August Playlist

August Playlist

Coming to you live from the beautiful University of Southern California!

The first week or so of school has been absolutely awesome. I've met some of the most incredible people, I've started taking my (unbelievably cool) pop classes, and in general, I just feel like I couldn't have made a better choice about college.

In true Jensen McRae fashion, it's the end of the month, so I owe you (if anyone reads this...) a monthly playlist. I'll try to get a lengthy, philosophically sprawling blog post about time or growing up on here soon, but no promises. My work load is only going to get crazier from here...

1. "This Is Sally Hatchet" - 3:58
ALBUM: Fear Fun
ARTIST: Father John Misty

2. "East of Eden" - 3:06
ALBUM: Kicker
ARTIST: Zella Day

3. "All Those Pretty Lights (Alternate Universe Version)" - 5:53
ALBUM: The Daylight EP
ARTIST: Andrew Belle

4. "This House Is a Hotel" - 3:31
ALBUM: From the Wreckage
ARTIST: The Wind and the Wave

5. "What Would I Do Without You" - 2:52
ALBUM: Good Light
ARTIST: Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

6. "All Our Lives (Needy Me)" - 4:17
ALBUM: The Acoustic Deleted EP
ARTIST: Max Milner

7. "Ghosts That We Knew" - 5:40
ALBUM: Babel
ARTIST: Mumford & Sons

8. "Beautiful Goodbye" - 4:18
ALBUM: Overexposed
ARTIST: Maroon 5

9. "Afraid of the Dark" - 3:16
ALBUM: Bad Girls - EP
ARTIST: MKTO

10. "The Way (feat. Chance the Rapper)" - 4:23
ALBUM: You Should Be Here
ARTIST: Kehlani

11. "Art of Letting You Go" - 3:35
ALBUM: Unbreakable Smile
ARTIST: Tori Kelly

12. "So Fly" - 3:38
ALBUM: Perfectly Imperfect
ARTIST: Elle Varner

13. "Barcelona" - 3:09
ALBUM: Wanted On Voyage
ARTIST: George Ezra

14. "Kill Me (And Make It Quick)" - 3:45
ALBUM: Take the World
ARTIST: Amelie

15. "Cheerleader" - 3:00
ALBUM: Young & Free
ARTIST: OMI

That'll do it for now! I have to dash off to performance class in a few minutes, but I hope you give these tunes a listen and enjoy what you hear! My heart and my brain are all over the place these days, but rest assured, the first few days of college are exhilarating and terrifying and amazing. So go forth. Godspeed, readers. Talk soon. xo

July Playlist

July Playlist

Yo yo yo! The end of July is nearing! In two days I'm going on vacation, and then pretty soon after I get back, I move into my dorm...which is pretty freakin' crazy. The next time I post one of these playlists, I'll be writing from college...WHAT IS LIFE?!

Anyway, I've got a really cool, eclectic mix of songs for you guys this month, and while all 19 of these tracks are perfect for any time of year, I've really loved blasting them in my car, driving around with my friends (like the three times I actually left my room) or just laying in bed, thinkin' about life.

1. "Like Me Slightly" - 4:06
ALBUM: The Acoustic Deleted EP
ARTIST: Max Milner

2. "Unconsolable" - 3:36
ALBUM: Love Songs Drug Songs - EP
ARTIST: X Ambassadors

3. "Burn the Pages" - 3:15
ALBUM: 1000 Forms of Fear
ARTIST: Sia

4. "Psycho" - 4:11
ALBUM: Space - EP
ARTIST: Rozzi Crane

Side note: if you didn't know, Rozzi Crane is an alum of the pop music program at USC Thornton! Way cool! :)

5. "Say Goodbye" - 3:29
ALBUM: Morning Phase
ARTIST: Beck

6. "Don't Wake Me Up" - 3:40
ALBUM: Is Your Love Big Enough?
ARTIST: Lianne La Havas

7. "Coffee" - 4:46
ALBUM: Wildheart
ARTIST: Miguel

8. "American Privilege" - 3:32
ALBUM: Radius
ARTIST: Allen Stone

9. "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" - 3:50
ALBUM: Ella Eyre - EP
ARTIST: Ella Eyre

10. "Only Son of the Ladiesman" - 4:09
ALBUM: Fear Fun
ARTIST: Father John Misty

11. "Chivalry Is Dead" - 3:29
ALBUM: Chivalry Is Dead - Single
ARTIST: Trevor Wesley

