everything, etc.

As we’ve discussed, any Hip Hop songs on this list are going to have an amazing beat and fantastic wordplay. In my opinion, this track is a great example showing why Em and Snoop are two of the best to ever do it. The speed and clarity are unreal to follow.

My relationship with both goes back to maybe the middle of high school? Somewhere smack between sophomore and junior years? Maybe junior and senior. It’s all a dyed blonde hair blur. Yeah, I really did. There are photos somewhere. I distinctly remember listening to Em, Snoop, and Dr. Dre at Josh Brooks’ pool parties. 

“That’s how I know that I’m in the studio with the Doggy (where?), in Californi’ ’cause my homie from Long Beach, always got that bomb weed, (that’s why), I feel a calm breeze (yeah), Every time I palm trees (get it), just like that blonde bleach, I went platinum then so did my albums (yeah), Calvin’s turnin’ me into a zombie”

-Eminem

If you’ve never watched it, and you have even a small interest in Hip Hop, you need to check out Hip Hop Evolution on Netflix.

I cannot stress how good of a documentary series this is for Hip Hop heads. It does a great job of breaking down Hip Hop by it’s roots and regions, but also really pointing out it’s cultural significance in such an illuminating way.

Listen how fast we go for this sequence:

“My adversaries came, but these little degenerates are my lineage (yeah), and when it comes to pockets, weren’t many, if any as, skinny as mine, bitch, I was penniless, now I’m plenty rich, and this shot don’t make any sense (yeah), I was in the motherfuckin’ pinch like a titty twist, now I’m sitting pretty as each penny is, while I’m penning this in the lab on you guinea pigs, I ain’t finna fool ’em, and in fact give me the semi (woo), and when I pull the big guns out that trigger, pull it until that motherfuckin’ shit runs out of bullets, somebody better cal a ambulance (woo), you live it’ll be miraculous, I got more hits than a contract killer, like the caterpillars that don’t got antennas (what?), other words, I don’t got no godman fillers (woo), Mount Westmore, you did not plan for this (nah), from Detroit all the way to Los Angeles (haha, yeah)“

-Eminem

The pace these two set is incredible. Snoop is in rare form as he dubs himself “Steve Job of the cannabis mob”.

How can you not love this man? He is a national treasure.

Have a great day! Thanks for reading! Enjoy the song!

Did anyone have a better 2023 than Noah Kahan? I really don’t think so, bro ate as the kids say. :) Dude was a space shuttle, and I am hear for it all.

“Look at me and don’t you lie, I could be your sacrifice, but don’t you hold your head up high, for bullshit I do not have time, I could be an old tattoo, to remind me when I get bad news, that I do not exist to die, but live to die while saving you”

-Noah’s verse

The collaborations he did this past year were incredible additions the Stick Season album. In this one particularly though, there’s some fantastic songwriting and a impossible to not move to driving rhythm and a dynamite chorus. 

My personal favorite is below.

“Does it bite at your edges, do you lie awake restless, why am I so obsessive?, hangin’ on to every sentence, this town’s the same as you left it, your page was blank but I read it, I still dial 822-993-167“

Kacey provides the perfect opposite character to Noah’s in this song and that amazing purr of a voice is in full use. 

I’m running out of tears to cry, they’re gone before they hit my cheeks, maybe it’s the air out here, or maybe something’s changing me, if you think you could wake me up, well you don’t know how well I sleep, you love me and I don’t know why, I only call you once a week.

-Kacey’s verse

We’ve all kind of been there with someone before, right? We’re the only one really reaching out? “Everything is alright when she calls me back” type relationships are not fun or healthy. We end up putting too much value into the relationship over ourselves. Balance in all things, young Padawan. 

The great part of this song is that push and pull between Noah and Kacey. They play their parts perfectly and you can really feel it in the song. Her ambivalence and almost exasperation that he’s still around. His misguided devotion and dramatics. 

Enjoy their beautiful duet! Hope you know you rock. Thanks for reading and listening along!

Listen, if any of y’all reading this know Ben Joyette, please direct him here, because he is the reason I have such a deep love and respect for hip-hop. Ben introduced me to BIG and Pac and more circa….97/98-ish. From there, Napster/Limewire provided introductions to DMX, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Snoop, Busta Rhymes, etc. 

