August Playlist

August Playlist

Hello again. August is entering its last week and so too is my summer (I start school in a week). So much happened this summer. June brought Vidcon, and with it performing in a wildly under-attended open mic, meeting a few of my favorite YouTubers (and missing out on many more to insane signing lines…), and observing, from afar, just how crazy fangirls can get. In July, I went to Grammy camp (in case you somehow didn't know, which of course you did) and I had the most educational, musical, unforgettable 10 days of my life so far. August I chilled, rehearsed for a show I'm doing this Friday with a good friend, and spent a weekend in Palm Springs to get ready for a jam-packed year of student government (yes, for some reason, my classmates elected me as one of four senior class officers. Still convinced it didn't really happen). And now it's all almost over. Summer 2014--and 2014 in general--has been very good to me. Come to think of it, this calendar year is more than half over, which means you can count on my ramblings about time and how it passes and how so much changes and so little stays the same. Especially now that college is a Thing that is Actually Happening (I may or may not have already written most of my applications). Whatever. This pre-playlist spiel has gone on too long. Enjoy 20 August tunes, many of which I stole from the Grammy camp Spotify playlist again. :)

1. "One Last Time" - 3:19
ALBUM: Dark Star - EP
ARTIST: Jaymes Young

2. "Human" - 3:31
ALBUM: If You Leave
ARTIST: Daughter

3. "Mexico" - 4:33
ALBUM: Wish I Was Here (Music from the Motion Picture)
ARTIST: Jump Little Children

4. "Shuck" - 2:09
ALBUM: Shrines
ARTIST: Purity Ring

5. "Gotta Get Thru This (Acoustic Version)" - 3:55
ALBUM: Gotta Get Thru This
ARTIST: Daniel Bedingfield

6. "Like I Can" - 2:47
ALBUM: In The Lonely Hour
ARTIST: Sam Smith

7. "Take Me to Church" - 4:01
ALBUM: Hozier
ARTIST: Hozier

8. "Runaway" - 3:25
ALBUM: x
ARTIST: Ed Sheeran

9. "Anna Sun" - 5:21
ALBUM: WALK THE MOON
ARTIST: Walk the Moon

10. "I Won't Say That I'm Okay" - 5:30
ALBUM: Aware
ARTIST: Front Porch Step

11. "Breathe In Breathe Out" - 3:42
ALBUM: Nothing Left to Lose
ARTIST: Mat Kearney

12. "Bright" - 3:40
ALBUM: Talking Dreams
ARTIST: Echosmith

13. "Dearly Departed (feat. Esmé Patterson)" - 3:32
ALBUM: And the War Came
ARTIST: Shakey Graves

14. "Teen Idle" - 4:14
ALBUM: Electra Heart
ARTIST: Marina and The Diamonds

15. "Never Let It Die" - 5:06
ALBUM: All You Can Do
ARTIST: Watsky

16. "I Just Dont Know What to Do With Myself" - 2:46
ALBUM: Elephant
ARTIST: The White Stripes

17. "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" - 3:22
ALBUM: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
ARTIST: Neutral Milk Hotel

18. "Despair in the Departure Lounge" - 3:21
ALBUM: Who the F*** Are Arctic Monkeys?
ARTIST: Arctic Monkeys

19. "Satisfaction" - 4:54
ALBUM: Allen Stone
ARTIST: Allen Stone

20. "Smoke" - 4:52
ALBUM: Whatever and Ever Amen
ARTIST: Ben Folds Five

Also, must recommend another Shakey Graves song not available for purchase on iTunes (nor can I find it on Spotify). It's called "Georgia Moon," recommended to me by the same person who insisted I give Ben Folds a fair shake (if you've ever suggested music to me and it's ended up on my monthly playlist, THANK YOU). Here's a link to "Georgia Moon" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lhrJNRkfhE It's such a beautiful song. Check out the rest of the album too, if you have time.

