Keeping It Fresh

Hello, hello! It has been quite a while since I last dropped a post on the blog. I want to go ahead and send a huge shout out to everyone who has been patient with me, and the more sporadic nature of my writing. Everything is a work in progress, and continuing to write about music remains in “progress” mode. Moving onto the music, I would be remiss if I didn’t include this particular song. Why? Because it may just be one of the single greatest musical moments to come out of the world of Game of Thrones and television as a whole.  As you all may know, Florence Welch is a singer I am completely in awe in. She has harnessed something so magical in music, something so enchanting that you cannot help but be enamoured by it. Her voice has the power of a tidal wave, soaring and crashing as she chases the high notes and smashes the lower notes. But her voice can also be gentle and deep, like the calm waves of a splendorous ocean. The versatility and depth with which she can sing made he...

Tonight was a night for concert goers and music lovers. And the opening act is a name that has become extremely well known across the world. Logic has managed to move people, impact the masses, and spread the message of peace, love, and positivity. But I am not here to talk about Logic's performance. Yes, it was incredibly energetic and pumped. Yes, he is an absolute nerd and shows that side of him with a carefree ease which is almost intoxicating. And yes, Logic loves engaging with the crowd. But today, I want to show a little love to one of the opening acts. NF is an artist that I have had the privilege to watch from the early releases to now. And of course, I feel like a proud mom and am so thrilled to see him ascend through the ranks. But something I noticed while at the show, was that there were still so many people who had no idea who NF was, and was pleasantly shocked to hear him perform. And that is why I write this blog. To elicit that reaction from people, to show ot...

As we make our way around the world, today's track is by a group which hails from Chengdu, China. For some people, that is an automatic clue as to which artist group is going to be featured today. In fact, this is a group that many people may recognize from reaction videos. Today is all about Higher Brothers. When I think of these guys, the first thing I do is chuckle. I have never heard a rap group master irony the way Higher Brothers do. The dark humor with which Higher Brothers writes and performs is so honest and quite insightful. The ambitious group is the face of Chinese hip hop and rap, especially trap rap. And what makes them incredibly special is that their is a hungry goal of bringing Chinese hip hop to a global stage. Western rap, Latin rap, and even Korean rap have made waves throughout the music world, and Higher Brothers aim to bring Chinese music to the game. There is so much that Higher Brothers does to make their flows and melodies such an ear worm. For starte...

Today I wanted to share some Indian music with you all, as I happen to have traveled there a short while ago. Indian music comes in so many differnet flavors and sounds, but for today, I wanted to go with a song that is one of my favorites. Now this track is one that is not of the more stereotypical Indian songs. Though the track does come from a film, the song itself does not necessarily carry a lot of the same elements as your usual Bollywood song. This song is a bit darker for starters. There is a very special group of songs which fall into this darker category of songs because they outline tragedies in life and love. We do have our melancholy heartbreak songs, but this track is about losing a love to something more than just a breakup. There is so much sadness and almost even a sense of despair in this track. The song evokes a passionate yearning for a beloved who cannot be reached, a desperate call for them to be together just one last time. There aren't a lot of Bollywood ...

Today I have some suave and dark music for you out of England. Everything is Recorded, is an artist pseudonym and project. The man behind Everything is Recorded goes by the name of Richard Russell, a producer, and owner of XL Recordings. His label was meant to produce and release original dance tracks. But somewhere along the way, the focus of XL Recordings changed and so did its artists. And as a result, we get amazing music and side projects, such as Everything Is Recorded. This song definitely has darker undertones.The invisible touch that Richard Russell provides is so noticeable in those darker moments and motifs of the song. As the composer and producer of the track, Richard Russell brings to life the song's heartbeat. He makes the song ebb and flows, crescendo and decrescendo into the seductively dark tones of the song. He makes this song tell a story through the music alone, a story filled with suspense and drama, maybe even tragedy. It's a story which involves pain ...

Today we are getting back to the music, and I have quite the track for you. I have to be honest, my rap game has been really off lately. I haven't talked about rap as much, posted much about the genre, nor have I spent a lot of time talking about any new rap artists. But today, I want to introduce you to a rapper by the name Dave East. Dave East hails from East Harlem, and he really started to gain attention in 2014. Yes I know, it is 2018 and I am behind the game. But hey, I got to him eventually! The story behind Dave East and his music is one that I find very interesting. There are a lot of artists who write about hardships in life, from falling out of love to internal struggles and wars, to societal issues that meet many people. Somehow, Dave East is able to beautifully talk about all three topics and more in his music. That is what makes him so great and refreshing as an artist. He is able to talk about what life is really like, from the streets of Harlem to being in jail t...

Today I have an absolutely incredible song for you all. Often times we hear covers of songs get done, with multiple covers of popular songs. And a lot of these times, the covers a wonderful tribute to the original song. The notes are beautifully reached, the melodies a beautiful flow like the original track. But what the single dimensional covers do, is create an extremely similar rendition of the original song. And then we get some rare covers which are stunning pieces of work. These covers tend to be extremely non-conventional and can change everything about a song. Today's track does just that. The original version of this song is incredibly popular, the girls' anthem for all the 90's and 00's girls out there. TLC is a musical staple - everyone knows them and at least one of their songs. This one is their most popular and it has been covered by many people. But no one has been able to turn the original into a completely new work of art the way Unlike Pluto has. Te...