The Game was in there at some point. It was probably the one he did with 50 Cent, Hate It or Love It or How We Do that introduced him to me. What endeared him to me though was Ali Bomaye (an amazing Florence and the Machine Seven Devils sample).

So here he is, sampling a soccer stadium chant, with none other than Weezy himself. 

Game’s first verse sets a gritty tone for the rest of the song that Wayne matches pace for pace.

To me though, the highlight of this entire song, is this last verse from Game. ”Here it is,” as Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder (amazing podcast, please check it out) fame says, “in it’s entirety”:

“Russia got a Red Flag, US got Red Stripes, last train to Paris, round the World in these red Nikes, Che Guevara of the New Era, test me Louieville slugger, you’ll get buried in my new era, got that natty on, tighter than a magnum, walk in the club saggin’ with a 38 magnum, Red Ralph Laurens, the double R sittin’ on a hill like Lauren, her and the car foreign, got my red Dre Beats on, tryna put my peeps on, and I keep it hood like this Phantom is a Nissan, where my n-gga Jim Jones at? Roll up the weed son, so many bloods in Compton had to get a NYC song, and while I’m out here, I might as well go shopping, and put this new bad bitch I got her some red bottoms, and all these hatin’ ass n-ggas want me dead cause I’m Malcolm X before he turned Muslim, RED”

…and then that soccer chant sample again. Just an incredible collaboration from these two. 

Seriously though, let’s get Ben Joyette in these comments! It’s been too long! Have a great day everyone, or great night, or great whatever you need to be great right now. Happy listening!

Get ready for more amazing vocals from LAUREL in this electro-pop ditty-bop by Flume! 

If you’re a fan of beat-drops then boy do I have one for you here!

We start out with some fun layering of harmonies and begin to build to that drop.

“Where’ve you been, where did you go, go? how can you sleep knowing you don’t know? if I’m okay or not, if you care, I can’t tell, you put up walls knowing I can’t see, how can you die knowing I can’t breathe, am I okay or not? if you care, I can’t tell“

BUILD BUILD BUILD

DROP

Man…so so good.

“Do you know how it felt, question that I answer myself, I’m standing here in amazement, you really showed me yourself, makin’ it hard to engage, there’s nothing left to say, instances that you can’t erase, wasting away, wide awake”

I can’t help but move when I hear this kind of music and it’s part of the reason I have a standing desk now. Put this album on while you’re writing something, cleaning the kitchen, doing the laundry, whatever, and tell me you don’t have more fun. You could say that for any music, sure…but Flume is different and special, trust me. Mike and Erin! Get on this! FOR SCIENCE!

Enjoy moving your body however you do it today. Love ya! Thanks for reading!

“I’m not as young as I used to be, but I’m still here, not dead and gone like I thought I’d be, too old to cry, too young to die, but if I did it wouldn’t be a tragedy, who’d remember me, another twenty-something, lost to eternity, not full of possibility like he used to be”

Man, this is some heartbreaking songwriting from Saint Slumber. That first verse brings us down some roads of regret, feelings of worthlessness, and more. 

How many of you reading this right now can look back at some parts of your life and feel like you were on autopilot? Are you currently on autopilot? Just floating through a life making choices and doing things because that’s what you SHOULD be doing at that age, stage in your life, whatever. 

This song channels that a little for me. Just really reminds me of those feelings of helplessness…and aging! It’s hard not to pine for the younger days no matter what age you are.

“I used to feel, feel so differently, so full of joy, what happened to me, another twenty-something, lost to his own worry, too busy feeling sorry, for how things used to be, they said “time is fleeting”, I wasn’t listening, they tried to warn me, I wasn’t listening.

Give me something to believe in, everybody has been leaving, give me something to believe when, my youth is gone, when my youth is gone”

A good counter for these feelings though is:

“The windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason. What’s in front of us is much more important than what’s behind us.” The cool part is we have control over every day. Are you searching for something? LOOK FOR IT. Always wanted to try something? DO IT. I was struck by how much my happiness, and I mean daily happiness, was under my direct control. 

We can synthesize it. It’s not a place we look for, or hope to get to some day. It’s a choice we make sometimes. I don’t pretend to know anything about anything here, but that discovery for me changed how I look at what I’d call happiness. It’s worth thinking about.

Love you. Thanks for reading. Enjoy Saint Slumber!

What a cleansing song! SHAKE IT ALL OUT!

