Music Recommendations/What are you listening to?

I love fan-works, and musical ones are some of the best.

While I was procrastinating on studying for a test, I came up with some draft pick ideas for future potential draft games. This was my theme for one of them...I'm not telling which one though! (Can you feel the angst!?)

I've had a list of new songs to listen to for a couple of days now, and this was towards the top. I finally gave it a listen and fell in love. I really do need to check out more of NF's songs. This song is also the theme for My Hero Academia's next chapter (306), and maybe even be the theme for the whole arc, depending on which direction the story takes.

 

Been listening to 7 nation army. I know the song is overused a lot these days but it is such a good song. I also like the music video a lot. It just looks good

 

Here we have the greatest musical achievement of all time

 

That is just music to my ears. Literally

 

Clams Casino - Moon trip Radio

Perfect for working to

 

Ten days is enough time to listen to far too many songs and bring them up here, right?

My brother-in-law got me into Future Bass, and now he's listening to Progressive Rock, which means he'll probably get me into that eventually.

Band-Maid's "Giovanni" is quickly working its way up to the most played song for 2021. Here's a cool instrumental version by the band (maid).

Here's their live version of "About Us" for their streamed concert last month.

Atarashii Gakkou released the official music video for their collaboration song "Freaks," so enjoy this zany group of girls being exactly that.

I've been listening to songs from NF's new mixtape, and some of them are crazy. "Clouds" is pretty fun, and "Trust" is simply insane. "Story."..man...Story is so stinkin' good and, but it's a hard listen. It's intense. I'm not going to link it here, but I highly recommend people check it out. "When I Grow Up" isn't from the playlist, but his previous album, but it's still great. I will admit that while his cadence is top-notch, his beats can sound similar, and I understand how that can tire some people out.

Desiigner came out with a new song called "Amen." I've liked some of his songs in the past, and this is no exception. His producer always gives him the best beats. Here's the clean version.

Seiho's "I Feel Rave" reminds me of something I've heard on a MonsterCat playlist, but I can't think of what...probably some Hyper Potions song...

In the new artist section, we have Sub Urban, Iri, and Against the Current. Sub Urban is young and part of a new generation of artists that I definitely don't know, but I like his song "Cirque." Not linking it for language reasons either, but the video's a bop. Iri is a J-Pop singer. Her low singing voice gets me, and I'm really enjoying her music. It's a nice change of pace from the high-pitched commercial J-Pop that people might be familiar with. Her songs have a groove and soul that not every artist does. Fans of Anly (the singer behind the final opening of the final anime season of Naruto) will probably like her.

Against the Current is a band I still need to listen to more, but I like their sound. It has a fun mid-2000's vibe but they rock a little harder than what people associate with Paramore. They're not quite the Halloween Pop/Circus Horror sound that VersaEmerge had, but I'm enjoying them.

Last is Jordan Denis' song "Crumbs." Yes, I heard it first on the Axe commercial, and yes I unironically enjoy it.

 

I just recently found out that this was released and was excited to listen to it tonight as this was my first concert when I was 15. Me and a buddy who had a driver's license lied to our parent's about where we were going and went to Dallas. I'm a little ashamed to admit it but we were more there for Nine Inch Nails (who were Bowie's support act) than the man himself. I liked Bowie at the time though but didn't really get deep into his music until much later and it wasn't really a concert that made me want to rush out and buy his discography. It was not a Greatest Hits setlist and the handful of songs I did recognize were given sort of Industrial/Electronic makeovers (though Under Pressure was pretty faithful) like this strange version of The Man Who Sold The World...

I enjoyed it a little more 25 years later, at the time I didn't know any of the deeper cuts and being my first concert probably wasn't ready for somebody challenging me that much with arrangements that sounded nothing like the studio versions. Now I realize that even if it sounds weird at times it was at least cool that he was still trying to do something new and fresh instead of doing the types of Vegas/nostalgia shows many classic rock acts had already moved onto by that time.

 

Only two artists to report about for these ten days, and neither of them are new to me.

When I was a Freshman in high school (has it really been 12 years???) I had the opportunity to go to Europe. It was my first time, and it was amazing. We landed in Nice, France, and it took my breath away. (Nice > Paris ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.) I eventually got the chance to go to a music store - I think it was Virgin music, or something that sounded slightly sexual to my teenage brain - and found this artist named Melissa M. I knew nothing about her, or her music, but I decided to buy her album Avec Tout Mon Amor. I listened to them on that CD, and later put them on my iPod Mini. Eventually her songs became my playlist for finishing up the manga Zatch Bell a few years later.

In 2016-2017 I lost my iPod Mini. But truthfully, I had forgotten about Melissa M long before then. During this past Easter, I felt the urge to listen to some songs by this random French Pop-RB artist I once knew. It took a bit, but after some incorrect YouTube searches, I stumbled onto her old songs, and have been jamming with the three above ones ever since. Sadly, the album isn't on iTunes, so I can't repurchase it...

Oh, and the music videos are hilariously cringe. It's bad. I can't watch them, but I'm also endeared by that fact.



Next up is NF's latest album - CLOUDS (the Mixtape). I listened to the whole thing, and while I'm not sure I like it more than Band-Maid's Unseen World, there are more songs I think I liked on it during the album's first go-through. Granted, that's not fair to either album, since I had listened to most of the album before purchasing it.