Today I have some music for you by an artist who seems to have blown up the charts the past couple of years. G-Eazy is one of the more popular rappers making music right now, even though there is quite a bit of his music that goes unnoticed and unheard by the vast majority of radio listeners. G-Eazy is an artist that has the capability of creating extremely meaningful and heartbreaking music. This is one of those deep songs, a song that shows the grounded and vulnerable side of G-Eazy. A lot of rap and hip hop today is about living larger life, that feeling of being completely invincible and constantly on cloud 9. But what G-Eazy does with this song, is bring everything back to humanity, directing the music back to that flawed and imperfect sense of humanity. This song is definitely a meaningful one for G-Eazy, bringing his own demons up to the surface. And I love that he did this song with Kehlani because of what she has gone through. Kehlani has met som...

So today, I only have one song for you. But it is an absolutely riveting and amazing one, so bear with me. Today's instrumental song is one that never fails to leave me breathless and completely in awe and transcendence.  Hans Zimmer has this innate genius, this intense passion which allows him to compose breathtakingly beautiful and moving scores. This song is one of his most recent compositions, and my goodness it has to be one of my favorites. Interstellar is one of those films where everything was done right. The cast, the cinematography, and yes, the score. But if I were to rank my top ten Hans Zimmer compositions, this would be on that list. Now I am going to do my absolute best in talking about this score, but there are so many moving parts and moments that I simply cannot accurately dissect this composition and give justice to Hans Zimmer's piece. The song starts out tense and riled with suspense. There is a soft tapping which introduces the song, a consistent heartbe...

Today I have music for you by the British rapper known as Professor Green. In a way, he is kind of like the British version of Eminem. But the ability to rap is pretty much where this comparison ends. Professor Green is a rapper who has an incredibly dark and hard past, something that he has turned into the music he produces today. This is a song that has the ability to leave you so speechless because of the depth of the song and the meaning of the lyrics. Recently we have seen a surge in more meaningful rap lyrics, about life and humanity and society. Previously though, this wasn't common. There weren't many popular rappers out there who rapped about the struggles of everyday living. The struggles that aren't necessarily always about race or gender, which are hot button topics, but more about the human condition. Professor Green takes a very hushed up topic, and expands on its impact on his own life with this song. The lyrical content of this song is personal and so clos...

Today I have some music for you that is a remix of a song that I have been unable to get out of my head. This song was originally performed by T.I. and Christina Aguilera, but this remix features just her voice. Skrux and Collin McLoughlin turned this original rap song into a beautifully done melodic dubstep tune. And when I say beautiful, I really do mean it. This song is so wonderfully pieced together and produced. Skrux and Collin  McLoughin  turned this song into a darker, more emotional track, and I love that. Normally, dubstep is devoid of emotion, appealing to being an energetic and hype genre. But this rendition takes a more intense and serious turn, something that makes you remember those harder moments in life. When I hear this song, I actually think of a more futuristic battle scene, when everything is dark and people are fighting. And then the main "hero" looks back and sees everything that is happening, what is really going on around him. Honestly, this video...

Today I have some wildly sick music for you. The band Sigur Rós is one of the most eclectic and hauntingly incredible bands I have ever heard. This is one of those bands that people seem to know about but also not know a thing about. Struggle, I know. But, for those of you who have never heard of  Sigur Rós or know the name but no songs, this is a special treat for you.  If there is one thing I have learned from my dabbles in literature, entertainment, and music, you really only get to experience these things for the first time once. I know it sounds so stupid, but when you think about it, the reality of that is there. You only get to experience something for the first time once. That elation and excitement and complete shock and utter bliss is something that you feel from experiencing something for the first time will never happen again once you have experienced it. So for those of you who are hearing Sigur Rós for the first time, I hope you really enjoy this first expos...

Today I have some music for you by a band that has been a little off my own personal radar. Sometimes you run across a band that you listened to in what seems like a past chapter, and their music allows you to reminisce. I wanted to go ahead and talk about a song by Blue October that did just that for me. I haven't heard this song by Blue October in such a long time, that when this shuffled into my music stream, I had to stop for a moment to just listen. This song definitely airs a little bit more on the somber rock side of things. Blue October is a band that is under appreciated in my opinion. Though they are more well known as a rock band, Blue October has some beautiful music centered around these rock soundscapes. Every song has such a deep meaning and a theme that they are able to explain to us through music. This, in particular, is a song that really speaks to the depths of humanity. This song reaches out toward the emotions that everyone feels and struggles with every day....