12. "Only In Your Mind" - 5:18
ALBUM: You Are Here
ARTIST: The Good Hurt

13. "Voyeur" - 3:00
ALBUM: Parachute - EP
ARTIST: Matthew Koma

14. "what's normal anyway" - 3:13
ALBUM: Wildheart
ARTIST: Miguel

15. "Right Now" - 4:23
ALBUM: Seeds
ARTIST: TV on the Radio

16. "Slave To the South" - 3:14
ALBUM: Gutter Gaunt Gangster
ARTIST: The Weeks

17. "I Don't Care" - 3:06
ALBUM: Perfectly Imperfect
ARTIST: Elle Varner

18. "Nuevo Día" - 4:46
ALBUM: Electricidad
ARTIST: Jesse y Joy

19. "Dímelo" - 3:37
ALBUM: Insomniac
ARTIST: Enrique Iglesias

That'll do it for my July playlist! Big things are happening in my life. I mean, there's the obvious, that I'm about to start college, but then there are a bunch of other things that I can feel on the horizon. Nothing is for sure yet, but a lot is coming...I've created so much content, and I think that pretty soon, the world is gonna get to see it. It's just gonna take the right people getting it at the right time. More as this develops. Until then...talk soon. xo

June Playlist

June Playlist

Hey all! Sorry this playlist is going up on the literal last day of June but I just kept forgetting to post it! Anyhow, I hope you're enjoying your summer so far and listening to some great tunes. I've got 15 tracks here that I've really been loving all month, so check 'em out and let me know what you think!

Also, life update - I move into college in a month and a half! *incoherent noises* I'm very, very excited and very, very nervous. Pretty much every night I panic. Hooray!

Back to the music. Hope you like it!

1. "Nervous (Live)" - 3:38
ALBUM: Live At Whelans
ARTIST: Gavin James

2. "Colour Me in Gold" - 3:51
ALBUM: Keep the Quiet Out - EP
ARTIST: JP Cooper

3. "Pretty Wings (Uncut)" - 5:10
ALBUM: BLACKsummers'night
ARTIST: Maxwell

4. "I Think I'm Falling For Something" - 3:49
ALBUM: Adventures in Real Time
ARTIST: Dylan Gardner

5. "Paper Crown" - 3:18
ALBUM: Paper Crown - Single
ARTIST: Alec Benjamin

6. "Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met)" - 4:18
ALBUM: Vices & Virtues
ARTIST: Panic! At the Disco

7. "New Constellations" - 4:38
ALBUM: The Fool
ARTIST: Ryn Weaver

8. "Stitches" - 3:26
ALBUM: Handwritten
ARTIST: Shawn Mendes

9. "Oh Siren" - 2:54
ALBUM: Make Your Heart Go
ARTIST: Casey Barth

10. "Give Me Something" - 3:11
ALBUM: Give Me Something - Single
ARTIST: Jarryd James

11. "Freak Caroline" - 5:40
ALBUM: Freak Caroline - Single
ARTIST: Sterling Fox

12. "Work Song" - 3:49
ALBUM: From Eden - EP
ARTIST: Hozier

13. "Au Cinéma" - 4:17
ALBUM: Is Your Love Big Enough?
ARTIST: Lianne La Havas

14. "Heavenly Father" - 4:03
ALBUM: Wish I Was Here (Music from the Motion Picture)
ARTIST: Bon Iver & St. Vincent

15. "Video (Main)" - 4:10
ALBUM: Acoustic Soul
ARTIST: India.Arie

That'll do it for my June tunes! I'll try to post here more as I see fit - maybe some more album reviews or artists profiles - and get my playlists up a bit earlier…that is, if anyone is reading this. Ha HA!

Love y'all. See ya soon. xo

iPod Time Machine

The other day while I was on my phone, I decided to listen to "Right By You" by Justin Nozuka. Suddenly, I was overtaken by an incredibly powerful sense of nostalgia to which I couldn't assign a place or time. It started to come in bits and pieces--I can smell my body wash very strongly, but it's early morning (I know because I feel exhausted). Odd; I usually shower at night. Next comes the swirl of cold air conditioning around me; it must be summer. Then it hits me. I'm sitting in the lobby of Trojan Hall, waiting for the counselors to walk us to breakfast on some day of GRAMMY camp. I listened to that song almost every morning as I sat, one of the first ones downstairs, waiting to go eat.

