I told myself that if I didn’t get anything done this week that I would at least this post ready instead, but I have been feeling great in my legs that I actually left this one for last!
This past month has had a lot of music, both new and old favorites. I even dedicated a full week to just reggaeton music. I actually figured out something pretty interesting (well I thought it was interesting!) while in the mist of this mini adventure.
If you.don’t know by now, I love a large amount of different music, but what I’ve found in the last six years or so, is that I don’t really categorize it by genres, more like where the artist is based out of, they’re nationality. I slowly started to remember why I went that way and it happened when I wasn’t listening to as much rap music I always thought I was, but something kind of drastic occurred at the end of 2008 that I just decided to separate myself from the genre entirely. However, a part of me didn’t want to leave completely because I grew up listening to the genre as a child.
In the meantime, I found reggaeton and I used the fact that none of the artists I listened spoke in English to fall deeper into the genre and began to appreciate the beat thus would help me later in life for creating a bigger love of all genres whether or not I can understand the languages or not. This summer I have been even more interested into the music I’ve been hearing coming out of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Colombia. Maybe I’ll even highlight some of my favorites in the annual Summer Playlist coming in a couple of weeks.
For now, you get a mixture of the Top 20 songs I listened this August. Hope you enjoy them!
My Turn Now by Hidden Citizens Bad Bitch by Bebe Rexha featuring Ty Dolla $ign Mother’s Daughter by Miley Cyrus Heavy Is The Weight by Memphis May Fire featuring Andy Mineo The Fall by Banks Say My Name by David Guetta featuring Bebe Rexha & J Balvin Banana by Anitta featuring Becky G If U Seek Amy by Britney Spears The Violence by Asking Alexandria True Friends by Bring Me The Horizon Loco Contigo by DJ Snake featuring J Balvin & Tyga Queen Of Mean by Sarah Jeffrey China by Anuel AA feat. Ozuna, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin & Karol G What A Girl Wants by Christina Aguilera What’s My Name by China Anne McClain Don’t Call Me Up by Mabel Move Shake Hide by Marmozets Crawl Back In by Dead By Sunrise Runaway by Sebastien Yatra featuring Jonas Brothers, Natti Natasha & Daddy Yankee Kill This Love by Blackpink
I am really missing my Spotify mostly because I miss doing my music reviews on here. I used to have good size amount of stuff to talk about in a month and now I feel like I am scraping the bottom of the barrel. I have thought about opening my blog back up to artists and bands again, because at least that would keep me active on here but I don’t know if it would help me out as much either.
If you’re an artist or band with new music out on YouTube and would like some free promotion, please let me know and maybe you can be featured on my blog! You can contact me at: gotmeghan.blog@gmail.com with your information. Let’s work something out that helps both of us out a little. 🙂
What were you listening in the month of August? Any favorites?
We’re quickly approaching the en of summer! I know some schools will be back in session next week, which is just crazy to me! For most of my school days, school would start in the middle of the month, not at the start of it. I actually saw a school supplies sheet the other day and it floored me, they were asking for students to bring earbuds and mouse for their laptops in their classes! It wasn’t until I was a senior in high school that I got a small taste of what school was to become for not only my sister but the rest of younger generations!
Let’s move on to this month’s playlist before I feel any older than I already do, okay?
It was a pretty good month for music. I wasn’t too into rock or hip hop music as much as I have been lately. I think I might be a little bored with both genres right now because I’ve been doing a lot of searching, and apparently it doesn’t matter if I’m listening to music on TV or my iPod, I am literally changing them for something different! I am still in that state of mind so you have any new music for me to check please let me know below!
Here are my Top 20 songs for July!
