Music Recommendations/What are you listening to?

I've been listening the excellent Unlimited Love, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers since april, and I also saw them in Paris in june. And in october they will release a second album.

 

Dream & Death...

 

SOAP ft. Vicki Vox is just a fun vibe song.

"Find Love" and "Beautiful World" (Remix) by Utada Hikaru are my morning songs while prepping the classroom. Honestly, the entirety of Hikaru Utada latest album, Bad Mode, is part of my morning prep. (And my dreams.)

"ABC" by Sophia Black ft. Polyphia. Honestly, I'm just here for Polyphia, but the lyrics and flow go great with the guitars, so I like the song. Also, the Japanese phonic verse is hilarious. (Honestly, most of the music video is just fun and hilarious.)

"Bellyache" (Marion Remix) by Billie Eilish. I'm pretty ambivalent to this artist, but I heard the song in a dance video and I liked it.

(Dance video)

(Video that led me to the dancer)

 

Go watch the new David Bowie docu currently showing at cinemas around the world! It's a great love-letter to the Alien Rock God, narrated by the man himself from beyond the grave and featuring timeless musick and never-seen-before visuals.


MOONAGE DAYDREAM

Also, my band -- Leper Messiah -- started out as a Bowie tribute act way back in the day, and here's our rendition of the film's title track:

An absolute honor to record, this!

 

I saw Moonage Daydream at the weekend in IMAX @Angelman . It was nice and LOUD!

 

Yeah, it was too loud in my theater, to be honest... But very nice stuff. And that Outside-piece towards the end, with that hard-&-heavy version of "Hello Spaceboy" pumping at ear-blasting volume... that was VERY exciting!

 

My local bar has metal bands from up and down the east coast, every Saturday, and Mourn the Light was playing. I really dig their sound. The video is cornball, but they were awesome live.

This song is better I think.

 

In a few days it would have been a month since the last music update - that's far too long in my opinion! So, what have I been jamming to as of late?

"Bow Down" by Evan and Eris and "The Name" by KB are gospel songs I heard during a baby shower for a friend who moved earlier in the month, and I really liked them. I haven't been given them as much attention as other songs, but they're still great.

I've also been jamming to the latest EPs by Meet Me @ the Altar and Band-Maid, titled Model Citizen and Unleash respectively. I'll probably do a more in-depth breakdown of them during my end-of-year music list, as both albums (alongside Utada Hikaru's Bad Mode and most likely Polyphia's latest album) will be my top albums of the year.

The two singles from Band-Maid's EP, "Unleash!!!!!" and "Influencer" took a few listens, but I'm really enjoying them now. Listening to them outside of just the music video has really helped. (They've also been a solid microcosm for my feelings towards the EP as a whole.)

Taking a detour into covers, there's a fun Nu-Jazz "cover" of Band-Maid's song "Anemone" by a YouTuber named fXDx. Granted, it's more of a remix than a cover since the YouTuber uses the vocals from the original song and simply puts them over a new track. But that's what makes the song interesting - the original "Anemone" had feelings of longing and nostalgia attached to it, at least for me. This new version is a Nu-Jazz (a genre I'm now interested in exploring) feeling, which makes everything feel a LOT more chill.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Our Last Night, who turned the pop "I still have feelings for you" song "Never Forget You" by Zara Larsson into a rock song, and it's great. The video and cover is six years old, but it's never too late to discover music that you love.

In the middle, we have two covers of "Parasite Eve" by Bring Me the Horizon. I prefer the acoustic cover by Christina Rotondo more, but I can't not leave out the rock cover by ONLAP either.

There's also a fun cover of "Wonderwall" by a YouTuber who adds a little Math Rock to it. Nulberry Official I think is the name of the YouTuber.

Speaking of Math Rock (yes, Tricot is on my list of bands to check out eventually), Polyphia released a new solo from their new album called "Ego Death," and it's a masterpiece. It took a few listens to grow on me, but the video, music, and finale are brilliant. A commenter on the MV noted that the music and cords gain complexity as the band ascends the building complex, and at the top the king awaits. Steve Vai isn't a name I was familiar with before this, but one of my best friends who is also a giant rock fan likened him to Cronos/Kronos when compared to Polyphia's Zeus. He was the one who walked so they could run. And the music video and Steve's guitar playing really show that. This still isn't my favorite piece from the new album - that still goes to "Neurotica" - but the boys haven't missed a beat or a step.

Lastly, we have some super fringe and weird stuff with such dichotomy that one might think the listener is manic.

First up is XXXTentacion's song "I spoke to the devil in Miami, he said everything would be fine" and BOY HOWDY IS THIS A SONG. I heard the instrumental first, and it's a minimalistic and moody piece. A piano and some reoccurring synth beat are used to create one of the most atmospheric songs I've listened to in a LONG, long time. The version with lyrics is even darker, with Tentacion using both rhyming and non-rhyming lyrics alongside biblical imagery to tell the story about how the titular conversation went and his own broken psyche. It's pretty deep and dark stuff, and the depth of a song that really ends halfway through the runtime is just inspiring. To make matters even more emotional, the first link that pops up on YouTube for the lyric version is an animated music video about a man and a woman at train stop in Tokyo as they fall in love. It's perfectly timed, and the longing and subdued and normal yet utterly ethereal story in the video fit the song so well, despite the two telling completely different stories. It's a great demonstration of the fact that a song's purpose doesn't always fit its intended use, but that doesn't diminish either. I HIGHLY recommend experiencing the song that way instead of the links I post below. (Granted, see YouTube become a thing and growing up with all of the Naruto AMVs of the mid-to-late 00's already prepared me for this.)

