VK Lynne's Best Songs

Songwriters measure time in the unit of song. Whether the thoughts and feelings we pour into a composition were a fleeting moment in time, or they have lived in our minds for as long as our memories can trace, each song marks a moment or chapter in life that needed to be told. We can look through our oeuvre and see the turns along the path of life, remembering the events that shaped us into the people we are. To go through a true artist's catalog is to read their story, to listen to them bare their soul so we can make the very real and human connections all of us need.

VK Lynne is one of those true artists I speak of, having bled her truth into songs because that is who she is. Over the years, we have been witness to her artistic development, her personal growth, and her generous spirit. Because the song is the fundamental unit of music, and each song is a unique insight, today I am highlighting the highlights of VK's career.

These are my favorite songs VK has given to us.

Butterflies In A Beehive

The first song that captured my attention was this one from The Spider Accomplice's debut EP. Written about being the distraction of color the drab drones of the world need to see in order to have faith in the beauty of the world, the melancholy melody of this song is a lament to a world that needs art, but doesn't properly appreciate it. The butterfly is left to flit in the breeze, going where the muse takes her, never knowing who will follow in her wake.

Find Me

"Do you want to walk on water?" VK asks us at the start of this song. Such miracles sometimes feel necessary to bring our lives back into balance, as not every mistake made or person left behind can be righted. The only way we can go is forward, and we never know if the person we need is waiting for us around the next corner. Coupled with the sound of jangly guitars from a time before, this song is VK at her most melodic and (dare I say) upbeat. It always rouses the spirit, and makes me glad I did find her.

Whiskey Or Water

VK's signature song is an existential question; What kind of person are you? While I do not drink, and have never tasted the titular whiskey, the philosophy of the song still speaks to me. I have asked myself many times who I am, why I am, and if I will always be. Answers are hard to come by, but we only get there by asking. There are times in life we need to be healed and nourished, and others we need to be soothed so we can forget and move on. Both exist in us, at different times, as needed. VK's sultry and weary croon begs to know who will be there to catch her.

Paper Angels

My brain does not hear or think of music in mathematical terms, despite me getting the highest possible score on the AP Calculus test in high school. I struggle with the rhythmic complexity of Stork's music, but this song breaks through. The sea-sick and skittering riffs break from traditional melody, much as the language of angels is likely not anything we would understand anyhow. We hang idols on our walls, not often stopping to realize that they are images, not people. Three dimensions tell the story, not two, and this song gives another dimension to VK's career.

Crawl

The Spider Accomplice's most defining statement, to me, is this epic power ballad dedicated to self-discovery. Pounding drums measure the beat of life, the huge guitars ring out to the Heavens for answers, and VK's massive vocal finds her embracing the woman she has become. Those of us who are successful at life will shed our skins, stepping into the light as new creatures possessing the wisdom of experience. I may not be able to change, but as VK sings, in "dust and dreams and time... every day I... gain a little more." This song was a massive gain, to be sure.

Plastic Roses

Memories are not ghosts, because those are apparitions that (supposedly) only appear on occasion to startle us. Memories are held with us always, like plastic flowers that stand at full bloom and color even as snow piles up and covers the petals. Our roots are made of that plastic, impossible to cut no matter how far we drift from the starting point. That's what the blues is all about, and VK's blues meets hair metal song is a marker of a time that shaped her, and can't be forgotten even as life has moved on. We are who we have always been, underneath the layers of growth.

Bromelaid

Perhaps my favorite moment in VK's entire career is the little 'yelp' of a vocal she delivers at the end of the chorus of this song. It's a small endearment that has always stuck with me, but it is hardly the only great thing about the track. The build delivers a swell of a chorus, where VK's voice opens up as she implores us to "spread your wings", and soak up everything that life can offer us. Bonus points are given for using the word 'photosynthesize' without it sounding out-of-place. A favorite song of mine tells me that some flowers never bloom, which I think of myself, so perhaps I need to keep hearing that we indeed can.

Seam Ripper

The ties that bind us do not have to. VK reminds us of that on this infectious pop bop, which mirrors the relief and satisfaction that comes with excising trouble from our lives. Sometimes, people have served the purpose they will for us, and holding on for the sake of holding on isn't doing either party any favors. Her tongue-in-cheek delivery at the end gives us a chance to reflect on whether such efforts work out for the best or not, but granting ourselves permission to seek out happiness is the key. It's easier to be happy when a song makes you smile and tap your toe like this one does.

Oil Meets Rain

"Life finds beauty in the pain," VK sings on this song. If only that were true, we would all be beautiful creatures. Much like seeing the rainbow refracted by an oily puddle after the rain, the colors of life sometimes only come into clarity when our souls are flooded by the chemicals of pain. No matter how black things may look, every color is just a tilt of your head away, waiting to be revealed as the sun eats away at the pigment and fades it into a figment of the past. This jaunty pop song captures that spirit, and bounces along like a candied halo of curls headbanging to her own beat.

Sunday

Taking risks is terrifying, but sometimes pushing through the fear is the only way to find out what we are capable of. Starting a new life is not for everyone, but dreams cannot come true if they stay confined to the walls of your mind. "Sunday" is one of VK's most panoramic songs, because it is the sound of looking backward at where life was, then turning to look forward to where life could lead. Without the story of this song, VK would not be who she is, where she is, making the music she is. On the seventh day God rested, having created the world, while on the seventh day VK was just beginning to create her new world. "Sunday" is a special day.

Of course, there are more songs I could mention. "Scarlet Rain", "There Is Nothing", "End My Life", and "Calico Concrete" are all just as meaningful as the songs I have mentioned here, but we have to draw the line somewhere. I think you got the point.