Transcendent music is so interesting. What is transcendent music? Well, think of art-pop, mix it with a hint of psychedelic music, and then add some light percussion. You have the makings of transcendent pop! It’s a little difficult to pull off, but I wouldn’t be talking about this song if it didn’t! Let’s talk about the transcendent pop masterpiece that is “Dream of 1988” by Davia Schendel!
Musically, this is phenomenal! I think that there is a very dreamy undertone to it. A song about going back in time to the past, Davia Schendel settled on the year 1988, hence the name. Something that I think is interesting and important about this song is that it takes inspiration from the music of the 80s!
Not only does it pull from the sophisti-pop of the 80s, as the artist stated, but it also has the underlying brass instruments that would often be heard in the 80s, in this case the saxophone. Speaking of, I got to give credit to Philip Greenlief. His saxophone playing is amazing! I also think that musically, it lends itself to existentialism very well. While the lyrics are much more about romance, the tone is an existential affair.
Lyrically, this is, no pun intended, so dreamy! It starts off with Davia saying, “It was the year 1988, I can tell by the license plate”, signifying that some time traveling was going on. A bit later in the song, it is evident that she is with someone, a “lean and tall machine” to paraphrase the lyrics. One of the standouts in the lyrics is when she says, “Sometimes, you make me feel like a queen.”
I think that this lyric stands out to make the song about a romance. That said, what makes this song so perfect is that the dreamy sounds of the music lends this to escapism. Hell, the chorus even says, “Dream on”. This is an existential song about the love you want, but sometimes you have to find that through escapism. Perfection.
I don’t want to give the whole song away, so make sure you listen to “Dream of 1988” by Davia Schendel! You will not regret it!
Written by Marcus Norris
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