March Playlist
Yo. It's time for this thing. I'm so ready for this semester to be over. Only five weeks to go till summer...
(HELP ME)
In all honesty, I've had a really great first year of college so far, but I'm totally wiped from all this music-learning and rehearsing and paper-writing and socializing with other humans. This whole college thing takes a lot out of you. But I've got my tunes, so that's a plus. Here we go. The Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/user/12149039602/playlist/3Cva3C17VU4tf1yrfA9tnU and the list of tracks:
1. "In My Life" - 2:26
ALBUM: Rubber Soul
ARTIST: The Beatles
2. "The Heaviest Stars" -3:59
ALBUM: Ford Turrell
ARTIST: Ford Turrell
3. "Pretty Words" - 4:58
ALBUM: Little Sway
ARTIST: Crissi Cochrane
4. "Lover Come Back" - 3:55
ALBUM: If I Should Go Before You
ARTIST: City and Colour
5. "Sleeping in My T-Shirt" - 3:37
ALBUM: Lip Service
ARTIST: Zak Waters
6. "For You" - 3:02
ALBUM: Bitter Pill
ARTIST: Gavin James
7. "Girls Like Me" - 3:15
ALBUM: Girls Like Me
ARTIST: Will Joseph Cook
8. "Hand Covers Bruise" - 4:19
ALBUM: The Social Network
ARTIST: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
9. "Lift Me Up (feat. Nick Hakim)" - 3:51
ALBUM: Red Balloon
ARTIST: Gizmo
10. "Again" - 2:56
ALBUM: Anything.
ARTIST: Def Sound
11. "Drive" - 3:16
ALBUM: Oh Wonder
ARTIST: Oh Wonder
12. "Museum of Flight" - 2:51
ALBUM: Maraqopa
ARTIST: Damien Jurado
13. "American Beauty" - 2:38
ALBUM: Medicine
ARTIST: Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
14. "Campus" - 2:56
ALBUM: Vampire Weekend
ARTIST: Vampire Weekend
15. "Lost in My Mind" - 4:19
ALBUM: The Head and the Heart
ARTIST: The Head and the Heart
16. "If the Hudson Overflows" - 3:57
ALBUM: Aerogramme
ARTIST: Goldspot
17. "Good to Sea" - 3:12
ALBUM: Autumn of the Seraphs
ARTIST: Pinback
18. "Anchor" - 4:16
ALBUM: Anchor
ARTIST: Novo Amor
19. "The African Way - Live In New York" - 4:45
ALBUM: The Dusty Food On The Road
ARTIST: K'NAAN
20. "Love And Happiness" - 5:04
ALBUM: Greatest Hits
ARTIST: Al Green
21. "Colors" - 2:40
ALBUM: Amos Lee
ARTIST: Amos Lee
22. "Pain In My Heart" - 2:25
ALBUM: Pain In My Heart
ARTIST: Otis Redding
23. "In The Waiting Line" - 4:32
ALBUM: RECORD
ARTIST: Zero 7
That'll do it for this one. The next playlist I post will probably be my last day of classes, or around then, at least, which boggles the mind. I vividly remember move-in day, my first day of classes, my first pop midterm...all of it. Maybe I'll write a post about this ridiculously busy, seismically shifting year. But maybe when all this finally ends, I'll just lay face down and stop scribbling my thoughts everywhere. We'll see. Talk soon. xo
Monday, March 28, 2016
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Very Dark and Very Quiet
I'm writing this because it's 10pm on a Thursday and a friend of mine just got some really awful, awful news. The world seems like a very quiet, very dark place right now.
I spent the last half hour or so just scrolling through my own Facebook profile. I stopped at spring 2014. I felt myself going through the familiar routine of longing for a time gone by. I mythologize my junior year as the pinnacle of my adolescent happiness--still somewhat isolated from my peers, but okay with it; content with my group of friends; happy with my body; doing well in school; succeeding in my extracurriculars. I also look back on it as the time B.G.C., or Before Grammy Camp, when my life was turned upside down in a way that I can't quite explain. To put it vaguely, my life was simpler before I met the people at that magic summer camp. My life is not better or worse now, just a great deal more complicated.
But the truth is, if I really force myself to remember my junior year, I know that it wasn't perfect. There were nights when I was incredibly stressed out by my demanding course load. There were weekends when I felt lonely because I wasn't out on dates or at parties with my classmates. And there were days where I was bored or insecure or mad at my family or unproductive with my writing because that is how the world works. No stretch of time is ever as perfect as we remember it to be.
More to the point, when I was a junior in high school, I looked back on years prior as simpler times, specifically middle school. And it's true, it was simpler. But the biggest truth is that the simplest time of my life was when I was an infant, and it's because I only knew like five people, all of whom were related to me. The more people there are in your life, the more complicated it becomes. This is the hardest lesson I've learned through growing up. The only way to keep things simple is to shut everyone out. But simple is lonely. Even for an introvert who would gladly spend all day holed up in a room with just a piano, a laptop, and a bag of snacks.
