“The Old Songs” is a new single by Seattle’s own Map of the Woulds dropping on August 16, 2025. The song offers a cynical and absurdist perspective on what it means to be a creative person in the fast-paced, content-driven digital age, all while serving as a love letter to the hippie music of the 70s.
There is a definite taste of Zappa in this song. That’s the first thing I thought to myself as I listened to the comedic delivery of such cynical lyrics. Texture and harmony-wise, it’s not as adventurous as Zappa’s songs since Map of the Woulds is a flexible trio focused on creating songs with challenging themes with simple music to cater to the pop audience.
The aforementioned trio consists of Woody Frank on guitar, Andrew Woods on bass, and Adrian Woods on drums. And together on this song, they explore the notion of being stuck creating content as an artist. Artists almost have no choice but to create bite-sized content crafted for the fried dopamine receptors of phone addicts. This cycle is what makes modern music boring and dumb from their perspective, a belief they articulate with both humor and frustration. They know the old songs had it right. They knew what the solution was: Love.
Map of the Woulds’ new single, “The Old Songs” is a provocative, genuinely fun, and sonically dynamic song that drops on August 16, 2025, so stay tuned! You won’t wanna miss this one.