Stroke by BANKS Raise Hell by Dorothy Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran featuring Khalid Toxic by 2WEi Sucker by Jonas Brothers The Search by NF Be There by Krewella Never Be Like You by Flume featuring Kai Peaches & Cream by 112 Built That Way by Emotional Oranges Sad Forever by Lauv Mad Love (Acoustic) by Mabel Wings by Little Mix You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift Boucin by Kiana Lede featuring Offset Money by Cardi B This Is Our Time by Hidden Citizens featuring Ranya I Am Defiant by The Seige La La Land by Bryce Vine featuring YG Sucker For Pain by Logic featuring Ty Dolla $ign, Imagine Dragons, Wiz Khallifa, Lil Wayne & X Ambassadors
I think one thing I am going to get started on my list for the annual Summer Playlist at the end of September. It might be a little different from the previous years because I haven’t been keeping up with this year’s music. I mean, I’ve been trying to but I keep going back through the past and relishing in them for a while. So, you might get a playlist with both newer and some old goodies in it.
If you missed the recent reviews I did on here, you can check them out again. I will include the newest post on Thursday after it is published that morning. Or at least I will try to put it below, because you all know how I am about forgetting things! Since I also talked about my favorite Taylor Swift songs, and treated it as a review as well, I think I should add it on this section too.
Today I am finally going to talk about BANKS! Sometimes it can be harder to talk about your favorite artists than it is for newer artists, at least it has been for me! You see, I’ve tried in the past to review her previous album The Altar back in 2017 but I just could not get myself to do it and I’ve been kicking myself ever since! So, for this post I am basically conquering my fear and discussing what I like or maybe dislike about this album.
I actually didn’t know she was going to put out an album until a whole bunch of songs on YouTube and I thought, “well, this is strange!” So, I went on her Facebook page and quickly figured it out. This record has thirteen tracks with only one that credits another artist and/or band, but we’ll get to that in a minute,. I have only heard probably three or four songs but the rest I have saved for you guys, because you know how much I like to express my thoughts during that first listening. I hope you enjoy the rest of this post. Let’s get to it!
The first song we have is “Till Now” and I think everyone will agree with me on forgetting that the actual word “till” is spelled with 2 “L’s” the fact that Google and everybody else in the world has no problem with leaving it with one is fine. However, it is nice to be reminded of that every once in a while. Anyways, when the song first started it actually made me think of another song of hers “Better” because it was pretty empty with only her vocalizations in the background but the one difference with this is that it sounds more upbeat. Towards the ending it sound really static-y and I was really concerned that it was my speaker but her vocals never changed so I let it go. I really liked it, just wish it wasn’t so short though!
Next we have the first single, “Gimme” and I loved this from the moment it was released! I really approve of her seductive side coming out in this song. I have a really tough time not dancing to this and that’s what made me fall in love with it first, because it just has this great meaty beat to move to. It was an awesome little taste of what was to come next. The third track is “Contaminated” and we have continued on this mysterious train with the beat itself. Even though it does have darker notes, it also has these sweet vibes going through it as well. I can’t quite explain it, maybe it’s the undertone of the song that I’m feeling but I liked it!
We move on to “Stroke” and the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the title was the word “heatstroke” I don’t know about my brain sometimes. The song is on a totally different level that what we’ve heard from her; she’s given us everything I thought until I heard this one. The bass on it is amazing! If you know me well enough, you know I have a slight obsession with bass. I may not jam as loud as I use to, but I still love to feel the bass on a speaker. By the way, you read that right. I said feel instead of hear. One thing that I really like about it is that once you get to the bridge, the sound changes and you have this almost jazz-y worthy type of beat going on for a bit and what really gets me is that it all works really nicely!
“Godless” is next and I love that her vocals are soft, really sensual this time around. It is still sexy in every sense of the word but it’s not as overwhelming as the last track–and I mean that in the best way possible! I just like how everything about the song is milder. It is a nice change, but it isn’t anything like the next song: “Sawzall” as this has a true acoustic feel. You can hear everything individually, and it’s wonderful. I love her dark-alternative music but it is amazing to hear her as naturally as possible. These two songs really surprised on how different they could be, compared the rest of her music.
We move on to “Look What You’re Doing To Me” and this is, dare I say, very cheery and playful! This is the song that features another artist, it is Francis & The Lights. I have never heard of them before but I really enjoyed the subtle way they came into the track. So far, this is the only one that sound like a regular R&B song, although it still has the essence of what we all love about BANKS, but thanks to adding another voice, it has an edge compared to the others. Unfortunately, it isn’t one of my favorites but it’s still pretty good though!
