I just wish that I could describe to people how much I’m loving this new Jenny Lewis single. Talk about a #WCW, Jenny Lewis, you are making me swoon with this beautiful song about trying to just be one of the guys! This hits home for a lot of reasons with me, not just the fact that I’m always thinking that I am “one of the guys,” when indeed, I’m not. I’m very much a woman who feel woman things and feels the pressure of a woman’s biological clock. Many people would tell me to not worry about it, actually everyone, but somehow Jenny Lewis just hit the nail on the head with this song. Single Ladies of the world, I urge you to listen up and feel like there’s a song for you here!
So normally, this time of year I am busy creating playlists and discovering the hits-to-be of the summer, but not this year. 2014 has been chalk full of busy weekends and hectic weeknights, leaving little left of me to update this blog, let alone find new music. I took last weekend as a kind of mellow out weekend and thought I’d look up some new stuff to listen to!
First up, PHOX. Their single, Slow Motion, makes me sway and sing in a way that I crave. The lead vocalist turns a regular melody into something that I like to call jazzereal (a mixture between Jazz and Ethereal…I’m still working on making a better word for it, open for suggestions!). Slow and smooth, this song goes down like a cold drink in the hot summer.
Next, I’d like to call attention to tUnE-yArDs. By no means is Merril Garbus new music, but as I am just starting to get into her sound, and she has a new album coming out I thought that it was a good fit for a #newmusic post! The newest single off of her album Nikki Nack is Water Fountains and CHRIST is it amazing! Hand claps, catchy bridges, and a whole lot of drum beats; I find myself belting this one out! Ashley (you know who you are) I strongly recommend you take a listen, you will love this!!!
My last new music love is that of Vance Joy. Riptide has become my go to for the song I play to wind down from the day. Don’t get me wrong, this tune is joyous and upbeat, with a beautiful beginning riff of ukulele followed by a sweeping instrumental of guitars and drums. I LOVE IT.
I go through serious music phases that usually last for a week, at most. As any reader of this blog will know (p.s. thanks for still following me even though I’m shit at posting) I am a creature of obsession. I get absolutely obsessed with a certain song, movie, food, etc. for an entire week and then don’t listen to it for a while. The phase could last anywhere from a day, to a week, to a full month…to who knows. I’m still obsessed with the entire Lucius album, Wildewoman, and listen to Disney music like it’s my job, and those things have been around for a lot longer than I just mentioned. Through all of the craziness, though, new things creep in and warm my soul, which is more than I can say for the weird beginning of Spring we are having here in New England.
James Blake is the newest to hit my air waves by way of my best friend, Steph. A lot of times I get so caught up with my own music finds that I tend to shut out other recommendations, but Steph usually has a keen ear and attuned senses to what I like and what might get me going. She introduced me to Rhye a while back and now James Blake, both of which are on a transcendental level. Sometimes I just need some smooth R&B electronic music to get me through my life, I need to feel like my everyday goings on have a soundtrack; that is how I feel when I listen to James Blake. He’s definitely not for everyone, other friends of ours aren’t too excited about his song Retrograde, but I stand by him. Low and deep, smooth and silky; Blake’s vocals unearth an inner feeling that I can rarely get to on my own. I love listening to him while I am putting together a craft, or decorating my house. It puts my in a place of creativity and calm, which is great, because I tend to run on anxiety and existential crisis mode almost 24/7.
I am also heralding back into the spotlight, the Young Band Series! I know that James Blake isn’t “young,” we are the exact same age, but I feel like if you’re sub 26, then you get to be part of this list.
I highly recommend this listen and encourage people to take their time getting into his album. Like I said, he’s not for everyone, but he is for some. You might just need to give it a try!
When you’re multi-tasking, it really takes something special to drag your attention to one thing and one thing only. Well that has just happened to me. I am currently in the middle of doing 3 different things for work and am also just listening to a few new bands that I found last night when suddenly I can no longer pay attention to anything. I am listening to a band that I’ve never heard of before and I am struck by how much I am digging their single, Solo. I am talking, of course, about the band Cardinal Sons. I am getting a slight Phoenix vibe from them, but it’s not so similar that I think I am listening to a repeat band. They’ve brought their own mix to it and are much more aware of their guitar sounds and how their melodies flow with keyboards. It’s hard to put my finger on just what this band has that differentiates it from the others, but it has that factor.
Last night I made a goal for myself to wake up early enough to make myself breakfast before work. Most people might think this a silly, and very attainable, feat. I would say to those people, “Can it!” I am a creature of habit, I love going to bed a relatively decent time and taking my sweet time to roll out of bed in the morning. Small things, like adding an extra 20 minutes to my morning, could mean disrupting the whole balance of blah blah blah…case and point, I’m lazy.
This morning I woke up with enough time to cook a favorite meal of mine, scrambled eggs with chunks of fresh avocado and some diced tomatoes. A lil’ salt, a lil’ pepper and I’m in heaven! Absolutely delicious and extremely nutritious, I’m not even tempted to eat the DD Munchkins that are staring me down on my desk right now! ( I may sneak one a little later, but that’s to be determined…)
For some reason, don’t ask me why, but this scrambled delight inspired me to listen to some throwback Ben Folds Five, specifically, Philosophy. My sister introduced me to Ben Folds Five when I was in high school, she in college, and I fell in love immediately. So, as I was scrambling my eggs and humming the tune in my head, I decided to make it a feature on my morning playlist. Glad I did! It’s been pushing me through my day and making my outlook on life a little brighter!
The Kitchen In Stereo 