100 Days Of Music: Day 12

*pokes head around corner nervously*

Erm, I’m back. Please, don’t completely hate me for being gone for… oh I don’t know… a month.

See, there’s something you should know about me. I’m a bit of a wandering soul… quite easily distracted. Don’t worry, I plan to make far more time for this. I’m also elated to announce that I will be starting a new project within the next few weeks ! I love writing short stories and poems. It’s a bit of pass time, or a hobby, if you will. You should see the notes in my phone… just filled with random musings that my imagination spews out in the form of words. I find it entertaining and I thought maybe others would too… so I’m thinking of starting an Instagram account dedicated solely to my musings put onto pictures. I’m quite a visual person. I like things to be laid out for me. So to see my thoughts in picture form would be a bit of a dream, to be honest. We’ll see how it goes.

Now, back to the music, because I’m sure that’s why you’re actually here.

I have been going BANANAS downloading new music. This is mostly due to the fancy introduction of Apple Music which has sent me off into this fanatical frenzy of love. For the price of one album a month you have UNLIMITED access to the iTunes music store. Does that not just make you want to go frolic around in a field of daisies ? No ? Just me ? Alright !

With the storage on my phone now nearing half full, I’ve managed to gobble up a few tasty tracks to share. Without further ado, here they are:

Not entirely sure what it is about this song… maybe it’s the whistling… the upbeat guitar strumming… whatever it is, it always managed to put a smile on my face, as it might just be literally the happiest song ever. Feeling down ? Toss this one on your playlist and prepare to melt into a puddle of joy.

17 runnin’ from innocence, like it’s a lion. Nippin’ at my heels but I’m young so I out run ’em.

My god this song is incredible. It’s been awhile since I listened to something this profound. Thank you Transviolet for writing something that makes us feel.

Passion Pit is back ! He’s also singing in… a lower register ? Sort of ? I guess you get to the chorus and then it’s like woah there we go again ! My goodness, it’s been awhile since I listened to Passion Pit. I remember loving tracks like “Little Secrets” and “Sleepyhead” back in the tenth grade… it’s been awhile.

Anyway, I apologize once again for abandoning my mission to bring you wonderful music. I’ll do my best to keep focused and not completely fall off the face of the blogosphere (is that a word) again.

Hope your day is as lovely as you are.

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100 Days Of Music: Day 11

Too hot to sleep, too hot to dream… the need for air conditioning in my humble abode is becoming all to real. You know things are getting out of hand when you have your window opened as far as it will let you and absolutely nothing happens. It’s as if the outdoors is grimacing at the fact that you’re letting the even hotter air of your house out into its atmosphere.

It’s not like there’s a wind or anything either. My curtains are as still as a British Royal Guard. Not that them billowing around would be much better, I can’t sleep with any sort of noise around me. This poses a problem since I hate having a fan run through the night…

How will I manage ? I’m really not even sure, but not sleeping at all is seemingly like an unfortunately viable option.

The fact that my lap top is essentially melting my lap also isn’t assisting in finding a solution to this indoor heat wave. Anyone want to sell me a new computer ?

Sigh. Anyway, heinous weather aside, let’s talk music.

Sam Hunt.

Does that name ring a bell ? For most people, probably not. For country music listeners, hell yes.

Starting out his early adulthood as your run-of-the-mill high school football player, then going on to dabble in the NCAA, Sam Hunt isn’t your average country music male vocalist. This is a good thing… a very good thing. He has brought something new to country music, something interesting. It’s appeal goes beyond the redneck guys and girls parking their trucks at the nearest lake and throwing a tail gate party. No it appeals to the average music listener. That’s huge.

Sam Hunt’s debut album, Montevallo, incorporates a lot of musical details that are definitely not traditionally country (see my last post where I talk about this whole concept of bro country). Take this track for instance:

Yeah, that’s a bit off from good old George Strait or Garth Brooks, isn’t it ? He mixes it up in such a fresh way with that deliciously, rich baritone voice. I could be way off here, but I really want to call him the country Drake.

Definitely check this album out. It’s worth it. With only ten songs, it makes for a short and sweet listen. Perfect for the ride to work or out to a lake.

Enjoy the hot weather, my friends. If it isn’t like this where you are then… I’m mildly jealous. Unless it’s wicked cold in your neck of the woods. We get that way too many months out of the year here.

Hope your night is as lovely as you are.

