Regardless, I work a lot, and am distracted by life, which seems to go by faster each day. I still enjoy listening to music, and have been recently listening to stuff from the past, and find myself enjoying things that I probably didn’t like, or didn’t really get into before. Sometimes, you just want a bunch of feel-good stuff, and hits from the past can definitely deliver that, when needed.
As it goes, I have been compiling a playlist of a bunch of hits from all genres and decades, and have had a lot of fun both making the list, and listening to it. As such I thought, why not share it? I have also shifted dramatically to using Spotify almost exclusively for music, other than my physical LP records and record player, so that’s where the playlist lives. Check it out, and I hope you have fun listening as well! Pro-tip: I shuffle when I listen, so it keeps it fresh!
Dang! I love this! This guy has a beautiful voice, smooth sound, and he is pretty easy on the eyes. Apparently he has an EP out, Blessings, on iTunes, which is giving me a flavor of Jack Garrett, mixed with a little Rag’n’Bone Man, and some Alex Clare thrown in for good measure; sadly this song is not on the EP. Certainly one to watch; the talent here is major! Can’t wait for a proper full length release from this guy!
Good lord I love these three sisters. They are crazy-talented, and I have been eagerly awaiting a follow up album to their flawless debut, Days Are Gone (which came out four years ago!!!). I saw them on tour, and their talent is palpable; the concert was amazing. Now, this is their first single (?) from their upcoming album, which is due in July 17, 2017. Needless to say, I am waiting with bated breath for this one, as if this is any indicator of the upcoming release, these girls are unstoppable!!
It seems that a lot more artists are turning out killer tracks like this, in the somewhat slow, trip-hop-esque sound, which is apparently called wonky electronica, future bass, and/(or, combination?) PBRNB; all of which stem from some of my favorite genres like drum n bass, trip hop, dubstep, etc. Regardless of what it’s called, this new(ish?) genre in electronic music has me reeling, as it is so emotive with not only the vocals, but the beats; it is almost like they are another voice speaking to you in some coded language. Artists like FKA Twigs come to mind when I hear this stuff, and they are killing it with this sound; I am always excited to hear something as amazing as this single, by the very young Flume (24 y.o.!!), an Australian who is bringing something fresh to the table.
This is one of those slow burn songs; every listen pulls me in deeper, and I can’t wait to hear it again. Looking forward to more from Flume; and more of this brand of electronica as well.
I mean really. It’s 2016, and I am finally getting to this? Listen, this is all because of two things: work and school. Both of which are full time. I wanted to go ahead and do this really quick, and I will be brief, so that I can do 2015 as well. I am THAT behind. BAD BLOGGER! Oh well… as they say, life gets in the way. Here they are, my favorite albums of 2014.
I am only going to say a little bit about my top 5, the rest are just albums that I enjoyed that year, and that’s all we’ll say about that…
1) You + Me – rose ave. – So what do you get when you mesh two of my favorite vocalists together, harmonizing beautifully, playing my favorite type of music? A dream come true. City and Colour + P!nk = You + Me. Heaven. This album is absolutely perfect; scratch that, it would be perfect it had more tracks! Here’s hoping for more from You + Me.
2) Sam Smith – In The Lonely Hour – What can I say, this guy is amazing, and really took the music scene by storm in 2014. I expect to hear many more great things from him over his career, which should be long and fruitful. Great album, and tons of single-worthy tracks here.
3) Betty Who – Take Me When You Go – I first heard the single Somebody Loves You, and after that, I was smitten with Betty Who. When her album came out, I was even more mesmerized; it is fantastic. I have high hopes for her getting more airplay and exposure; she is a majorly talented artist, and this is great pop music!
Sia – 1000 Forms of Fear – First and foremost, Chandelier. Killer. Sia can not only write a killer hook and penn some real pop hits, but she can fucking SING. I loved this album, and just when I thought I had heard all of it, a new song would become my favorite of the moment. This is pop, and this is excellent.
