Groovy Fresh Jams

I really love music. I joined my university's Radio station during undergrad, and during my 4 years in college, my tastes in music expanded to a rather frightening degree. I now listen to music I would never have even considered listening to before college, and I am constantly trying to find new stuff to vibe out to. My tastes range from Hyperpop, to DnB, to Rap and Hip Hop.

Click on the button below to check out my RateYourMusic page! That's where I record every album I listen to and give it a rating! It's the best place to see what I've been listening to lately and get a better idea of my tastes in music!

Blog

3/13/2023
Alright, well, it's been a minute. I haven't updated the blog in 4 months. oops! Since October, I've listened to lots!! I have found so much more music to absolutely fall in love with. The biggest developments have probably been my budding interest in folk, and in RnB. The warm acoustic guitar sounds of folk have really been doing it for me, especially during this time of year. RnB brings a nice chill vibe that was already in the periphery of my listening, with big names like SZA and Frank Ocean constantly being talked about by people around me. I figured it was finally time to see what all the buzz was about. I also listened to a few new shoegaze albums last month, and a bunch of good pop in December! Here are some favs:

• What's Your Pleasure by Jessie Ware
• Emotion by Carly Rae Jepsen
• Giving the World Away by Hatchie
• Blue Rev by Alvvays
• 100% Electronica and Slide by George Clanton
• You Will Never Know Why by Sweet Trip
• Get to Heaven by Everything Everything
• Split by Lush
• Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You by Big Thief
• Channel Orange by Frank Ocean
• The Velvet Rope by Janet Jackson
• Dynamo by Soda Stereo
• Igor by Tyler, the Creator

10/17/2022:
I've been listening to so much music lately! Bjork's new album, Fossora, came out recently. I liked it well enough! Gotta be in a pretty specific mood to really be into bjork. I listened to the new Beths album, and it was great. Also, Anak Ko by Jay Som. I have also been making an effort recently to listen to some more new wave and goth rock stuff. This includes The Cure's Disintegration , Juju by Siouxie and the Banshees, Head Over Heels by the Cocteau Twins, and Power, Corruption, & Lies by New Order. They've all been phenomenal, but so far the New Order has been my favorite. Good stuff!

9/30/2022:
Today I have listened to Melting Moment by Poison Girl Friend, Dice by Onew, and White Ceiling/Black Dots Wandering Around by Parannoul. They were all pretty good. I also listened to Slither by Djo, which I really enjoyed, and The Cinnamon Phase by Black Bear, which was also great. Finally, Hold the Girl by Rina Sawayama. I was kinda dissapointed by this album. I'm not sure what it was, but this album lacked the magic of Sawayama. I think it was probably a little to generic, it lacked any memorability. So those are my most recent listens.

Several albums have been released recently which I'm meaning to listen to, and am excited to do so. Expert in a Dying Field, by the Beths. Emotional Eternal by Melodies Echo Chamber. Nymph by Shygirl. Fossora by Bjork. Cool it Down by the Yeah Yeah yeahs. My dad has listened to the Beths album and the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and both got his approval, which is a good sign. Once I've given them a listen, I will have to update again!

My Big Project

Usually when people talk about a project in the context of music, it means they are working on making music in some capacity. Not me though. What I'm doing is more of a personal project. One of the things I learned when I was in student radio was that I had an embarassing lack of knowedge in any music from before I was alive. And I decided to do something about it. So I went online, and found a list of the top 100 albums of the 90's. And I made a spreadsheet, and started listening, and giving scores to each album I've heard. I started this project in the fall of 2021. As of the writing of this passage, I have some 40 odd albums left. Once I finish, perhaps I will update this with some closing thoughts. Then, I will probably move on to the top 100 of the 80's!

Favorite Albums:

• Immunity by Clairo
  Honestly I be listening to tracks off this album all the time. I was in top 0.5% of clairo listeners before the release of sling. I saw her live while she was touring this album and it was amazing! It's so soft and relaxing and she has such a pretty voice! And all the tracks are different enough from one another to be memorable.
  Fav Tracks: "North","Feel Something", "Closer to You".