Next we have “Hawaiian Mazes” and I really loved the quiet introduction. It was just a sweet kiss. The tempo stays very mellow throughout the whole thing. The “uh, uh, uhs” are also nice too, the whole thing brings out a sensual vibe. Perfect for the summertime! After that, we travel to “Alaska” basically. I thought it was interesting that we had these back-to-back. As the last one was very chill, this is fun and mild beat wise. It has a nice groove to dance to, and has a unique flare to it. The recent song that I allowed myself to hear was “Propaganda” and I thought it was great! I really think it has more of a House feeling going on, it does match the other two with the lightness of the beat, but thankfully all of them have something to make them different from each other.
“The Fall” is the one of the three tracks left on the album. This one threw me for a loop. While you listen to the verses, the beat is very gentle, almost relaxing in a way. After the last few songs, it shouldn’t really surprise you that this could happen, but once you get the chorus, it explodes. Suddenly, you feel this fierce tone and if I’m not mistaken, she’s rapping towards the end? Yummy! We have “If We Were Made Out Of Water” and I love the sounds of birds in the beginning. When you first hear them, you kind of think that it’s going to be a happy song but it’s not. It’s rather sad, especially when you read the lyrics along, you feel like you could cry. despite this, I think it’s one of my favorites! We are at “What About Love” which is the final song. I really enjoyed the bluesy, but gospel sound going on. It does a bittersweet tone, but I like how simple it was; kind of the perfect way to end the story.
I will be honest when I say, I have yet to actually listen to any of BANKS’ albums all the way through, and this was the main reason why I wanted to review her last record because I knew I wouldn’t without having a reason to do so. However, because of this too, I was very hesitant to review it at all. I am normally very picky with her music so going into this was a bit scary for me, but everything is fine. I actually loved it!
I can’t say her music has changed, I don’t feel like I can say that officially, but it hit my needs as to start on a high note and end kind of softly. For an album like this, a summer record basically, it wasn’t overwhelming with tropical sounds and full of sex, although it does have a bit of it on here, but it’s pleasant. You finally get to hear her voice and raw emotions as the album continues on. The lyrics are different, certain words that maybe you wouldn’t expect to be in a song. It was a unique experience, that’s all I can say!
Have you listened to BANKS’ new album III yet? What did you love it or not liked it as much? What were your favorites? Put your answers below in the comments!
I am back with another review for you! As you all know, I love doing these blog posts but unfortunately being able to find new full releases is tricky so when I find a stack of music, even if it’s small, I will try to talk about on here!
For today, I will be reviewing an album that came out in early June, by an artist that I have discussed on here before. She is Svrcina, and her newest album “Hearing Colour” came out on the 14th, and I found out about it on the 27th! Honestly, if I do end up writing all three reviews, I’m pretty sure all of them were released sometime last month.
We have firstly, the title track “Hearing Colour” and it is a gentle introduction of what is essentially to come. It has that synth-pop sound that she is sort of known for, so I really liked it. Finally, it’s with “Dragonflies” that starts the music journey. We have that little exotic flare that I really love about her music. It’s not too much or too little, just enough to give it that edge. The song itself is very upbeat with a pop-y tone. Great way to begin the album! Next is a song called “Pages” and here again, we have a happy but unique kind of beat going on. I was imagining myself relaxing at a Japanese spa, surrounded by a small stream and some waterlilies here and there. I can really see it while listening to this song, but I like the actual song too. !
When I first wrote out the list, I thought to myself, please be a ballad. From the moment it started playing, I instantly got excited because even though it wasn’t what I initially wanted I still enjoyed it anyways. “Insecure” has that light but mysterious sound that I love in her music, but it’s not too much. I think some people would consider this a House track just by the vibe of it. It’s pretty groove-y so I really liked that. It was better than I expected it, which was awesome! Next, we have “All I Wanna Do” and here we have what i like to think of a regular pop song, because there wasn’t really anything too interesting about it, but it was good anyways!