This is from Angie’s second album, Light, Dark, Light Again. In my opinion a perfect follow-up from her debut album, Salt.

“I might’ve spent six months lying on my living room floor, I might’ve been sick, then well, then sick some more, I might be prouder of me, than I ever have been, I’ve been learning ’bout letting go, how to do without my claws, scratching the surfaces, I’ve been learning ’bout wasting time, and closing some doors hoping to open more, down the line”

I think we could all benefit from learning to let go of something that’s been holding us back or weighing us down. You have something like that? Something you’ve been carrying? I’ve been there.

Put it down. I promise you’ll find relief. You might be scared at first. Want to pick it back up. Resist! Another few breaths and you’ll be free of it. 

Angie sings this song like a flower opening to the sunrise. This next lyric is such a beautiful description of re-inventing one’s self.

“I knew from miles away that I would detonate, I tried some magic tricks to skip my fate, and then gave up the ball as a defender, the trick was simply to surrender”

I don’t think we’re ever the best version of ourselves. There’s always more to experience and more to learn. Surrendering to it is “letting go” of what we think we have to be and just focusing on what makes us happy. If learned that “should” is a bad word when we use it in the context of “I’m at X stage of my life, I SHOULD be/have/etc.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, make mistakes, make mistakes”

It’s how we learn, and like she says, it’s ok. 

Love you lots. Enjoy the song! Thank you for reading!

Hello again, LAUREL. See you again soon, maybe? (That’s called FORESHADOWING).

How can something simultaneously be rough and smooth at the same time? Somehow LAUREL’s voice is. I can’t explain it. I feel like I might have said that before but here it is again. I still haven’t solved it. Weigh in. Help me understand!

LAUREL is her old self after just one song in the list. So many gorgeous melodies. Her belting at the end is sublime.

“I’m a troubled man, I’m changed by the things I do, true but it’s funny how they all remember you, it all could be different, time to do something new, give it everything, oh wanna be a happy man too, got to understand, blamed by the friends I lose, who’s getting out of hand to think they depend on you?, it all could be different, time to do something new, give it everything, oh, wanna be a happy man too”

That guitar is second only to LAUREL’s voice. What a skeleton it provides for the melodies. There’s just so much funk in this song to me as we shift our focus more on that bassline. There’s a bluesy-ness that’s obvious and it’s deep molasses. 

“Gonna run it ’round, strange but it just won’t do, oh, when it’s coming down, taking hold on you, it all could be different, try to do something new, give it everything, oh wanna be a happy man too, buy yourself a dream, how’s it looking?, buy yourself a car, and a house to live in, get yourself a girl, something different, buy yourself a dream, and you won’t need nothing”

As far as I can tell, this song is originally by the band Jungle. LAUREL’s version is faithful to the funk present in the original. As soon as the vocals start though, it’s evident we are not in the lush, dark, moody recesses of LAUREL’s performance. This is almost a celebration. I feel like we travel for more of an arc in this version. Like there’s a completely different main character. 

Jungle’s version is painted in a more optimistic light. The more I listen to it the more I love it. It’s impossible not to move to it. I’d be surprised if you managed to resist moving at least something while listening. :)

I hope, whenever you are reading this, that you are well!  Remembering to breathe? Drinking water? Moving around? Always good to do a monthly self-diagnostic. Sometimes we need reminders for basic stuff. It’s ok!

Love you, enjoy the songs!

These three together make me so, so friggin’ happy I can’t even tell you. It’s because they look like the absolutely best of friends and routinely look like they are having a ball. We can all hope to enjoy life as much as these three do according to what I’ve seen on their Instagram feed!

I’ve been lucky enough to see Julien and Lucy live, (Lucy in particular is fantastic, definitely check her out), but Phoebe has been elusive so far and I love her the most out of the three. If I had done this blog project like two years ago she would’ve featured in it heavily.

Phoebe takes the first verse and I just love how dark and kind of melancholy her voice is. I’ve always been kind of drawn to that. Maybe I’m a closet Goth. I love songs in minor key, the morally gray “villain” in a lot of books and shows/movies. But there’s this beautiful sadness to all of Phoebe’s catalog.

“Black hole opened in the kitchen, every clock’s a different time, it would only take the energy to fix it, I don’t know why I am the way that I am, not strong enough to be your man, I tried, I can’t, stop staring at the ceiling fan, spinning out about things that haven’t happened, breathing in and out”

Julien’s second verse is a little lighter. Of the three, I’ve listened to her the least, but you HAVE to check out Appointments. Such an amazing song by her.

