Sufjan Stevens – Impossible Soul

I might as well warn you now – this will be more about me than the song, so prepare for a long one!

And I’m not only talking about this post, but the song as well. Impossible Soul is 25:34 minutes long (the post won’t be AS long, I promise), and the reason why it’s so long is that it’s more like 5 songs in one. But there is a reason why it isn’t broken up – It’s meant to be heard as one long bit and I can’t begin to tell you how many minutes I’ve spent listening to this song ever since I heard it the first time (actually Google Play Music says it’s 37 times – you do the math).

I vividly remember trying to get into Sufjan Stevens and I just couldn’t do it. I mentioned the story of I how I got into him in this post. Even though Vesuvius is still a great song, the one song that stuck with me the most since listening to the project is this one.

The song keeps on evolving musically and it feels just like getting into a cart that slowly takes you through the mind of Sufjan Stevens. I don’t want to go into a deep analysis of what the song is about, rather I’ll try to describe how much it helped me to reflect about my own life.

I was doing my thesis when I heard this song for the first time. And I was having a hard time pulling it all together. It wasn’t an easy time for me, but I have always turned to music when I’m having a hard time in life and this was no different.

You know that feeling of something just coming into your life at the right time? This song felt like such a moment for me. I was having a hard time figuring out what life had in store for me. Especially thinking about what is going to happen after writing my thesis – what I want to do – who I want to be – where I want it to happen. Thoughts that every human has throughout their life (or at least should consider to some extend). But to even have the slightest idea of an answer to these questions, it’s necessary to have time to reflect about it. I didn’t have time. I was busy with something more important: my thesis.

This should have been very simple. Finish your thesis, and then you will have all the time in the world to think about this. Except my brain didn’t quite agree with me. I needed something more than to occupy myself with the thesis. I needed a different (or some would say higher) purpose. At the time, I couldn’t quite come to terms with not knowing what waited for me on the other side of completing my thesis and actually having to do it at the same time.

When I put on this song though, it seemed like for a moment my mind would find peace. The most important thing it did, was give me a sense of perspective. Especially the 4th part of the song (starts around 13:50) reminded me that, even though I was feeling a bit lost at the time, I would look back at this time in the future and realize it was only a small part of my combined time on this earth.

This certainly help me get out of my thought-bubble that I created and realize that no matter what I’m doing, no matter if it’s positive or negative, no matter for how long it’s going on, it’s still only temporary. And I will soon be doing something else – hopefully something I enjoy, but there will always come times where you are uncertain of it all. It’s about powering through these moments and learn from them.

This song is something that I will forever enjoy because of this. I love when I’m able to relate to songs, but when it makes me reflect about my life as well, that’s when a song goes from good to great – or even perfection. This song came into my life at the right time, and even though I’m not a believer of anything such as a higher being of some sort, I love how coincidences sometimes line up and helps you out in life.

I really just hope the song can inspire you the same way it inspired me.
That wasn’t too long, right?

Other streaming services:
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Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway – Till the End

Tomorrow, Lil Wayne is releasing Carter V and you can consider me officially excited. This post won’t be about Lil Wayne or even rap actually. Some time ago Daron Malakian released a new Scars on Broadway project called Dictator.

As a HUGE System of a Down (SOAD) fan, I obviously have followed the solo careers of the members and even though their solo projects never reached the levels that SOAD project did, there is still a lot of good music to discover in these projects. After listening to Dictator all the way through, the same feeling came over me. There were a couple of good tracks, but most of the tracks didn’t do it for me.

A track that really did do it for me though, was this one. Till the End is a beautifully well-composed track that actually feels more like a raw pop song with some heavy rifts in the background. The lyrics are a simple, but touching as Daron plays around with the delivery of his voice. It’s definitely adding to the overall rawness of the track, and it’s perfectly balanced by the melody of the song.