On the flip side of things, there's "DIVE IN!" by JELEEL! Like Okyten all those months ago, this just popped up on my queue and I just rolled with it. It was a weird vibe, but I think this is called "rage music" or something similar. Either way, it's weird and I'm cool with that.

That's it for now. I'm sure I'm listening to more, but I'll add those later. As a short finale, enjoy Charles Berthoud's bass on a fretless bass guitar.

 

I can't recommend this artist's channel enough. She gets a great soundscape from her instrument. I think I prefer her originals over the classical and other arrangements. Though I also love her Claire De Lune interpretation.

 

I came across a metal subgenre called Pirate metal. It's like if Lemmy play sea shanties.

 

Alestorm. Perfect. As I was waiting for the thumbnail to load properly, I was wondering what the band's name would be. I was hoping for Metallicaaarr! or Motley Crew. But Alestorm is grat.

 

There are a bunch of bands, it's a whole subgenre. There's, Swashbuckle, Lagerstein (i guess like pirate Rammstein) Dread crew of Oddwood, Rum Ahoy, apparently Insane Clown posse does pirate metal now. I like pirate history and metal, but I don't know how I feel about combining them.

Upon further research pirate metal started in 1987 with the band Running Wild. New to me.

 

RIP Angelo Badalamenti

 

<3

 

And now for the big one.

Music 2022:

Artist of the Year:
Polyphia

Retroactive 2021 Winner:
Glass Animals (for "Gooey")

Best Newly Discovered Bands:
Polyphia
Refeeld
Otyken
Polkadot Stingray
Brasstracks

Top Albums of 2022:
Polyphia - Remember That You Will Die
Meet Me @ The Altar - Model Citizen EP
Utada Hikaru - Bad Mode
Band-Maid - Unleash
Against the Current - fever




Best Music Videos:
“群青讃歌” by Eve (Ultramarine Blue)
「私以外私じゃないの(Remix by PARKGOLF)」by ゲスの極み乙女 ("Nobody's (not) me except me)" by Gesu no Kiwami Otome)
“Light Switch” by Charlie Puth
“G.O.A.T.” “Neurotica,” “Playing God,” and “Ego Death” by Polyphia
“From Now On” by Band-Maid
“No Reason” by Bonobo
“Storm” by Otyken
"Heaven is Here" by Florence + the Machine

Best Songs of the Year (Excluding Polyphia and songs mentioned elsewhere):
“Sunset” by Plini and Tim Henson
“Skipping on Rain Clouds” by Kerusu
“The Other Side of Paradise” by Glass Animals
“Elevate” by Papa Roach
“Blasphemy” by Bring Me the Horizon
“Now Or Never” by Meet Me @ the Altar
“Ah Yeah” by Robert Glasper
“Indigo” by Niki
“Die Young” by DJ Fixx
“I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic
“SOAP! Ft Vicki Vox” by This Song is Such a Classic
“Say U Won’t” by Brasstracks
“Peru” by Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran
“Love Nwantiti” by CKay
“Max’s Garden” and “Asmo” by Loafy Building

Songs I Want to Sing in Choir:
"IDK + So Good" by Tye Tribbett
"Great God" by LXW

Workout Songs:
“N95” by Kendrick Lamar
“What A Life” by Big Sean
"Survivor" by Desiigner

Songs that say MOOD:
"Clouds" and "Castles" by Paper Idol
"Earl Grey" by F.N.
"Dreamland" by Glass Animals
"First Fires" by Bonobo ft. Grey Reverend
"No Reason" by Bonobo
"Numb & Getting Colder" by Flume
"I spoke to the devil in Miami" by XXXTentacion
"Oceans (Philosophical Sessions" by Jacob Lee
"Swim" by Chase Atlantic

Best Cover Artists:
Brasstracks (XO Lif3 Tour, What's Next)
Christina Rotondo (Paramore and BMTH covers - special honors to "My Heart" by Paramore and "Parasite Eve" by BMTH)

 

WARNING - EXPLICIT MUSIC AHEAD

"Lost" by Linkin Park. Song of the year, or at least one of them.

Enjoy a "metal core" cover of Linkin Park's "One Step Closer"

"Hope" by NF Probably the main song for one of the albums of the year.

"5g" by Brakence. Theme song for Tress of the Emerald Sea.

"Too Late" by Chase Atlantic. I'm not a fan of the story of the lyrics, but I love the vibe. I listen to it while playing Fire Emblem.

"Doomed" by Bring Me the Horizon live. That orchestral intro is life.

"Stay" by Ari Abdul. I have no idea who this girl is, but I like this song.

"BABYDOLL" by Ari Abdul. Very sultry, but in an "overdose music" sort of way.


...I really need to listen to happier music...

 

Babydoll is fire, just sayin.

 

Some playlists...

My general go-to


My other general go-to playlist


One that my kids love off of this playlist (literally ask for it every time we get in the car)

A piano album that's amazing


I also listen to random soft piano jazz intermittently.
https://www.pandora.com/station/play/4604095754656717437?part=ug-desktop&corr=3316349

And I listen to this every night for sleep (fun note: was the keyboardist for Missing Persons, worked on Max Headroom, and did studio work for Michael Jackson in the 90's).


Cheers,
Jayson