“Drag racing through the canyon, singing “Boys Don’t Cry”, do you see us getting scraped up off the pavement? I don’t why I am, the way I am, not strong enough to be your man, I lied, I am, just lowering your expectations, half a mind that keeps the other second-guessing, close my eyes and count”

Lucy brings it home in the third verse wonderfully. She sings everything wonderfully. I’m serious, listen to Night Shift. 

“I don’t know why I am the way I am, there’s something in the static, I think I’ve been having revelations, coming to in the front seat, nearly empty, skip the exit to our old street and go home, go home alone.

The harmonizing during the “always and angel, never a god” part is absolutely top-shelf. The three of them weave together with one-another seamlessly. The guitars keeping the rhythm are wonderfully consistent throughout. 

This one is a special one. I truly hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

BANKS is fucking DOPE.

She’s a rare artist in that I’ve never once been disappointed or even vaguely uninterested in her songs. Every single time I hear one, it’s magic. Such an amazing marriage of vocals and electronic music. 

Her music just has this really cool, kind of dark ethereal quality to it that really brings you on a journey if you give up to that kind of thing.

From the very beginning of the song where her vocal is acapella it seems otherworldly, right? 

“Had my trust and such, had my head, had my heart, and my eyes, baby your words don’t add up, had your gaslight on, then you promised I’m the one who’s crazy”

The whole song really is a treat of a “songscape” to explore. It’s really funny, just now, as I wrote songscape, I was annoyed that the red squiggly line appeared under it…a word I just invented on the fly, felt so natural to me in the description, surprised me when it was not really a word. :)

We can all relate to that binary feeling of loving someone and hating someone at the same time, right? There’s one particular relationship I think back to and it really was kind of like this song. One day it just like slapped me in the face that I didn’t have to deal with it anymore. 

“There’s something ’bout the way its like you’re running me over and over, something ’bout the way I miss you kissing me over and over, and you put your words in my mouth Till Now, and I let you turn me around Till Now.

I like that she capitalizes that lyric and names the song that. It makes me think of BC/AD in some way. TN, TillNow, and AN, AfterNow, are two distinctly different time moments in time in this song. It’s irreversible. I loved you, you hurt me, I let you continue hurting me because I thought you’d see what you had, and then, the realization hit that you don’t deserve me. Anything is better than this. That’s definitely what happened. I don’t begrudge the girl now, past is past. Songs like this though help me look at it for what it was though and learn from it!

I hope you enjoy! Like I said, I’ve never been disappointed by a song of hers, and you really should check out her 2014 album Goddess. Every single track is a banger. 

Thanks for reading!

This song gives me such Jimmy Eat World/Dashboard Confessional vibes and I am absolutely down for it. First of all, I love the album cover. Spotify really is failing me on the artist credit front. So simple, but so cool.

The songwriting is fantastic throughout the song. I’m talking Ben Gibbard-esque lyrics. Not necessarily for clever rhyming or anything like that but they just seem…luxurious to me.

“Lips were painted cherry red, and there are fossils in my head, you were young and full of dread, Bathsheba of the strip mall set, we knew vampires in our time, cutting in the bathroom line, looking bored and rolling eyes, ain’t pharmaceutically inclined”

But yeah, this song definitely feels like a throwback to me. Like farther than 2019 throwback. :) To me, that means if I feel like I’m getting Jimmy/DeathCab/Dashboard vibes from an indie band, then these guys have some chops. 

When lead singer Will Lindsay starts belting out “I thought you knew me better” at 4:38 we’re again channeling this breaking of an emotional damn. He’s letting some stuff go for the rest of the song. It just feels like a release.

Oh and get this…

Barely over 8000 people listen to this band a month. You are in on the ground floor!

Halfway in and I’m feeling Angels and Airwaves vibes too. I’m really looking forward to diving into more of their catalog. Let me know if you hear any that you particularly liked!

Oh and fucking props to this song for clocking in at 5:48. We don’t have enough long ass songs anymore!

As always thanks for reading! Enjoy!

(is it weird to say “as always” on…checks notes…Day 19? I dunno, but if you’ve been here since Day 1, we’ve been through some shit already together!)