The Pitch’s Infinite Playlist Round 46: Jake Louraine

The Pitch’s Infinite Playlist // Illustration by Shelby Phelps

Welcome to The Pitch’s Infinite Playlist, a forever-growing playlist of songs picked by people in KC. View/follow the full playlist on Spotify, and you can always go back and check out the full run of articles. Throw the playlist on shuffle and enjoy away!

Playlist guest #46: Jake Louraine

Who are you and what do you do? 

Hi! My name is Jake Louraine, and I was born and raised in Jefferson City. I’m a hobby jogger, I’m the father of a precious, albeit overweight, tabby cat named Bruce, and I love music, reading, and I have a passion for storytelling. I’m a rising senior at the University of Missouri-Columbia, majoring in journalism and minoring in sociology.

Alongside my new internship at The Pitch, I work as a reporter and writer for The Columbia Missourian and Athlon Sports.

Where can we support/follow your work? 

I post lots of my work on Twitter/X @Jake_Louraine, and you’ll be able to find my work on The Pitch’s website as well.

“Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead

This isn’t exactly the happiest of tones to set immediately into my list here, but I’d be lying if I said Radiohead wasn’t my favorite band. This song is essentially a commentary about superficiality and the emotional emptiness modern life tends to create through the metaphor of everything being made of plastic. Boiled down, it’s sort of just Thom Yorke yearning for human connection for five minutes, but damnit I love it.

“A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours” by The Smiths

Continuing the trend of sad bands and sad songs, here is The Smiths. However, this song is certainly a break from The Smiths’ usual heartache and turmoil they’re often recognized for. I really love the way they mesh the fun melody with the message of the song. I think it really emphasizes the band’s unique style.

“Tom Sawyer” by Rush

We’re taking an incredibly drastic turn with this one, but Rush is far and away my favorite rock band. I think they’re one of the most talented groups of musicians that has ever graced the Earth, and I will die on the hill that the late Neil Peart is the greatest drummer of all time. I’m an amateur drummer myself, and this was one of the first tough songs I learned on my kit. The gratification I felt after learning one of Peart’s fills is a feeling that drummers everywhere need to experience.

“The Happening” by Pixies

I have a very wide and strange music taste. My usual playlist could jump from Rage Against the Machine straight into Blondie. I’m crazy, frankly, but Pixies is one of my favorite alternative/indie rock bands and this track is good representation of their iconic guitar riffs and very unorthodox song structures. In “The Happening”, aliens are landing in Vegas! What’s not to enjoy?

“President Gas” by The Psychedelic Furs

It’s songs like these that make me wish I were born a few decades earlier so I could throw down some killer moves in the ’80s club scene. Unfortunately, the world may never get to witness my hips in action. This track in particular is a critique of political figures, which could not be more relevant today. I hate to say I was born in the wrong generation, as it’s quite cliche, but this list certainly suggests it.