Even though I know my obsession with my junior year is dumb, I still find myself wishing I could go back to late 2013 and early 2014. I want to relive those days, when I still lived at home, when I was surrounded by people who I knew so well, albeit people who I didn't always click with. That's another thing about being a freshman in college: even the closest friendships feel so transient. The person I consider my closest friend is someone I met in September. We've only known each other for six months. The friendships I had when I graduated high school were founded on four to six years of meals and movies and sleepovers and study dates. Now what is it? Parties in which I took care of their drunken, stumbling bodies? A few chance deep conversations in their dorm rooms? Some especially productive jam sessions at the music school?
I guess what I'm saying now is that despite how truly incredible the people at my university are, I still feel very disconnected. I can count on one hand the number of times I've formed a real, long-lasting bond with someone on an immediate basis (it's probably only been once). For the most part, my friendships are a slow burn. I haven't completely opened up to anyone I've met at college. There are certain parts of myself that I don't trust with other people. I don't know how to change that. Maybe it's best that I don't.
This post doesn't have a thesis statement or even a point. But it's 10pm, and I am writing, because the world is very dark, and very quiet.
Talk soon. xo
I spent the last half hour or so just scrolling through my own Facebook profile. I stopped at spring 2014. I felt myself going through the familiar routine of longing for a time gone by. I mythologize my junior year as the pinnacle of my adolescent happiness--still somewhat isolated from my peers, but okay with it; content with my group of friends; happy with my body; doing well in school; succeeding in my extracurriculars. I also look back on it as the time B.G.C., or Before Grammy Camp, when my life was turned upside down in a way that I can't quite explain. To put it vaguely, my life was simpler before I met the people at that magic summer camp. My life is not better or worse now, just a great deal more complicated.
But the truth is, if I really force myself to remember my junior year, I know that it wasn't perfect. There were nights when I was incredibly stressed out by my demanding course load. There were weekends when I felt lonely because I wasn't out on dates or at parties with my classmates. And there were days where I was bored or insecure or mad at my family or unproductive with my writing because that is how the world works. No stretch of time is ever as perfect as we remember it to be.
More to the point, when I was a junior in high school, I looked back on years prior as simpler times, specifically middle school. And it's true, it was simpler. But the biggest truth is that the simplest time of my life was when I was an infant, and it's because I only knew like five people, all of whom were related to me. The more people there are in your life, the more complicated it becomes. This is the hardest lesson I've learned through growing up. The only way to keep things simple is to shut everyone out. But simple is lonely. Even for an introvert who would gladly spend all day holed up in a room with just a piano, a laptop, and a bag of snacks.
Even though I know my obsession with my junior year is dumb, I still find myself wishing I could go back to late 2013 and early 2014. I want to relive those days, when I still lived at home, when I was surrounded by people who I knew so well, albeit people who I didn't always click with. That's another thing about being a freshman in college: even the closest friendships feel so transient. The person I consider my closest friend is someone I met in September. We've only known each other for six months. The friendships I had when I graduated high school were founded on four to six years of meals and movies and sleepovers and study dates. Now what is it? Parties in which I took care of their drunken, stumbling bodies? A few chance deep conversations in their dorm rooms? Some especially productive jam sessions at the music school?
I guess what I'm saying now is that despite how truly incredible the people at my university are, I still feel very disconnected. I can count on one hand the number of times I've formed a real, long-lasting bond with someone on an immediate basis (it's probably only been once). For the most part, my friendships are a slow burn. I haven't completely opened up to anyone I've met at college. There are certain parts of myself that I don't trust with other people. I don't know how to change that. Maybe it's best that I don't.
This post doesn't have a thesis statement or even a point. But it's 10pm, and I am writing, because the world is very dark, and very quiet.
Talk soon. xo
Sunday, February 28, 2016
February Playlist
February Playlist
Hey there, fam! It's time for another monthly playlist, this one coming in just under the wire. Thank goodness for leap day, right?
This month has been great in a lot of ways. I shot the short film I wrote with a great group of friends, and just last week I got to perform for Lamont Dozier, one of the most influential songwriters in the history of American pop music. But this month also kept me pretty grounded and stable. I've kept up my healthy eating regimen and continued losing weight. I feel like a person, almost. But I'm very much ready for spring break, which is just two weeks away now...
Anyway, onto the tunes! You can check it out for yourself on Spotify here - https://open.spotify.com/user/12149039602/playlist/5JTrB7QGv33ShiXUeBLqwH - or view the tracks I've got listed just down below. Happy listening!
1. "The Animals" - 3:45
ALBUM: The Switch
ARTIST: Emily King
2. "Elijah" - 4:10
ALBUM: Elijah
ARTIST: Matthew and the Atlas
3. "Georgia" - 4:04
ALBUM: The Seven EP
ARTIST: Emily King
4. "Fidelity" - 3:46
ALBUM: Begin to Hope
ARTIST: Regina Spektor
5. "The Wait" - 2:15
ALBUM: Goon
ARTIST: Tobias Jesso Jr.