Even if you aren’t usually into heavier rock stuff, I think you should give this song a chance – I’ll bet it will get stuck in your head like it happened to me (which is the actual reason for why I’m doing this post now, even though the album has been out for a while).

Other streaming services:
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J.I.D – 151 Rum

OKAY.

THIS.

WAY.

OF.

WRITING.

IS.

ANNOYING.

MAKING A POINT OUT OF THE BEST SONG YOU CAN EXPOSE YOURSELF TO THIS YEAR.

That was perhaps a weird intro, but J.I.D released a single of his Dicaprio II and it’s one of the craziest songs I’ve heard this year. The beat is eerie and hard-hitting at the same time, and J.I.D just snaps. His flow feels out of this world – like an extraterrestrial heard the beat and decided to spit human words.

I’m actually having a hard time explaining why I like this so much. The way I usually write these things is that I put the song I’m about to post on repeat and I write out my thoughts. But I’m having a hard time concentrating on writing this because I’d rather listen to the song and contemplate on what Dicaprio II is going to sound like – SO I DON’T CARE ABOUT THIS POST NO MORE AND YOU SHOULDN’T EITHER.

Other streaming services:
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Tabby – prequel

I have to admit, I’m a sucker for music reaction videos. It’s pretty obvious that I love music and watching others react to music that I listen to and know about, is like some kind of drug to me – It makes me go through the emotions of listening for the first time again.

I first heard/saw Tabby when I was watching a Big Quint reaction video and there he was, just chilling in the suggestion section. I remember it being the reaction to Blonde (still one of my favorite albums of all time) and I just knew I had to watch all of this guy’s videos. He was entertaining (his editing is on point), he was analytical and he seemed to enjoy a lot of the same music that I did – everything I was looking for in a music reactor.

So I’ve followed him on YouTube for quite a while, but I was still surprised when he announced that he would drop his own mixtape called White Trash. And after listening to it, it didn’t really do anything for me. I expected worse actually, so in that sense it surprised me in a good way (I really liked the song Rufus), but in the end the project felt flat as a whole.

One thing I will say though, is that his project is still competing with music released by artists that have millions of dollars behind them, while Tabby only had 42 dollars to make this (obviously I don’t know anything about how much he spend to make it, but I like to imagine it being 42 dollars). He obviously knows this, and I find it inspiring that he still made it and released it. It’s not easy to put yourself out there, cause you are opening yourself up to criticism.

That was a long intro for what I actually wanted to say. He released a new single from his upcoming project peachfuzz! and this is it. This is the one! This sound is what I hope that peachfuzz! will mostly be like. The chorus is really addicting and the verse is pretty good. The melody is definitely what makes me love this song – and Tabby’s voice sounds better than ever.

Seeing his improvement and achievement with this song makes me certain that he will deliver with peachfuzz! – I’m rooting for him!

Please take a listen for yourself and I know you will be as hyped for the new project as I just became (and watch the video as well – it’s pretty cool).

Other streaming services:
All Streaming Services

 

Mac Miller – 2009

To be honest, I really don’t know how to deal with this. It felt surreal when I heard the news yesterday: Mac Miller, 26, dead.

I could make this a long post talking about when I first discovered his music back in 2010 with Nikes On My Feet, how he changed from being considered a frat rapper to someone making Faces, a mixtape where you can just feel that the emotions are coming from a dark place, and all the way to last month where he released SWIMMING – an album where Mac truly showcases all his musical talents.

It doesn’t feel like that long ago, that I made a post on XXXTENTACION’s death. No matter the cause of death, I am sad that this seems like an ongoing thing in music, especially the hiphop community. Mac being the same age as me and someone that help shape the taste of my music, definitely made his death hit much harder than any other celebrity death. I can’t even begin to fathom how it is for his family and his friends that actually got to experience him as a human with all of his personality.