The album is coming to an end; “Back 2 Good” has a nice little upbeat tone. I really like the bubble popping type of sound in the verses, the reason why I say “bubble popping” is because it was literally the first thing that came to me when I focused my attention on it. I really enjoyed the song, despite not liking it the first time I listened to it a few months ago. It’ll put you in a good mood, I was humming and dancing towards the end of it so that’s always a good sign! And finally, we have “Come Together” and I thought it was a nice balance between her slower songs and a pop-y track. Out of all the songs on the album, I still love this one the most!
I think because she came out as a cinematic artist, working with Tommee Profitt for his cinematic volumes for the past three years, I’ve gotten so use d to that voice of hers in that thundering light that when she went in an another direction, I wasn’t necessarily ready for it. I’m not saying any of this release was bad, for a pop album, it was pretty good but not what I was expecting it to be. I also had a thought that since her first album was in a somber tone, this was bubbly and warm, perfect for the summertime! So, what I’m really trying to say is that it was a nice surprise.
Have you listened to Svrcina’s music before? If you have heard this release, what were your thoughts on it? A fan or not?
I am posting this a week earlier than I originally planned on because I am going to be writing about Nolan’s birthday party. It is going to be a fairly large post with lots of things, and I didn’t want to force myself to write it up in three days so this is your gift for the end of the blogging week instead!
Honestly I wanted to work on this like four days after the May playlist published but I told myself to chill and wait until I actually create a fairly good size list for this month. Unfortunately, I don’t think I will be giving you a 20 song playlist this time around but I think you’ll still appericate it anyways, right?
Dancing With A Stranger by Sam Smith featuring Normani The World We Made by Ruelle Flexible by Jordan McGraw Wait For Me by Jake Miller Brand New by Ben Rector The Outside by Taylor Swift Here With Me by Marshmello featuring CHVCHES Out Of Love by Alessia Cara Playwitme by Kyle featuring Kehlani Tip Toe by Jason Durelo featuring French Montana Thinking Bout You by Ciara 365 by Zedd featuring Katy Perry Wish Wish by dJ Khale featuring Cari B & 21 Savage Sound Of War by Tommee Profitt x Fleurie Back It Up by Prince Royce featuring Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull So Am I by Ava Max Chances by Backstreet Boys Started by Iggy Azalea Unforgettable by French Montana My Prerogative by Britney Spears
Okay, so maybe I was wrong and I have listened to over 20 songs already this month! It took me about an hour just to get that list together, because I kept coming up with songs and trying to add on to the previous list was a pain in the ass, but I got it done so I’m a happy camper now!
Two songs that I have been loving like crazy are “Flexible” and “Wait For You,” they are so good! I was hooked the moment they each started playing. They both have very catchy lyrics and melodies, I am really bad at keeping still whenever they come on so I know that’s a good sign! I am still shocked that Jordan McGraw is actually the youngest son of Dr. Phil! I thought he was a rocker? Oh well, the song’s great.
The one female track that I want to talk about is Alessia’s song “Out Of Love.” Like the other two above, I only had to hear it once and I was gone. It’s such a bittersweet type of song, but it’s also very beautiful too! What gets me though, is that it reminds me of a song that was on the film, Look Who’s Talking with Kirstie Alley, John Travolta, and Bruce Willis. The song that I’m talking about is called “You Need Hands” by Dan Lennon. The reason why Alessia Cara’s song makes me think of this song is when she gets to the chorus and how slow she says each word, the music too helps bring back that similar sound of this track specifically at the chorus. I can’t to find out how many of you actually attempt to listen to the songs and see if I have actually lost my mind or not.
I think the Ben Rector song will always be on my June playlist, mainly because it was literally the first song that I heard on the radio when we got home from Nolan’s birth. I actually didn’t go to sleep right away like my parents, so that is how I managed to hear it. And what was really interesting, is that I heard it on the day of the party! So, it has a very special place in my heart and deserves to be on here every year!
What were you listening to this month? How are you about hearing songs play ondays that hold special meanings, whether it’s good or bad?
Well May is over and we move on to the summer months, where music really comes alive. It’s the time of the year that I actually look forward to, because of this exact reason. I think the combination of new and old summer anthems can put anyone in a good mood, so that’s why I tend to enjoy the summertime. May to mid-September are the best months out of the year.
