Year 6, Day 288

Good Morning! Today's song is Promises by Calvin Harris and Sam Smith.

Happy Leap Year! It might just be because my birthday falls in this month, but I love keeping track of the leap years. Anyway, both these guys are huge names with long careers so I'm going to do a very bare bones overview for them. Calvin Harris is Adam Wiles, and has been around since 1999. In that time he's released five albums, the first in 2007 and the most recent in 2017. He done lots of touring throughout, and has been nominated for over 100 awards, and won more than 30 of those. Sam Smith is an English singer active since 2007. Since then he's released two albums, the first in 2014 and another due to be out within the next few months. He's also been nominated for 74 awards, winning 29 of those. He's also made headlines though his career for coming out about his sexual orientation and identifying a non-binary, which I applaud him for taking such a public stance. The people not in the spotlight who feel the same way need a good role model to look to and know that how they feel is normal. If you want to know more about their careers, you can look it up in depth, but that's all from me for now.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 287

Good Morning! Today's song is Trumpets by Jason Derulo.

I've done other Jason Derulo songs so I'm pretty sure I've already done a write up before and wont do one today. Instead I'm looking for some input. I'm making some coat of arms for characters in a book series to go on the covers that I'm making for the book, but I'm stuck on what to put on the mantling for vampires who turn into mist. It's the last of the mantling I have to do because I figured out the rest, but what do you even do for that? Mist? How do you draw that. I need some ideas because I'm at a loss. So give that a think and let me know what you come up with.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 286

Good Morning! Today's song is Out Of Love by Two Friends featuring Cosmos & Creature.

Two Friends is a DJ duo made up of Eli Sones and Matthew Halper. They've been around since 2011 when they formed the group after high school. They both had musical aspirations that went in different directions, but decided to focus on electronic music after a trip to Coachella. The first four years they worked long distance because they went to universities in different States, then reunited in 2015 to pursue music full time. They have lots of singles, as well as two EP's out in 2013 and in 2017. Cosmos & Creature is a duo made up of Molly Moore and Brandyn Burnette, and have been around since 2016. They've both produced songs for other artists, and have toured with some big names. They've got some singles under this name, but they both also have their own projects so if you want to see more you can look them up individually.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 285

Good Morning! Today's song is For The Love by Hearts & Colors.

This is a duo from Sweden who've been active since 2014. Philip Tillström & Nicolai Kjellberg started off posting covers on YouTube. They signed with a label and released a song by a producer named Andrelli that did really well. Now they're signed to a new label and creating their own music. Since then, they've released four singles in 2018 and I'm sure have more on the way.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 284

Good Morning! Today's song is Wasteland by Against The Current.

Against The Current has been active since 2011 and is currently made up of Chrissy Costanza, Dan Gow, and Will Ferri. Their first EP came out in 2014, followed quickly by another in 2015. They toured for the EP through that year, then released their debut album in 2016. In 2017 they collaborated with a gaming company and made the music for the League of Legends World Championship that year. Since then they've been releasing more singles, so if you like it check out some of their other stuff.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 283

Good Morning! Today's song is If You're Hearing This by Hook N Sling, Parson James, and Betty Who.

So Hook N Sling is Anthony Maniscalco, an Australian songwriter, producer, and DJ whose been active since 2007. He has four EP's as well as a bunch of singles, and has been nominated for an ARIA. Parson James is an American singer whose been active since 2015 when he signed with a label. He has collaborated with other artists like Kygo, and had an EP out in 2016 with plans for an album to follow. I can't find much about if that happened or not, but maybe you will. So Betty Who is Jessica Anne Newham whose been active since 2010 and who I've featured before. She's had five EP's and three albums to date, the most recent out in 2019. I can't tell if this song is a full collaboration, or if it's one specific artist with people featured, so we're giving credit to all three. So check out the song.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 282

Good Morning! Today's song is Sway by Tove Stryke.