• Cinema by the Marias
  I was introduced to the marias by my sophomore year roommate, but would not get really into them until about a year later. Approaching the release of this album, I was eagerly awaiting every single as they dropped. This album has a mystique to it, it's got an almost silky yet smoky sound to it. Very cohesive sound throughout the album.
  Fav Tracks: "Hush", "Calling U Back", "Fog as a Bullet".


• Good at Falling by The Japanese House
  I had this album on constant repeat autumn of 2021. Every time I listen to it I end up fixated on a different track. They are all phenomenal. This album is one of my top choices for albums I want on Vinyl.
  Top Picks: "We Talk ALl the Time", "Maybe You're the Reason", and "f a r a w a y".


• Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
  I got into Phoebe Bridgers right before the pandemic started. This album dropped a month after my school year ended, when I spent all day stuck at home unable to go anywhere due to the Quarantine. It's kinda sappy but this album was exactly what I needed at the time. It felt like a perfect reflection of how I was feeling at the time. It's dark and vast, with a slowly building power behind it which swells into an epic finale.
  Fav Tracks: "I Know the End", "ICU", "Punisher".


• How I'm Feeling Now by Charli XCX
  Probably the least consistent with the other entries here. This was the first Charli XCX album I listened to. I think it's really fun!
  Fav Tracks: "c2.0", "7 Years", "Forever".

Important Albums:

These albums rewired my brain chemistry. They are important because they have had an irreparable ffect on the kind of music I listen to. Often, this is because I liked the album so much that it was my entry into listening to that genre. Anyway, I highly recommend each of these albums if you've never heard if them, because you may find yourself into a new genre!

• Mezzanine by Massive Attack
  I listened to this album for the first time in October of 2021. I put it on as a part of my efforts to listen to more music from the 90's. I didn't know anything about it, other than that it had a kickass beetle on the cover.This album was my first exposure to trip hop, and I immediately fell in love. It is so mellow and cool and dark and just such a pleasure to listen to. In particular I adore the bass parts.
  Fav Tracks: "Black Milk", "Inertia Creeps", and "Teardrop".


• Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
  In my experience a lot of people think mbv fans are annoying. Well, so be it. This album is good, and it's really unique if it's your first exposure to shoegaze. Even if it isn't your first exposure, it is essentially thee shoegaze album. Representative of the whole genre. If you like hearing unique sounds, its worth a listen.
  Fav tracks: "I only Said", "Only Shallow", "Soon".


• Remain in Light by Talking Heads
  Ah, Talking Heads. Would you believe I hadn't ever really listened to them until spring of 2022? Obviously I knew the BIG hits like Psycho Killer, but to listen tothe whole album was incredible for me. To me, talking heads just bring such fun and interesting sounds into their music! This was one of those albums where I knew after the first listen that this was gonna become a staple of my music library.
  Favs tracks: "Born Under Punches", "Houses in Motion", and obviously, "Once in a Lifetime"


• WLFGRL by Machine Girl
  This album is a bit of a departure from pretty much everything else on this list. It's insane, and at times it feels like it's going to melt your brains out and serve them back to you. Not easy listening by any means. I heard WLFGRL for the first time in the fall of 2020, while I was in the kitchen preparing dinner. It was so far outside of my normal comfort zone, the fact that I liked it was what astounded me. Nobody is doing it like Machine Girl.
  Fav tracks:"Post Rave Maximalist", "Excrutiating Deth", and "Krystle".


• 1000 Gecs by 100 Gecs
  I am going to be honest. Gecs are not for everyone. They were not even for me, at first. It took me 3 or 4 different attempts at listening to this album before I got through the whole thing. And then it was stuck in my head. And then tree of clues dropped, and I needed more stimulation during quarantine, and I got into hyperpop, and it spiraled out of control. I cannot wait for 10000 Gecs to drop.
  Fav Tracks: "hand crushed by a mallet", "money machine" and "stupid horse"

Spotify Wraps

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