This month I’ve been listening to a lot of great music. I was really craving, maybe not a word you’d expect to see in sentence about music but, something different from my normal mix that I tend to listen to on YouTube. So, I remembered some of the various playlists on here and there are some posts that have both Spotify and typed out lists of songs; I knew these blog posts would be the best thing to do! It’s funny how I really do these posts for you guys, but they help me out a lot!
I have decided to keep the amount the same as I did last month at 20 songs. The reason for this is because whenever I write out only 10 songs, I am usually keeping a ton of other songs back and hoping I continue to listen to them in the next month so I can put them on the next post but that doesn’t always happen so this is just easier on my brain!
Rescue Me by OneRepublic
Sunshine by River Matthews
Welcome Home by Hellyeah
Empire by Nick Fradiani
Nightmare by Halsey
Cross Me by Ed Sheeran featuring Chance The Rapper & PnB Rock
Don’t Leave Me Alone by David Guetta featuring Anne-Marie
Don’t Kill My Vibe (Griffyn Remix) by Sigrid
Battlefront by Rage Of Light
Freaky Carnival by Infected Rain
Masters Of Destiny by Delain
How Can I Forget by MKTO
Holy Water by Laurel
Light It Up by Marshmello featuring Tyga & Chris Brown
The Words by Christina Perri
I Never Told You by Colbie Calliet
You Don’t It For Me Anymore by Demi Lavoto
A Thousand Years (Lullaby) by Christina Perri
Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
Seasons Of Love by RENT
If you’re a Spotify user, and want to check out what else I was listening to this month, click here to be redirected to the actual May playlist.
Another thing that I like about summer is that it means that music festivals are in full swing again! Now I’ve never attended one before, but I do have a couple that I look forward looking up after it’s all over on YouTube, and they are Aftershock and Lollaplooza. The reason why I love Aftershock is because it’s generally all rock and heavy metal bands that perform in California. The lineups are usually really good but when it comes to Lolla, I like it for its variety. Even though, it started out as a rock festival too, overtime the direction has changed so they have a lot of pop and EDM acts, but that’s what I love about it, is because it’s all genres and the audience itself have diverse music tastes too or they wouldn’t be there in the first place.
So, what makes you look forward to summer? Do you have a music festival that you would to go to in the future? And finally, what was your favorite song in the month of May?
I don’t know what made me decide to do this review, but I thought it would be fun and I also really wanted to talk about how you feel about these types of releases, are you fan of them or think they’re kind of annoying because they don’t match what you pictured in your head for the last nine years? You’ll find out my answer soon!
This album is pretty hefty, which I was kind of surprised but grew to like it because that leaves more room for other artists and genres they mainly work in on a daily basis. It’s also a collection of popular and no-so-popular artists as there were two that I have never heard of before so I am a bit intrigued to begin with so that’s a plus! When I started writing this review, I was already listening to the album but quickly stopped before I went too far to come back. Hmmm… sounds like something you’d hear before going over The Wall. Anyways, let’s start, shall we?
The first track is called “Kingdom Of One” by Country singer Maren Morris. It is such an eerie, but soft song that definitely embodies that Game Of Thrones vibe, as it’s darkness and somber look with every episode. I think it has the right amount of edge and makes you curious to what the rest of the record will sound like after it’s over. It’s perfect. The first single to be released was “Power Is Power” by The Weeknd featuring SZA & Travis Scott. I thought it was interesting how different this one and the previous song were, but I liked them for what they bring to the album as a whole! However, it does sound like the Black Panther song, “Pray For Me” with this popping beat at the end of the chorus, so that pretty much bummed me out a bit.
We move on to “Nightshade” and I cannot lie, the first thing that jumped up at me was the big green explosion in season six. It is sung by The Lumineers, and thanks to the band’s background in folk music, the vibe of this song is totally new. In a way, it has this peppy sound mostly because of the pianist using the higher notes, so it has this urgent but calming atmosphere. I kept thinking something else was coming but it never doesn’t. It just stays in this one place and usually I’d find this really annoying but I liked it. The fifth track is “Hollow Crown” by Ellie Goulding and this may be an unpopular opinion to some, but you can’t have a movie or in this case a television show soundtrack without Ellie Goulding in it. Now as I say that, I thought this wasn’t as good as some of her others. I figured it would be much darker like the title somewhat suggests, but it’s not like that at all. The beat is fairly boring; nothing about it really grabs my attention and I was really shocked by it.
Next there’s “Baptize Me” by X Ambassadors featuring Jacob Banks. This was one of the artists I was unfamiliar with, so I had to go check him out after I was finished. I swore up and down it was Rag’Bone Man with his deep voice. I enjoyed the laid back vibe of this one. It has a nice groove to it, and I thought it was weird because I didn’t think it was a GoT type of song but then I thought, we need a light=heart song because it’s not all about blood and glory. One song that I thought brought out the most GoT feelings, was “Too Many Gods” by A$AP Rocky featuring Joey BadA$$. This was very mellow as far as rap songs go, so I ended up really loving it! It wasn’t too much in your face and gave you this calming perspective. Our seventh track is “Turn On Me’ by The National. They are a rock band that have been making music since 1999. I really, really liked the softness of it. I am so used to hearing epic songs for movies that I keep forgetting that rock-pop could be a really good change, because there are sweet moments between our characters and so I have grown to appreciate this take on these songs.
The ninth song is “From The Grave” by James Arthur. I love James Arthur. He gives out so much emotion and a rawness that I feel like I need to hear on a weekly basis to remind me “this is what men sound me”. I really loved this one because I feel like it could be a dedication to the characters that died throughout the duration of the show. We move on to “Me Traicionaste” by ROSALIA and A.CHAL. I thought this was an interesting track because this completely in Spanish. So, we bring in other worldly sounds to the album and despite having a couple of rap songs included for some reason I didn’t think there should be a song like this on it, but I enjoyed having it be apart of it too!
Our next song is “When I Lie” and it’s a remix of the original version. It’s by Lil Peep and features Ty Dolla $ign too. One thing that I really liked about it was this hip hop mixing with rock sound. It’s one of my favorite combinations! I’m familiar with Ty but not Lil Peep, but I thought both of their voices were great in that echo-y sense and it all has a nice groove to it so I thoroughly enjoyed myself with this. We move on to, “Love Can Kill” by another artist I never heard of before, but I grew to like her voice anyways. Her name is Lennon Stella. She reminded me of Alessia Cara and Billie Eilish. Anyways, I like this pop-y thing going on, but I didn’t get it was inspired by GoT but then once I really paid attention to it, I thought it could work. The twelfth song is “Wolf At Your Door” by Chloe x Hallie. I think these girls each have a beautiful voice and the beat itself embodied that vibe of the show. It was eerie but pop-y at the same time, it’s really good honestly!
These are the last couple of songs on the album. We have “Devil In Your Eye” by Mumford & Sons. I was surprised we didn’t have an Ed Sheeran song on here, but if there was an alternative route I guess Mumford & Sons is a good way to go! This was a great song, I liked the lightness of it, between the lead vocalist’s voice and the overall sound itself. It was nice. The final song is “Pray (High Valyrian)” and I’m really glad to see this type of track on the album. It is an essentially an instrumental, there are words but you can’t really hear them clearly to make out anything but maybe “pray” and unless you are an expert on Valyrian language, you’re kind of screwed. However, the song itself is really good. It’s mysterious and makes you wonder if it’s a clue to the ending of the series.
I was really surprised with this album. I actually ended up liking the majority of the songs on it. I also really enjoyed the variety of genres on it as well. It gave everybody a chance to release something they thought needed to be expressed, whether or not they are fans of the show. However, I’d hope everyone involved are fans in the first place! I definitely didn’t picture any of these songs and the artists on this, but I thought it was really cool to see this basically come alive.Anyways, I definitely recommend any fan of Game Of Thrones to listen to this soundtrack!
Have you listened to the “For The Throne” soundtrack yet? If you have, what were your favorite track(s) on it?Â