Bear’s Den – Islands – I saw them open for Mumford and Sons, and then went to see them again at a local smaller venue because they were so great. This is an incredible album, and one that is very well crafted and plays spectacularly from beginning to end; not a bad track to be found. If you like Mumford and Sons, give them a try; you won’t be sorry!
And now the rest… not really in any particular order.
Beyonce – Beyonce (Platinum Edition)
Lady GaGa and Tony Bennett – Cheek To Cheek
Nina Persson – Animal Heart
Robyn & Royksopp – Do It Again
Taylor Swift – 1989
Trampled By Turtles – Wild Animals
Broods – Evergreen
Iggy Azalea – The New Classic/Reclassified
Ingrid Michaelson – Lights Out
Danity Kane – DK3
FKA Twigs – LP1
Ariana Grande – My Everything
Jessie J – Sweet Talker
Olly Murs – Never Been Better
One Direction – FOUR
The Script – No Sound Without Silence
Tove Lo – Queen of the Clouds
Jessie Ware – Tough Love
MKTO – MKTO
Bleachers – Strange Desire
Nicole Scherzinger – Big Fat Lie
Guardians of the Galaxy Soundtrack: Awesome Mix Vol 1
Why this took me so long? Who knows. Either way, here ya go. Next up, 2015. Geez.
Not often do I stumble on a new artist that completely takes me by storm, and I become instantly, obsessively, incessantly transfixed on their voice, their music, and need to hear everything I can get my hands on by them. Well, that’s exactly what happened when my buddy Jamie told me to listen to Troye Sivan. Sivan is a 20 year old, out, Australian actor, singer/songwriter who’s song Wild, which has a beautiful, hauntingly touching video, has me completely obsessed, and after hearing his two EPs, TRXYE and Wild, has me incredibly hungry to hear more from this incredibly talented young singer.
Good God, I love this man. His voice is so pure and unflinchingly beautiful, it hits to the very core of my being when I hear him sing. This is a song off of his upcoming album, If I Should Go Before You, which, needless to say, I am greatly anticipating. I have read, and after hearing the first four songs, that he is going in a bit of a different, more hardened direction, where there are less acoustically driven songs, but I love everything that I have heard so far, and I know it will be like the rest of his stuff… simply amazing. I am excited for whatever direction Dallas takes us in… wherever we are going, I am there!
You know how you hear a song, and you aren’t immediately blown away for some reason, but then you hear it again later, and you think, “what was I thinking? This is amazing!!”? Well, this song is one of those songs. I have been loving several of Years and Years’ songs off of their great album Communion, but for whatever reason, this one didn’t capture me at first; but all of that has changed. I cannot help but be completely overtaken by this fantastic gem every time it comes up on my playlist, and I have to jam out and dance around whenever I hear it. This is an excellent summer jam!!
I know this is a few months late, but it’s better late than never. I am also slowly working on my favorite albums of 2014 post, which will be posted eventually. What can I say, when you are a nurse, you relax on your days off, and when you are grad school full time as well, you end up doing that when you aren’t resting. Not a lot of time left for blogging. Either way, I am going to do my best! So… here is a list of the songs I was digging the most in 2014; some really great songs came out last year, and here are my 68 favorite ones!