I don't know about you guys, but I have really strong sense memories with music. When I hear "The Only Exception" by Paramore, I'm reminded of my first few weeks of seventh grade; I can feel the scratchy denim of my new jeans and the slick metal of braces on my teeth. When I hear "Check Yes, Juliet" by We the Kings, I remember freshman year, when I went to Chicago for a choir trip and listened to that song on repeat as I fell asleep. "No One's Gonna Love You" by Band of Horses, "Empire" by Jukebox the Ghost, and the entirety of the Imagine Dragons album "Night Visions" takes me back to sophomore year; I can feel the weightiness of Jane Eyre in my hands, the nervousness I felt as I auditioned for Scene Monkeys for the first time, the sense of accomplishment as I got my learner's permit. And aside from those tangible things--the physical sensations and sights--there's that intangible thing. You know what I mean? Every year just has a feeling. Last year I bought the same brand and scent of deodorant I'd used in ninth grade without realizing it; when I put it on, I nearly fell over, inundated by that ineffable "it" that accompanied everything about Jensen McRae, age 14.

Sometimes it's a good thing. When I hear "Right By You," I smile to myself at the wonderful memories I created last summer. Nonetheless, certain songs and smells bring back not-so-good memories. Everyone has that feeling. That sappy love song reminds you of the one that got away; some random adult contemporary song on the radio just so happened to be playing when you got into a bad car accident; you had the most awkward first slow dance in the world to an otherwise innocuous Top 40 tune (Today Was a Fairytale by Taylor Swift, I'm looking at you.)

I guess that sucks, that sometimes a song, or the smell of rain, or anything else can be ruined for you. But it's also pretty great that those things can preserve something you never wanted to forget. Sure, maybe certain songs and albums and perfumes are on my "do not touch" list, but there are way more that I listen to and, instead of drowning, I just swim for a while. So you know that album you can't listen to without thinking about your ex? Just put it on. Play it all the way through. And remember why you loved it so much in the first place. No one deserves to steal your songs.

No one.

May Playlist

May Playlist

I am done with classes! Huzzah! See ya never, high school!
(Longer post about my feelings on this to come. Don't fret.)

May is very nearly over, which means it's time for me to share the songs I've been listening to this month. I hope you dig 'em!

1. "Do You Remember" - 3:54
ALBUM: Do You Remember - Single
ARTIST: Jarryd James

2. "Here" - 3:20
ALBUM: Here - Single
ARTIST: Alessia Cara

3. "Should've Been Us" - 3:06
ALBUM: Unbreakable Smile
ARTIST: Tori Kelly

4. "Bring Me Home" - 4:58
ALBUM: Bring Me Home - Single
ARTIST: Tori Kelly

5. "Blood" - 5:26
ALBUM: The Recordings of the Middle East
ARTIST: The Middle East

6. "Girls" - 4:14
ALBUM: The 1975
ARTIST: The 1975

7. "I'm Gonna Find Another You" - 2:43
ALBUM: Continuum
ARTIST: John Mayer

8. "Arch & Point" - 3:17
ALBUM: Kaleidoscope Dream
ARTIST: Miguel

9. "Fire Meet Gasoline" - 4:01
ALBUM: 1000 Forms of Fear
ARTIST: Sia

10. "Some Type of Love" - 3:05
ALBUM: Some Type of Love - EP
ARTIST: Charlie Puth

11. "The Fool" - 3:49
ALBUM: The Fool
ARTIST: Ryn Weaver

I hope you enjoy these eleven songs as May comes to an end. I graduate high school exactly one week. I've never been more excited for something to end. And right now, I've got to dash out the door, but you'll see me back here soon. Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime - music school. :)

xo

April Playlist

April Playlist

Hey, guys! It's bright and early on a beautiful Tuesday morning in April, and I'm at school…so why not throw up a monthly playlist before I have to hustle off to creative writing class?

(What? Write my English paper, you say? Hilarious suggestion! On an unrelated topic, your suggestion privileges have been revoked.)

Enjoy these 9 (gosh, short one this time) tunes as we coast into the gorgeousness that is May in Los Angeles…or, well, whatever you are!