Thanks for reading, if you bothered. Get ready for autumn, ladies and gentlemen. And after autumn, winter. And with winter, yet another year drawing to a close…

I need to stop getting so ahead of myself! For now, I will enjoy my last few days of summer and then, come senior year, keep slayin 'em. See ya soon. xo

July Playlist

July Playlist

You can read my post about Grammy camp here; it was my last one. Camp friends, you might recognize a couple of these songs from our Spotify playlist.

It's been quite a month. Here are some songs.

1. "The Simplest Things" - 3:01
ALBUM: The Simplest Things - EP
ARTIST: Natalie Holmes

2. "Tessellate (Bonus Track)" - 3:57
ALBUM: Halcyon Days (Deluxe Edition)
ARTIST: Ellie Goulding

3. "Drown" - 3:38
ALBUM: Aware
ARTIST: Front Porch Step

4. "Merry Happy" - 5:27
ALBUM: Made of Bricks
ARTIST: Kate Nash

5. "Only Love" - 4:09
ALBUM: Every Kingdom
ARTIST: Ben Howard

6. "Words As Weapons (US Version)" - 3:41
ALBUM: Fire Within
ARTIST: Birdy

7. "Habits (Stay High)" - 3:29
ALBUM: Truth Serum - EP
ARTIST: Tove Lo

8. "Dracula" - 2:52
ALBUM: Young Blood - EP
ARTIST: Bea Miller

9. "Famous" - 3:19
ALBUM: Famous - Single
ARTIST: Katy Tiz

There is a real possibility that I included this on an earlier playlist, but I honestly can't remember...sorry if I did! :)

10. "Rock & Roll" - 4:00
ALBUM: Sounds Like This
ARTIST: Eric Hutchinson

11. "Right By You"
ALBUM: Right By You - Single
ARTIST: Justin Nozuka

12. "The Matthew Effect" - 3:16
ALBUM: Nothing More
ARTIST: Nothing More

13. "Wth (feat. Ab-Soul)" - 3:19
ALBUM: Sail Out
ARTIST: Jhene Aiko

14. "A Case of You" - 4:25
ALBUM: Blue
ARTIST: Joni Mitchell

15. "Count Me Out" - 3:46
ALBUM: Foxy Shazam
ARTIST: Foxy Shazam

16. "Dlm" - 2:25
ALBUM: Overgrown
ARTIST: James Blake

17. "Coattails" - 3:15
ALBUM: Broods - EP
ARTIST: Broods

As July winds down, now you've got 17 new (or maybe old) tunes to listen to. Hopefully August will bring some calm. And some answers. See you guys next month.

My GRAMMY Camp 2014: Los Angeles Experience

My dorm room is unbearably hot. My mother has long since departed. My roommate is nowhere to be found. I lay a single sheet across my twin bed--I didn't bother to bring a fitted one, because I've never successfully put one on by myself. I look at the windows and don't even attempt opening them; I consider myself someone with at least a modicum of intelligence, but generally mundane tasks that require any measure of gross motor skills elude me. I sit in the hot room briefly, hoping my roommate will magically appear, and then venture back downstairs, phone and earbuds in hand. Off to a great start, I think. Sit in the lobby with earbuds in. Great way to make friends, Jensen.

Someone's father--or grandfather, I can't be sure--strikes up a conversation. I try to be as polite as possible but the relatively tame interaction stirs up my usual fears as an introvert. Soon it won't be friendly older men, sitting with their daughters biding time. It will be--gasp--kids my own age. Kids with musical talent far more vast than my own. The typical chain reaction begins. They'll all be better singers than I am. They'll all be better songwriters. They'll be better dressed. They'll be better looking. Panic washes over me, the sensation reminiscent of hot coffee being spilled over one's whole body. I am untethered.

Instead of wallowing in this predictable panic, I make conversation with the first few people I see. There's Stephanie, a keyboard player; Patrick, an audio engineering student; and Emmy Russell, who I am beyond elated to see. Other than a friend from school (who has yet to arrive), she is the only person I kind of know. When stalking researching the other people in my track, I came upon Emmy's video of her song "That Girl's Me." Being wildly impressed by her talent, I left a comment saying that I was excited to meet her at camp. She never responded, so of course my immediate assumption was that I had appalled her with my entirely-too-forward commentary. On the contrary! She too was excited to see me. We bonded immediately over our nervousness and began to socialize with more campers as they came in.

