Tag: Music

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We Meet As Strangers – Everyone betrayed me, I’m fed up with this world

If you visit the instagram page of We Meet As Strangers, you will see that they’re now a four-piece act. It all started, however, when two school friends from Stuttgart, Germany, decided to start a band in 2015. Since then, they have released and produced themselves an album, an EP and two singles, always trying to merge different musical styles and instruments, including those typical of traditional German music like brass and strings. With influences that go from Neck Deep to Sufjan Stevens, you can see they have trouble getting defined by a single genre.

Their latest single, which for simplicity I’ll refer to as Everyone betrayed me (the full name is in the title of this entry), is the most 1980s song composed by someone who wasn’t even alive in the same century. Filled with analog synths and lush sounds, the track is about not being the one for the person you love and being OK with that. Something nice about We Meet as Strangers and this song is that they will donate all earnings from it to Doctors Without Borders in order to help those in the Moria camp on Lesbos. Listening to a good track is always nice but, if on top of that, you are going to contribute to such a good cause, it becomes a no-brainer. Check it out below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Grouplove – Deleter

Grouplove - Deleter

Deleter was released early this year but it is so good and fun that I had to find a way to squeeze it here. At the time, it was Grouplove‘s first single since 2016 and expectations were pretty high. I think it’s safe to say that Deleter didn’t disappoint the band’s fans. With hooks all over the place, you’ll find the song’s energy to be highly infectious. It is impossible to remain quiet while this great track is playing.

In case you hadn’t heard about Grouplove before, this band was formed in 2009 in California. They’ve had a number of hits since then, with the most popular one being the outstanding Tongue Tied. They don’t seem to be tormented artists trying to leave a mark in the world. Instead, they seem to be a group of friends enjoying what they do and having fun. That’s precisely what you’ll get from them. Isn’t that perfect for a Friday night?

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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Bruce Springsteen – Streets of Philadelphia

Bruce Springsteen - Streets of Philadelphia

I think the universe wants me to write about Bruce Springsteen. Not only was he mentioned in a recent entry, but I also watched a decent movie last week called Blinded By The Light that is basically a homage to The Boss. To top it all, he just released a brand new album accompanied by a documentary on Apple TV+: Letters To You. I don’t think there is much I can say about this legendary artist from New Jersey that is not widely known by now, so I’ll just go straight to the point here. Springsteen got many great songs and the film I mentioned made me appreciate the lyrics from Dancing In The Dark even more (seriously, amazing lyrics), yet my favorite song from The Boss remains Streets Of Philadelphia.

This Oscar winning gem was written and performed for the film Philadelphia (great film, by the way) in 1993. Some people consider it the best movie song of all time. It’s certainly in the running. It got one of the greatest intros as well. Who can forget that drum beat? Enjoy this great tune as this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Hellogoodbye – Here (In Your Arms)

Hellogoodbye - Here (In Your Arms)

To be honest, the first couple of times I heard Hellogoodbye‘s Here (In Your Arms), I didn’t like it. I couldn’t deny the extremely infectious chorus, but everything else about the tune seemed odd to me. It was a classic example of a song that grows on you the more times you listen to it. And listening to this song I did. A lot. Because my then girlfriend (now wife) loved it from the first time, to the point that it was her ringtone for a good while (back when that was still a thing). It’s hard to believe it’s been so long already.

Here (In Your Arms) was the lead single from Hellogoodbye‘s debut album, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, released in 2006. It peaked a number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum in the US. I don’t think the Californian band has been able to replicate that level of success since then, but they’re still around, with a few lineup changes but still led by lead singer Forrest Kline.

I hope you like this catchy song, because it is this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Punk Rock
  • Pop

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Bedside Manners – What It Seems

This five-piece band from Merseyside, Bedside Manners, epitomizes British rock. Creating what they describe as dirty indie rock/punk, their style feels like an amalgamation of many British bands such as Arctic Monkeys, the 1975 and even Oasis, resulting in riffs-heavy energetic rock. After starting out in 2018 with the release of their first EP, they have quickly garnered a following, with one of their singles gaining over 200k streams on Spotify. As with any other artist this year, Bedside Manners has been impacted by the Covid situation, but that hasn’t stop them from releasing a new single, What It Seems, which is also –in my opinion– their best one yet.

