April is here! With it I have brought my overdue February and March Spotify playlists... at last! Just like before, I have highlighted my favourite songs in bold.
February in the order of addition:
- The National - I Need My Girl
- Taking Back Sunday - Timberwolves At New Jersey
- Taking Back Sunday - MadeDamnSure
- Taking Back Sunday - Liar [It Takes One To Know One]
- Grimes - California
- Grimes - Flesh Without Blood
- Grimes - Belly Of The Beat
- Grimes - Kill V. Maim
- Ryan Adams - Wildest Dreams
- Chaos Choas - Do You Feel it?
I hadn't listened to The National before, and stumbled upon them when I opened my Spotify app and found that their page was already open. Without questioning their mysterious appearance, I played the first song on their 'Popular' list: I Need My Girl. At the time, I instantly liked the song because I was able to draw similarities between it and Black Water by Timber Timbre - my favourite song the month before. Sadly, the appreciation was short-lived. As the month progressed, my attraction to bleak and wintery songs faded, taking with it my newfound love for The National. Maybe next Winter, guys.
By mid-February, speculations of RSD 2016 releases were plentiful, and prompted me to impatiently check the Banquet Records website in the hope for official news on releases. Please note that official releases are not advertised as early as February, and were actually revealed at the end of March. Nonetheless, I busied myself by browsing all the tabs on the Banquet website, including the 'Staff Picks Of 2015', with the aim of finding new music to love before RSD. It was in the Staff Picks that I saw 'Art Angels' by Grimes was mentioned. I thought "huh, Grimes? I wonder if this has anything to do with the genre? I'm sure Tom [my pal] mentioned this so-caled 'Grimes' in a tweet recently?". And with this confused curiosity in mind, I played California; it was the furthest thing from what I had imagined. In ignorance towards a genre unfamiliar to me, I rashly decided that her music was not for me. For safe measure, I played California again to confirm my decision. Before long I had looped the song a dozen times, and grew entranced by the entire album. I reached the stage where I was unable to pick an ultimate favourite song, instead settling with the three that are highlighted above.
Upon discovering Grimes, I was confident that I wouldn't find another female vocalist I adored as much as her, or Laura Marling. Proved wrong again, I heard Do You Feel It? by Chaos Chaos. I first heard them when Sam introduced me to a show called Rick and Morty. It's a fairly new cartoon, and I think it is described best as a hybrid of Adventure Time and late Matt Smith X Doctor Who, with an added awesomeness of its own kind - I would highly recommend it. Do You Feel It? was played in the ending of 'Auto Erotic Assimilation' (S02E03), which is focused around Rick's tragic relationship with a multi-faceted alien called Unity. I have included the final scene below.
I should add that the episode does not end in a night/day loop, so Rick isn't as dead as he seems above. He is unconscious in the morning whilst his son-in-law mows the lawn, for moments before the credits run. And of course, there are more episodes after this one, and another season in work, so, just to be clear, he isn't dead. Though I am aware that the suggested suicidal ending is powerfully dark for an animated show. I imagine that the process of selecting a song for this scene took much deliberation, and I would struggle to suggest a song that would fit better. The upbeat sound of Do You Feel It? both mimics the show's typically lighthearted endings, whilst detracting from the morbid feel of this particular scene. It is a perfect combination that has made me enjoy the song much more than I would otherwise.
By mid-February, speculations of RSD 2016 releases were plentiful, and prompted me to impatiently check the Banquet Records website in the hope for official news on releases. Please note that official releases are not advertised as early as February, and were actually revealed at the end of March. Nonetheless, I busied myself by browsing all the tabs on the Banquet website, including the 'Staff Picks Of 2015', with the aim of finding new music to love before RSD. It was in the Staff Picks that I saw 'Art Angels' by Grimes was mentioned. I thought "huh, Grimes? I wonder if this has anything to do with the genre? I'm sure Tom [my pal] mentioned this so-caled 'Grimes' in a tweet recently?". And with this confused curiosity in mind, I played California; it was the furthest thing from what I had imagined. In ignorance towards a genre unfamiliar to me, I rashly decided that her music was not for me. For safe measure, I played California again to confirm my decision. Before long I had looped the song a dozen times, and grew entranced by the entire album. I reached the stage where I was unable to pick an ultimate favourite song, instead settling with the three that are highlighted above.
Upon discovering Grimes, I was confident that I wouldn't find another female vocalist I adored as much as her, or Laura Marling. Proved wrong again, I heard Do You Feel It? by Chaos Chaos. I first heard them when Sam introduced me to a show called Rick and Morty. It's a fairly new cartoon, and I think it is described best as a hybrid of Adventure Time and late Matt Smith X Doctor Who, with an added awesomeness of its own kind - I would highly recommend it. Do You Feel It? was played in the ending of 'Auto Erotic Assimilation' (S02E03), which is focused around Rick's tragic relationship with a multi-faceted alien called Unity. I have included the final scene below.
I should add that the episode does not end in a night/day loop, so Rick isn't as dead as he seems above. He is unconscious in the morning whilst his son-in-law mows the lawn, for moments before the credits run. And of course, there are more episodes after this one, and another season in work, so, just to be clear, he isn't dead. Though I am aware that the suggested suicidal ending is powerfully dark for an animated show. I imagine that the process of selecting a song for this scene took much deliberation, and I would struggle to suggest a song that would fit better. The upbeat sound of Do You Feel It? both mimics the show's typically lighthearted endings, whilst detracting from the morbid feel of this particular scene. It is a perfect combination that has made me enjoy the song much more than I would otherwise.
March in the order of addition:
- Blu Cantrell and Sean Paul - Breathe (Rap Version)
- Shaggy - Bombastic
- Shaggy and Ricardo Ducent - It Wasn't Me
- JME, Skepta, Shorty, and Frisco - Don't @ Me
- Nelly and City Spud - Ride Wit Me
- One Direction - A.M.
I began to fall down the rabbit-hole of popular late-90's and early-00's music when I saw that my friend had been listening to Breathe. I immediately added it to my playlist, then sought to familiarise myself with popular songs by Shaggy and Nelly. Sadly, my playlist did not extend as far as I had hoped, because I became largely preoccupied with deadlines, and stopped listening to music entirely. Post-deadlines, I managed to play Don't @ Me more than I had before, but this should come as no surprise if you have read my previous few Spotify posts, as you will already know how much I adore JME!
Unfortunately, I have nothing else to say on the short March playlist, so I will be ending the post here. Please do let me know of any music you have enjoyed in 2016 so far.
Angela
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