Even though I have a lot of opinions on how the culture has to change, I’m not going to go on a rant about how drugs and addiction are portrayed in the hiphop community and what it’s doing to everyone involved. I’m doing this post to try and make you realize just how great Mac Miller was as an artist.

Listen to 2009 on your own risk! I wrote this with tears in my eyes thinking about how much his music has touched me – in the past, in the present moment, and I’m sure that it will be something I bring along in my future.

Your soul will never be forgotten, Mac.

Other streaming artists:
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Denzel Curry – MAD I GOT IT | MAD 1 GOT 1T

I’ll try to not make this about how great an album Denzel Curry’s TA13OO is, but I think I already messed it up by making this the introduction. The album is my AOTY so far and I think it’s going to be hard to knock it off that spot (and no, Astroworld isn’t better even though it’s really good).

But this post isn’t about the greatest album this year. Maybe it’s not even about the song I picked out from the album. Maybe it’s not even about music at all…

Okay, I lied – This song is the actual cause of these extremely hot weather conditions and it doesn’t even think about giving you any shade to cool down. The way Denzel delivers the hook on top of the beat made me squint my eyes as well as make an “ooohhh”-sound right away. I just couldn’t control myself while listening to this.

The seamless transition from hook to verse is something I feel Denzel has perfected and it makes his song sound so smooth which is really evident in this one. And of course there has to be a beat switch where Denzel just comes in with a verse that destroy any doubt about him not having the best flow in the game right now.

It was hard to pick a song that stood out from the rest. Only because the songs are all so refreshing and well made, that choosing one would be like choosing between your children (I only guess this is what it feels like as I don’t actually have any children – maybe it’s easy).

If you are a fan of hiphop, you have probably already listened to this project. If you haven’t you should probably stop whatever you are doing and give it a listen. This is one of the best things you can do for yourself right now.

What are you waiting for?!? GO GO GO

Other streaming services:
Google Play Music
Apple Music
YouTube
Soundcloud

SOPHIE – Is It Cold In the Water?

OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES

This is the title of SOPHIE’s new album. As some of you have already guessed from the title alone, this album is weird. Very weird. Or should I rather say… interesting.

I love the experience you have when you listen to this album from beginning to end. The whole emotional spectrum is active during the listen, and it’s actually difficult to listen to some of the songs. The beats are so unusual that it’s  impossible to react properly to it – I’m in awe as well as disgusted by some of the songs. This is what SOPHIE does best. The album challenges the way you think about music, and that is a big reason why this album does something for me. It challenges the way I think about music – WOW!

I realize that the above passage was about the album rather than the song. I don’t care anymore. SOPHIE doesn’t seem to care about tradtional music structure, so why should I care?

There is some order to all the chaos, and the reason I chose Is It Cold In the Water as the song I wanted to put forward, is because it perfectly captures some of this order during chaos. In the end, it all comes down to the build up. The build up in this song is flat out amazing. I felt blueballed throughout the whole song – I just wanted the beat to drop so hard in the end that it would put every EDM song to shame. But it didn’t happen.

It didn’t give me the satisfaction of ecstacy – and I respect the song a hell of a lot more for that. If you want to experience this right, you should listen to the album from start to end.

The answer to the song title is a perfect answer to your listening experience of this album – it’s chilling!

Other streaming services:
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Kids See Ghosts – Cudi Montage

These last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy listening to all kinds of different music, that I completely forgot to share it with the people!

Kanye West has been on fire these last couple of Fridays – and I’m not thinking about whatever “scandals” he stirred up with his Donald Trump and MAGA comments – It’s all about the music.

3 albums in a row: Pusha T’s Daytona, his own Ye, and lastly Kids See Ghosts, his collaboration with Kid Cudi. All these albums are only 7 songs long, but I hope that this trend catches on. We need less filler and more quality! Way to go Kanye for showing that it’s possible in this streaming era.

I’m not going talk about every album individually, the only comment I’m gonna give is: IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD THEM YET, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? (That did come out a bit aggressive, but you should really check it out). It’s some of Kanye’s best production and that says a lot considering his earlier work.