Over the rest of that day, through various icebreaker games and class orientations, I met the rest of the songwriting track. I would later learn weird facts about each and every one of them. Be it Noah's penchant for bare feet and weird back pushups or Micaiah's insane violin skills, every discovery brought us closer together. Under Chris Sampson's expert tutelage, we even learned a few things. Okay, a LOT of things. Each student of the songwriting track now has at least three songs under their belt, although many, myself included, took on additional songwriting projects with kids from other tracks. We analyzed and responded to popular music, heard from guest professionals in the industry, wrote collaboratively, practiced with various instrumental combos, and recorded in the studio with the audio engineers. I'm not sure about the other tracks, but the songwriting kids were busy from the morning knock on our doors to the bed checks late into the night. I barely had a moment to breathe during those 10 days, but I wouldn't change a minute of it. I learned so much about songwriting and about myself. It was a pivotal, downright life-changing week and a half.

The launch party was a thing bigger than itself. Sure, it was the culmination of all our hard work, which inherently is something worthy of our laudation, but it was also a sendoff. A last hurrah. I'm lucky to live in LA. Some kids were headed out to far-flung locales in the Midwest, on the East Coast, or even across the pond. As we all gathered onstage for "Inside Out," with lead vocals performed flawlessly by Jack Ingram, there was a collective surge of power through the whole camp. It was the end of something, but it was also the beginning.

After the launch party, as people began clearing out, I walked around the El Rey with my shoes off, despite the mysterious stickiness on the carpet. I tried to imprint the image on my mind--the deconstruction of the stage, the feverish flash of cameras, the choruses of praise from family and friends, the peculiar sensation of fading warmth as the hundreds of bodies reduced to a few dozen. I ate a piece of cold pizza and rejected my teetering heels in favor of my high tops without socks. I looked a bit ridiculous in a fancy dress, a black hoodie, Converse, and matted hair, but I felt euphoric. We boarded the bus. It was dark. Moonlight trickled through the few open windows. People sang and talked loudly. I had to strain to hear the person next to me speak and to talk myself, giving the words a sacred quality. We got back to campus; my voice was shot; we drank milkshakes and danced as the EMP kids DJ'd. I laughed hard, as hard as I had been throughout the week with all my friends. My milkshake got to be too sweet; I threw it out; I wished I'd had room for more.

(Excuse the pedestrian metaphor I just used. Not everything I write is a ribcage carnival. If you get that reference, you're dope.)

The lobby of Trojan Hall was a sad place last night, and it was a sad place this morning. We all filtered out eventually, and now most of us are back to where we started--sitting in our bedrooms, obsessively refreshing our social media, this time hoping someone else will have posted in the Facebook group or posted a new round of photos from camp. I personally have been replaying the videos my mom took of my performances, though admittedly the sound and video quality aren't exactly Spielbergian (sorry, Mama). I miss eating in the mediocre cafeteria. I miss lining up and getting counted obsessively by the counselors (love you guys, though). I miss calling people by weird nicknames. I miss Chris giving us words of wisdom that at first seem funny but we quickly realize are utterly invaluable. I miss stressing in the practice rooms that our songs won't be done in time. I miss writing with Rushmore, the dynamic trio that brought you such classics as "Signs" and "Beautiful Obstacle." (In all honesty, writing with you two defied description. But you knew that already.) I miss our obscure inside jokes. I miss constant selfies. I miss my thoroughly developed Snapchat story--seriously, every day was a work of art. There was rise and fall, allegory, sophisticated use of tropes...

I'll stop.

In case you couldn't tell, I miss everything about Grammy camp, especially the unforgettable friends I made there. We'll try to keep in touch, but some promises will fade and fall by the wayside. Is that fair, though? Do we even have the right to be upset about friendships formed under strange circumstances, a cliche camp movie scored by a dozen student guitarists and punctuated by montage-level scenes of sleepy delirium? Why do we feel entitled to ownership? Why are all of us still holding on to our crappy Grammy camp water bottles--the ones that still aren't broken, anyway--and stowing our hats and ID cards in safe places?