Photo by: Johan Jönsson

Tove Stryke is a Swedish singer active since 2009 when she went on Swedish Idol and came in third place.  Her debut album came out in 2010, and she got nominated for a Grammisgalan in 2012. She signed with a UK label in 2013, then released an EP in 2014. She did a couple performance for the EP, then released her second album in 2015, with a third in 2018. This is one artist that I spent months trying to get my sister to listen to, then when I stopped harassing her she found a song on her own and showed it to me. She was so proud of herself for finding a new artist that I didn't know and I just kind of stared at her. In the end though it really doesn't matter how you find music, as long as you find something and like it. So give this one a try.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 281

Good Morning! Today's song is Too Soon by Vanic featuring Maty Noyes.

Vanic is Jesse Hughes, a Canadian DJ active since since as early as 2014. He had been in business school, but dropped out to pursue music, and got featured on a song by Machineheart which went viral. He signed to a label in 2016 and released his debut single. He's now got seven singles so far, along with a smattering of remixes. Maty Noyes has been active since 2015 when she got featured on a single by The Weekend. She got that by using the better to ask forgiveness than permission mentality by putting her voice on the track and then letting him listen to it. Then she wrote a sng and sent it to Kygo, leading to the next single she was featured on. Since then she's released two EP's and a handful of singles, so go check out that stuff if you're interested.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 280

Good Morning! Today's song is I'm A Mess by Bebe Rexha.

Photo by: Justin Higuchi

So Bebe Rexha is her stage name, and her real name is Bleta Rexha. Bleta means Bee in Albanian, so the stage name makes sense. She's been active since 2010 and is another on the list of people brought in through Pete Wentz. She started as the lead singer of one of his experimental groups called Black Cards. Then in 2012 she left the group, signing as a solo artist in 2013. She wrote songs for lots of other artists, most notably The Monster by Eminem and Rihanna before her debut singles started coming out in 2014. By 2015 she had an EP. As of now she's added two more EP's and an album, and has done songs featuring so many huge artists. It's something that always confused me because she seemed green but then was working with all these hugely famous people, but she came out of the gate already having a connection to them. It's pretty cool, so check her out.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 279

Good Morning! Today's song is Girls Will Be Girls by Sophie Beem.

Sophie Beem is a pretty new singer, around since 2016. She auditioned for The X Factor in 2012, but it seems like that didn't really lead to anything. Then in 2016 she got signed by Beyonce to an artist development deal which sounds kind of like a internship for artists where they do the job, but are also developing their skills. She released her debut EP in 2016, then toured with Charlie Puth, followed by a tour with Beyonce, Chloe x Halle and Ingrid. Since then it's been quiet, but we'll have to wait and see.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 278

Good Morning! Today's song is Blow Your Mind (Mwah) by Dua Lipa.

So Dua Lipa is an Englsih singer who has been active since 2015, although she was signed in 2013. Before music, she was a model, but stopped when her manager told her to lose weight, which fuck whoever that was. She got paid to leave a watressing job to work with a management company as a singer, then when she co-wrote a song, it interested Warner music who she signed with in 2015. Since then she's released two albums and with just those has been nominated a whopping 85 times for awards, winning 35 of them. Hell of a start to her career. Anyway hope you enjoy!

Peace.

Year 6, Day 277

Good Morning! Today's song is Real Love by Florrie.

I went with my grandma today to take my grandpa to dialysis and we hung around in the area until he was done so we had about four hours to kill. A long lunch (for us) took the first hour, then we did an hour in Chapters, about twenty minutes at Best Buy and then Second Cup for an hour to read before heading back to wait. I tried to find some books I've been looking for while in Chapters and let me tell you, it's awkward as hell looking for romance books with your grandma nearby. I ended up only getting three of the ones I was looking for because the rest had covers I would be embarrassed to have anyone look at. It's a fantasy romance book, how about a dark castle on it instead of a shirtless man please! I picked up a history of mythology book too that looked interesting to hide the other books. Good thing too because when my grandpa found out I had bought things, he wanted to see. I'm now seriously working on finding a solution to cover books that wont just fall apart after a month so I can hide the awkward covers in favor of something I think would be better. Tell me, what's the most embarrassing thing you've ended up buying with family? I'm sure some people have pretty traumatizing stories to share.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 276

Good Morning! Today's song is Shake It Out by Florence + the Machine.

