WHALE by Yellow Ostrich is my favorite song of all time, and I personally think it is the best song ever made. There, I said it. Blog post over.
Oh, you wanted to know why? Okay, fine.
The title "favorite song" often gets thrown around by listeners from time to time. I'm sure I've said so in my past about one particular song or another. Taking a step back and reflecting on these statements, I realized I truly did not think it was my favorite song ever. People do this kind of thing all the time, saying "Oh my God, XYZ is my favorite artist ever. Nothing can get better than this." Then talk to them in a month and they haven't listened to that artist in three weeks. That's fine. It's understandable that people get excited about new awesome things and claim them to be their favorite. That being said, I am completely, 100% serious when I say that WHALE is my number one, hands down, favorite song of all time. Crazy, right?
Back when I first heard WHALE, I was enthralled. I stumbled upon it while scouring the internet for new, awesome music. I stumbled upon Yellow Ostrich and saw the single-worded title sitting comfortably at the top of the artist's played songs on Spotify. Immediately following the starting tone, it captured me. It started out with a simple, echoing drumbeat that hooked me. A few bars later, there was my siren's call. The harmonized "Oh-Oh"s brought Alex Schaaf's unique vocals to the forefront as he began WHALE's poetic verse. The drums pick up complexity and a tambourine shakes its jangly rings to create a truly awe-inspiring beat. The lead vocals combine with the soft background voices and some well-placed silence to keep my on the edge of my seat. After the single chorus, I was on the edge of my seat. What was this beautiful beast building up to? Only a moment of silence had passed when the whole theme came back with more energy and happiness than before. Never in my life had I felt such a powerful emotion channeling through me like this first encounter with this amazing song. I could tell I had found something special.
Despite my utter enjoyment for the song, I was skeptical. I knew it was good, but by then I had realized that such a bold claim of favorite song was not something I should throw around lightly. I gave it the old Spotify gold star and kept it in my current playlist and on my mind.
A month passed and I was invited to sit in on a new friend's radio show (shout out to Isaac for the invite). He and his co-hosts allowed me to play one song and to talk about it. I chose WHALE, and when I heard it go over the air and saw the look on everyone's face in the studio, that first rush of bliss hit me once more. I couldn't believe this song hadn't been more well-known, especially given that everyone who heard it enjoyed it thoroughly. At this point, WHALE had officially become my spring jam that I wanted to show everyone. Still I was hesitant to put it on the golden pedestal that was "Favorite Song of All Time and Space". I needed more.
I listened to WHALE often during this summer, and I really took it for granted. I always assumed I could rely on its upbeat sound and awesome vocals to cheer my day up after a shitty day of work. I continued to show people, never thinking once I wouldn't be able to enjoy Yellow Ostrich's best song. I even grew to appreciate most of their work on what seemed to be a similar level to WHALE. I didn't realize what this song meant to me until I went without it.
I went overseas to Europe this summer for a week and a half, but those eleven days were all I needed to understand the impact this song had on me. The only electronics I brought to Europe were my Ipod and a camera, and I hadn't updated my Ipod in over two years. This meant I couldn't listen to WHALE or show it off to the many friends I met during my stay in Holland and France. Halfway through I realized I missed listening to WHALE. I literally missed a song more than a lot of people I had left in the states. It felt like I physically depended on it, like it was an addiction. The first thing I listened to when I arrived back in Jersey was WHALE, and its sweet tunes felt like I had just caught up with an old friend. That was the moment I realized I had found the one: my favorite song of all time. And I now am confident that it shall never be overthrown from the spot where it stands.
I'm not too naive to see the potential future where I do, in fact, find a song I like better. So many talented musicians create so many amazing new songs every day, it seems like it's only a matter of time before I hear my new favorite song of all time and this whole post makes me look like an idiot. The crazy thing is, I don't think I will. WHALE has been my number one jam for six months without break. In music terms, that is forever. I have never even had a song that close to being my number one song for that long before, and WHALE still holds that title firmly for me.
What's your favorite song and why?
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