6. "Dark Side of the Moon" - 3:27
ALBUM: American Soft
ARTIST: Chris Staples
7. "Rusty Old American Dream" - 2:38
ALBUM: How Did You Find Me Here
ARTIST: David Wilcox
8. "We Don't Talk Anymore (feat. Selena Gomez)" - 3:38
ALBUM: Nine Track Mind
ARTIST: Charlie Puth
9. "River" - 3:41
ALBUM: River
ARTIST: Bishop
10. "Blossom" - 3:44
ALBUM: Carry The Ghost
ARTIST: Noah Gundersen
11. "All the Ways" - 3:33
ALBUM: All the Ways
ARTIST: Wet
12. "Better" - 3:06
ALBUM: Better
ARTIST: Banks
13. "Love Yourself" - 3:54
ALBUM: Purpose
ARTIST: Justin Bieber
14. "To Know Him Is To Love Him - Live" - 2:24
ALBUM: Back to Black: B-Sides
ARTIST: Amy Winehouse
15. "Love Within" - 3:00
ALBUM: Shangri La EP
ARTIST: James Tillman
16. "Money Can't Buy (Single)" - 3:22
ALBUM: Money Can't Buy (Single)
ARTIST: Howard
17. "After The Storm" - 4:08
ALBUM: Sigh No More
ARTIST: Mumford & Sons
That'll do it for my February playlist. My spring semester is really flying by. It's hard to believe that soon I'll be done with my freshman year. It seems so recent that I was in high school, dreaming of this mythical better life on the other side of graduation, and yet also so very distant in the past. The thing I've realized about growing up is that I find myself looking back at who I was five or ten years ago and wondering what it is she would think of me now. I think she'd be proud. I hope so.
Talk soon, everybody. xo
Hey there, fam! It's time for another monthly playlist, this one coming in just under the wire. Thank goodness for leap day, right?
This month has been great in a lot of ways. I shot the short film I wrote with a great group of friends, and just last week I got to perform for Lamont Dozier, one of the most influential songwriters in the history of American pop music. But this month also kept me pretty grounded and stable. I've kept up my healthy eating regimen and continued losing weight. I feel like a person, almost. But I'm very much ready for spring break, which is just two weeks away now...
Anyway, onto the tunes! You can check it out for yourself on Spotify here - https://open.spotify.com/user/12149039602/playlist/5JTrB7QGv33ShiXUeBLqwH - or view the tracks I've got listed just down below. Happy listening!
1. "The Animals" - 3:45
ALBUM: The Switch
ARTIST: Emily King
2. "Elijah" - 4:10
ALBUM: Elijah
ARTIST: Matthew and the Atlas
3. "Georgia" - 4:04
ALBUM: The Seven EP
ARTIST: Emily King
4. "Fidelity" - 3:46
ALBUM: Begin to Hope
ARTIST: Regina Spektor
5. "The Wait" - 2:15
ALBUM: Goon
ARTIST: Tobias Jesso Jr.
6. "Dark Side of the Moon" - 3:27
ALBUM: American Soft
ARTIST: Chris Staples
7. "Rusty Old American Dream" - 2:38
ALBUM: How Did You Find Me Here
ARTIST: David Wilcox
8. "We Don't Talk Anymore (feat. Selena Gomez)" - 3:38
ALBUM: Nine Track Mind
ARTIST: Charlie Puth
9. "River" - 3:41
ALBUM: River
ARTIST: Bishop
10. "Blossom" - 3:44
ALBUM: Carry The Ghost
ARTIST: Noah Gundersen
11. "All the Ways" - 3:33
ALBUM: All the Ways
ARTIST: Wet
12. "Better" - 3:06
ALBUM: Better
ARTIST: Banks
13. "Love Yourself" - 3:54
ALBUM: Purpose
ARTIST: Justin Bieber
14. "To Know Him Is To Love Him - Live" - 2:24
ALBUM: Back to Black: B-Sides
ARTIST: Amy Winehouse
15. "Love Within" - 3:00
ALBUM: Shangri La EP
ARTIST: James Tillman
16. "Money Can't Buy (Single)" - 3:22
ALBUM: Money Can't Buy (Single)
ARTIST: Howard
17. "After The Storm" - 4:08
ALBUM: Sigh No More
ARTIST: Mumford & Sons
That'll do it for my February playlist. My spring semester is really flying by. It's hard to believe that soon I'll be done with my freshman year. It seems so recent that I was in high school, dreaming of this mythical better life on the other side of graduation, and yet also so very distant in the past. The thing I've realized about growing up is that I find myself looking back at who I was five or ten years ago and wondering what it is she would think of me now. I think she'd be proud. I hope so.
Talk soon, everybody. xo
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Teenagers and Our Culture of Bingeing Culture
I'm a big fan of youth binge culture with regard to media consumption.
I'm sure sociologists and journalists have branded this phenomenon with their own pithy soundbites, but I'm going to call it like I see it. Teenagers have a tendency to binge--sometimes on destructive things, but that's another story--especially when it comes to media. We find a band we like; we listen to all their albums on Spotify, watch all their music videos, watch interviews with the lead singer. We find a good TV show; we barrel through all eight seasons in three weeks on Netflix (what? I didn't say that. I've never done that. I have a healthy relationship with television). We see a great stand-up special; we spend hours scouring YouTube for clips of that comedian doing other shows. It's a habit that I've fallen into. The Internet makes it easy. But I'm in a bit of a rut right now. I'm not in the process of bingeing anything at all.
