Month: February 2021

“The Spins” is the 6th song on Mac Miller’s mixtape K.I.D.S. This mixtape was originally released in 2010, but has regained some popularity after it was put on Spotify last year. This song in particular has been highly played recently because of its popularity on Tik Tok. I have always been a Mac Miller fan because I used to get rides from a kid when I was in middle school who LOVED him. However, I have found myself listening to him a lot more since his death.

To me, this song sounds the way summer feels. The energy of it is unmatched and always makes me want to sing along. It samples “Half Mast’ by Empire of the Sun as the background instrumental, which I think is the perfect fit. The actual lyrics of “Half Mast” are somewhat sad, but Empire of the Sun also has a lot of upbeat energy so it works very well with the vibe of the song. My absolute favorite part of the song is towards the end where ad libs “I just graduated high school” followed by a more excited “oh yeah I just graduated high school!”. I love this part because it describes the feeling right after graduating perfectly. 

Another thing I love about K.I.D.S. being released onto major streaming platforms recently is that it shows us how much Mac Miller progressed as an artist. This mixtape was originally produced when Miller was 18, which in itself is super impressive, but you can definitely tell how young he is when you listen to it. The lyrics of K.I.D.S. are often pretty – for lack of a better word – fratty. There’s a lot about partying, girls, and having fun, which is to be expected from an 18 year old boy. Compared to K.I.D.S, his newer works like Circles and Swimming show a lot more growth and maturity. They contemplate more meaningful themes with more poetic lyrics. While of course this is at part just him growing up and becoming more of an adult, it is still interesting to observe his changes as an artist. It kind of feels like you’re growing up with him, which I think is cool. 

While the party-centric lyrics of “The Spins” can’t compare to the melodical-ness of his later and more popular work, something about the way it captures the feeling of being young secures it as one of my all-time favorite Mac Miller songs. 

 

Kanye West’s fifth studio album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” might be my favorite album of all time. He recorded this album in Hawaii while hiding from the public eye following his famous interruption of Taylor Swift at the MTV Music Video Awards. With the rise of “trap” music, hip hop as a genre has seen a lot of newer rappers focus on themes like sex, violence, drugs, and money. Kanye definitely does address these things, but he also often discusses things like sex, love, fame, and family in this album. Specifically, to me, this album feels like an exploration into his last couple of years in the spotlight. Besides just talking about these themes, the sounds of the songs make sure the listener knows how West is feeling. The highs and lows of his life of fame are shown by the contrasting energies of some tracks, like the upbeat “All of the Lights” vs. melancholy “Runaway”. 

To me, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” feels like a bit of a transition point for West as an artist. Compared to his first four studio albums, this album feels a lot more experimental to me. Songs like “Monster” and “Lost in the World” feel like they deviate from the typical style of his previous albums. This feels like a turning point because this more edgy style continues into the following albums. His next solo album, “Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer” continues to sound more experimental than his four albums previous to “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”. This album feels a lot more over-the-top than earlier works, and in my opinion this was the era where Kanye’s personality became more out-there. So, this album reflects Kanye’s change as both a person and an artist. I like this a lot because it feels like it is truly a piece of self expression. Sometimes popular artists can produce music that feels like they are trying to continue a certain style or appeal to what is trending at the time, so I appreciate the authenticity of this album.

Another thing I love about this album is the features. Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi, Elton John and Bon Iver are among the numerous artists with spots on this album. These features add a lot of depth to the album because of their diverse sounds, so I think that they contribute largely to making the album so interesting. 

Overall, this album is one of my favorites because of how creative and genuine it is. Despite how controversial Kanye West’s character is, he consistently appears as my top Spotify artist of the year because of the quality of his work.

