Holy SHIT this song. I know that's a terribly unprofessional way to start a blog post but frankly I don't care. I'm finally getting around to listening to the first single and second released song from neo-psychedelia maestros Tame Impala and it's an amazing track.
Listen and lets talk about synethesia because I promise there's a link. In short, synesthesia is a condition that causes disparate senses to become inseperable. The number three is red. Red is a bumpy color. The word "portamento" tastes salty. I'm being totally serious here! Stories of
Synesthesia and music are well documented all over the pop-sci reading charts. We think of these examples as strange but lighter forms of synesthesia are a huge part of our culture.
Why do even numbers tend to be viewed as more positive? Why are these bass notes "low"?
Which brings me to Tame Impala's "Elephant". It's so damn HEAVY. And I don't mean that in a Black Sabbath metal kind of way, which this song obviously takes cues from. The bass swagger seems to fill the entire room. It feels confident, like a fullback who's put on some pounds after retirement competing in a grape stomping competition. Thing is: this is just as arbitrary as 13 being a "bad" number--we're just so used to these notions that it has become common sense. You can read more about these lighter forms of synesthesia here but my point is that synesthesia is hardly as strange as we want to believe. Some of this is cultural, but it was introduced and stuck with culture for a reason: It made sense.
What numbers do you taste when you listen to Tame Impala?
Listen below to the other song already released from their new album Lonerism.
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