mood

Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor Op. posthumous

I didn't make a "songs this month" post because April wasn't really much of a listening month (oh wait... Kendrick Lamar's DAMN and Joey Bada$$'s All Amerikkkan Badass or whatever it's called both came out this month and they were both amazing........ please give them a listen. Joey Badass' stuff was kinda cool it sounded old school, not that I know anything about old school hip hop, but I don't know, just like the lyrics and the structure sounded very classic and like... it was nice. I'm not very good at talking about this since I'm very ignorant though.)

I've been listening to this new playlist I made of Chopin's Nocturnes and Mendelssohn's Songs without words and whenever I study I put it on because it's music I've heard a thousand times. I used to only really recognise songs I've played before, but I've listened to Mendelssohn so much (he's my 3rd top played artist at almost 1000 plays since August 2014) that every one of his pieces make me go "that's so familiar! I've played this piece before!" when I've only played one before but now I don't know which one it is anymore. One of the Venetian Gondola pieces.

Whenever this Nocturne comes up it makes my heart swell a little (it's mainly the little trills and then that fall after them... that is so my thing). It has such story to it I think. There's a melancholy aspect that I'm always down for but it also has more uplifting parts. It feels like the kind of song you'd play in the car and the camera is focused on the passing landscape (rolling Yorkshire hills à la David Hockney, but with a grey sky) from the passenger window and the person sitting in the passenger seat is moving their hand around slowly... maybe the window is open and they're letting the breeze trail their fingers. And the people in the car are on their way to somewhere vague and they're just talking about life and the passenger closes their eyes and smells that fresh air, the way it smells a couple hours before it's going to rain. And when the arpeggios (oh god I haven't played piano in a year is that what they're called) happen in the end they arrive at their destination and this is the day they fall in love.

I've been so romantic lately!!! I think it's because I watched both Paterson and Moonlight and La La Land and those are some of the most romantic films I've ever seen in my life.

There are birds tweeting really loudly and brashly. I can hear them even though I'm playing music and all the doors are closed. They're almost as annoying as when you wake up on the International Award hike at 5:50 AM and watch the daylight stream in through your musty tent and just lie there in your damp little sleeping bag, listening to that stupid morning bird go "huhu! hu! huhu! ... huhu! hu! huhu!" over and over again, like, doesn't it ever get tired? I would if I did nothing but that for three hours. Then you'd clamber out of the tent and put on your dirty shoes and socks and walk through that crunchy grass imbued with heavy dew and go take a piss, all the while shivering and terrified something is going to attack you and this is how you're gonna go... bare butt. I actually heard that same bird again a couple of weeks ago out of the blue somewhere and it took me immediately back to those moments. It's so vivid for me.

Songs this month #3

• And July - Heize

Spotify has been explicitly trying to turn me to Korean music for ages and, in an effort to up my discover scores on Last.fm, I have finally given in. I have allowed them to throw whatever they can at me. My discover playlists are pretty much all Korean. I even listened to BTS for an afternoon but didn't really like it. Anyway, I love the bridge from the verse to the hook in this song (if that's what the term is?). Also I just checked out the music video and it's so cute - it's about two roommates who hate each other and pull pranks.

• Antes de huir - Natalia Lafourcade

Oh my god so after last month I checked out Natalia Lafourcade and her voice is so cute and girly and her music is so nice I love her!!!!!! She's so sweet!!! 

• The Middle of the World - Nicholas Britell

I can't wait to become best friends with Barry Jenkins!!!!!!!!

• Some - Steve Lacy

This is just so nice, I love the vibe so much. I can't believe he's like my age, what the hell... The songs just sound so familiar even though I've never heard them before. They really hit home. It's so... groovy! And I just looked at the video and it's so pure and adorable OH MY GOD HE JUST GOT HIT BY A CAR WHAT THE HELL

• 全世界谁倾听你 - Yoga Lin

This is the most Li Jian song I've ever heard and it's not even by Li Jian.

Songs this month #2

• Cello concerto in E minor, Op. 85, I: Adagio-Moderato - Edward Elgar

I've been listening to the Cello 50 playlist on Spotify all month. I love the cello. It's so soothing. If I ever have children I would highly encourage them to play the cello. It's just such an elegant and beautiful instrument. Not as weird as oboe or bassoon, but not as mainstream as piano or violin. This piece gets me jammin'. It's so exquisite and then it gets really loud and intense and amazing.

