Music Monday | Linda Perry

Hello!

This series is suppose to be about my favorite music producers, people who basically inspired me to study become one in college ten years ago. What I didn’t plan on was second guessing myself on whether or not Linda Perry is a producer. I knew she was a songwriter and musician in her own right, but I wasn’t so sure about the other part. Just before I started writing this post, I finally broke down and checked online to see if she is and everything says she is in face a producer.

Although I wanted everyone to be an established producer in these posts, I felt that in the end, it really didn’t matter if she was or wasn’t. I mostly knew her as a songwriter to artists such as P!nk and Christina Aguilera.

I didn’t write my first song until probably fifth grade, I didn’t even keep it because the words just kind of came at me all of a sudden and I wrote them on a small piece of paper. Some people would think they were poems, but I always found myself correcting everyone that they were songs, but then they would come back and ask if I had any music with it, and I’d say no. As most songwriters, they like to come up with the melody and music before figuring out the lyrics. I was the total opposite, but only by default, I can’t play any instruments and never really wanted to, so maybe they are poems after all!

For most of my middle school years, I was writing songs about what was feeling and going through during my preteen years. I still have folders upon folders of songs I wrote in classes and even at home too. I hardly ever look through them even though I want to keep them safe for later. I don’t quite know what or why I would want to do that because I was more abstract in my words back then; I hardly ever made a song specifically for one person and I definitely never put the person’s name I had in my mind while coming up with the lyrics. I was smart that way I guess!

I remember the first time I ever listened to “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera. I always wished I could be that brave to release all of my emotions into creating something as wonderful as that song. I watched a documentary where Linda was discussing when she worked with her on second album “Stripped” back in 2002, and how she was teaching her how to let go and give herself up to the world and exposing feelings that we all feel at one point or another, and that obviously meant a lot to me in my teen years, leading up to high school. By the time, I became a freshman, I think I stopped writing them, and turned my attention to books. The last one I ever wrote was published on my old blog at the end of 2009 I think.

I do tend to like a person’s music better if they are the lead songwriter. I generally love what Linda has created for other artists, especially female singers. I have a slight obsession with singer-songwriters like Natasha Bedingfield, Halsey, Banks, Phoebe Ryan, Alessia Cara, Charlie Puth and Julia Michaels because I know they all have written songs. I hope one day I can help make my nephew understand why it’s important to start writing in a different platform; whether it’s blogging, bullet journaling, poetry, or songwriting. It’s a important habit to keep.

Have you ever written a song before? If you have, do you remember any specifics about the first one you wrote? Did you keep it? 

snowflake

 

EP Review: “Mine” by Phoebe Ryan

This has been a long time coming honestly. I’ve been back and forth if I really wanted to do a review but I ultimately decided to do it. This has to be one of the shortest reviews I’ve ever done!

Phoebe Ryan is a new artist from Los Angles. I’d put her in the pop genre category. I first her song “Mine” while listening to Sirius XM Hits 1 a few months back. I generally loved the fact that the song was so chill in the beat and her voice. For her first single, it has that good poppy sound. It’s nice enough where you can dance to it and it has catchy lyrics too! Perfect way to start out and on the EP itself, there’s a remix included of the song by Michael Keenan featuring Skizzy Mars. I don’t usually say this, but I actually like the original version better!

The second track is called “Dead” and despite having such a morbid title, it doesn’t have a sad sound or meaning to it like you’d think it would. It’s more chill and quiet than you’d think, but it’s not bad. It’s more like a love song. It’s actually pretty good to sway back and forth by yourself or with somebody else. Third track is called “Homie” and I am hooked to these slow introductions to the songs. Phoebe has a great voice for these chill sounds! It’s not overwhelming in any way, but you kind of wish there was something else to it. I think that’s what I was searching for the most in this song. There’s nothing really special about it like the last one. However, it would make the perfect “friend zone” song though! Is that too mean to say? Last song is two covers in one, called “Ignition/Do You” the first song is by R.Kelly and everybody should remember that song from what 2004? It was a big song back in the day, however I don’t remember the second song “Do You” by Miguel but just shows you how much I no longer listen to hip hop/R&B anymore.

What do you think of Phoebe Ryan? What do you like about her first single “Mine” and have you heard her new EP yet?