I could start in with some new TV show or explore the discography of an artist I've never listened to. But instead, I've decided to examine what it is, exactly, that drives me to do this. Part of it is my obsessive personality; I'm very all or nothing, so if I like something, I'm gonna invest myself into it as much as possible. But I think it's a process that many people in my generation go through.
At the age of 18, I'm only just now entering the world of mass media. As a child and even somewhat as a teenager, my tastes were mandated by what I was allowed to watch and what was marketed towards me. Though I've always been very individualistic, it wasn't until the end of high school that I began discovering things that weren't recommended to me by my parents or commercials for shows I was already watching. This mainly took the form of stand-up comedy, a long-forbidden haven of jokes both dirty and way over my head, but also in new kinds of literature, interesting music, and bizarre movies (Being John Malkovich is my second favorite movie and also the weirdest thing I've ever seen).
The moment teenagers like me enter this realm of new entertainment possibilities, we go a little bit crazy. We are at such a fascinating point in history in which if I find something I like to consume, I can view it over and over again or use the endless archive of the Internet to find things similar to it. I don't have to go to the library or the record store or the Blockbuster. Almost everything I want to watch, read, or listen to is available on my laptop, in my bedroom, and a lot of it is free.
However, there is a point at which we run out of material on a particular subject. I'm going to use Louis C.K. as an example. I found one of his specials, "Oh My God," on Netflix, remembered hearing his name in some context, and decided to check it out. I laughed harder at that special than I have at anything in my entire life. I eagerly await the idea that someone or something makes me laugh that hard again. I was so enamored of his POV and style that I quickly digested his other specials and began combing the web for more clips of him in interviews and his TV show, Louie. I like Louie (from what I've seen, which is only about half a season), but to me it's not as rip-roaringly hilarious as his stand-up, so now I'm at a bit of an impasse. I can keep rewatching his specials on Netflix or through his website, but I'm going to have to wait a while for new material. Joining the Louis C.K. boat this late meant a tremendous backlog of content for me to watch, but also missed opportunities to see him on tour or get access to the new stuff just as it was coming out. I'm constantly searching for his name in the news to see if he's got a new tour or special planned, but he came out with something in May of 2015 (that I loved), so it's going to be a minute.
Same thing with me and John Mayer. My senior year of high school I became obsessed with him. He's one of my all-time favorite artists, and he wrote my all-time favorite song ("In Your Atmosphere," which is on his live album Where the Light Is). I spent most of 2015 listening to his albums, of which there are many. Now that I've heard every song of his (I believe), I've grown incredibly impatient for his next record, which is due out in the fall. Every time he posts on social media about it, I freak out for like ten minutes and start imagining it and how incredible it will be because he's going in the studio with the same people who made Continuum which I believe is inarguably his best album and maybe one of the best albums of all--
I need to relax with this whole John Mayer thing, I'm aware.
I think my point is that while there are drawbacks to the way that teenagers consume artistic content-- in the way that we essentially overdose on an artist or media personality and very quickly run out of our supply--it's a pretty great time to be alive. And while I am very eager for my favorite creators to put out new products, the old stuff is always just a click away. And it always stands up to another binge.
I'm sure sociologists and journalists have branded this phenomenon with their own pithy soundbites, but I'm going to call it like I see it. Teenagers have a tendency to binge--sometimes on destructive things, but that's another story--especially when it comes to media. We find a band we like; we listen to all their albums on Spotify, watch all their music videos, watch interviews with the lead singer. We find a good TV show; we barrel through all eight seasons in three weeks on Netflix (what? I didn't say that. I've never done that. I have a healthy relationship with television). We see a great stand-up special; we spend hours scouring YouTube for clips of that comedian doing other shows. It's a habit that I've fallen into. The Internet makes it easy. But I'm in a bit of a rut right now. I'm not in the process of bingeing anything at all.
I could start in with some new TV show or explore the discography of an artist I've never listened to. But instead, I've decided to examine what it is, exactly, that drives me to do this. Part of it is my obsessive personality; I'm very all or nothing, so if I like something, I'm gonna invest myself into it as much as possible. But I think it's a process that many people in my generation go through.
At the age of 18, I'm only just now entering the world of mass media. As a child and even somewhat as a teenager, my tastes were mandated by what I was allowed to watch and what was marketed towards me. Though I've always been very individualistic, it wasn't until the end of high school that I began discovering things that weren't recommended to me by my parents or commercials for shows I was already watching. This mainly took the form of stand-up comedy, a long-forbidden haven of jokes both dirty and way over my head, but also in new kinds of literature, interesting music, and bizarre movies (Being John Malkovich is my second favorite movie and also the weirdest thing I've ever seen).
The moment teenagers like me enter this realm of new entertainment possibilities, we go a little bit crazy. We are at such a fascinating point in history in which if I find something I like to consume, I can view it over and over again or use the endless archive of the Internet to find things similar to it. I don't have to go to the library or the record store or the Blockbuster. Almost everything I want to watch, read, or listen to is available on my laptop, in my bedroom, and a lot of it is free.