Because it mattered. There's no way around it.

One night I had a song circle with Mackin, Emmy, and Renato. All four of us played original songs. Other people were in the room, but it was something different for us. After each song, there was at least a few seconds of loaded silence. No single song could fully release the tension. It was a continuous drum roll. Naturally, I cried, because the songs were beautiful and I'm a crier. But each song also contained a moment of mutual understanding. It was confirmation of what we already knew--that it's not just music to us. Nothing about what we did is background noise or a soundtrack. It is water. It is oxygen. It is sustenance and salvation. It is light and darkness. It is sunrise and sunset. Music is our survival. And not just for the four of us, but for all 75 of us.

If you like to sing, you won't get much out of Grammy camp. If you dabble in a couple instruments, you won't get much out of Grammy camp. If you think it might be cool to "do something in music," I do not think you will get much out of Grammy camp. But if music fills you up and makes you whole; if it unzips you and never fully seals you back up again; if it gives you something more than a noteless life has to offer; if you have a passion for something about this industry that keeps you up nights or keeps you doing during the day, then you will come here. You will live and breathe and love. And you will never be the same.

June Playlist

June Playlist

Yooooooo! I'm living it up this summer, which for me means reading, writing poetry and songs, and listening to music in the air-conditioned solitude of my room! Oh...and I'm leaving for Vidcon tomorrow. !!!! Plus I leave for Grammy camp in like two and a half weeks. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, it's casual.

Anyhow, it's time for my June playlist, so you can finish off this first glorious summer month with some sweet tunes! Although, my music isn't your typical summer playlist fodder...enjoy! :)

1. "Digital 60s" - 5:14
ALBUM: Broken Fences
ARTIST: Broken Fences

2. "Leave Your Lover" - 3:08
ALBUM: In the Lonely Hour
ARTIST: Sam Smith

3. "Atlas" - 3:37
ALBUM: Atlas - Single
ARTIST: Shannon Saunders

4. "Sunburn" - 4:35
ALBUM: + (Deluxe Edition)
ARTIST: Ed Sheeran

5. "Robbers" - 4:14
ALBUM: The 1975
ARTIST: The 1975

6. "Over You (feat. A Great Big World)" - 4:43
ALBUM: Lights Out
ARTIST: Ingrid Michaelson

7. "Little Dancer" - 3:55
ALBUM: Little Dancer - Single
ARTIST: Leroy Sanchez

8. "Rather Be feat. Jess Glynne" - 3:47
ALBUM: New Eyes
ARTIST: Clean Bandit

9. "Untitled" - 5:11
ALBUM: Into the Flame - EP
ARTIST: Matt Corby

10. "One For the Road" - 3:26
ALBUM: AM
ARTIST: Arctic Monkeys

11. "Skeleton Key" - 4:03
ALBUM: Skeleton Key - EP
ARTIST: Kenzie May

12. "Contact High" - 3:06
ALBUM: Allen Stone
ARTIST: Allen Stone

13. "Bloodstream" - 5:00
ALBUM: x (Deluxe Edition)
ARTIST: Ed Sheeran

14. "Am I Wrong" - 4:07
ALBUM: Am I Wrong - Single
ARTIST: Nico & Vinz

15. "Cool Kids" - 3:57
ALBUM: Talking Dreams
ARTIST: Echosmith

So that'll do it for my June playlist! Hope everyone is having an exciting but restful summer vacation so far. Hit me up on Twitter (@mcraejensen) with more music recommendations and check out my YouTube channel for new covers and originals (youtube.com/jensenmcraeofficial). If you see me at Vidcon, SAY HI! And...that's all! Love y'all!

May Playlist

May Playlist

Miraculously, I have one week of school left. Tomorrow is my first day of finals (precalc...ugh.) and next Wednesday at 10:15 a.m., I will be done with this insane year and I will officially be a senior.

What better way to spend the night before a final than to write up my playlist for this beautiful spring month?! (Studying, you say? Pfft.)

1. "Rude" - 3:44
ALBUM: Rude - Single
ARTIST: MAGIC!