This banger consists of nearly three minutes of shimmy-inducing rock & roll. A song of multiple meanings, it manly deals with the subject of reminiscing about the past and wondering what would have happens if we had made different decisions. One decision you won’t have to regret though, is listening to What It Seems now. It will bring some energy to your Tuesday.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Tyson Kelly – Am I Ever Gonna See You Again

The son of a renowned songwriter, L.A. born but London based artist Tyson Kelly has been fascinated by music all his life. For the past ten years, he’s been touring the world as a sought-after John Lennon impersonator, performing in shows such as Broadway’s Let It Be, and even as a member of The Beatles Bootleg; but now it is time for Tyson to stay true to himself and focus on the music he wants to make. Hence, last month he released his debut EP, Plastic Rockstar, in which he blends modern pop with soundscapes from the 1980s. The EP got 4 tracks, including the upbeat Am I Ever Gonna See You Again.

This infectious tune is full of dazzling synths and hooks. Lyrically, it tells a story of a music star who connects with a fan after a gig but after leaving town for the next gig the following day, the fan wonders if they ever going to see each other again. Despite the melancholic theme, the catchy melody lifts your spirit in a nice way. The song’s production is also spot on, which makes the whole experience even more enjoyable. Listen to Am I Ever Gonna See You Again below. It’ll be fun.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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ThePianoPlayer – Secrets

ThePianoPlayer is a musical project from Italian pianist and composer Enzo Orefice. As ThePianoPlayer, he uses his creativity to experiment with ambient and neo-classical music, but without ending up with abstract pieces. All his pieces are elegantly beautiful yet easily accessible.

Take, for example, one of his releases from 2020, the stunning Secrets. A beautiful song that reminded me of the work Ólafur Arnalds did for the show Broadchurch. Whether you are having a pretty active Sunday or a lazy one, I can’t think of better ways to end it than by listening to this breathtaking piece. Enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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The Musical Endeavor – Ray of Light

For those of you who might not know, vaporwave is a relatively new music genre that consists of slowed-down samples of smooth jazz, hip-hop and lounge music. The Musical Endeavor is a musical outlet led by Liam Taylor, who describes his music as instrumental lo-fi hip hop with elements of vaporwave. This act recently released its second EP, Ray of Light, whose title track is our song of the day.

You can certainly perceive the jazz vibe on this track, mainly due to its piano hook, an original composition by Liam. Ray of Light has a soothing effect that makes it an enjoyable piece. Next time you have friends visiting (if that becomes a thing again at some point), you can play this song or even the whole EP as a musical interlude and get props for not recurring to the typical lounge music we’re all tired of hearing at bars or restaurants. Enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out

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Oasis – Champagne Supernova

Oasis - Champagne Supernova

Speaking of iconic albums celebrating 25 years this month, Oasis‘ legendary album, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? also fits the bill. It featured hit after hit and if you ask different people what their favorite song from this record is, you will likely get different answers each time. For example, Some Might Say that it is that song; or Wonderwall, which usually tops ‘Best of’ chats and lists; or Don’t Look Back In Anger, recently crowned as the greatest song of the 1990s by listeners of Absolute Radio. However, if you ask me, the best track is one that wasn’t even released as a single in the UK (it was a single in the US though), Champagne Supernova, which is why I chose it as this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry.

At “just” 07:30 minutes, I love the way this song starts. People complain about the lyrics being psychedelic –i.e: making no sense–, but I think they are great. You give them the meaning you want . You can complain about the track being too long (up to you), but everything else is spot on. Oasis might not exist as a band anymore, but thankfully, we’ll always have this record and, in particular, Champagne Supernova.

“This writer, he was going on about the lyrics to “Champagne Supernova”, and he actually said to me, “You know, the one thing that’s stopping it being a classic is the ridiculous lyrics.” And I went, “What do you mean by that?” And he said, “Well, Slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannonball — what’s that mean?” And I went, “I don’t know. But are you telling me, when you’ve got 60,000 people singing it, they don’t know what it means? It means something different to every one of them.“

Noel Gallagher, Oasis

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Lomon – Little Visitors

Lomon is a Seattle-based musician who feels out of place, as if he had been born a thousand years early. His style is described as psychedelic indie electronic, and perhaps that is the case in general, but this particular song we are featuring today, Little Visitors, is actually closer to glam rock. There’s certainly a David Bowie vibe to it.

Passionate about science fiction and all things related to space, Lomon, aka Zander Chocron, usually writes songs about our planet, taking care of it, and space exploration. Little Visitors, for example, is a metaphor for the human race not appreciating the beautiful planet we have. All in all, Lomon is certainly an artist with plenty to say and the creativity to do so in quirky and interesting ways. Check him out below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative