Awesome Artistry

Are you looking for a song to listen to when you're in a melancholy mood? Something that will help you dwell on feelings that you'd much rather satisfy with vast amounts of unhealthy foods? Well, then I think this song might be the one. I heard "Between the Bars" by Elliot Smith when I watched the movie Stuck In Love on Netflix a few weeks ago. This song really stuck with me for some reason. Even though it isn't a very long song, I feel like when I'm listening to it, I sometimes can't tell where it begins and where it ends. Sometimes I just put it on repeat and listen to it until I feel that I have listened to the soothing melody enough times to satisfy me. I'm not saying that you'll absolutely love this song, but you might find it oddly captivating. The lyrics are powerful and help give overall shape to the song. I will definitely be looking into more of Elliott Smith's work.

A couple of weeks ago, a close friend of mine, Libby Crawford, gave me a list of songs to listen to that she thought I would be interested in. I loved every song she suggested to me. One song that really stood out to me was a cover of Wheatus' famous song, "Teenage Dirtbag", by Scala and Kolacny Brothers. I am a huge fan of "Teenage Dirtbag" and I've heard many covers of the song but never one as unique as this one. I've never imagined this song being sung by a choir and accompanied by a piano. My favorite part is the beautiful harmonies throughout the song and the wonderful piano performance. It's definitely worth a listen if you're looking for something different that's upbeat and fun.

Jack Antonoff is a singer song-writer who has collaberated with stars such as Sara Bareilles and Taylor Swift. He was formerly the front man of Steel Train and has decided to use his craftsmanship to work on some of his own projects. His song "Rollercoaster" sounds as though it should be playing in the montage of some beautifully scripted independent film. It's catchy beat and fun lyrics make you want to just get up and dance. This song is definitely one I'll be playing with the windows down, midsummer, while my friends and I are on a road trip. So if you have a moment, click on the artwork to hear this incredible song, and if you like what you hear, check out the album Strange Desires for more exciting tunes.

I don't know a whole lot about Zella Day, but I know that I love her song, "1965." I came across this song on Apple Music when I was listening to Lana Del Rey. In the suggestions it listed an album called "Kicker" by Zella Day, so I went ahead and decided to check it out. Her music is definitely alternative pop, but in a very indie and unique way. I like the simplicity of this song. It's not incredibly difficult and the chorus isn't very complicated either. I just like what it describes and the mood that the song brings. I don't have much more information than that. Hope you like it. (click artwork for the song!)

I actually came across the band, Our Last Night, when I was watching YouTube covers of popular songs. My favorite cover was of the song "Habits" by Tove Lo. I like to listen to covers of different music because sometimes some one's interpretation of a song may make me like the song more. Most of the time, unfortunately, I find the opposite to be true. Sure, I take the time to listen to a lot of YouTube covers just to hear something a little different, but I rarely find a cover that stands out to me. Our Last Night was able to cover a variety of pop songs with out completely ruining them, in my opinion. I'm usually very against the whole "Pop goes Punk" scene, but somehow, these guys make it work. I began to listen to some of their original music which I found to be very good as well. They're not an unknown band by any means, but you don't exactly hear them on the radio very often either. I was completely caught on the acoustic version of their song "Sunrise." The lead vocalists of the band, Matthew and Trevor Wentworth, make everyone wish they had a sibling that they could sing with. Sunrise being stripped down to just an acoustic piano and guitar makes the structure of the song and the vocals shine even more than the original version. I would definitely recommend checking out this song (click artwork) as well as the rest of their YouTube channel.

Finally, a happy song on my blog. It took long enough. The song "Wishing Wells" is an exciting, up-beat song by the indie pop band, The Colourist. I discovered this song like I do most of my music, just surfing through YouTube and Apple Music. Even though the track was released in 2014 on the self-titled album, The Colourist, it's catchy melody makes the song seem younger than it actually is. I was drawn to this song immediately due to the rich harmony of the vocal duet by Adam Castilla and Maya Tuttle. Their voices compliment each other so effortlessly. The song is catchy, exciting, and just plain fun! You'll want to pack your bags and go experience all the joys the world has to offer after hearing these catchy lyrics. The lyrics, "I’m sick of hearing what if, what if. Just follow what you’re feeling for. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, just follow what you feel, just follow what you feel," make you want to take a chance and see what happens. This song is extremely motivating and I highly recommend listening to it (Clicking to artwork) as a song to get your day started! You won't regret it.

A few days ago my father texted me a song titled, "Something" by Julien Baker. I give a huge amount of credit to my father for my taste in music. He seriously listens to any types of music there is, and I'm always open to his suggestions. The song by Baker isn't a new song; it's actually track number 6 on her album, Sprained Ankle, which was released in October of 2015  I haven't gotten a chance to listen to the entire album yet, but if the other tracks are anything like Something, then I know I'm in for an emotional ride. In her song, Something, Baker sings about a moment of a relationship that everyone dreads, the moment when the person you love leaves you behind. The lyrics paint a terribly, painful moment in time of her parking lot, questioning where things went wrong. She just couldn't find words to make a convincing argument for the person driving away to stay with her. This is a song that you can just play on repeat and feel something different every time you hear it. You'll feel sorrow, regret, confusion, and utter defeat. Definitely worth a listen. The link attached to the artwork will take you to the song and her entire album on 6131 Record's website. Hope you enjoy!

I'm always looking for unique and inspiring new songs. During my first semester of college my friend, Victoria Harmon, showed me a song called, "How Do I Tell A Girl I Want To Kiss Her?" I was in love with the song immediately. The vocals are sort of weak at times but there is something about the way that they are sung that lets you know that the point of the song isn't how it sounds, it's the story it tells. The lyrics are by far the strongest point of this song; they are so meaningful. The melody is also pretty catchy, which helps the song tremendously. At the time, Victoria and I were both under the impression that the song's creator was the band, Modern Baseball. Victoria had discovered the song through Tumblr and the post it was linked to said "by Modern Baseball." I later discovered the song on YouTube. I listened to one of Modern Baseball's albums titled, "You're Gonna Miss It All" and began to research the band further. I discovered that Modern Baseball has released two albums, with a third coming soon sometime this year. None of the tracks listed on the albums were that of the song "How Do I Tell A Girl I Want To Kiss Her?" I decided to start reading the comments posted under the video I found and discovered that the song was the result of a solo project that was created by Modern Baseball's band member, Brendan Lukens. I was extremely excited to find his solo album online. I'll put a link to that here if you are interested in downloading his work, and just click the album artwork if you want to hear the song that this blog post is about!