Music Monday: Chocolate Music + More

Today's Music Monday is brought to you by Procrastination and the fact that I should probably finish writing my four page paper on patriarchy in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. But alas, I'm writing about something that brings more joy to life - music.

Today was a good day in chocolate music. What exactly is chocolate music? Chocolate music is the term I give to music that seems to meld RnB with Alternative. Chocolate music is very reliant on vocals and also ranges, sonically, with a cappella. Chocolate music is the music you light candles and sit in a jacuzzi, full of bubbles, in the dark to. Let the soft flames and the darkness sooth you. 

With that being said, this week's Music Monday is for Chocolate music, and some other good tunes to relax and chill to. In other words, this paper not getting done tonight.

1. Thirdstory - Hotline Bling (Drake Cover)

I found this today listening to Aquilo's "Better Off Without You" taken from their Human EP. Thirdstory features three amazing musicians who, together, make up a beautiful harmony. The nerves in my fingers tremble when I hear the song. It sounds like something I'd wake up to on a Saturday morning and start cleaning.  

2. Aquilo - I Don't Want to See It

3. #1 Dads (feat Tom Snowdon) - Two Weeks (FKA Twigs Cover)

This song is an experience. Harmonizing vocals and soulful energy puts a brilliant, unexpected twist on one of FKA Twigs' most popular songs. Who knew a song about taking someone's man could be so majestic. It's like, "I'll take you from your girl" but dressed up in late 90s Vintage Givenchy. 

4. Little Dragon - Twice

5. Seinabo Sey - Poetic

Delirium and the Dynamic Energy of Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding's sound in Delirium symbolizes an evolution of sorts. She's gone full pop. Some of Delirium's lyrics seem very teenage girlish, but that's true of mainstream pop. If you buy red velvet cake, you'd expect it to taste like red velvet, right?

The night before the release I listened to some of Goulding's features the night before listening to her collab with Tinie Tempah "Wonderman" and her beautifully orchestrated vocals on Active Child's "Silhouette". The latter, released two years ago" is an exact opposite of the sound on Delirium. 

The album's first half is much more vibrant and hit-worthy than the middle, picking back up with "I Do What I Love" and "Paradise". As someone who remembers a more restrained Goulding, the album seems to have a lot going on. I stopped at "Codes", my favorite song on the album, before going back just to listen to Halcyon, her sophomore album. Something about the album felt more peaceful. (Duh, the name of the album is Halcyon which literally means "peaceful" and "content").  If anything, it shows Goulding has the great skill of genre range. Her cover of "Some Nights" as well as her duet with American folk singer Lissie on "Everywhere I Go" proves so. Delirium is punch after punch and at times it gets tiring after a bit.

Don't get me wrong! The album is great to jam to and the songs that work really work. "Don't Panic" is a great pop piece, and it'd be wild if it's not a single. Ellie Goulding herself said she's trying to step away from the image of the folky singer type. As someone going through their own trials of reinvention, it's a completely natural thing to do. She works very well as a pop star. Excellent, I should say as Delirium is definitely full of pop bangers. But songs like "Silhouette" "Hanging On" and many others that made folk-indie Ellie will be missed. 

Top Five Songs In Order: Codes, Don't Panic, Paradise, Aftertaste, On My Mind,

Raury, Chic-Fil-A, and A Story For Certain People.

All We Need is a cohesive piece of work in what people call conscious rap. The music is an inspiring mix of hip hop and folk, borrowing guitars and minimalist percussion behind singing-rapping vocals. Tracks like "Forbidden Knowledge" and "Revolution" are lyrically powerful. The album isn't boring as one would think after mixing folk music and conscious rap. 

The performance at U St. Music Hall, however, was less peace, but more shouting, energy, and theatre. If there's one thing you can say, Raury is a passionate performer. I enjoyed his show like a Chic-Fil-A sandwich (that too was also made in Georgia).  It was a good follow-up from the energetic trippy set from Sunny & Gabe, duo from Virginia. The lighting set the environment with color, from patriotic reds, whites, and blues to a bold yellow, a thematic color for the new album.