So Florence and the Machine has been around since 2007, and I can't find a picture of all the members together so I'm very sorry to the musicians, but the group is made up of lots of people including Florence Welch, Isabella Summers, Robert Ackroyd, Tom Monger, Loren Humphrey, Cyrus Bayandor, Hazel Mills, Aku Orraca-Tetteh, and Dionne Douglas. The name comes from an inside joke from Florence and Isabella whose nickname was machine. They have four albums to date, the first one from 2009 and the most recent one from 2018. I have two songs from this band to show you and I can almost guarantee you know the other one, but I'll hold off on that. I think I actually featured this song before, but it was a cover version so today we're giving props where it's due to the original artist. Enjoy.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 275

Good Morning! Today's song is Fake Happy by Paramore.

So my birthday yesterday got a little bit better once I turned my phone off and basically spent the day in seclusion. At first I was still reaching for my phone, but once I got used to it, it was actually super cathartic. My anxiety level went way down. So if you guys need to, and obviously let someone close to you know that your phone is going to be off so they don't panic, then spend the day without that open line to the world. I barely use my phone, and it still affected me. Think of it as a weird social experiment. At the end of the day tell me how it makes you feel.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 274

Good Morning! Today's song is Birthday by All Time Low.

So it's my birthday today, and honestly it kind of already sucks. And by that I mean for someone who doesn't cry, I've done it three times and it isn't even noon yet. So when I'm having a bad day, I revert to the things that make me feel good/ not so alone. Hence, the All Time Low. They always make me feel better, and I had this song saved to use, plus with the name it was just a given for today. So I hope you enjoy it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 273

Good Morning! Today's song is Animal by Neon Trees.

I know I've featured these guys before, but I wasn't sure if I had written about them, so I'll do a quick one. These guys have been around since 2005 and are currently made up of Tyler Glenn, Chris Allen, Branden Campbell, and Elaine Bradley. They have three albums to date, with the latest out in 2014, although they have been releasing singles since then. This song is one of their older ones so listen to it and then go compare it to the newer stuff. It's fun to see the evolution.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 272

Good Morning! Today's song is Black Sheep covered by Brie Larson.

Yes, this is technically a cover song and the original version is by Metric. But I prefer Brie Larson's voice on it. It's from the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which I haven't actually seen. I don't know, it just didn't really interest me. But I saw this clip on YouTube and was intrigued so I clicked it. Obsessive repeat listens ensued, and now I wanted to share it with you. I knew Brie Larson could sing because I'm pretty sure I actually featured her before way back when, but her voice just lends itself to this song so well that I found a new appreciation for her. So check it out, and if you're curious check out the film. Tell me what you think.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 271

Good Morning! Today's song is Brand New Moves by Hey Violet.

I've already featured these guys before, but today felt like the perfect time to slot them in again so here you go. It's funny looking at newer pictures of the group because their style is so odd compared to what I have in my closet. Maybe it's a musician thing? I think the weirdest fashion thing I've ever owned were bedazzled sneakers, just jewels eveywhere. I only wore them once. What is the weirdest thing you've ever had in your closet? I'm super curious to know.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 270

Good Morning! Today's song is Plugged In by *repeat repeat.