However, there is a point at which we run out of material on a particular subject. I'm going to use Louis C.K. as an example. I found one of his specials, "Oh My God," on Netflix, remembered hearing his name in some context, and decided to check it out. I laughed harder at that special than I have at anything in my entire life. I eagerly await the idea that someone or something makes me laugh that hard again. I was so enamored of his POV and style that I quickly digested his other specials and began combing the web for more clips of him in interviews and his TV show, Louie. I like Louie (from what I've seen, which is only about half a season), but to me it's not as rip-roaringly hilarious as his stand-up, so now I'm at a bit of an impasse. I can keep rewatching his specials on Netflix or through his website, but I'm going to have to wait a while for new material. Joining the Louis C.K. boat this late meant a tremendous backlog of content for me to watch, but also missed opportunities to see him on tour or get access to the new stuff just as it was coming out. I'm constantly searching for his name in the news to see if he's got a new tour or special planned, but he came out with something in May of 2015 (that I loved), so it's going to be a minute.
Same thing with me and John Mayer. My senior year of high school I became obsessed with him. He's one of my all-time favorite artists, and he wrote my all-time favorite song ("In Your Atmosphere," which is on his live album Where the Light Is). I spent most of 2015 listening to his albums, of which there are many. Now that I've heard every song of his (I believe), I've grown incredibly impatient for his next record, which is due out in the fall. Every time he posts on social media about it, I freak out for like ten minutes and start imagining it and how incredible it will be because he's going in the studio with the same people who made Continuum which I believe is inarguably his best album and maybe one of the best albums of all--
I need to relax with this whole John Mayer thing, I'm aware.
I think my point is that while there are drawbacks to the way that teenagers consume artistic content-- in the way that we essentially overdose on an artist or media personality and very quickly run out of our supply--it's a pretty great time to be alive. And while I am very eager for my favorite creators to put out new products, the old stuff is always just a click away. And it always stands up to another binge.
Friday, January 29, 2016
January Playlist
January Playlist
Well, we've all got our first month of 2016 under our belt, which means it's time for me to give you guys a playlist of what I've been bumping. I decided to change things up this year, and make public playlists on Spotify for everything I listen to! So here's a link:
https://open.spotify.com/user/12149039602/playlist/3O8G7JY6Rtc0kTufxaeM11
If you want to get a preview of what's on there, though, here are the tracks all written out the old-fashioned way:
1. "Fly - Acoustic" - 3:32
ARTIST: Meadowlark
ALBUM: Dual
2. "Georgia" - 3:51
ALBUM: Dream Your Life Away
ARTIST: Vance Joy
3. "Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)" - 2:51
ALBUM: I Love You, Honeybear
ARTIST: Father John Misty
4. "Something" - 3:53
ALBUM: Sprained Ankle
ARTIST: Julien Baker
5. "The New Year" - 4:06
ALBUM: Transatlanticism
ARTIST: Death Cab for Cutie
6. "Everything is Temporary" - 4:06
ALBUM: Songs for Felix
ARTIST: The Nova Darlings
7. "Devil Side" - 3:59
ALBUM: Devil Side
ARTIST: Foxes
8. "Way Back When" - 3:26
ALBUM: In A Perfect World
ARTIST: Kodaline
9. "T-Shirt Weather" - 3:14
ALBUM: T-Shirt Weather
ARTIST: Circa Waves
10. "Reaper" - 3:38
ALBUM: This Is Acting
ARTIST: Sia
11. "Outer Space feat. Genevieve)" - 3:31
ALBUM: Outer Space (feat. Genevieve) - Single
ARTIST: G, Genevieve
12. "Loudspeaker" - 3:30
ALBUM: Loudspeaker - Single
ARTIST: MUNA
13. Heartbeats" - 2:42
ALBUM: Imperial Recordings Best Of
ARTIST: José Gonzalez
14. "The Sound" - 4:09
ALBUM: The Sound
ARTIST: The 1975
15. "Feels" - 3:03
ALBUM: Feels
ARTIST: Kiiara
16. "You're Such A" - 3:36
ALBUM: HAIZ
ARTIST: Hailee Steinfeld
17. "Worry" - 4:01
ALBUM: Remnants
ARTIST: Jack Garratt
18. "1612" - 3:20
ALBUM: Fugue State
ARTIST: Vulfpeck
19. "Elevate" - 5:08
ALBUM: When The Night
ARTIST: St. Lucia
20. "Clay & Cast Iron" - 2:56
ALBUM: Birds Say
ARTIST: Darlingside
Those are the 20 songs I've been listening to this past month! 2016 is off to a good start. I'm feeling mostly content and calm (even though I've got a WRIT-150 essay to finish and a whole boatload of cover sheets for performance class to do...but let's not muddy this beautiful Friday with talk of schoolwork). I'm eating healthy, dressing confidently, and just in general trying to enjoy my life. I've been writing down good memories every day and putting them in this ceramic box I've got in my dorm room. At the end of the semester, I'm gonna dump 'em all out and look at all the cool things I did. I've tried to do it before but I always forgot; here's hoping I keep it up! On an unrelated note...don't give up hope. Don't put your life on hold for someone that isn't making themselves available to you, for whatever reason. But if you've been waiting a little while...well, there's gotta be a reason, right? So keep moving forward and living and making changes--but save a little space inside yourself for the waiting thing. It might surprise you someday. Talk soon. xo
