everything, etc.

What a collection of sounds this song puts forth. Batiste is no joke of a talent, and paired with Wayne, we get a treat.

Best part of it though, is that it’s such a outside of the box beat for Wayne to rap on in that latter part. It’s definitely not what we’re used to, and it’s Wayne on that electric guitar too!

I won’t pretend to know much about what the lyrics are talking about outside of how it describes The City, but Weezy has a great verse over that beautiful piano.

“Time’s is hard, and the city’s uneasy, been a carnivore ever since I was teethin’, close the shower door on my city, it’s steamin’, I know I’m the God that my city believes in, Amen menage, The Devil been deceivin’ me, hard me on the hardtop, thinkin’ it was easy street, Mama used to scream at me and take me off that scenery, I been about a bag ’cause all I wanted was to be a G, that’s that New Orleans in me, I come from where the demons be, the dungeons and the dragons, I just asked them not to breathe on me, shit get difficult, then get nasty in the easy E, you don’t know what it mean to me, these mean streets, ain’t mean to me, gangster shit, life is a bitch, until she ain’t your bitch, the streets colder than the streets in Anchorage, swisher on my hip, make me walk like my ankle twist”

That’s a long verse to post, but it’s really on of Wayne’s best IMO. To have it over such a cool piano/beat combo is just icing on the cake, if you ask me. “I been about a BAG ’cause all I wanted was to BE A G”. Absolutely great.

I hope you dance through the day today with this song as the soundtrack. Do something fun for yourself. Be good, do good.

This song is way more than a song, as you’ll find out or have found out. The voice you hear on it is that of the late English writer, speaker, and interpreter of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophy, Alan Watts.

I discovered Watts through watching reels on Instagram discussing the Yin and Yang. The video that contains the snippet I first heard about the “two fish” concept…essentially what I’ve discovered I need to strive for in all things…”balance”.

I enjoy that this song is set against the track of someone walking on a gravelly path. To me it speaks to being on a journey…and aren’t we all? We don’t talk about our journeys enough. Hell, until the last few years I don’t even know if I would even consider what I was doing “journeying” in any direction at all. I feel like I’ve just begun to get to know myself honestly.

That’s why this song stuck out to me.

Liveliness is change; it’s motion.

Applicable to so much. Really that’s the key to creating your own happiness I think. Discover. Explore.

Set an intention to discover something today, whatever it may be. Happy hunting!

No philosophy from me here today. I am just going to let this one sit and simmer. If this isn’t quintessential 90s Hip-Hop, then I don’t know what it is. In what I’ve listened to, it might be the best Andre 3000 performance there is. Just oozes his legendary style and technique.

So today, “throw your hands in the air and wave ’em like you just don’t care”.

Ben Joyette, wherever you are, thank you from the bottom of my heart for introducing me to Hip Hop. I treasure the memories of bus-rides sharing ear buds and runs with ya man. Hope you’re well.

Be well, everyone. Thanks again for reading.

“Black Metal Sparkle Folk” is how this band describes it’s sound. If that’s not a hook to get someone to listen, I don’t know what is.

“You think you know where I’m going, the truth is I haven’t got a clue, one thing I know where I’m going, there won’t be another you, and that don’t mean I found another man, and that don’t mean that I’ll fall in love again, where the ship is sailing, it don’t need a captain of the crew, where this train is traveling, the tracks lead me far away from you, and that don’t mean I found another man, and that don’t mean that I’ll fall in love again”

The harmonies in this song flit to and fro like bluebirds. Weaving so seamlessly together to evoke that emotions this song is meant to convey.

I am not sure if we have more Black Metal Sparkle Folk on the rest of our journey, but I am sure hopeful that we do!

I wish you peace today, for wherever you need it. Love ya.

This song is such an interesting mental-health/anxiety ridden take on love!

“I don’t know why I’m attached to all of my doubts, and I don’t know why I’m too rough on myself, you seem to float several inches above the ground, and you move always as if to music, love me till my legs can’t move, and I’ll sing till my face turns blue, I know it’s only love, but I’ll never get enough, I know it’s only love, but I’ll never get enough, and I don’t wanna fuck it up, and I don’t wanna fuck it up”

Something about the “I don’t wanna fuck it up” just stands out in this song. That anxiety is so palpable right? Just big sound for big feelings in that part. I love it so much. That’s the best part about Yoke Lore honestly.