Okay I don't have an official bio on these guys so bear with me. They're from Nashville and are made up of Kristyn Cor der, Jared Corder, and Andy Herrin. They're described as a "surf rock candy band" which means absolutely nothing but when you listen to this song and think about that description it actually makes sense. I'm sure they've been around longer, but they had an album out in 2017 which is where this song is from, and have another album that came out last year. I really like their sound so I hope you guys check them out.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 269

Good Morning! Today's song is Genius by Written by Wolves.

I've already written about these guys so instead I want to talk about the weird things we find flattering. Like for instance, I was talking to Anna about my inability to be nicer to my sister's husband and she said "your coldness is the most powerful form of horrible" and I found that super flattering? It sounds not at all good, but I know she meant it to be that way and I was fully proud of myself for this comment. I just thought it was odd, so I wondered if there was anything someone has said to you that sounds bad, but that you were proud of? Let me know.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 268

Good Morning! Today's song is Floral & Fading by Pierce The Veil.

So these guys have been active since 2006 and are made up of Vic Fuentes, Tony Perry, and Jaime Preciado with one former member being Mike Fuentes. The brothers had been in another band called Before Today, but that group split up in 2006, leading them to start this band. It started as just them, still signed with their old label, releasing their first album in 2007. The name is inspired by a song title from their old band, one called A Celebration of an Ending. The other tow joined the group in time to tour, which they did with so many bands I cannot name them all. They've also played at a bunch of festivals, and the brothers were briefly part of a supergroup called Isles & Glaciers in 2008. In 2009 the band moved, then released their next album in 2010 followed by more festivals and tours. They signed with a new label in 2011, and spent 2012 teasing and promoting their next album. They did a bunch of touring and released another album in 2016 before statutory rape allegations caught up with Mike Fuentes in 2017. He stepped down from the band, and the rest of the guys kept going and are apparently working on another album. I'm not going to take about the allegations because I don't really know anything about it, and I really have enough going on in my life without digging into it to learn enough information to form an opinion. So take what you will, and look it up if you want. Otherwise that's it for today.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 267

Good Morning! Today's song is Don't Bring Me Down by Electric Light Orchestra.

Can I just say I love you to the two or three people who legitimately are checking my blog everyday? I have no idea who you guys are, or what you think of my tastes and random ranting on these posts, but I genuinely get happy seeing that you guys are still around checking it out consistently. Make me feel even better (and also guilty) that you're still here loyal to the blog despite my utterly bad job keeping on time as of that. So anyway, just wanted to say thank you to you guys. You're keeping me going with this when I keep thinking about giving up on getting it down, and promise I will make it to the end of this year for you. Hope you're all doing well.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 266

Good Morning! Today's song is I Want To Break Free by Queen.

I've featured Queen many times, but this time I'm doing it after literally just watching Bohemian Rhapsody. I've put off watching it even though I've heard great things so I could write this fresh. Rami was a perfect choice for the role. The beginning made me feel so awkward, so much second hand embarrassment which I know they were going for, but oh I hate it so. Showing them experimenting in the booth is fantastic and I hope that is accurate. I also like getting to know Mary a little bit because even though it's weird seeing the character with a woman, she was a huge part of Freddie's life. The pacing of the film isn't perfect and I was pretty surprised that I came out of the movie actually liking Freddie less than I did before. I know he had a difficult time, but I feel more for Mary's plight than his because the man she loved didn't love her, but she stayed because he still couldn't live without her. And as fame got to his head he treated the rest of the band a little like shit which is a big no-no. They all obviously still loved him, and he eventually found himself and found happiness with his partner, it's just hard to watch that. Overall it was a good movie. I wished it would have been more about all of them together, but it is a pretty good tribute to their music. I really appreciated the showcasing of how each of them wrote some of the bigger hits, because I know most people (myself included) have overhyped frontmen for bands when it comes to hits. It's a lesson about looking up the things you really like to appreciate the right people and give credit where credit is due. If you guys are fans of Queen, I recommend the movie. It's got some of their best songs in it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 265

Good Morning! Today's song is Some Nights by Fun.