Well, we've all got our first month of 2016 under our belt, which means it's time for me to give you guys a playlist of what I've been bumping. I decided to change things up this year, and make public playlists on Spotify for everything I listen to! So here's a link:
https://open.spotify.com/user/12149039602/playlist/3O8G7JY6Rtc0kTufxaeM11
If you want to get a preview of what's on there, though, here are the tracks all written out the old-fashioned way:
1. "Fly - Acoustic" - 3:32
ARTIST: Meadowlark
ALBUM: Dual
2. "Georgia" - 3:51
ALBUM: Dream Your Life Away
ARTIST: Vance Joy
3. "Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)" - 2:51
ALBUM: I Love You, Honeybear
ARTIST: Father John Misty
4. "Something" - 3:53
ALBUM: Sprained Ankle
ARTIST: Julien Baker
5. "The New Year" - 4:06
ALBUM: Transatlanticism
ARTIST: Death Cab for Cutie
6. "Everything is Temporary" - 4:06
ALBUM: Songs for Felix
ARTIST: The Nova Darlings
7. "Devil Side" - 3:59
ALBUM: Devil Side
ARTIST: Foxes
8. "Way Back When" - 3:26
ALBUM: In A Perfect World
ARTIST: Kodaline
9. "T-Shirt Weather" - 3:14
ALBUM: T-Shirt Weather
ARTIST: Circa Waves
10. "Reaper" - 3:38
ALBUM: This Is Acting
ARTIST: Sia
11. "Outer Space feat. Genevieve)" - 3:31
ALBUM: Outer Space (feat. Genevieve) - Single
ARTIST: G, Genevieve
12. "Loudspeaker" - 3:30
ALBUM: Loudspeaker - Single
ARTIST: MUNA
13. Heartbeats" - 2:42
ALBUM: Imperial Recordings Best Of
ARTIST: José Gonzalez
14. "The Sound" - 4:09
ALBUM: The Sound
ARTIST: The 1975
15. "Feels" - 3:03
ALBUM: Feels
ARTIST: Kiiara
16. "You're Such A" - 3:36
ALBUM: HAIZ
ARTIST: Hailee Steinfeld
17. "Worry" - 4:01
ALBUM: Remnants
ARTIST: Jack Garratt
18. "1612" - 3:20
ALBUM: Fugue State
ARTIST: Vulfpeck
19. "Elevate" - 5:08
ALBUM: When The Night
ARTIST: St. Lucia
20. "Clay & Cast Iron" - 2:56
ALBUM: Birds Say
ARTIST: Darlingside
Those are the 20 songs I've been listening to this past month! 2016 is off to a good start. I'm feeling mostly content and calm (even though I've got a WRIT-150 essay to finish and a whole boatload of cover sheets for performance class to do...but let's not muddy this beautiful Friday with talk of schoolwork). I'm eating healthy, dressing confidently, and just in general trying to enjoy my life. I've been writing down good memories every day and putting them in this ceramic box I've got in my dorm room. At the end of the semester, I'm gonna dump 'em all out and look at all the cool things I did. I've tried to do it before but I always forgot; here's hoping I keep it up! On an unrelated note...don't give up hope. Don't put your life on hold for someone that isn't making themselves available to you, for whatever reason. But if you've been waiting a little while...well, there's gotta be a reason, right? So keep moving forward and living and making changes--but save a little space inside yourself for the waiting thing. It might surprise you someday. Talk soon. xo
Friday, January 22, 2016
My Favorite Slams! (Part I)
Hey, all! As some of you may know, I am an amateur slam poet. I was on my slam poetry team for two years in high school and my senior year, my team came in third place in the finals for the Get Lit Classic Slam, one of the biggest poetry competitions for teens in Los Angeles. A video of a poem I did with my friend Alex wound up on Button Poetry, which is THE premier YouTube channel for slam poetry - aka one of the most exciting things that's ever happened to me! Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfLdvMxeQWg
But I thought I'd also share some of my favorite spoken word pieces by other poets. You can find all of these on Button Poetry, but here's a starter guide to some of the best ones.
Neil Hilborn - "OCD"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnKZ4pdSU-s
The most famous upload to the Button Poetry channel - over 10 million views. Sort of a rite of passage that you watch this first. Subject: love and mental illness. Big stuff.
Neil Hilborn - "The Future"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xUEg2WxGqQ
Another Hilborn piece! One of my all-time favorites. I watch it at least once a week. It just makes me feel good inside. Neil is a really incredible artist. He's also got some books out - I haven't bought any yet but I'm sure they're worth checking out! Subject: mental illness and survival. Beautiful and inspirational.
Dylan Garity - "Rigged Game"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo3KFUzyMUI
Fun fact - Garity helped tape the Get Lit slam for Button Poetry and I got to meet him! I fangirled a lot. He was confused. Fair enough. Anyway, this poem is among the first I watched and it's got a lot of crazy intense one-liners. Whole thing is a must-see. Subject: the state of education in the U.S. He nails it.
