The McHenry Messenger is getting ready for winter break. As we prep to celebrate the holidays, I asked The Messenger staff to provide a song that reminds them of something very familiar: themselves. Marketing Manager Paulina Borowski submitted “Sunflower” by bedroom pop staple Rex Orange County.
The song is as iconic in its genre as Thriller is to pop. Rex’s jazz inspired guitar and horns support a vocal flare that makes for a unique soundscape only he can produce. The lyrics that talk about love, comfort, and reassurance. Rex talks about he and his lover discussing themselves, explaining that they can rely on one another, and it makes for a happy and upbeat track.
“I picked “Sunflower” by Rex Orange County because I have been told that I am a very vibrant person that helps lift people up when they seem down about themselves,” said Borowski. “That’s all I really want to be to people, that beacon of hope, so this song really reminds me of how I am able to do that to others that I care about or seem to know.”
This song is not just relatable to Paulina, but to everyone trying to care for themselves and others, and that makes it worth listening to. “The song also focuses on self-love and and finding strength in oneself, which I struggle with as a person, so this songs reminds me a bit of myself for that reason, but hopefully through helping others I can find that true self-love one day,” continued Borowski.
This is an upbeat groovy song on the surface that has some real lessons about love, both inward and outward, that we can all learn from.