Over the summer, I started hearing the chorus of a song as an audio online, and despite the fact that I didn’t really like it all that much, it piqued my interest. I found the original video from the artist, Emei (real name Emily Li), and her unique fashion style and captivating cinematography intrigued me further. Although I have not been listening to her music for long, it is something I can relate to and have so much fun listening to.
Oscar Jasso, a previous editor for The Caldeonian, inspired me to write this article with his own, “Alone at Prom Deluxe, Top 10,” because if he can write about music he loves, so can I. Music is something very dear to me, and Emei has a fun, yet wicked sound that I immediately fell in love with, and, with the release of her newest song “rabbithole” on August 23, I decided to share my love for this artist by sharing some of my top three favorite Emei songs!
- Ferris Bueller. Part of her first EP, End of an Era, this song was released in 2022 and is an underrated gem, in my humble opinion. This is a song that, I think, every student can relate to; and, if you’ve seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, you will know what I’m talking about. Despite this being one of her shorter songs (only 1:57), she talks about how she would much rather do things she sees as worth doing over learning seemingly useless things in school. The song starts off slow and simple before building up to loud, punctuated betas and vocals at the end, symbolizing her growing frustration with her schooling. This is one of her less popular songs, but it is one I fell in love with very fast and would highly recommend.
- Better People To Leave On Read. This single was released in 2022, and one of the first songs that caught me onto Emei. This song is for people who have been betrayed by someone close-or those who like angry, grungy songs. Starting off with swift, short piano notes and continuing with fast, loud drum beats, Emei lets all her frustrations out about a former friend that had an affair with her boyfriend. She had written this song in a fit of anger and sadness, but effectively captured that feeling of being betrayed and used it to create a wonderfully angry message. The tone of the song has an almost aloof or dismissive feeling to it, as the entire plot of the song is to tell the ex-friend that she has lost the right to be worthy of Emei’s time. I adore the tone, the lyrics, and the feeling of “Better People To Leave On Read” and I highly recommend it!
- Love Me Not. My absolute favorite, “Love Me Not” was released in February of this year, 2024, as a single. I adore songs that have happy, peppy instrumentals paired with upsetting, chaotic meanings and lyrics; and this is the perfect example. This song details her struggles with feeling loved in her relationship, as she frequently goes between asking if “you” (her partner) really loves her or wants to break up. Another interesting part of this song is that she is very emotional throughout it, blowing up at her partner for telling her to calm down before asking if “you” think she’s pretty. I absolutely adore how she sounds so confident while singing a song about how she’s overly emotional and insecure in her relationship; as someone who tends to get very emotional over small things, it’s something I heavily relate to.
And, there we have it; one of my favorite artists and three of my most favorite songs by her! Now, I am hoping to create a band/singer review series here, on The Caledonian; so comment your favorite bands, albums, or singers for me or other writers to take a listen to and review in this article’s comment section!
marcelo Osegeura • Aug 29, 2024 at 5:12 pm
Glass Animals!