Simon Stolzoff - "Boyfriend Material"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVpbvxEd1iE
Hilarious but weirdly sweet. A great poem to watch if you're feeling a bit down and want a good laugh (and to look at a cute boy from UPenn doing slam!) Subject: satire and relationships. Great combo.
Phil Kaye - "Repetition"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KI6c_IfvHg
I adore Phil Kaye. He always delivers really heartfelt stuff, and this poem is no different. Definitely get his book and watch this little deal. Subject: family issues and speech impediments. He ties them together perfectly.
Anthony McPherson - "All Lives Matter: 1800s Edition"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGR0ihYux6w
HOLY MOTHER. This is one of the most crazy-good videos I have EVER seen. I get chills during every line. McPherson is a poetry god. Subject: race relations across generations. Utterly breathtaking.
Blythe Baird - "When the Fat Girl Gets Skinny"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16Tb_bZZDv0
Heartbreaking and so, so real. Blythe Baird really digs into the hard stuff with this one and it hits especially close to home with me. Subject: eating disorder and body image.
Kevin Kantor & Sienna Burnett - "Phases"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su75AX_urjU
This poem uses a lot of really great devices to talk about a really tough subject, which I believe is truly the point of great slam - to communicate powerful emotion and politics through wordplay and wit. This poem is exactly that. Subject: sexual orientation and the heartbreaking realities of questioning it. Really beautiful piece that caught me way off-guard.
I'll make another post like this in the future, but if you're trying to figure out why there's so much hype about spoken word, hopefully these videos get you into it. Enjoy, and of course, talk soon. xo
But I thought I'd also share some of my favorite spoken word pieces by other poets. You can find all of these on Button Poetry, but here's a starter guide to some of the best ones.
Neil Hilborn - "OCD"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnKZ4pdSU-s
The most famous upload to the Button Poetry channel - over 10 million views. Sort of a rite of passage that you watch this first. Subject: love and mental illness. Big stuff.
Neil Hilborn - "The Future"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xUEg2WxGqQ
Another Hilborn piece! One of my all-time favorites. I watch it at least once a week. It just makes me feel good inside. Neil is a really incredible artist. He's also got some books out - I haven't bought any yet but I'm sure they're worth checking out! Subject: mental illness and survival. Beautiful and inspirational.
Dylan Garity - "Rigged Game"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo3KFUzyMUI
Fun fact - Garity helped tape the Get Lit slam for Button Poetry and I got to meet him! I fangirled a lot. He was confused. Fair enough. Anyway, this poem is among the first I watched and it's got a lot of crazy intense one-liners. Whole thing is a must-see. Subject: the state of education in the U.S. He nails it.
Simon Stolzoff - "Boyfriend Material"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVpbvxEd1iE
Hilarious but weirdly sweet. A great poem to watch if you're feeling a bit down and want a good laugh (and to look at a cute boy from UPenn doing slam!) Subject: satire and relationships. Great combo.
Phil Kaye - "Repetition"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KI6c_IfvHg
I adore Phil Kaye. He always delivers really heartfelt stuff, and this poem is no different. Definitely get his book and watch this little deal. Subject: family issues and speech impediments. He ties them together perfectly.
Anthony McPherson - "All Lives Matter: 1800s Edition"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGR0ihYux6w
HOLY MOTHER. This is one of the most crazy-good videos I have EVER seen. I get chills during every line. McPherson is a poetry god. Subject: race relations across generations. Utterly breathtaking.
Blythe Baird - "When the Fat Girl Gets Skinny"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16Tb_bZZDv0
Heartbreaking and so, so real. Blythe Baird really digs into the hard stuff with this one and it hits especially close to home with me. Subject: eating disorder and body image.
Kevin Kantor & Sienna Burnett - "Phases"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su75AX_urjU
This poem uses a lot of really great devices to talk about a really tough subject, which I believe is truly the point of great slam - to communicate powerful emotion and politics through wordplay and wit. This poem is exactly that. Subject: sexual orientation and the heartbreaking realities of questioning it. Really beautiful piece that caught me way off-guard.
I'll make another post like this in the future, but if you're trying to figure out why there's so much hype about spoken word, hopefully these videos get you into it. Enjoy, and of course, talk soon. xo
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
December Playlist
December Playlist
New viewers - don't forget to check out my YouTube channel (youtube.com/jensenmcraeofficial), my official site (jensenmcrae.com), and my Twitter (@mcraejensen) <3
Unbelievably, we have arrived at my last playlist of 2015. It's been a little chilly here in LA (although of course, it's not a real winter by most standards)...
My fall semester grades came out today, and I did pretty well! Not quite as good as my older brother, but then again, not all of us can graduate a semester early from Harvard with a 4.0 GPA. (Yep.)