2. "Vanishing Act" - 3:26
ALBUM: Vanishing Act
ARTIST: Early Winters

3. "Fire N Gold" - 3:31
ALBUM: Young Blood - EP
ARTIST: Beatrice Miller

4. "Pink Matter" - 4:28
ALBUM: Channel ORANGE
ARTIST: Frank Ocean

5. "Overture" - 3:34
ALBUM: Overture - Single
ARTIST: Charlie Puth

6. "Michael Myers Resplendent" - 2:53
ALBUM: Heretic Pride
ARTIST: The Mountain Goats

7. "You Set Me Free" - 3:49
ALBUM: You Set Me Free - Single
ARTIST: Angie Miller

8. "My Father's Father" - 3:20
ALBUM: Barton Hollow
ARTIST: The Civil War

9. "Nowhere" - 3:10
ALBUM: MKTO
ARTIST: MKTO

10. "All in My Head" - 3:30
ALBUM: Handmade Songs By Tori Kelly - EP
ARTIST: Tori Kelly

11. "Stay With Me" - 2:52
ALBUM: In The Lonely Hour (Deluxe Version)
ARTIST: Sam Smith

12. "Message In a Bottle (Live in Birmingham)"
ALBUM: Any Given Thursday (Live)
ARTIST: John Mayer

And that'll just about wrap it up for my May Playlist! Today was the last full day of classes, so all the seniors counted down till the end of school and then jumped in the pool, screaming and celebratory. As usual, I was lost in my own musings about the nature of time (as well as skittering to avoid being hit by a water balloon...I got hit once, but luckily was barely soaked). In any case, in these last few days of May, give these 12 songs a listen and you'll see what I was thinking and feeling this month. When I post next month's playlist, I'll be well into summer, probably about to go to VidCon (at which I'll be performing! Details at vidcon.com/open-mic) or some other adventure. May is all about spring and therefore beginnings, but also about summer and therefore endings. My junior year has been FULL of ups and downs, but this time in 2015, I'll be getting ready for college. Whoa. Here's to another successful year. Cheers.

See ya soon,
Jensen

Why You Should Start Listening to Charlie Puth Now

To call Charlie Puth an underground artist would be oversimplifying things: the 22-year-old singer/songwriter/producer and Berklee College of Music graduate has already landed himself on The Ellen Show to play for a national audience, and in fact was signed to DeGeneres' record label, eleveneleven. Unfortunately, Puth is still not getting the recognition he deserves.

As of May 2014, Puth has amassed over 350,000 YouTube subscribers and over 36,000 Twitter followers. However, these numbers, however impressive, are not in any way indicative of his talent with music or his potential as a brand. Other than a string of covers and original singles, Puth has released two albums on iTunes. The first, The Otto Tunes, was released December 2nd, 2010, and while it demonstrated promise, the album is fairly elementary in its production and song quality (it contains such memorable hits as "I Suck At Writing Lyrics" in which Puth does, comically and self-referentially, suck at writing lyrics). It is on Ego, Puth's first full-length album, where is musical prowess begins to shine.

Ego is a striking blend of pop hits, introspective ballads, and R&B tunes that showcase Puth's abilities as a vocal powerhouse and consummate professional. Released October 1st, 2013, this ten-song track list starts and finishes the same way--whimsical yet strong. The album is launched with the impossibly catchy anthem "Look At Me Now," which, with its triumphant lyrics and commanding instrumentation, proves that Puth is aware that he's hit his stride, and he is only in for more success. The next three songs show off Puth's rhythm and blues chops. "Seventeen" is gentle but percussive; "In the Dark" falls and rises from tranquil rapping (if such a thing were to exist) and smooth melody lines to electronic, record-scratching nirvana; and "Ride to Melrose (feat. Mike Ballz)" is gritty and ethereal. Charlie reminds his fans of his endearing, goofy side with "Your Name (The Ukelele)," an irresistible song about love at first sight that will have every last listener swooning and dying to play it again--also, if you have time, check out the video; it's Charlie's personal blend of absurdity and sweetness that hearkens back to his early YouTube days. "Beautiful Corruption" is a classic ballad, with such heartbreaking lyrics as "I'll try not to think of you / if you say you don't feel the same." It transitions into  "Full of It," another satisfying R&B throwback with lilting instrumentation, dry lyrics, and a stunning vocal performance, one of Puth's best on the album. "Kiss Me" is another ballad that oozes urgency and the most painful kind of love; though it has relatively simple production, it is one of the most poignant tracks on the album. That tragic tune leaps somewhat jarringly to "Lights Go Out," a delightful take on the usual "stay out late/dance all night" trope, which of course Puth delivers expertly. The final track, "Tangerine Dreams," is the auditory embodiment of an early August evening, with delicious strums of electric guitar and laid-back harmonies. Ego is not only impressively written, but also demonstrates a clear mastery of production. It is easy to track Puth's growth from his early work up to Ego, and the change is reassuring and remarkable. It is clear that he is on an upward swing with no signs of stopping.