BIG SOUND FOR BIG FEELINGS.

This band definitely strives for atmosphere with their sound…and it shows in their catalog. I really don’t think there’s a bad listen in it.

What are you gonna do for yourself today, friendo? Let’s set that intention.

Have a flippin’ fantastic day. I’m putting out that energy for you.

There’s a hardness to this song and lead singer Caleb Followill’s voice. That hardness allows for some really cool belting in this song, and gives it a sort of edgy love-song sound.

There’s some poetic lyrics, some really amazing guitar work, and just some incredible vocals from Followill.

“You who shimmy shook my bone, leaving me stranded all in love on my own, do you think of me?, where am I now?, baby where do I sleep?, feels so good but I’m old, two thousand years of chasing taking its toll”

For some reason, that opening part just reminds me of someone driving at night on the highway, and the visual of headlights pointing off into the dark as the car speed along. Maybe we’re viewing it from above. Imagine that. Set the scene.

“Stranded in this spooky town, stop lights are swaying and the phone lines are down, floor is crackling cold, she took my heart, I think she took my soul, with the moon I run, far from the carnage of the fiery sun”

The more I listened, the more I also got the vampire vibe from the music. So let’s say this song is about a vampire out west, let’s say desert Arizona, driving headlong into a romantic reckoning of some sort. It gave me Neil Gaiman American Gods’ vibes.

At this point, I had to look it up to confirm because it just all sounded so cinematic and darkly pining for someone. Sure enough!

LITERALLY screaming into his guitar to make the sound! What a perfect atmosphere to create! I think they absolutely nailed it. They took that idea, synthesized it in sound, and planted it in my head. Well done.

Hope you have a great day! Be good, do good. Thanks for reading!

I got big into Silversun Pickups last year, and I’m excited to see them live for the first time at Higher Ground Friday, March 8.

I feel like there is so much to unpack with this band and this song.

It sets a torrid pace from the very beginning.

“You hear us come and go, we know, you wonder if we’re not alone, we’re alone, you think about us all the time, don’t, because it doesn’t matter why we’re known, we’re just known, we’re just known“

So it’s clear this song is about ninjas. 🙂 I feel like it’d make a good soundtrack to some sort of anime.

The standouts in the song for me are the violins towards the latter third and the drums throughout. (Highlights around ~3 min/3:10 for both!) Overall the song just sounds kind of alien to me. TSP sound is definitely a distinct one.

“And if it all goes right, see in our eyes, we finally made it out alive, will you wait for a sign?, still do have some piece of mind, wait!, you let your love go, and in your eyes, we finally see we’ve all been blind, have we all gone blind?”

Enjoy! Have a great day! Be good, do good.

Nimble wordplay and smart musical theming are the two hallmarks of this song.

It stood out for me in the beginning of this song when I first heard those reverse notes.

Clear as a bell yet somehow off-putting. We recognize the note both ways I think.

Every time you hear it, it seems to dig into you more, and makes each one more resonant.

Had to include that cute caption. Beautiful photo too!

“SeveN days a week, I still miss you, how we’d stay up late watching reruns, I’d watch your reflection on the TV screen, I could see us falling in love, I was getting lost in the seasons, you’d already seen ’em, you bee in and out of love wIth me since college, we did this often, I could see us but you Couldn’t, and now I can’t even sleep, if I’m honest, get freaked out by the feeling of falling, now it’s over, I’ll get over it, I promise, but until then, I rEplay the whole thing”

Enjoy the beautiful composition that is this song, Reruns, by Rosie Darling.

Shout out to loyal readers 😉 the Suarez boys, Malcom and Alex. You both just popped into my head for some reason (She Calls Me Back, Noah Kahan and Kacey Musgraves on as I finish up this post? I dunno!), and I figured the world needs more positivity at every possible moment, so why not capitalize on it when lightning strikes. Two upstanding young men true to their authentic selves. I admire them both. We’ve come a long way from them being in my elementary PE classes and me not being able to tell them apart and just yelling “Suarez”, they’d both look at me, but the one I was making eye-contact with was the one I wanted to talk to. And then when they were both on my modified cross-country team, and me not being able to tell them apart…LOL. Always great to see you boys. Keep being good and doing good.