Music To My Ears

Music is reaaaaalllllly important to me. It’s just one of those things, y’know? It truly relaxes me, allows me to reflect on my past, imagine what will come in my future and helps me connect with so many people. Music tends to make me very emotional, most times for no reason at all. If I hear a beautiful song or beautiful lyrics or a beautiful voice, I will almost always well up with unexplainable emotions; it’s one thing that I laugh at myself over frequently because I’m so dramatic and have no control over my tear ducts. Music really moves me, and theres a few albums + songs in particular that are timeless to me, and will never get old.

Coldplay – Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

I figured it would only be right to start with my all time #1 favorite album in the history of music. The album was released in June of 2008 and a copy of the CD was purchased by my dad, for my dad (little did he know I would steal it to keep in my personal collection for, now, 9 years.) We listened to this album on repeat in the car constantly and because we were doing a lot of traveling that Summer, I subconsciously began to tie a bunch of memories to certain sounds of this collection together. My favorite track on the album is the, close to 7 minute, Death and All His Friends. This particular song is one I listen to that calms me, inspires me, encourages me… I’ve listened to this song before job interviews, on planes (I hate flying, lol), during storms (I also hate storms), and it puts me to bed now the same as it did 9 years ago. It 10/10 times hushes my racing mind if I set aside the moment to isolate myself with it from start to finish. Around 3:30 a hidden song on the album called the Escapist  makes it’s way in and gives the entirety of the track a brand new feel. This song to me feels like so many tracks in one, I guess because it is, and moves me in so many distinctly unique ways like no other ever will. The Escapist then fades back into the start of the album; cyclical, making it delicious to your ears in the most elegant and genius way. This is an album I will keep the closest to my heart solely because of how much help it’s provided me over the years and how many personal memories I’ve intertwined between the tracks.

“We’re aware of all the bad stuff in life, you know, but that doesn’t mean you should ever give in to it, you know? So we all sing that bit together really loudly, as kind of a message to ourselves: never giving up and never focusing on the bad stuff too much.” – Chris Martin on Death and All His Friends

Click here to listen on Apple Music!

BANKS – Goddess

Goddess: A female deity, also known as Jillian Banks. She has a special way of translating how she wants to make you feel through melodies, dancing and her powerful voice. She had a unique way of  making everyone feel so bad and independent, beautiful and untouchable through her music. I first was introduced to BANKS through my, now: boyfriend, then: best friend, Nic. So, naturally from the start this album reminds me so much of him, we’ve listened to this together countless amounts of times. The album for me personally makes me feel like I can conquer the world with the roll of my shoulders; makes me feel like the most womanly woman of all, a superwoman if you will. I’ve got to thank Jillian TWICE face to face and it just makes her music mean that much more to me. The most timeless album of all albums, every sound, every run more powerful than the next but all rare in their own way. These songs bring me to fruition and are life changing to see in person. If you ever get the chance to see her live, DO IT. You won’t be disappointed.

“It’s a big thing in my music to highlight being human – being emotional and powerful, like a goddess. Being brave enough to just be unapologetic for who you are, that’s a goddess.” – Jillian Banks

Click here to listen to Goddess on Apple Music!

Frank Ocean – Blonde

Does this one even need to be explained? Blond was the long awaited (4 years to be exact) masterpiece by Frank Ocean, and while the wait was excruciating it was so satisfying when it finally released. Blond tied me to memories I never made myself, times I never lived; it was so incredibly poetic and whimsical, making me feel alive outside my own being. Listening to this for the first time, I cried as I walked down a row of palm trees under Nic’s wing, trying to accept that we were finally hearing it after so long. This album contains such a heavy mixture of genres that it basically qualifies as it’s own (I have a “blonded” genre in my Apple Music that I have no idea how it appeared, so that says something.) When the opportunity presented itself to see Frank live at FYF, we knew there was no way we could miss it. Seeing Frank perform was something we had only dreamed of for years, once in a lifetime and to secure festival wristbands to see him perform Blonde….it almost seemed too good to be true. Nic and I bought wristbands for our younger siblings, who are also huge fans, and by the time the set came we were all sobbing and cheering together and beaming with excitement, with a glow that has lasted us to date. Seeing Blonde live was an out of body experience, one I will never ever forget, one that I got to share with three of the most important people in my life, one that we still talk about constantly. Blonde changed my life, Blonde is a part of my daily routine, Blonde is an antique and timeless token that will blossom into an oldie that I will bump off my cellular phone forever, I’ll share it with my kids and their kids and their kids.