1. Sia – Chandelier
2. Jessie Ware – Say You Love Me
3. Sam Smith – Stay With Me
4. You+Me – You and Me
5. Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX – Fancy
6. Betty Who – Somebody Loves You
7. Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud
8. Taylor Swift – Shake It Off
9. Broods – Bridges
10. Danity Kane – Lemonade feat. Tyga
11. Meghan Trainor – All About That Bass
12. FKA Twigs – Pendulum
13. Sigma – Changing feat. Paloma Faith
14. Katy Perry – Dark Horse feat. Juicy J
15. Beyonce – Drunk In Love
16. Ariana Grande – Break Free feat. Zedd
17. Charli XCX – Boom Clap
18. Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj – Bang Bang
19. Royksopp & Robyn – Do It Again
20. Oh Honey – Be Okay
21. Tove Lo – Habits (Stay High)
22. Olly Murs – Up feat. Demi Lovato
23. Brandi Carlile – The Eye
24. City and Colour – Nowhere, Texas
25. Bear’s Den – Above the Clouds of Pompeii
26. Nina Persson – Silver
27. Lady GaGa – Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye
28. Sheppard – Geronimo
29. Fifth Harmony – Sledgehammer
30. One Direction – Steal My Girl
31. Ingrid Michaelson – Open Hands feat. Trent Dabbs
32. Nicole Scherzinger – Run
33. Kiesza – Hideaway
34. The Script – Never Seen Anything ‘Quite Like You’
35. Jessie J – Personal
36. Calvin Harris – Pray To God feat. Haim
37. Bleachers – I Wanna Get Better
38. Phantogram – Black Out Days
39. Ella Henderson – Ghost
40. Lea Michele – Cannonball
41. G.R.L. – Rewind
42. BLUSH – Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That
43. Kim Cesarion – Undressed
44. Adore Delano – I Adore U
45. Ella Eyre – Comeback
46. The Summer Set – Lightening In a Bottle
47. Trampled By Turtles – Wild Animals
48. R3hab & NERVO & Ummet Ozcan – Revolution
49. Tiesto – Wasted feat. Matthew Koma
50. Clean Bandit – Rather Be feat. Jess Glynne
51. The Saturdays – What Are You Waiting For?
52. Bebe Rexha – I Can’t Stop Drinking About You
53. MAGIC! – Rude
54. AJR – I’m Ready
55. Neon Trees – Sleeping With A Friend
56. Grouplove – I’m With You
57. Nicki Minaj – Anaconda
58. May Kearney – Heartbeat
59. Jason Mraz – Love Someone
60. Nick Jonas – Jealous
61. Cheryl Cole – Crazy Stupid Love feat. Tine Tempah
62. Tegan and Sara feat. The Lonely Island – Everything is AWESOME!!!
63. Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake – Love Never Felt So Good
64. Rita Ora – I Will Never Let You Down
65. Maroon 5 – Maps
66. Jennifer Lopez – First Love
67. K. Michelle – Love ‘Em All
68. Becky G – Shower
There you have it! A fun mix tape of great songs from 2014! Hope you enjoyed it! Anything I missed? Please let me know in the comments; I always seem to miss something, and I really want to know what that is, especially if it is something amazing!
It’s amazing to me, how an amazing video can make me OBSESSED with a song, even a song that I had previously, erroneously, overlooked. After seeing this video, much like after I saw the video for Chandelier, I was entranced, and I have had Elastic Heart on repeat ever since. There is something about Maddie Ziegler that is captivating; she is a magnificent dancer, and really captures the emotion of the choreography beautifully. Also, the song is gorgeous.
Also, to think that people have issues with this video is bullshit. It is obviously a powerful emotional statement that Sia felt the need to place her incredible artistic spin on, and I found it breathtaking. To me, it appears to be a very emotional, and raw, interaction between a girl and her father, and Shia’s emotional acting is intense and vulnerable. Somehow, people got pedophilia out of this, and I am honestly just shaking my head wondering why. Sia ended up apologizing for the video, which incenses me; this is art, beautiful, emotive, and intensely personal art. Shame on you if you felt the need to turn it into something else. Sia, keep doing what you are doing, because you are a true artist, and a magnificent one, at that.
– So what do you get when you mesh two of my favorite vocalists together, harmonizing beautifully, playing my favorite type of music? A dream come true. City and Colour + P!nk = You + Me. Heaven. This album is absolutely perfect; scratch that, it would be perfect it had more tracks! Here’s hoping for more from You + Me.
Broods – Evergreen
MKTO – MKTO