100 Days Of Music: Day 10

Well, that was a bit of a hiatus now wasn’t it ?

Obviously I was off looking for so much amazing music that I had no time to blog…

It had nothing to do with being lazy.

I promise.

…

I’m going to switch things up A LOT in today’s post. Since summer has finally stretched, yawned and rubbed it’s sleepy eyes, trading places with Winter, I’ve gone back to listening to loads of country music. Now, I know many of you are probably not the slightest bit interested in country, but hear me out. There’s this change in today’s country music… a fusion of pop and country, if you will. I don’t even know what to call it, to be honest. I’ve heard the term ‘bro country’ used, and I just don’t really know how to feel about that. Are only the bro’s allowed to listen to it ?

Whatever it’s name is, it’s new, it’s fresh and all the young country stars of today are doing it. The nice thing about this apparent crossover of genres is that it’s attracting a lot of non-country listeners. Have you heard of Luke Bryan ? Florida Georgia Line ? Keith Urban ? Guaranteed you have, and I’ll bet that you could name at least one of their songs if you tried hard enough. Maybe my country hating friends will finally stop chirping about how every country song sounds the same and is about the same four things (beer, girls in shorts and baseball hats, trucks and how country they are). I mean, it’s true, but who cares. This stuff is great.

So, today I bring you some of my favorite… “bro country” (ugh) songs that I’m currently obsessed with. Here they are.

Oh, Sam Hunt. His debut album, “Montevallo”, is actually amazing. He’s done a lot of different things on it and isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of country music.

This song is such a treat. Deliciously sexy with a relaxed beat, Jason Aldean just kills it with Burnin’ It Down.

If you know me at all, you’d know that I’m probably one of the biggest Luke Bryan fans out there. He played two shows in my city and I went to both… so I don’t think an explanation is necessary as far as why this song blowing up my summer playlists.

This has been on repeat for the past week. I can’t get enough. I’m not even really a huge Thomas Rhett fan, but this song… my goodness.

I wonder what this song is about ? Cuddling ? Yeah, that’s it.

There you go. Now hopefully I’ve transformed you into somewhat of a country listener.

Hope your day is as lovely as you are.

100 Days Of Music: Day 9

This might be my most random post yet.

I just want to be clear and say that this isn’t the type of music I predominantly listen to, but this song… damn it’s good.

I give you Kendrick Lamar’s “King Kunta”.

Hope your night is as lovely as you are.

100 Days Of Music: Day 8

Alright, so here’s a fun little story that only people who have known me for a really, really long time would know. I used to be in band back in junior high and high school. I wouldn’t call myself a band geek, because that’s just an annoying phrase. Being in band for so many years crafted my taste in music and allowed me to experience sounds and rhythms that I never thought were possible. I was exposed to so many different instruments and musical styles. So if that makes me a “geek”, then I’m completely fine with that. I did what I loved, and at the time that was my passion.

So now you may be wondering what instrument I played. Well, I was a vital piece of the percussion section, hammering away on the five piece drum kit most days. Sometimes I played the triangle. Sometimes it was the xylophone. Basically anything you could hit with a mallet, or smack against something else, would’ve been in my repertoire.

Honestly, if it weren’t for my old kit falling apart from years of battering, I would still play today. You never really lose it, though, that underlying rhythm. I feel it all the time when I’m listening to music. It’s like I could jump on a kit at any moment and just pick up where I left off.

Anyway, back to the purpose of this post. This all ties in, I promise.

As a member of various school bands, I found myself at a lot of concerts. These weren’t just small concerts either. Most of them took place at the main symphony building in my city. I spent countless evenings listening to other schools play. There were even a few times where I had the privilege of hearing the professionals play. Classical music is just so soothing. It rolls over you like gentle waves, enveloping you in its sweet, harmonious sound.

With this came a love of adding non-traditional instruments to songs. When I hear brass instruments in a rock song or the sound of a whimpering violin on an R&B track, I instantly am attracted to it. Adding this in just enriches the song so much and sets it apart from similar tracks.

The other day, I had the privilege of hearing The Mowgli’s “San Fransisco”, featuring the glorious sound of some brass instruments. Of course, as soon as I heard it, I was in love. It’s quickly become one of my favorites. Here it is.

I’ll definitely try to find more music like this to post up on here !

Hope your night is as lovely as you are.

