specificity is aimed at the tiny, seemingly inconsequential details of daily life. 

This week in our writing, let’s explore the magical mundane. 

Keep going, 

Lucy 

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SONG PROVOCATIONS

Write a song about the day you just had 

Write a verse about your morning, afternoon, and evening. What small happenings did you observe or partake in? What ties them together? Perhaps these threads can be pulled together to form your chorus. Experiment with making your observations as small and specific as possible.