Today we are continuing on this "new music" tend, so I have some fresh melodies for you from a man who has really taken a leap forward in the entertainment game. For those of you who don't know, Harry Styles has just spent a good amount of time on filming the newest Christopher Nolan film, Dunkirk. However, just this past week, the One Direction singer turned actor released a solo track and I have to say it is quite interesting. This song is vastly different than what we are used to hearing from Harry Styles' work with One Direction. While the boy band seemed to focus more on young love and youthful shenanigans, this song is an odd ode to maturity and age. This song has a bittersweet kind of melancholy to it. I will say, I really like the way he has embraced the rock side of things, and almost takes a David Bowie or Oasis kind of approach to the song. There is a classic rock kind of vibe to this which I really enjoy. That mix of modern and classic works very well for ...

Today I have some darker music for you. This is by one of my favorite bands of all time- Thirty Seconds to Mars. This is a band that has consistently delivered incredible music even in the wake of evolving their sound. I won't lie, I am mildly in love with Jared Leto. I mean the man is extremely gifted and versatile. From producing music to creating music videos to being one of the most low key-brilliant actors of our generation, Jared Leto is a man who expresses things so well. This song is one of my favorites by the band. It doesn't use the conventional band instruments as much as it does use synths and keyboards and strings. This is a song that is weirdly gut wrenching and pulls at your heart. But not in a sad and romantic. This is more of a personal battle, a fight with yourself, and that anguish is what we really get to feel and hear in this song. And we get that feeling the most from Jared Leto's vocals. In this song, we get a more raw version of his vocals, a sound t...

Today I have some new music for you which is a collaboration between two wonderful artists. This song is a completely new avenue for Linkin Park, and features the beautiful vocals of Kiiara. This song is very different from what we have heard from Linkin Park. The band has gone through a lot of musical evolution, but this is something completely different for the band. Now I know that because Linkin Park is trying something completely new, it won't be met with a lot of love from people. There are some who like it and some who don't, so I am throwing that disclaimer out there right now. What I find to be very interesting about this song is that the lyrics are very much Linkin Park's style. The lyrics in this song start out with the stereotypical Linkin Park cadence and length. The band tends to be very expressive and illustrative with their words, which is something we get to hear a lot of in their music. Now when we get to the chorus, we also get that Linkin Park kind of ...

Today I have some seriously fresh music for you by an artist that I am absolutely in love with. Aquilo is an artist that I can never really get enough of because of how deep and moving the music is. This is a band that has taken the idea of chilled out synthpop and has turned it into an emotional masterpiece. Aquilo does tend to be a bit more melancholy, but there is something so wholesome about the way they present that to us. Aquilo has such a depth and poignancy to their music. It is a sound that cuts to the soul and pulls out those bluer emotions that we either repress or ignore or don't feel often. But what is so lovely about Aquilo, is that there is such a softness that is almost a bit hopeful as well. We feel this journey of falling and then picking ourselves up again. This string and piano track is one that is endearingly beautiful and wonderful. There is a captivating nature to the vocals and a raw sincerity that we cannot seem to shake. The song culminates in this epic ex...

Today I have some music for you by an incredible solo artist out of the UK. James Arthur was the winner of the X Factor a few years ago, and he has seen quite a bit of success! His second album was released in October of last year, and my oh my is it a beautiful piece of work. This album reminds me of Eminem's Recovery. This is an album about starting again and learning from the past. This is an album about making changes and becoming whole again. James Arthur is definitely a man who can understand what hardship is. His music reflects the raw emotion associated with the hardships he has been through. I have always found James Arthur's work to be wonderful and very powerful, but this album as a whole is a heart wrenching and empowering masterpiece. This stadium sized anthem is a redemptive record. It highlights the darker parts of winning one of the biggest talent shows in the world. James Arthur really does bare it all and asks us to let the music tell his story. Despite the re...

Today I have some darker and more melancholy music for you by the band The 1975. Now when I think of these guys, everything I imagine is on this grey scale. There is something about their music that ranges between black and white, with the blurred lines of grey in between. Maybe it's because of their debut album, maybe it's because of their musical content. Either way, this is a band that lives for those grey lines. This is a band that is not afraid to talk about what happens in those blurred lines, what it feels like to be a shade of grey rather than black or white. I appreciate that so much. A lot of popular music today lacks depth and emotional capacity. But The 1975 purposefully and thoroughly explores emotions and sensations and desires and guilty pleasures. The 1975 is a band that relishes in writing lyrics about things that are considered taboo, things that people don't really want to address. That is what makes this band so great. Musically, they are phenomenal as w...

Today I have music for you by the group known as Blue Foundation. Blue Foundation is a group that is most known for being a cinematic and electronic group. Their music has been featured in movies and television shows and has also been featured in some of the biggest movie franchises of the past seven years or so. This song is probably their most popular song and has been remixed quite a few times. This song is one of those transcendent and ethereal kind of electronic songs that drips with longing and pain in a way that you normally don't expect from electronic music. A lot of electronic music has the reputation of being loud and energetic and crazy and wild, but this song is one that really expresses the idea of facing your demons and fighting them off. This song was written and produced during a time when producer Tobias Wilner was going through a very tough time and the lyrics and instrumentation of this song is a pure expression of this struggle. This is one of those songs that ...