1. "Lonely People" - 3:09
ALBUM: Lonely People - EP
ARTIST: Orla Gartland

2. "Let's Get Started" - 3:27
ALBUM: Adventures in Real Time
ARTIST: Dylan Gardner

3. "Gibberish (feat. Hoodie Allen)" - 3:23
ALBUM: Gibberish (feat. Hoodie Allen) - Single
ARTIST: MAX

4. "Going Nowhere" - 3:34
ALBUM: Reflection
ARTIST: Fifth Harmony

5. "Love Somebody" - 4:09
ALBUM: Love Somebody - EP
ARTIST: Robyn Sherwell

6. "Fair Game" - 3:51
ALBUM: 1000 Forms of Fear
ARTIST: Sia

7. "Bigger Than My Body" - 4:25
ALBUM: Heavier Things
ARTIST: John Mayer

8. "Blindsided" - 5:29
ALBUM: For Emma, Forever Ago
ARTIST: Bon Iver & St. Vincent

9. "Muddy Hymnal" - 2:43
ALBUM: The Creek Drank the Cradle
ARTIST: Iron & Wine

Hope you liked this slightly shorter monthly playlist. I really loved listening to all these tracks, but I can't wait to see what new music I discover in May. Perhaps you've noticed that my little "end-of-playlist" tags no longer contain rambling musings in which I wax rhapsodic about time…but fear not! When my senior year winds down to its official close, there will be a whole post devoted to my thoughts on the passage of time and growing up and…well, college. But until then, I'm gonna keep doing what I always do--writing :) See ya around! xo

On Lists and Influence

TIME Magazine is always publishing lists of influential people, be it their Top 100 Most Influential People in the World or Top 25 Most Influential Teens or whatever other lists I'm forgetting. These lists contain human rights activists, authors, politicians, artists, scientists, tech innovators--many (but of course, not all) of the best and brightest across all disciplines are named in these elite lists.

However, these lists don't just contain people enacting positive change. From Vine stars to YouTubers to reality TV personalities--all of whom are inarguably products of the inexplicable modern fame machine, these people aren't making quite the impact that people like Rula Ghani or Vladimir Putin are making (for better or worse, in Putin's case). In fact, some would contend that the aforementioned "famous" people are making the world worse with their deliriously high status; some have made more egregious offenses, i.e. racist and sexist remarks, and others are just uneducated and soaking up airtime that might be better dedicated to other subjects.

But before we go burning our copies of TIME, let's consider two things.

1.) Let's define the word "influence."
Influence is defined as "the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself." I would, of course, whole-heartedly agree that Laverne Cox and Hilary Clinton exert and deserve a great deal of influence over our country and our world as a whole. But Kim Kardashian isn't on this list for nothing. First of all, I mention her in conversation almost every single day. Why?! Why on Earth am I talking about Kim Kardashian and her Internet-shattering butt when there is social change to advocate for, music to review, books to analyze--hell, even localized school gossip to engage in? Because like it or not, she does exert influence over us. Without any of us wanting it to happen, Kim Kardashian affects our character, development, and behavior on a regular basis. We take people's opinions on Kardashian and her family to be indicators of education level or quality of character. It's completely absurd when you give it a moment's thought, but through borderline-sociopathic media manipulation on the part of Kris Jenner and the Internet's insatiable appetite for celebrity scoops, we are all subject to the goings-on of even the most mundane aspects of their lives. And if that's not influence, I don't know what is.

2.) Let's remember that these lists cannot make or break the fate of the modern world.
Yes, Nash Grier was put on the same list as Malala Yousafzai, even though he has made homophobic and racist 6-second videos and she risked her life to protect education rights for girls in Pakistan. No, those two accomplishments are not commensurate. But is putting Nash Grier on some list--the contents of which will someday be forgotten--going to erase the long-term effects of Yousafzai's heroism and activism? Of course not. There are thousands of brilliant minds, creative spirits, and brave hearts left off this list every year, and a handful of less-than-stellar candidates who make it on. But the unnamed people who are still doing good work will continue to do good work, even as their triumphs go unsung by the mass media. And some day, God-willing, the Internet and iPhone app celebrities will lose the last glimmers of manufactured influence and fade back into relative oblivion with the rest of us.

So there you have it. That's my opinion on the lists that journalists love to make. I would really recommend you read the mini-bios of the people included on the TIME 100; they're beautifully written and quite fascinating (especially considering I've never even heard of many of the people on the list). If I can leave you with one thought, it's this: there's enough room in the world--and on the Internet--for Kylie Jenner to post pictures of her lips on Instagram and for Jazz Jennings to advocate for transgender rights without all of us losing our minds.