I originally heard the song “It’s Not the Same Anymore” by Rex Orange County in a tik tok about someone’s ex-relationship, and listened to it A LOT over quarantine. It’s a song about growing up and things changing, which really resonated with me over the past few months. Due to everything shutting down because of COVID-19, I often felt like my entire childhood ended one random day in March. I spent a lot of time looking at pictures from the previous four years, which is how this song starts out. As the title suggests, most of the song talks about looking back on previous years of his life. The phrase “it’s not the same anymore”, repeated many times throughout the song, usually implies that there was something about the past that is missed. Not only does he talk about missing the past, he talks about feeling unhappy in his current situation. This is exactly how I felt looking back on my life, and sometimes even still how I feel now. COVID-19 has taken away a lot of the things that I loved and was comfortable with, and it can be pretty easy to feel unsatisfied with the way my life looks currently.

While most of this song feels pretty depressing, it picks up at the end for an upbeat finish to the song and album. The last verse of the song switches into talking about how he has learned a lot from his past and that there is no use in being upset. Then, the final chorus changes into “it’s not the same anymore, it got better,”. This line is also something that resonated with me a lot as I transitioned into college and a new phase of my life. While life isn’t anywhere close to being the same as it was pre-COVID, the new part of my life has brought in a lot of new experiences and people that have lightened my outlook, especially compared to last spring.

I especially like this song because of how it differs from a lot of his other work. When I think of Rex Orange County I think of chill, happy love songs. This song, and the album that contains it, show a new dimension of him to his listeners. Artists often face a lot of criticism for producing music that is different from their usual, so I like how he took a chance releasing an album with new topics. It also incorporates new instruments and sounds to his usual piano and guitar, adds depth to him as an artist. 

Overall, this song does a great job of combining musical elements and lyrics into a piece that really captures the feeling of growing up and being nostalgic. This new style is refreshing for Rex Orange County and definitely has a spot as one of my all-time favorites of his work.

Over the years, I have become a very avid Spotify fan. I will spend hours upon hours messing around with it on my computer. My favorite part about using Spotify as opposed to other music streaming services is how I can see what all of my friends are listening to. This feature has led me to many discoveries of great music. And now I will share them! However, I feel the need to mention that I am not at all musically trained. I know absolutely nothing about harmonies or chords or anything. I am just basing all of this off of what I think sounds good. 

This week, I have found two songs in particular that I am obsessed with. The first song I found this week was “Beige” by Yoke Lore. I actually found this in someone’s instagram video and not on Spotify. The video I found this in was a video a friend of mine made about her first semester of college, and I thought it lined up perfectly with the smiley videos she chose. 

While the title makes it sound as if it is going to be boring or depressing, it is anything but. It starts out very calm, with just vocals and a banjo, but as the song progresses he brings more pieces into the mix that all combine perfectly. Though, the song never loses its relaxing and warm feel. Like a lot of Yoke Lore’s music, this song makes me feel like a movie character. I find this song to be so heartwarming. It’s a love song, made clear by the lyrics. You can feel how much he loves whoever he is writing about through the tone and feel of the song. 

The second song I have been playing on repeat this week is “Mess” by Noah Kahn. I am a big Noah Kahn fan. Besides just sounding good, his music is pretty vulnerable which I enjoy because there is always something I can relate to. In this song, he talks about coming back to his hometown after being away for his career. As is the song title, he sings about feeling like he needs to come home because he is a mess. While I am absolutely not traveling across the country to pursue a career, I could relate to this feeling being away at school for the first time. There were a lot of times I felt like I had no idea what I was doing and missed the familiarness of home. The combination of the lyrics and the upbeat but also melancholic sounds captures perfectly this feeling of being overwhelmed and homesick. 

Both of these songs I have found fit very well with my life recently. Thinking about how much I love and am excited to see my school friends as I go back, but also knowing I am going to miss the familiar and calm of home. Overall, two great songs that I have been playing over and over recently. 

https://open.spotify.com/track/0FfZudphGgQTGeEV6AhmOs?si=PPaQqCLMSye76I1uEMVjog

https://open.spotify.com/track/1BlQWQgGP84r4GYUVty4Ar?si=IlLJ4sFzTC6q5grPcYlixA