“Art’s everything we hope life would be, a lot of times.” -Frank Ocean

We collected tracks from FYF and Nic made a live album, available for download here. You can also find Blonde on Apple Music here.

Willie Nelson – Stardust

This is my favorite record in my personal collection. It reminds me a lot of my Grandpa, especially the song “Blue Skies”, who passed away a couple years ago. The song was played at his funeral and whenever it comes on, I take it as a small hello and a reminder he’s always around. The songs can make me smile and cry in the same moment, because they fill me with so much bittersweet happiness. Stardust is a cute compilation of 10 cover songs, handpicked by the man himself. I’ve seen Willie twice in the bowls, Hollywood & Santa Barbara, and it’s always such a privilege. At his age now, he does a little talk-singing but I love it all the same. I feel so lucky to have seen him in concert more than just once, one of my all time favorites, while I still have the opportunity. I am hoping to see him again sometime and catch live performances of some of these songs again.

You can stream Stardust on Apple Music here!

Hazel English – Just Give In / Never Going Home

This album is so beautiful! If you’ve never listened to Hazel English, I highly recommend doing so. Nic heard a clip of her song in a commercial for a video game, found her album and we both wound up being big fans, attending one of her shows in the fall last year and met her after her show to chat quickly about how artistic and delicately charming her music is; she’s a really talented artist and a super cool person. This album is great to drive with the windows down to, or while laying on the grass in a park. It instills a mood in you that makes you want to adventure and let the sun kiss your skin. Try this in the car, I guarantee it will have you smiling and feeling cheerful as ever.

Listen to it here!

Coraline Soundtrack + Score

Coraline was my favorite childhood book, is my favorite movie and now my favorite score. If you’ve never seen Coraline, you must! It’s a children’s movie but don’t let it fool you, it’s a bit scary but super artistic and imaginative, unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The soundtrack is jumpy and fluid, a bit eerie but still super darling. I like playing this on my record player while cleaning or just hanging out in my room, it’s mindless and familiar, like watching my favorite movie without really having to pay much attention. You can listen to the soundtrack on Apple Music here but I highly HIGHLY recommend watching the movie before hand if you haven’t seen it already. Coraline streams on Netflix and is available for purchase at Target for, get this, FIVE DOLLARS!

Ariana Grande – Christmas & Chill

My secret (that I’ve never been too secretive about) is out…I listen to Christmas & Chill alllllllll year round. This EP is only a few tracks long, but quickly became a Christmas classic. Ariana injects Christmas sounds with a refreshing trap and R&B feel, making you want to turn all the way up into the holiday season. The songs are so catchy and uncommon that it’s hard to restrict them to just December. I listen to this EP any chance I get and it’s effortlessly become a favorite of my friends, boyfriend and family. And it’s so easy to see why. If you haven’t listened to Christmas & Chill, quit depriving yourself! Who cares if Christmas just drove right passed us, give this collective of bops a try. And Ari….where da vinyl @ tho???????

You can twerk to C&C on Apple Music here.

The 1975 – I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it

This is yet another album I adore that is so incredible live that it almost beats the studio version. I’ve had the opportunity to see this album live twice and it’s so much fun, truly an experience. Every song melts into the next, making you want to twirl and prance around for hours, just smiling and singing along. The 1975 really strayed far from their normal sound in this album and the payoff was unbelievable. How smoothly they managed to pull off such a drastic sound & style change is admirable and almost unbelievable. Their two studio albums are basically night and day, and while their self titled album is a classic, it really fit me at a different time in my life. ILIWYSFYASBYSUOI was introduced to me in a whole new era of myself, this weird in between space of being an adult and a kid, my last taste of being totally carefree with no real responsibilities. And the songs completely, without a doubt, fit that version of Balie. As the 1975 continues to venture into their third album, I can’t wait to see what direction they take us in. ‘Til then, I’ll just have this one on my list of easy repeats.

You can listen to it yourself by clicking here!

Oh my… I have so many other albums and songs that I would love to mention but I’ll try to keep my posts readable and not in the “is-this-a-blog-post-or-a-novel” kind of way. These are some of my most favorite favorite albums, the ones I’m certain I’ll listen to for the rest of my lifetime and I hope you give some of them a try as well!! I’m so so incredibly lucky that all the artists behind my favorite albums, I’ve gotten to experience in concert (excluding the Coraline soundtrack) and they’ve all made my connection to them that much more special. Let me know if you really dig anything I listed, I’d love to hear what you liked about them!

xo, -b