From Ego's release to the present, Charlie has only become more skillful at singing, songwriting, and producing. Some of his recent YouTube releases include "The 90s," a brilliant, bouncing hit that's wildly fun to dance to, and "Go Round," a unique, erotic, tough single that's punctuated by robotic mellifluousness. His maturity, wit, and rhythmicity are growing exponentially from track to track, and it's clear his music education has not gone to waste. He is meticulous in his preparations and consistently successful in his execution. It would not be an overstatement to say that he is one to watch in the coming years.

Charlie Puth's popularity is only going to soar from here. His next EP is in the works, and I await it with increasing anticipation. A collaboration with him someday might be farfetched, but hey, a girl can dream, right? :)

April Playlist

April Playlist

Hiya! Can it be that the month of April is near its completion, that tomorrow is the last day? I really can't believe how fast 2014 is going by. I only have a little over a month left of junior year...WOO! I started this blog back in June, and I remember when I made my August playlist, I was angsting about how this year would turn out. Well, it's been a mixed bag, just like any other. There have been some highs and lows. But I gotta say it's been memorable and I wouldn't trade this year for anything (well, maybe a Grammy or two...but those'll come later!) In any case, here is my April playlist as we head into deep spring...and quite nearly summer...

1. "Re:Stacks" - 6:41
ALBUM: For Emma, Forever Ago
ARTIST: Bon Iver

2. "Wasting My Young Years" - 3:24
ALBUM: If You Wait
ARTIST: London Grammar

3. "John Doe (feat. Priscilla)" - 3:32
ALBUM: John Doe (feat. Priscilla) - Single
ARTIST: B.o.B.

4. "Last Man Standing" - 3:41
ALBUM: Last Man Standing - Single
ARTIST: Will Champlin

5. "Breaking Blue" - 5:48
ALBUM: Kairos
ARTIST: Sam Brookes

6. "Goodbye Song" - 3:51
ALBUM: MKTO
ARTIST: MKTO

7. "Eff (Studio)" - 2:50
ALBUM: what.
ARTIST: Bo Burnham

8. "Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" - 3:19
ALBUM: The New Classic (Deluxe Version)
ARTIST: Iggy Azalea

9. "Wings" - 4:12
ALBUM: Fire Within
ARTIST: Birdy

10. "Eros" - 4:09
ALBUM: Mind Over Matter
ARTIST: Young the Giant

11. "Farmer & His Gun"- 3:54
ALBUM: Young Pilgrim (Deluxe)
ARTIST: Charlie Simpson

12. "Painting Roses" - 3:05
ALBUM: Sun Shy
ARTIST: Dresses

So that'll do it for my April playlist. Listen to it tonight and tomorrow and get a feeling of what I heard this past month. So much happened to me this month--really in the last week or so--and I'm exhausted. There are still APs and finals to contend with, but blessedly this incredibly difficult (and admittedly rewarding) school year is over. I hope you're all coping with that end-of-the-year slump with grace, and I hope you continue to read this blog. Music gets me through my toughest times and helps me celebrate the best life has to offer. I really want it to do the same thing for you.

Much love. See ya soon. :)