Every single song is something special, but the reason I chose this particular one is very simple. It’s the best one!

Kid Cudi and Kanye have a great chemistry here, and Kanye’s verse is some of the most heartfelt I’ve heard from him in a while. Kid Cudi’s moans are something of a meme at this point, but there is a reason for this. Just like clichés are a thing because there’s a universal truth to them, Cudi’s moans are perhaps the most truthful thing you will ever hear this year (This comparison somehow sounded better in my head – the point being that Kid Cudi is back, better than ever).

The guitar is sampled from Nirvana and gives the song a gloomy sound – not very surprising given that it was produced by Kid Cudi, his long time collaborate, Dot Da Genius and another genius among them, Mike Dean. In the last part of the song, Mr. Hudson joins in on the chorus and from there on, I was already in heaven. The song really left me feeling a certain way after the first listen and now I can’t stop listening!

Other streaming services:
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YouTube
Apple Music

 

 

A$AP Rocky – Tony Tone

TESTING 123 – TESTING 123 – TESTING 123

A$AP Rocky has finally released his album, Testing, after several delays throughout last year. So the big question; Was it worth the wait?

I have to admit that I actually wasn’t very hype for the release. I only really liked the single A$AP Forever as Above, Bad Company, and 5IVE $TAR$ weren’t really up to whatever standard I had for Rocky songs. As it turns out, A$AP Forever is actually the only single from the album as the other songs were just Rocky testing out different sounds.

I have to say though, that based on this song alone, It’s definitely worth the wait! Rocky is back with what he does best – flow, delivery, and bravado. I am convinced he can take any beat and make his flow work with it. That make all the songs on the album very enjoyable, even the ones where he is experimenting with his sound as he did on At. Long. Last. A$AP.

Even though I only chose one song from the album, I recommend listening to the whole thing from start to back. There are a lot of great tracks on here that has already been added to my playlist.

Childish Gambino – This Is America

Everything this man does right now becomes gold!

I have to admit that I’m perhaps a bit biased when it comes to Childish Gambino/Donald Glover. I was sold on him from the first moment I heard and saw the music video for Freaks and Geeks – As soon as I finished it, I had to find out who this guy was. Soon after, I discovered the tv-show Community where he plays one of the characters, his standup comedy special Weirdo, 30 Rock where he was a writer. Everything Donald Glover chose to put his heart into, he did succesfully.

Or did he?

Even though I was absolutely loved his earlier music, he had a hard time getting respect from some fans of hiphop. Being nerdy and coming from comedy doesn’t mesh well with the usual rap-image. He wasn’t rapping about lambo’s and champagne. He wasn’t rapping about growing up in the trap. He wasn’t rapping about how he had to sell drugs to get by. He was simply telling a different story – his story! And I loved that. Authenticity has always been a major theme in Childish Gambino’s music, and I feel like him staying true to himself and his work has finally paid off in every way possible – I like to believe he is one of the most respected artists alive right now. Who else can say they are on top of their music career, star in the next Star Wars movie Solo (pun intended), and be the voice of Simba in the upcoming remake of Disney’s Lion King, all while you have created one of the most succesful tv-shows in Atlanta (You have to watch Atlanta if you haven’t yet!).

I know this became more about Childish Gambino or Donald Glover as a person than the song, but he is truly one of my greatest inspirations. This song shows why he is the best doing it right now. The social commentary can’t be escaped with everything happening in the US right – talks about Donald Trump, gun control, racism, identity and patrionism. The music video itself is a piece of art and fits the song perfectly as it helps expand on some of these topics I mentioned earlier.

I aspire to one day be half as talented as Donald Glover. Stop whatever you are doing right now and watch the video – you won’t regret it! (I’m already working on learning the dance moves right now).

Spotify link: Childish Gambino – This Is America