CLOUDS is still great, and a surprisingly good album opener.
THAT'S A JOKE is okay. I understand the nature of it, but it doesn't land for me.
JUST LIKE YOU is a song I have friends who would surely love it, but I'm (blessedly) not in the right mind-space to feel comforted by it.
STORY is brilliant, and I suggest everyone who likes rap and likes songs that tell stories to look it up.
PRIDEFUL is a really welcome change of pace, and it sounds almost exactly like a Drake song, showing NF's versatility.
LOST is still my favorite. (It's also My Hero Academia Chapter 306's theme song, and possibly the arc song.)
LAYERS starts out like a solid braggadocious song, but it transitions into a standard NF one. It feels a bit like a Travis Scott move, combining two styles into one song, and I'm not sure it works as well as I'd like with NF, since the themes feel different in the two parts.
TRUST is mind-blowingly great, with each rapper spitting words a mile a minute. It's also weirdly my theme song for the latest chapter of My Hero Academia (308)
PAID MY DUES is okay. I'm sure it'll grow on me though.
CLOUDS (edit) - I haven't listened to this version and the original enough to actually tell the difference...

Overall, it's growing on me, and I really like NF's music now.

 

Amalee's cover of Utada Hikaru's "One Last Kiss" is another win for the cover artist. Amalee also substitutes the "I love you more than you'll ever know" in the final chorus for "I will never let this feeling go." This isn't a bad choice at all, as it's a classy choice that keeps the spirit of Utada's "忘れられない人," or "unforgettable person/ one who I won't forget." Also, unlike Utada's version, Amalee's version almost makes me want to retry Evangelion. Almost. I still need to listen to her Demon Slayer covers, but that requires me actually watching Demon Slayer to hear the originally, at least ideally. But I'm not there yet. I just want to read it right now.

I liked Against the Current's rock version of "Weapon" a few weeks ago. Earlier this week the band came out with the acoustic version...which features their lead singer singing in the rain while dancing on the stage. I'm going to risk it, since I don't consider it TOO NSFW, but some may consider it Barely SFW. (Also, Mods, if this is considered NSFW, please take down the link.)

Another one of those young artists that I have no idea about, Audrey Nuna's "Space" falls into the modern R&B category. Fans of H.E.R., Elle Varner, and possibly Tanerelle will probably like this song.

Speaking of Tanerelle, she's another R&B artist I found this past week. She's sensual, sultry, and has some wicked beats. Her streamed concert has been pretty dope so far, and "Nothing Without You" has so soulful, even if I vehemently disagree with the message. I'm not going to link any of her official stuff, since that crosses the NSFW line in my opinion.

Lastly, someone mixed the Shang-Chi trailer song with Killmonger's theme, and it's dope. Here's the hour long version.

 

I love the music by john Williams.
This one is a nice one.

 

Another ten days, another music update! Some of these have been hard to hold onto, but I'd rather upload things at a routine time than all at once. We're going a little more global than before, but we'll start with some familiar faces before breaking out into the new stuff.

First off is Against the Current. I'm still discovering their discography, but I do like their second big during the Pandemic in "That Won't Save Us." Here are the regular and acoustic versions.

After that we have Bring Me the Horizon! One of my favorite songs is "Can You Feel My Heart," and there are some great covers and remixes of the song out there. Here are two I really enjoy. The language is PG-13, so you've been warned!

And we have Disclosure! There song "You and Me" made me feel so nostalgic I can barely handle it, and I hadn't heard it before this past Thursday! But it sounds similar to songs I grew up listening to in my mom's car, so I enjoy it. (I shared it with my mom, and she enjoyed it as well.) The remix is below also. (Fans of King Vader may have heard this song in his wedding dance video.)

Now let's head a little international before circling back home.
First up is Japan. We have Band-Maid and Aimer (and Hiroyuki Sawano). These are familiar artists, but I wanted to put them here.

Enjoy the live version of "Freedom" and Akane's wicked drum solo. If you just want to watch the drum solo, skip to about 2:10

Here's a remix to Ninelie by Hiroyuki Sawano with Aimer and Chelly (the vocalist of Egoist) doing the lyrics.

I the rap category we have Hideyoshi's "Majinahanashi" which means "real talk" or "no doubt" or "TRUTH." It's a swagger song, but it's pretty cool.

In Korea we have the band Dreamcatcher with their song "Odd Eye" I have to be honest, I have NO IDEA what's going on in this song. It's like a weird mix of Rock-Rap and 90's Boy Band, but with a K-Pop group instead. It's weird and I weirdly like it.

Heading over to Jamaica, we have the young artist Koffee. Her song "Lockdown" is a true contender for one of the best songs I've heard this year. It's optimistic, chill but still dancy, and overall fun. "W" is similar in that sense.

Next we have Faouzia, a Moroccan-Canadian singer.

Keeping in that vein and coming home, we have Moroccan-American singer Abir. Her song "Inferno" is a surefire hit on my list of top songs for the year, and I've been dying to share it. It's probably my favorite music video of the year. The woman can move her hips, but she doesn't have too much to move. "Finest Hour" has been stuck in my head for days now as well. It's now the theme song to a hypothetical future arc in a comic I'm reading that may never happen, but I like the idea and have found the theme song, so it's stuck and now I'll be a little upset if it doesn't happen...also, while "Inferno" is my favorite music video, "Finest Hour" might be the best I've seen this year.

Bringing us back home completely is Montell Fish and Lord's Child, two Christian artists. I really enjoy their words, message, and vibe.

And lastly, enjoy Kelonate Gavin's song "Goin' Up"

 

EDIT: I forgot to add Seori's "Lovers in the Night" to the above. This is what happens when your list gets too long...

EDIT EDIT: Here's the acoustic version of "Finest Hour"

 

--- Double Post Merged, May 3, 2021, Original Post Date: May 3, 2021 ---

@Use the Falchion Flume & Disclosure