The pinky in the air thing felt weird, and the calling of people in the crowd to talk to each other felt out of place; almost like those uncomfortable moments in church. Every Black person knows what I'm talking about. 

Oddly enough, I've been learning and reading more and more about hip-hop and rap. I've been reading material from Jared Ball, founder of IMixWhatILike. Just recently I met M.K Asante-  noted writer, rapper, filmmaker, amongst a host of other things- at the MAWA Writer's Conference. I purchased his books Buck and It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop. 

Learning about hip-hop's roots, capitalism, and consumption - all being new to me these past two weeks - this concert experience felt odd. Slightly uncomfortable, if I'm being truly honest.

During the concert, I was surrounded by cool urban white kids; the ones that gentrify neighborhoods and, without irony, wear Supreme. There was this one girl who, apparently not knowing how to vibe, kept pushing me to the side. I had to wonder if these kids were the neoliberal types who say #BlackLivesMatter but call protestors whiny (see #AUCShutItDown). Even worse, I went to a hip-hop community on a popular forum site to look at other reviews of the album. I should've known better. The words "Pretentious" and "pseudo-intellectual" filled the conversation, if not for "average". This attitude is reflected in reviews from respected publications as well such as The Guardian and Pitchfork. Maybe they missed the mark. Maybe they need to go to church. Maybe they need to get some Chic-Fil-A half-n-half and cool down a bit; it takes a lot of energy to hate. 

The album speaks, to me, a vision. Although wrapped in the sappiness of flower-child hippie-kidness, the message and the lyrics still bode powerful and honest. Trap Tears tells a sad story that the hip hop community may be all too familiar with (even Taylor Swift is a trap queen apparently.) Forbidden Knowledge may have been too much for a few folks, especially considering America is so tired of talking about racism (a Black man said it too, it must be true!). 

In summary, All We Need is a great album. Raury's performance chops continues to grow. Hip-hop is continuously consumed and castrated for dollars. Black lives matter. I want some Chic-Fil-A. The end.

My Very First Music Monday Post!

Music is a big part of my life and so you don't really know me unless you know the music I listen too. I've noticed some people blogging about Music Mondays and figured why not? Today was actually a pretty good day for me as far as music goes.

My All-Time Favorite Band Florence + the Machine released a double video, melding "Queen of Peace" and "Long and Lost" into one story about two families and a love that, unfortunately, couldn't bring them together. QOP might be my third favorite song on her latest album, How Big How Blue How Beautiful. "Which Witch" takes the top spot and the title track is tied between "Various Storms and Saints" for number two. But the song has this magical cinematic essence to it. I thought about it while watching the Battle of Hogwarts last night. The video is beautiful and the cinematography just showcases the detail of director Vincent Haycock's work.

In my quest to find interesting Black musicians to listen to, I stumbled upon a singer named Connie Constance, which is interestingly what I call my sister and her first name together. This girl has a voice! I repeat, THIS GIRL HAS A VOICE! Constance is a singer-songwriter from LDN who's new release "Stars" just makes me want to build a spaceship in the courtyard. "Want to leave Earth and learn to live on Mars" she says continuing the theme of space throughout the song. The song feels vast and open as space itself. The beautiful layering of sounds and the storytelling lyrics caught made me go through several emotions on the light rail as I headed to work. I also went through many megabytes of data, with replay after replay of the song. But of course, I wouldn't talk about it and not spread the good word. Check out the song here.

Meanwhile, I've been listening and loving Niki and the Dove again. "Last Night", "Gentle Roar" and "Somebody" continue to capture me, reminding me that it's been three years since any new music from the group. (No, "Rock You" with Kleerup doesn't really count. Neither does "Safe With You") I'm not sure how I feel about Strange Talk's transition from indie pop to electro (and the reduction to two members). Empress Of's Kitty Kat probably has 76 plays and counting. 

It's been a good week in music for me.