100 Days Of Music: Day 7

Isn’t it just a wonderful feeling when you buy an album, listen to it and actually like just about every song ? Too often have I gone through an album thinking “oh this will be fantastic because I liked all the singles”, only to be utterly disappointed in the lack of creativity and depth in the rest of the tracks. It doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, obviously I’m not sitting here smiling down on my million dollar record deal, but I feel like if you’re going to make your singles incredible, why not put that same effort into the rest of your album.

The artist that I want to bring to your attention today definitely doesn’t fall into the “lazy” category when it came to carefully crafting the songs on her debut album “Goddess”. She is powerful, yet subdued and dark, yet illuminating all at once. Going by only her last name, Banks, Jillian Rose Banks has released her intricate, dark R&B sound through an array of excellent tracks that I find myself getting lost in every time they flow through my headphones. Her lyrics are profound and relatable. There isn’t any of this second guessing what the song is about, because she isn’t using these weird metaphors that make no sense. There is a vast amount of deeper meanings in her tracks, however, if you take the time to listen carefully, you’ll understand.

She hasn’t exactly broken into the mainstream yet. So you can impress your friends by introducing them to her and they’ll be so enamoured by how well versed you are in the underground music industry.

Jk.

I would add Banks to your ones to watch list, because I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of her in the future.

Here are a few of my favorite tracks off “Goddess”, but I highly recommend you listen to the album in its entirety, since it is quite amazing.

Hope your day is as lovely as you are.

100 Days Of Music: Day 6

So I’m driving along and “We Move Like The Ocean” by Bad Suns just starts blasting through my speakers and I honestly forgot how amazing this song is. Here it is.

Sorry to make this so short, but it’s Saturday and basically I’ve got a whole ton of stuff to do ! I promise to bring you something amazing tomorrow once again.

Hope your night is as lovely as you are.

100 Days Of Music: Day 5

So I just finished listening to the most incredible song. I’m honestly just blown away by its beauty. It’s Phosphorescent’s “Song For Zula”, and once you listen to this you’ll understand why I said I was bringing you something amazing today. I was so determined !

As I sat here listening to the haunting vocals of Matthew Huock, and the chilling, synthetic drum beat echoing in the back ground, I was whisked away to some sort of cold, stoney wasteland through the music video. It features a young woman chained to the ground, wearing what appears to be animal pelts, who is relentlessly beating the chains that hold her captive with a rock. Each time she pounds the chain her existence blurs, with her finally destroying a link in the chain at the end, giving her the freedom she desires.

At first the meaning behind this song seems obvious. Someone breaking free of their chains, someone finding their freedom… blah, blah, blah we’ve heard it before. Upon further examination, there seems to be more…

Reading through the lyrics, there was an allusion to a romance going terribly wrong, leaving him a broken man. The lyrics “Some say love is a burning thing, that it makes a fiery ring” is borrowed from Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire” which does make sense given Phosphorescent’s 2007 tribute album to Willie Nelson. It’s not hard to see where Huock draws inspiration from. The inclusion of this phrase in this song is interesting especially since it’s followed by “Oh but I know love as a fading thing” and “Oh but I know love as a caging thing”. This song represents a loss of hope, not just a bad break-up. It’s a complete voluntary disconnect from the feelings of love and what it represents in fear of having to experience those same shattering emotions again.

Huock continues on to say “My feet are gold. My heart is white, and we race out on the desert plains all night. See, honey, I am not some broken thing. I do not lay here in the dark waiting for thee.” I absolutely love this because it’s a ferocious confirmation aimed towards his oppressor meant to amplify his independence and will to carry on. He is not some spineless being, quivering at the thought of never being in love again. He is both strong and ready to be who he is without the chains of a disastrous romance holding him back.

Have a listen !

I’m excited to hear more from Phosphorescent. There’s a uniqueness to his music that has piqued my interest.

One of my friends showed me this song, so naturally I need to go hug her now and thank her for putting this in my life.

Hope your day is as lovely as you are.

100 Days Of Music: Day 4

Today I’m going to keep it short and sweet. It’s getting quite late here.

I’ll leave you with one beautiful track that I recently found on one of those “Indie May” playlists on 8tracks, called “The Other”. It’s by Lauv and to be honest, I haven’t heard anything about this artist before, but I’m very intrigued. Here it is.

Is that not amazing ? It reminds me a bit of Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire”, but maybe that’s just me…

Anyway, hope you enjoyed that and I promise I will bring something special tomorrow.

Hope your night is as lovely as you are.