In any event, it's time for me to provide you with some tunes that will help you close out the year. I hope you like them! I really did! :)
1. "The Lung" - 4:53
ALBUM: Choose Your Weapon
ARTIST: Hiatus Kaiyote
2. "I Used to Love Him" - 5:40
ALBUM: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
ARTIST: Lauryn Hill
3. "No Pressure (feat. Big Sean)" - 4:47
ALBUM: Purpose
ARTIST: Justin Bieber
4. "Catch & Release (Deepend Remix)" - 3:16
ALBUM: Catch & Release (Deepend Remix) - Single
ARTIST: Matt Simons
5. "Lean On (feat. MØ)" - 2:57
ALBUM: Peace Is The Mission
ARTIST: Major Lazer & DJ Snake
6. "Different Colors" - 3:42
ALBUM: TALKING IS HARD
ARTIST: WALK THE MOON
7. "Cassy O'" - 3:04
ALBUM: Wanted On Voyage
ARTIST: George Ezra
8. "Naked" - 3:22
ALBUM: VHS
ARTIST: X Ambassadors
9. "The Daylight" - 4:43
ALBUM: The Daylight EP
ARTIST: Andrew Belle
10. "Halo" - 3:19
ALBUM: The Morning
ARTIST: Lewis Watson
11. "Divorcée" - 3:29
ALBUM: The Widowmaker
ARTIST: Donovan Woods
12. "The Blower's Daughter" - 4:47
ALBUM: O
ARTIST: Damien Rice
13. "Shallows" - 6:54
ALBUM: If You Leave
ARTIST: Daughter
14. "Blood" - 5:17
ALBUM: If I Should Go Before You
ARTIST: City and Colour
15. "This Is After" - 3:15
ALBUM: Songs for Felix - EP
ARTIST: The Nova Darlings
16. "Samson" - 3:09
ALBUM: Begin to Hope
ARTIST: Regina Spektor
So those are the 16 songs I've been listening to this month. 2015 has really felt like two distinct parts, instead of 12, or 52, or 365...it's truly BC and AC (before and after college). I'd like to think I've grown and changed in some ways. A few weeks ago, I might have said that I hadn't. But now that I'm looking back at where I was on the last night of 2014, and where I am now, I feel pretty good about all the things I've accomplished. I've written a lot of great things. I've let go of childish fantasies that do me more harm than good to harbor. And I'm looking toward 2016 (and turning 19! Cool...) with excitement, not with dread.
Merry early Christmas, and happy early New Year. Talk soon. xo
New viewers - don't forget to check out my YouTube channel (youtube.com/jensenmcraeofficial), my official site (jensenmcrae.com), and my Twitter (@mcraejensen) <3
Unbelievably, we have arrived at my last playlist of 2015. It's been a little chilly here in LA (although of course, it's not a real winter by most standards)...
My fall semester grades came out today, and I did pretty well! Not quite as good as my older brother, but then again, not all of us can graduate a semester early from Harvard with a 4.0 GPA. (Yep.)
In any event, it's time for me to provide you with some tunes that will help you close out the year. I hope you like them! I really did! :)
1. "The Lung" - 4:53
ALBUM: Choose Your Weapon
ARTIST: Hiatus Kaiyote
2. "I Used to Love Him" - 5:40
ALBUM: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
ARTIST: Lauryn Hill
3. "No Pressure (feat. Big Sean)" - 4:47
ALBUM: Purpose
ARTIST: Justin Bieber
4. "Catch & Release (Deepend Remix)" - 3:16
ALBUM: Catch & Release (Deepend Remix) - Single
ARTIST: Matt Simons
5. "Lean On (feat. MØ)" - 2:57
ALBUM: Peace Is The Mission
ARTIST: Major Lazer & DJ Snake
6. "Different Colors" - 3:42
ALBUM: TALKING IS HARD
ARTIST: WALK THE MOON
7. "Cassy O'" - 3:04
ALBUM: Wanted On Voyage
ARTIST: George Ezra
8. "Naked" - 3:22
ALBUM: VHS
ARTIST: X Ambassadors
9. "The Daylight" - 4:43
ALBUM: The Daylight EP
ARTIST: Andrew Belle
10. "Halo" - 3:19
ALBUM: The Morning
ARTIST: Lewis Watson
11. "Divorcée" - 3:29
ALBUM: The Widowmaker
ARTIST: Donovan Woods
12. "The Blower's Daughter" - 4:47
ALBUM: O
ARTIST: Damien Rice
13. "Shallows" - 6:54
ALBUM: If You Leave
ARTIST: Daughter
14. "Blood" - 5:17
ALBUM: If I Should Go Before You
ARTIST: City and Colour
15. "This Is After" - 3:15
ALBUM: Songs for Felix - EP
ARTIST: The Nova Darlings
16. "Samson" - 3:09
ALBUM: Begin to Hope
ARTIST: Regina Spektor
So those are the 16 songs I've been listening to this month. 2015 has really felt like two distinct parts, instead of 12, or 52, or 365...it's truly BC and AC (before and after college). I'd like to think I've grown and changed in some ways. A few weeks ago, I might have said that I hadn't. But now that I'm looking back at where I was on the last night of 2014, and where I am now, I feel pretty good about all the things I've accomplished. I've written a lot of great things. I've let go of childish fantasies that do me more harm than good to harbor. And I'm looking toward 2016 (and turning 19! Cool...) with excitement, not with dread.
Merry early Christmas, and happy early New Year. Talk soon. xo
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