Music Monday (10) The Christmas Edition

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

It’s the 19th, which means that its time for the Christmas Edition of Music Monday. Yes! I have been waiting all month to do this post. So today, Adri and I are going to share some of our favorite holiday music.

Breana: My first pick this week is O Holy Night performed by Mariah Carey. I actually really like the entire Merry Christmas album, but O Holy Night is just so fantastic. Mariah Carey’s version is still one of my favorites. I grew up listening to this version of O Holy Night, so it's no wonder why I still enjoy listening to it every December.

My second pick this week is Carol of Bells sung by Pentatonix. It’s just so good! I also recommend checking out more of Pentatonix's holiday music.

Adri: Okay, so I like a lot of the Christmas songs, but for me this is the season of "I really don't want to get out of bed, its too cold!" As such, I like to listen to smoother songs. So here are two of the songs I'm listening to, but trust me, there is a lot more. I'm just not naming them.

My first selection is O Holy Night sung by Yolanda Adams. I never actually "found" this song, rather I've just been listen to it since the ipod shuffle 2nd gen (thanks mom).

For my final song, I'm going with Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas performed by Kenny G. For me, this song is more of a recent find; however, I have listened to his other songs too. I find myself listening to this version when I want to get into a festive mood and relax.

What is some of the go-to music off your holiday playlist?

Music Monday (9) Kimbra, Samantha James & Haywyre

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Man, I can’t believe how close the end of the year is, and with Christmas and other holiday’s right around the corner, it’s almost time to do a holiday music edition of Music Monday—just not today, but expect that soon. In other good news, this week, Adri is back with more recommendations.

My first pick is Cameo Lover by Kimbra. This is probably one of my favorite songs by Kimbra, mainly because it introduced me to her music back in 2012. The style of the Cameo Lover music video is simple but really colorful and fun.

My second pick is also from Kimbra. Good Intent is another one of my favorite songs. And, I really love the tap dance sequence from the music video. It loosely of reminds me of Swing Time, the second major tap dance scene with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

For my first selection today, I'm going with an artist I recently discovered about a month or two ago. That artist is Samantha James. While I love a lot of her songs, Find A Way stood out the most to me. 

For my second pick, I was searching "doppelganger" on Soundcloud when I came across Haywyre (I'm obsessed with Two Fold part 1 and 2). Now, of course I like Doppelganger, and no one song is my favorite, but when Insight was released I couldn't help but to have it on repeat. As if I couldn't love it anymore, I listened to the live performance, and was wowed. 

Music Monday conversation corner (since we had too much to talk about this week, and couldn't fit it in above).

Breana: I totally agree with Adri. I'm really impressed with the live performance of Insight. It's the kind of song that I want to listen to on repeat. 

Adri: I know right. I told you so.

Adri: Also, now that you got me started on tap dancing, the Nicholas Brothers in Stormy Weather...OMG.  **pulls up clips for reference**

Breana: Yeah, OMG. They are good at dancing. I'm actually really impressed. By the way, thanks for showing me the clips.  

Are there songs you listen to on repeat? If so, tell us in the comments below. 

Music Monday (8) Chloe X Halle

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Adri is off to Hollywood to see a show, so today, I'm doing Music Monday alone. Hopefully, she'll have the time next week and be back with more recommendations. Until them, I'm going to go ahead and share some of the music I've been listening to recently.

My picks this week are Fall and Drop by Chloe X Halle. I absolutely love their music, and I’m only sad that I didn’t discover them sooner. The music videos for Drop and Fall are also really gorgeous. The locations used were just spot on. These are two of the best songs I’ve come across this year. Drop is positively fantastic and the first song I actually heard by Chloe X Halle. I really enjoy the background music as well as the vocals.

Fall is just as great. The vocals and lyrics are the star of the show, and just like Drop above, the filming of the music video is spot on.

What new music are you listening to this week?

Music Monday (7) The Video Game Edition

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

I was mostly offline at the end of last week. I was pretty busy and took a somewhat impromptu break from the internet. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Anyway, welcome back to Music Monday. This week Adri and I are tackling some of our favorite video game trailers and theme songs, hence the title of this post.

My first pick this week is Glockenpop by Spiderbait, which is one of the songs featured in Little Big Planet. I always like to play the levels that use this song since it’s so catchy, and I don’t mind listening to it more than once in a ten minute timeframe (or however long it takes me to beat the level). From the Little Big Planet OST (original soundtrack), I think Glockenpop captures the feel of the game best.

My second pick is Blackheart by Two Steps From Hell, which is used in the PlayStation 4 trailer. I regularly listen to Two Steps From Hell. I really enjoy their music. So, I liked Blackheart even before it was used for the trailer. I might even have to do another post that features a couple more of my favorite Two Steps From Hell songs.

Well, since I'm becoming a permanent blogger here...

This week, we're focusing on video games so my selections are based off a game I fell in love with: Mirror's Edge. I found the game because the PlayStation store had some type of anniversary thing gong on at the time, and the game was free. At the end of the game, the song Still Alive sung by Lisa Miskovsky plays as the credits roll; unfortunately, I didn't care for the song at the time.  **Fun Fact: Still Alive is also the name of the song that plays at the end of Portal (Yet another pair of songs that share the same name).**

It wasn't until the reboot (which at the time, I mistakenly assumed was the sequel) was announced that I started to like Still Alive. However, history repeats and the same thing happened with Mirror's Edge Catalyst. I was not a fan of CHVRCHES' Warning Call, but of course, I found myself coming back to the song. I guess you could say I'm listening to this song until I can actually play Mirror's Edge Catalyst. **cries** :,-(

On a side note, I have also been listening to the soundtrack released by Solar Fields while playing the original Mirror's Edge. I love Savant, the Anchor District, and Catalyst.

