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.

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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.

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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 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.

Songs Of The Day: 0003

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What if Disney Princesses were real ?

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What a question right ? Haha, you’re probably sitting there thinking, really Vanessa… why. We’ve seen these posts before where that artist, Jirka Väätäinen, draws Disney Princesses as if they were real, actual human people. We get it, we know. It looks like this.

I’m sure you’ve all seen these before. They’re quite impressive, am I right ?

Now the question you’re asking yourself, as you’re tempted to click away to another blog to escape this impetuous Disney explosion, is why are Disney princesses in my Songs Of The Day segment ?

This is why.

This is actually a really thought-provoking concept to think about, considering how far from reality many of these characters were from what the culture and time period they’re representing was like. I was especially intrigued by Princess Jasmine, as she seemed to be the furthest off from the realistic view. I mean, they have the Disney character wearing an off the shoulder belly shirt… that really wouldn’t have gone down well in Arabia at that time.

ANYWAY, the real reason I brought this up, and also how this very craftily ties into the Songs Of The Day bit, is the song in the background. It’s ODESZA and let me tell you right now, they are incredible.

The Seattle-based duo, made up of two individuals (Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight) deliver an electronic punch in their musical style. They’re still relatively underground, but I’ve been noticing their music popping up more and more around the internet.

The song featured in the above video is “Bloom”, which exudes this light, whimsical feel paired with a powerful beat and vocal cries. Another fantastic song that’s currently on my driving playlist is this one right here:

I’m so in love with that pounding tribal beat featuring Zyra, a budding UK singer-songwriter. Just let yourself get up and dance. It’s okay. I do it too.

Give this one a listen too if you’re now prancing around your room to “Say My Name”:

Now I’ve really got you moving, haven’t I ?

Well, I’ll leave you at that. Feel free to dance the night away.

Hope your night is as lovely as you are !