Fresh Friday Finds 9/20

I am all about discovering new music so I thought I would make a quick post on Friday's of fresh finds in music. Either new songs released or new artists or a new genre. 

This week I re-discovered an artist who has a really unique voice. The artists name is ionnalee and the songs I heard is from her new album called CLOSE YOUR EYES. She is a Swedish artist who I first heard from her song 'Remember the Future' I liked by her on Spotify and I really vibed with it. The songs message is how we forget our dreams and child-like hopes of the future and to hold onto that because this, where you are right now, is not the ending. I really liked that message and its something I always need to keep in mind when my brain tries to drag me down. 

The songs I have liked the most so far on the new album are "la la love" and "not your cherry".  I really like her voice. It is very ethereal and soothing. Writing this post while listening makes me want to listen to her other songs now. She has a pretty extensive album spread, with the first one dated 2010. Apparently they started as a audiovisual online project under the name iamamiwhoami which she used a kickstarted for her own world tour. Crazy. She has released some songs in Swedish as well, which is kinda cool. 

If you want to check out a Spotify playlist of all her songs, you can check that out here- https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3verceSLRCaXfH19THiHNH?si=f103a54173234337 

I'm not your cherry

I'm not using your worn vocabulary

It's not my song, you sing it

I'll be over here forever dancing in the rain

(Love)

Blues

My grandfather loved the blues so I decided to create a playlist of songs that either make me think about him or that he would like. I uploaded some CD’s that were given to me that he used to listen to with Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, and one was called Absolutely the Best of the Blues with various artists. I even added my own from Kenny Wayne Shepherd and this artist named Gary Clark Jr. has been bringing the blues sound back. He is very talented. I highly suggest to listen to Gary Clark Jr.’s song The Healing and get some healing of your own. Music heals. Even across generations it has a way of connecting us all if we let it. I hope blues makes a comeback. There has not been much variety of sound when it comes to rock. I mean each band has their own sound yes but as far as their being other genres within rock like psychedelic or blues I have not seen much of in the past.

One year I finally discovered the band The Black Keys and devoured their numerous albums. One of them is even called El Camino, which my grandpa had one we kept and took family pictures with after he passed. I really love the bluesy sound to their music. Their music has evolved and changed over the years so not everything sounds bluesy but the ones that are I love even more. I am pretty sure that the song Howling for You was the first song I heard by them and it’s not very bluesy. I am still in love with the song Little Black Submarines and will never forget when Johnny Depp played with them on stage- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNKE5LYC0lw

The trick I use on Spotify is find the artist whose sound you want to find more of and go to a few of the “Fans also like” artists (or artists from the same playlist) and “Add to Queue” a few of their Popular songs (not always the most played) of each until you find something you like. And from there you can refine your search and narrow down to hopefully find the sound you are looking for.

I love discovering new music but I have the hardest time searching for it by words so finding new music can be hard for me. I often know what the music I want sounds like in my head but cannot find it by searching so I have to get creative. I finally figured out the genre for my playlist called Good Chill Vibes is called Dream Pop which has helped finding more and more. Music is so much more to me than words so I think that is why I have a hard time describing it in words to search and had to come up with this trick to grow my playlists.  

If you like the sound of the Black Keys, their lead singers name is Dan Auerbach and his music is very bluesy as well. Give him a listen, specifically his album Keep It Hid. I just did that with Dan’s Spotify and found this song called 250 Miles by Radio Moscow that is crazy good. Kinda reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd. I have listened to a few of their other songs and I really like them. I now have found a playlist called ‘Blue Heavy Stoner Rock’ which I am going to Save. Also called Adding to my Library or Favoriting or Following. Spotify loves to change what it means and I can’t keep up, but you know what I am talking about.

There is a chance every genre might make a comeback one day and this is why I always try to stay open to listening to different genres and artists. You never know what you will discover that you like or re-discover when it comes to music and that is a huge reason why I love it so much. It is something that can easily be a talking point with others that you can connect with. There is a part of me that wonders what my grandpa would think of The Black Keys and some of these other artists I found.. At least now I have a playlist that I can listen to when I am thinking about him.

Edit to add- I started a playlist for new blues/psychadelic rock tracks I come across, if you want to save it-  Blues-psych Revival

MUSeIC

I decided to make a separate blog just for and about music because it is a huge passion of mine and I didn't want to have all my main blog posts to just be about music. Because I could easily see myself doing that. There is always more to discover, talk about, or try out yourself when it comes to music. I am one of those people that believe music is meant to be shared in any way possible, which further explains why I wanted to have a separate blog for music. 

There are so many different kinds of music and different topics you can talk about-  current music obsessions, music played in the past, how music was discovered and all the stories connected in-between. When words fail me then that is when music comes into the rescue and it has done so over and over for me. Music reminds you of what it means to be human. I try to keep an open mind when it comes to music and the fact that I will continue to discover more gives me something to look forward to everyday. 

I thought it was silly back in the day having to buy a full album just for one song and the push against downloading music. Once you buy something it should be yours to do with as you please. I did not want to buy something without knowing I like it and will listen to it. Now with Spotify I pay them monthly and have access to pretty much all of it and that is a crazy fact to me. There is so much that exists out there. It really saddens me when others do not want to branch out and explore because I feel like it helps you broaden your knowledge. You can use music to learn about other languages, cultures, history, pop culture, or pretty much anything if you are open to it. 

They say learning a musical instrument is good for your brain so I have thought about learning a musical instrument. I only have experience in grade school orchestra playing violin and choir. I liked doing that but don't think I will do it again. I have always loved the way the cello sounds but didn't want to carry or worry about maneuvering one of those around. Oh there was a brief period where I had an electric guitar that I never played. I wanted to play but was not good at reading music. 

I got a singing bowl a few years ago and then got a kalimba, both of which I find relaxing to play around with. The kalimba I got is a handheld one that is really cute and can hang around your neck. I have a picture below which will link to where I bought mine. For me I find it nice to mindlessly pluck instead of picking at my nails or fixating on something else. The sound it makes is very soothing. I like to spell out words and see how it sounds together. I have thought about learning piano in the past and just never have. I have a keyboard I can learn songs on and play different sounds from. I find it really fun to play around with instruments. I think it would be fun to get a tongue drum to randomly play and relax with. If you want to read more about those or the singing bowl, this is also where I got mine- https://www.shantibowl.com/blogs/blog/tongue-drums-complete-guide 

'Cause I'm only human after all

I'm only human after all

Don't put your blame on me

Don't put the blame on me

~Human

by Rag’n’Bone Man