Music Monday (271): Victoria Monet, Barbara Tucker, Ariana DeBose, Boy George, Nile Rodgers

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: My pick this week is How Does It Make You Feel by Victoria Monet. I like her latest album, Jaguar II, and this song is one of my favorites.

Adri: My pick for today is I Get Lifted by Barbara Tucker. I already featured it, but recently I've been listening to The Underground Network Mix.

Andrea:  This week I'm listening to Electric Energy by Ariana DeBose, Boy George, and Nile Rodgers. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

What I've Been Listening To Lately...

It’s been a while since I last wrote at length about music on the blog. So I figured it was time for another “What I’ve Been Listening To” post.

A recent addition to my playlist is The Family Jewels (Deluxe edition) by Marina, formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds. This is an album from 2010, but I didn’t listen to it during its release year. I happened to finally give Oh No! a try while I was on break from the blog last month, and I went on to check out the rest of the album. It’s one of my favorites of the year so far. I really like Marina’s vocals, as well as the alternative pop and the undeniable style of the album. Also, I’m a fan of the deluxe edition specifically. There were remixes that reworked the songs Hollywood, Obsession, and I Am Not a Robot, with different melodies. Overall, I know I’ll end up eventually listening to more music by Marina.

For this next one I’m simply putting Wednesday Campanella, because I would be here all day listing what I enjoyed about each album. I like their new stuff with more of a bright bubblegum pop/electronic sound, as well as their older releases before the singer changed—i.e. songs like Bamboo Princess, Zeami, Yeti, Sakamoto Ryoma, and many-many others.

From the track names to lyrics, Forever or Whatever by Holiday Sidewinder is just plain fun to listen to! The style can feel a little nostalgic since, from what I can tell, there are synth as well as disco influences. I like the mixture, and each song was interesting. Overall, Forever or Whatever is another favorite.

Singles…

Of course I have to mention Halle's Angel again. It plays into her vocal capacity and is, generally, interesting to listen to. I really love the song, and I’m looking forward to whatever solo music she release next.

On My Mama by Victoria Monét has a strong R&B sound, and I absolutely love it for how much it felt like something from the 90s or the early 2000s.

The only reason why I’m including Caroline Polachek in this section is because I’ve only listened to two of her songs so far. They’re Welcome To My Island and Bunny Is A Rider. They’re both on my playlist and are among my top-favorite songs.

So that’s pretty much what I’ve been listening to recently. The year isn’t over yet, and there are still a couple of albums that I’m waiting on. Until next time, thanks for stopping by, and happy listening!

I Listened to Jaguar by Victoria Monét...

 

I’ve listened to music by Victoria Monét in the past, and her latest album, Jaguar, was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. I liked Jaguar a lot. It was a blend of pop and R&B with a 80s nostalgic aesthetic and sound. Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, Allie X’s Super Sunset, and Ravyn Lenae’s Crush immediately comes to mind for comparisons sake. There were some recognizable samplings, but it was reworked in a way that made the music feel fresh and unique. Jaguar pretty much did its own thing, and I have to say that I’m currently enjoying the recent R&B releases such as this.

Generally speaking, there was nothing bad here, because Jaguar is a solid album. The titular song was a good intro to the album. It’s the kind of song that easily grabbed my interest, and from there, I binged the whole album. It was so good. There were so many tracks that I outright liked such as Dive, Touch Me, and Go There With You just to name a few. The style of the album comes through in its sound as well as the music videos. There’s no clearer example of this than the music video for Experience featuring Khalid & SG Lewis—which is also one of my favorite songs from the album.

At the end of the day, I’m glad to see another album from Monét. Jaguar is one of my favorite albums of 2020, and I look forward to Monét’s next project.

Jaguar was released on August 7, 2020. Have you listened to music by Victoria Monét? If so, do you plan on listening to Jaguar?

Music Monday (126): Mythos, Avant, Victoria Monét, Salaam Remi, Teedra Moses & D-Nice

   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: This week, I'm listening to Victoria Monét's new album, Jaguar. I love the album (more on that on a different post), and one of my favorite songs from it is Go There With You.

Adri: In the midst of trying to find a particular song, I stumbled onto a lot of different artists. One of them was Mythos and their album The Reality of a Dreamer. I haven't finished listening to it because I've been stuck on a couple of tracks. My two picks for today are Vision I and Vision II. Both are same song except the later has lyrics, which I find myself humming. Basically, I can't find the words to express how much I like them.

Andrea: This week I am listening to Avant's new album, Can We Fall In Love. I love all of the songs on this album, which makes it hard to select one song to share this week. So, I've decided to take the easy way out and share the album's titular song Can We Fall in Love. 

I'm also listening to Black Love. I realize that I shared Black Love by Salaam Remi, Teedra Moses & D-Nice last Monday; however, I wanted to share the official video, which was released at the end of last week!

Have an amazing week and stay safe!!!

What are you listening to this week?

Music Monday (18) Victoria Monet & FKJ

   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: My picks this week are We Are People and Good Times X Trouble by Victoria Monet. This past Saturday I happened to be listening to google music when I heard Victoria Monet’s song, We Are People. I instantly loved it! Since then, I’ve listened to her Nightmares & Lullaby EP’s, Act 1 & 2. I found it kind of hard to narrow down which two songs I wanted to mention for Music Monday, because those EP’s are gold. Eventually, I decided on We Are People and Good Times X Trouble because they are truly lovely songs.

First up is We Are People. I’ve listened to this song more than a dozen times by now. I love everything about it.

Good Times X Trouble is the second song I listened to after I stopped playing We Are People on repeat. This is another good one, but really, I recommend giving both EP’s a listen. There are other great songs worth mentioning like Backyard, Cupid, and Mad Generation.

Adri: This week I've been lovin' Skyline by FKJ (If you look under the youtube about page for FKJ it stands for French Kiwi Juice). I had no words when I first heard the song. I just don't know, it's hard to describe. I just love it.

Recently, have you  discovered any new musicians? If so, leave your recommendations in the comments down below.