Music Monday (242): Tayla Parx, Boyz II Men, 2Pac

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 

Breana: I've mentioned Tayla Parx a couple of times on the blog before, and I really liked this latest single, Dream Hotel.

Andrea: Hi all! I hope all of the moms out there had an amazing Mother's Day. This week I'm listening to A Song For Mama by Boyz II Men, Dear Mama by 2Pac, and (God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time On You by NSYNC.

What are you listening to this week?

I Listened to Coping Mechanisms by Tayla Parx

One artist I’ve had my eye on is Tayla Parx. I knew her first through her work for other artists like Ariana Grande (Thank U, Next) and Khalid (Love Lies, featuring Normani). Her debut studio album was one of my favorites of the year it was released, and since then I’ve been eagerly waiting for the follow-up to We Need to Talk. Well, that second studio album is here. Coping Mechanisms was released on November 20, 2020. I was pretty late getting to the album, but I’m glad I made time to give it a full listen.  

We Need To Talk had a very mainstream pop feel and sound to it. While Coping Mechanisms has a somewhat different tone without losing the essence of its pop roots, and there were other sounds mixed in—think R&B. As a consequence, Coping Mechanisms feels like Tayla Parx honed familiar sounds into a style distinctly her own.

Coping Mechanisms opens with a song called Sad. It had a mellow vibe that acts as a perfect way to ease into what’s to come after. It goes right into Dance Alone, which is one of my top favorite tracks from the album and gives a smooth funky vibe with the guitar and synth sounds in the backtrack. While System—another favorite of mine—had a harder tone and electronic vibes. It was as equally good as the rest of the album. Some of my other top favorites included Fixerupper, Bricks, and Residue.

Coping Mechanisms was a fantastic, fun, and memorable foray into Tayla Parx’s work. It was a solid album, with excellent lyrics and catchy beats found on every track on its twelve song list. I was left with an overall positive impression.

Music Monday (144): Tayla Parx, Idris Elba, Boys World

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 

Breana: Over my break from blogging, I got caught up on some of the albums I initially missed in 2020. One of them was Coping Mechanisms by Tayla Parx. I enjoyed this album (more on that later on a separate post), and one of my favorite songs from it is Dance Alone.

Adri: Thanks to Youtube recommendations, I found a new group called Boys World. Needless to say, their new song called Girlfriends is stuck in my head.

Andrea: This Music Monday post is my first post of 2021. I hope that everyone is doing well, and I would like to wish you all a happy, healthy, peaceful, and prosperous New Year. You can only guess that one of my New Year's resolutions is to be more active on the blog. With that said, I would like to share what I am listening to this week. I came across a newly released song, Paradise Circus-Gospel 21, by Idris Elba. I don't follow Idris Elba, so I was unaware that he could sing. I was pleasantly surprised by his new song—It's so relevant to the past year. Well, that's it for now. Have an amazing week!—Andrea

What are you listening to this week?

Music Monday (143): Holiday 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 

Breana: We've been sharing holiday music throughout the month. That being said, it's the Monday before Christmas, so it's time for the holiday edition of Music Monday.

Some of the holiday music I've been listening to this year includes A Hand For Mrs. Claus by Idina Menzel featuring Ariana Grande and Last Christmas by Wham!.

 

Andrea: This week, I'm listening to Christmas Prayer by Gloria Gaynor. Have a great week all!

Adri: I've been listening to a variety of music as always. Today, I'm listening to Ain't A Lonely Christmas Song by Tayla Parx.

 

What holiday music are you listening to?

I listened to We Need to Talk by Tayla Parx

April already looked like a great month for music, because of Lizzo’s album—and I feel like I’ve been waiting for it since the beginning of the year. Then, I came across We Need to Talk by Tayla Parx. With Tayla Parx’s history of working with artists like Khalid, Ariana Grande, and more—as a songwriter or featured artist—I was very excited to listen to We Need to Talk. This album had a great sound. The composition of the tracks is solid, the lyrics are interesting, and the whole album is lively. It leaves a distinctively good impression and a craving for more music from Parx. Even the interludes and shorter tracks have their own uniqueness—like Disconnected and Happy Birthday—they made a strong impression, and I wished they were longer. Of course, there are a number of other songs that are as equally good as Disconnected. Including the opening track, I Want You, which serves as an easy intro and hints at what comes next, and the mellow vibe of Read Your Mind. Overall, We Need to Talk is an excellent album that showcases Parx's talent....

• (We Need to Talk was released on April 5, 2019)

Have you listened to this album? If not, would you? If so, what do you think about it?

Music Monday (74): Tayla Parx

   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 

Breana: I’m listening to music from Tayla Parx's 2019 album: We Need to Talk. Disconnected is one of my favorite songs. It’s so short, and I wish it was longer....

What are you listening to this week?