I did technically show this song before, but it was a cover version that someone did, and this band is talented enough that it's not fair to show a cover and not showcase them. Anyway, a random story for you. I started bingeing some shows on Netflix while I was catsitting for my sister, and I ended up watching the entirety of the Witcher, which was super confusing, but once you accept that nothing makes sense, it's actually a pretty good show. I told my sister though that she wouldn't like it because she never has the patience for slower, semi-confusing, period pieces. She decided she wanted to watch it anyway. She hasn't made it too far into the show because again, her tolerance of not understanding shows is low. But a thing she is doing is learning the Toss A Coin To Your Witcher song on guitar. And she was me to learn the lyrics. It's pretty entertaining. Every time I'm on the phone with her suddenly you hear a strum then she starts in on this tavern tune as if she is a bard. Weirdo music kid. Anyway you guys should check out that show if you're curious, and if you have watched it already, tell me what you thought.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 264

Good Morning! Today's song is Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra.

This song has been popping up in my recommended on YouTube for days so I finally gave in and am featuring it since it's been long enough now that we might be able to stomach this overplayed song. Gotye is Wouter De Backer, whose been active since 2001. He started a band when he was in high school called Downstares, then when they went their separate ways after school, he started working on his solo project. He chose the name Gotye because that's what his name translates into in French and was a pet name from his childhood (although he gave it funky spelling). He continued as Gotye, but is also part of a duo called The Basics, which had four albums as of 2010. As Gotye he has three albums out, the most recent in 2011, but he's been active in the industry since then, with lots of shows, his own label, and some singles. Kimbra Lee Johnson is a New Zealand singer whose been active since 2000. She has three albums, all from after 2011, and has a couple of Grammy's thanks to the feature in this song. Her career is pretty full of stuff, but I'm already running late, so you'll have to check it out yourself.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 263

Good Morning! Today's song is Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars.

Today is the one year anniversary of a big train accident that killed three people. Sammy is having a bad day, struggling with it because she knew all of them. It doesn't help that the investigator has come out publicly about the company trying to cover up the accident by "misplacing" evidence. It's a huge deal. Now of course, Sammy is with a different company now, but still works as a railroader which is a scary job. Probably why they make so much money. I don't know if she'll stay at this place longer than a year, but I hope at least she stays safe. So this is a big reminder to all of your guys to be vigilant when it comes to safety. Anything can happen and the only variable you can control is yourself. Stay safe.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 262

Good Morning! Today's song is Superstition by Stevie Wonder.

I think someone broke into to somebody's car in the parkade of my building. I came home from pet sitting and ran into a set of cops wandering around checking everything out not once, but twice. I probably look suspicious as hell to them, but whatever I live here. I already wrote about Stevie Wonder so I'm not going to again, besides I'm reasonably sure this song has transcended generations and is still well known today. It fits my mood right now, so I hope you enjoy it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 261

Good Morning! Today's song is Disco Inferno by The Trammps.

I figured if I was doing disco I might as well go all the way. This band has been around since 1972 under this name, although early versions of the group were The Volcanos and The Moods. This song came out in 1976, then was re-released as part of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and has been a huge hit since. The song was actually inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and has had mini resurgences because of meme culture. The former lead singer dies in 2012, but a different version of the band was still releasing music as of 2014. They're still technically active too so check them out.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 260

Good Morning! Today's song is That's The Way (I Like It) by KC and the Sunshine Band.

I've already written about these guys this year so I'm not going to do it again. I've somehow ended up in a disco phase as I'm going through the older songs and I have to admit I don't hate it. Disco has a place still in this world if you're in the mood for it. Sure, usually now we look back on it and cringe about the disco era and what it brought, but I can guarantee some of the things we love today we're going to cringe about later. At least disco was fun albeit weird. I'll never experience its raw essence since I'm a 90's baby, but I appreciate it for what it was. I hope you do too.

Peace.