What are some of your favorite video game theme songs?

Music Monday (6) Tinashe, Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas, and the trio of Jaded(s)

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me, that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Normally, I don’t participate in two memes in one day, but today I’m going to do it. So, in addition to Music Monday, I'm also participating in Musing Mondays for the first time in a couple of weeks. And, of course, Adri is back today, and we’re going to talk about more of the music we’re currently listening to.

For my first pick today, I'm going with one of my favorite songs,  Feels Like Vegas by Tinashe. I first heard about Tinashe while listening to a radio station—I don’t remember which it was—but I do remember really liking All Hands on Deck, which led me to search for more of her music. And that's how I discovered Feels Like Vegas.

Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas are so underrated, which is a shame because I really love their music, especially Tired Oak. There are other fantastic songs like Caught Up and Sorry I Stole Your Man, but for today I'm sticking with Tired Oak.

Hi, Adri here again, I'm back for another round of Music Monday. This week, I wanted to share music in a slightly different way. Hence, the last part of the title for this post "...and the trio of Jaded(s)". For my picks this week, all the songs have the same name, but they are different.

For Jaded by Deadmau5, I only found it because I went hunting for other songs after listening to ALL the versions of Ghost N Stuff.

I've been listening to a lot of songs by Lone after finding the song Pineapple Crush. So, I was around when Reality Testing dropped. Naturally, I tried to listen to all of the songs when I found Jaded. Lone has too many songs, and I don't favor one over the other (he can't put out any songs that I don't like). 

And the last song from the trio of Jaded(s). I've been listening to Disclosure since their song featuring Sam Smith. So, like Lone, I was following them when their album dropped. After listening to the song and watching the video a couple of times, it was then that I realized that Jaded looked familiar. And I was right. Dun-dun-dun!

Have you listened to any songs that have the same or similar name?

Music Monday (5) Janelle Monáe, Breach, & Lianne La Havas

  Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me, that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Before I get to what I’m listening to this week, I want to take the time to welcome Adri to Music Monday. Adri has blogged a couple of times on Our Thoughts Precisely, and today, she’s going to share some of the music she’s been listening to down below.

Recently, I’ve been listening to more of Janelle Monáe's music. Her style of music and vocals are just amazing. I like all of her albums—The Electric Lady, The ArchAndroid, and even Metropolis: The Chase Suite. Some of my favorite Janelle Monáe songs are Primetime featuring Miguel, Q.U.E.E.N., Electric Lady, Dance Apocalyptic, Sincerely Jane, Tightrope, and Come Alive (War of the Roses), just to name a few.

Primetime is one of my favorite songs, because it had the one collaboration that I didn't know I needed in my life. And if Janelle Monáe and Miguel ever made a full album together, I would definitely buy it.

Electric Lady is on the same album as Primetime. Not only is the beat catchy, but the lyrics are too. 

Hi, Adri here, I'm back, long time no see. Coincidentally, I found both of the songs by thumbnail browsing. For Unstoppable by Lianne La Havas, her hair in the thumbnail captured my attention (#NaturalHairMoment #HairGoals), and I couldn't help but to check it out. I instantly loved the song. 

When I fist saw the thumbnail for Everything You Never Had (We Had It All) by Breach featuring Andreya Triana, my immediate reaction was: "Wait what?". I just had to drop what I was doing and listen to it. Some parts of the song reminded me of my two other favorite songs: Finally by CeCe Peniston and It Takes Two by Rob Base and D.J. E-Z Rock. I just like it and have had it on repeat. P.S. I love the music video. (Fun fact: Did you know that the Woo! Yeah! loop originated from Think (About It) by Lyn Collins?) 

What are you listening to this week?

Music Monday (4) Grimes

  Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me, that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

This week, I'm listening to Grimes. I really enjoy Grimes' style of music. Her Art Angels album is one of my favorites since it has songs like REALiTi (both versions), Pin, and Venus Fly featuring Janelle Monáe.

Listen to REALiTi HERE
Listen to Medieval Warfare HERE

What are you listening to this week?

Music Monday (2) Rny Weaver & Tove Lo

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me, that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

This week, I'm listening to Ryn Weaver and Tove Lo. I've known about Tove Lo for a while, and her Queen of the Clouds album is one of my favorites. Ryn Weaver is a relatively new artist to me. I happened to be listening to google radio when I heard her song Promises. I basically spent the last week discovering Ryn Weaver's music. 

From Tove Lo...

Listen to Thousand Miles HERE

Listen to Moments HERE

From Ryn Weaver...

Listen to Promises HERE

Listen to Octahate HERE

What are you listening to this week?

Music Monday (1) Halsey

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me, that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

A while ago, I tried out a meme called Thursday Tracks, but it just didn't work out for me. So, I wanted to try out something music related on a different day of the week. While participating in the Friday 56 meme, I stumbled across Music Monday on one of the blogs I visited. In the end, I decided to re-purpose the art I'd made for the Thursday Tracks, since I still wanted to use them. 

I'm still going to participate in Musing Monday, but I wanted to do something not related to books too.

Recently, I've listened to a lot of Halsey's music. I've basically had Badlands on repeat. My three top favorite songs off the album are Young God, Control, and Gasoline.

Listen to Young God HERE

Listen to Gasoline HERE

Listen to Control HERE

What are you listening to this week?