• Demolition Lovers - My Chemical Romance

This song is so emo. I love it. MCR's first album is not appreciated enough. I've been listening to MCR a lot lately when I work on stuff for art, because I'm so used to the music that it just becomes background noise, which helps me focus.

• Better - Sam Rui

I can't believe this is actually her voice. It just sounds so unreal. But I watched an unplugged version of "Better" and she talks normally (in a very cool Singaporean accent) then when she starts singing it's like... how...? I really like this song and the music video is really aesthetic. She sings about how she's totally over her ex and his new girlfriend is really lame, but it's obvious she's still really hurt, so in that way the lyrics are cool.

• 你是我最心爱的姑娘 - Hsiao Ching-teng 

Is calling Mr. Hsiao by his Wade-Giles (beurk) name better than acknowledging that his English name is Jam, as in confiture? (Or does he pronounce it "jaym" like some kind of heathen?) I'd use pinyin, but his last name being spelled as Hsiao has already been established so it would be weird and inconsistent. His band, Lion (which is a very mediocre band name with a very ugly logo. Its official color is bright orange, for God's sake), is in this year's 我是歌手 (or whatever it's called now that Korean-imprint shows have been banned) and one of their performances was a cover of this Wang Feng song, which I liked so much that I actually ripped the audio from Youtube and stuck it in my playlist. That's dedication right there. ... Okay, I won't lie, I made a playlist of around 20 of his best songs and listened to it a lot this month. I spiralled back into the 10th circle of hell: Jam Hsiao.

• Amor, Amor de mis amores - Natalia Lafoucarde ft. Devendra Banhart

I looked up Devendra Banhart and his music is so cute. But this song is just the cutest. It's so pure, and clear. Like a spring morning by the seaside in the 1930s with your betrothed. 

Songs this month #1

Seb's blog gave me the idea to also do my top 5 songs each month... I guess it can reflect my mood and things that are taking place in life! So it's 5 days into February but anyways...

• Caroline - Aminé

This song is so cute! It was very much a summer song and I don't pay attention to charts so I never got to know this until end of January when it was played at a birthday party. I watched the music video and I found it adorable. Not to be a grumpy old man who says all the music videos these days have butts and drugs! but I was happy it wasn't about butts and drugs. It was just Aminé and his friends having fun in the sunshine, laying in the grass, goofing off. The song is also really nice and has a really strong beat. It's full of sunshine! Something to warm up the winter.

• Eastside - Bohan Phoenix

Bohan's new EP came out at the end of this January. I actually didn't really like the title track JALA. I don't know why. I guess it sounded a little too similar to his previous work, or maybe I'm just not in the mood for such a hyped, excited, jumping-up-and-down-in-a-restaurant track. I mean, it's winter... I'm also a little embarrassed to listen to Group Exercise because it's so sexual, so I never added it into my playlist. Eastside was a bit of a surprise. It's slow and quite contemplative, with really interesting production. A gentle, nostalgic, thoughtful song. Like a Sunday afternoon. The featured artist was also really nice. The other two songs with the Higher Brothers were great, with such strong flow. So I guess I liked these featured tracks. I like that Bohan is constantly developing his sound and just generally having a lot of fun.

• Redbone - Childish Gambino

I think I listened to this when it first came out, but for me the first listen never really registers. I heard it again on the bus on the way to Chamonix and it's so great. I love the pulsing 80s sound and how romantic it sounds. (Don't know what to think of the title, though. I know Childish Gambino has often been accused of misogynoir and Asian fetishism amongst other things. And people got upset that Frank Ocean used "redbone" in like one line in one of his songs, but I personally haven't encountered any discourse on this song... I haven't sought it out though.)

• Oceans - Frank Iero and the Patience

Ah, My Chemical Romance. My first love. My lifelong companion. The Seb to my Mia in La La Land: "I'm always gonna love you." I listened to Frank's solo work this month and found myself drawn to Oceans in a visceral manner. It's very painful and full of angst. I love it! It squeezes my heart.

• Words Don't Come Easy - Mamamoo

Around the new year I decided to foray into K-pop. I kept an open mind. However I found myself disliking a lot of the work. Not disliking... just didn't have a spark I guess. I don't like that polished veneer of perfectly-produced pop songs. It didn't really interest me. I went through a lot of girl groups and boy bands. Just as I was going to give up, I found... Mamamoo! Wow! This group is so great. Their sound is a mix of soul and R'n'B and jazz and it's just so appealing. And of course they have that minor-key Asian pop dramatic chorus too. I love this band.