Konstantin Samoilov: I am with Natalie Taylor, currently in Lake Tahoe, California, and living in Tbilisi, Georgia. Natalie loves “My Heart With You” by Pentatonix. Natalie, what do you feel when you listen to “My Heart With You”?
Natalie Taylor: I feel a lot of things. First, I will say I've been listening to Pentatonix ever since university, basically. And I just, I've been a choir kid all my life. So, it's just, the group Pentatonix itself is very relatable. But when I listen to their cover of “My Heart With You”, originally by The Rescues, I just feel… I feel cozy, yet uplifted at the same time. It's almost like — I was thinking about it a bit earlier — it feels like being wrapped in a thick, luxurious blanket, something that is like $500 or something. And knowing that you don't have to do anything. You don't have to do any work. You can just take your time and enjoy the moment. And that's what the song makes me feel mostly.
Konstantin Samoilov: Do you tend to… I guess the blanket part and the, like, don't do anything part, do you, do you tend to listen to it when you're already in that mood, or do you tend to listen to it when you want to get into that mood?
Natalie Taylor: Oh, that's a great question. I think mostly when I want to get in that mood and when I, lately, when I do turn on this song, it's like five times at least I'll have it on a loop just because I love it so much. Like for example, packing to come to the U.S., I just had it on a loop like five to 10 times just because it made me feel relaxed but also motivated to get packing done. Which sounds, like, which sounds kind of terrible in a way to, like, use this song to get something else done. But for me it worked and did the trick.
Konstantin Samoilov: So packing must be kind of like a little bit meditative for you or, or somewhat flow in a way, cause this isn't a kind of, super fast paced, like, energetic song that gets you to like, do a thing in a kind of, you know, your stereotypical way really fast. It's like, the packing here would be, like, slowly folding the clothes, putting them in, kind of a very, like…
Natalie Taylor: Oh, honey, no, I'm not a… It's quite the opposite. For me, like, packing causes me some anxiety just because there's lots to think about and I tend to overthink when it comes to packing.
So when I put on “My Heart With You”, it's something that just calms me down and kind of makes me stop overthinking about, like, pointless crap when it comes to packing. So for me it was a way to think about something else and just kind of relax me at the same time doing something that is otherwise stressful.
Konstantin Samoilov: Mm-hmm. I thought, like, when I was listening to it — so I don't listen to a lot of Pentatonix and I will usually listen to a lot more, like, loud whatever stuff, and thus this was new to me, but like, the negative space in that song, where they sing and then silence, and they sing and then silence, and then — I really enjoyed that. Like, what is your experience with having this, you know, having the song go into actual complete silences?
Natalie Taylor: Oh, I love it. I mean, it just at the beginning of the song too, where the, the entire song, and I think you'll agree, they take their time throughout, which is kind of, mmm, it's magical in a way.
Like, mmm, it's hard to describe. It almost feels, like, too luxurious. It almost feels like it's a song that you should pay for because it takes its time. And yeah, I feel like I kind of savor those moments in between the beautiful five-part harmonies. Well, it starts off with a three-part harmony and then it goes into a five-part harmony, which is absolutely gorgeous at the end. There's a specific word that I want to talk about in the end when they have the five-part harmony. I believe it's when the five-part harmony starts, it's this, mmm, it's like halfway through the song and it's on the word “survive”. Oh, it's so good! But in terms of the pauses, it just makes you really appreciate how beautiful the song is and also makes you appreciate — I love acapella music and I always have, but it really makes you appreciate the human voice, especially in the absence of musical instruments.
Konstantin Samoilov: If you — have you met any other people that love this song as much as you do?
Natalie Taylor: No, I haven't. Okay. I'm sure they exist though.
Konstantin Samoilov: I'm sure there's a lot of them, yeah. How do you think that conversation could go with, you know, if you're in a room with, like, two or three other people that love that song and you're sort of re-listening to the favorite parts and just enjoying it?
Natalie Taylor: Well, if it's two or three other people in the room, I would bet that at least one of them was a former choir kid. I feel like that's a good bet. Yeah, I don't really know how the conversation would go, but — this song is pretty heavy, emotionally, at least like for me, I feel a lot of things when I'm listening to it, so I feel like we would have a lot to discuss. I can’t… yeah.
Konstantin Samoilov: Is there any geographical connection you have, like, when you listen to it when you're living in Tbilisi and when you listen to it when you're in California, is the experience different? Is one closer than the other?
Natalie Taylor: Oh wow. No, I wouldn't say it's different. I feel everything I feel with this song just as strongly, regardless of where I am.
Konstantin Samoilov: Off the top of your head, would you be able to name a song that's like a complete opposite of “My Heart With You”, that you just love also?
Natalie Taylor: Yeah, probably anything by Earth, which is a doom metal band. So I can't really name a song off the top of my head, but it's quite the opposite. Have a listen to Earth if you haven't already, you'll see.
Konstantin Samoilov: Okay Natalie, thank you very much.
Natalie Taylor: Thank you, Konstantin. This was a pleasure.
P.S. from Natalie: Really loved our chat! Thanks for taking the time. Now I’m thinking about all of the songs I love and why. I’ve been obsessed with this one for over a decade and it’s prolly the closest to the opposite of “My Heart With You” that I can think of (although Serj Tankian’s vocals are incredible!!):
I wish I had thought to say other things about the song (the enunciation of the Ks!!), but it’ll do :)
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