#daily album recs

[dailyalbumrecs]

Music For Insomniacs - Matt Berry

The actor Matt Berry is also a musician and his album Music For Insomniacs is a really nice ambient album. It kind of reminds me of a slowed down Terry Riley mixed with ambient Brian Eno and kind of like Tubular Bells. My favorite song is Music For Insomniacs Part 1.

Apple Music:

Bandcamp:

Spotify:

[pebblezone]

succumbing to the illness. becoming a hater. anyway look at this building they’re fucking destroying

[dailysongsweeklyalbums]

daily songs playlist

updates daily

weekly albums playlist

my favorite songs from each

updates weekly

[volkswagonblues]

a bibliography for us Daniel Malloy freaks

(a loosely pulled-together reading list about print journalism, New York, the 1970s & 80's, and the AIDS Crisis. Most of the credit goes to @islandbetweenrivers who started this)

On Daniel Molloy, California Boy

The show never explicitly states if Daniel went to college, but since college students were exempt from the Vietnam draft, which ended officially in 1973, it could be interesting to imagine Daniel in Berkeley.

Slouching Toward Bethlehem by Joan Didion

The White Album by Joan Didion

Berkeley Barb archives (link) -- weekly underground newspaper that ran in Berkeley between '65 to '80

The Daily Cal First 150 Years (link) -- student newspaper at Berkeley

On Journalism

Iphigenia in Forest Hills by Janet Malcolm

From her reporter's seat, Malcolm observes that a trial is merely "a contest between competing narratives". (Guardian review)

The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm

“"Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible," wrote Malcolm in an opening sentence that caused a sensation in the tiny, self-referential world of posh American journalism.” (Guardian review)

The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice by Trisha Romano

“The Voice’s origins were proudly amateurish. One early contributor was a homeless man recruited from a local street; equipment consisted of two battered typewriters, an ink-splattering mimeograph machine and a waste paper basket for rejected submissions. Morale spiked when a staff member discovered that dried pods used in fancy flower arrangements contained opium, which was boiled up in the office when the time came for a coffee break.” (Guardian review)

Note: The Village Voice was THE alt-weekly newspaper and it was run out of Greenwich Village in NYC. Lots of incredible writers start there and then move onto the Times, Vanity Fair, etc. Very much the sort of crowd a young Daniel would be mixed in circa 70's and 80's.

The Night of the Gun, by David Carr

David Carr redefines memoir with the revelatory story of his years as an addict and chronicles his journey from crack-house regular to regular columnist for The New York Times. Built on sixty videotaped interviews, legal and medical records, and three years of reporting, The Night of the Gun is a ferocious tale that uses the tools of journalism to fact-check the past. (amazing rec from @archive-z)

Note: imagine if Daniel did this and then fact-checked his way into remembering that vampires existed

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe

Keefe can paint complicated portraits of victims and vigilantes alike while covering their lonely pursuit of justice. He intuits why a Dutch woman who has exposed the crimes of her gangster brother might lie about her present whereabouts. He understands why a man who lost his brother in an aeroplane bombing might spend the rest of his life trying to find the culprit. Again and again, Keefe surmises that even the most detailed of investigations can only speculate about human motives. (Guardian review)

Note: the sort of deeply human longform profiles that feels like the sort of writing Daniel does, based on his masterclass clip and what he reveals in his interactions with Louis

On New York, New York (in the 70s)

Notes from Underground, by Eric Bogosian + Perforated Heart, by Eric Bogosian

In four billion years the sun will explode. But before that we'll run out of fresh water and before that we'll all die of some mutation of AIDS that's spread by coughing. It's not my fault anyway. I can't think about this any more today. I'm going to masturbate.

Note: The OG. What else is there to say.

Ladies and Gentleman, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City by Jonathan Mahler

In the long sweep of American history, of course, 1977 is not exactly 1865, 1941, 1968 or 2001. Yet from porn shops to gay bathhouses, from Yankee Stadium to City Hall, from the blackout to Son of Sam, from Rupert Murdoch's New York Post to the rise of SoHo and Studio 54, the city was living through what Mahler convincingly calls "a transformative moment . . . a time of decay but of rehabilitation as well.” (New York Times review)

Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina, by Chris Franz (2020)

Frantz’s account of the early days, when the Heads lived in the pre-gentrified Lower East Side of New York, an almost literal war zone. While searching for a loft to live in, they viewed one building that was on fire. One spring afternoon, Frantz walked over to the now-legendary club CBGB to ask for a gig. The place smelt of “beer, roach spray, dog doo [the owner, Hilly Kristal, had a free-roaming saluki] and Chanel No 5”.

Winter’s Journal, by Paul Auster

Note: To me, Auster is one of the closest real-life Daniel Malloy analogues: born around 1950, literary career in NYC, moved to Paris in the 1970s for a few years, troubled middle-class background. Novelist though, not a journalist. There’s an anecdote in this book about a car crash that feels like a deadass Devil’s Minion fever dream. Crazy stuff. One of my personal favourites

On the AIDS Crisis

And the Band Played On, by Randy Shilts

The book chronicles the discovery and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with a special emphasis on government indifference and political infighting—specifically in the United States—to what was then perceived as a specifically gay disease

The Journalist of Castro Street: The Life of Randy Shilts, by Andrew E. Stoner

Biography of Randy Shilts that’s very helpful for imagining Daniel in the early 1980s newsrooms covering Karposi’s sarcoma

How to Survive a Plague: The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed AIDS by David France (2017)

It’s not easy to balance solid journalism with intimate understanding of a subject, and even harder to write eloquently about a disease that’s killing your friends and loved ones. France pulls it off, in his own words (his description of finding a college roommate’s panel in the AIDS Memorial Quilt is heartbreaking) and in letting his articulate sources speak for themselves. (SF Gate review)

Timeline of AIDS (link)

Overview of HIV (link)

And some films, just for fun

The Panic in Needle Park (1971): Drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg. Al Pacino is a heroin addict and small-time dealer in Manhattan who falls in love with another addict.

Serpico (1973): biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. Al Pacino is a hippie cop (yes, I know, its part of the plot) with one foot in the 1970s bohemian art scene

American Graffiti (1973): teen movie set in 1973 Modesto ("I'm just a shitty kid from Modesto"--Danny Malloy)

The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974): More grimy 1970s NYC stuff

All the President’s Men (1976): THE ABSOLUTE JOURNALISM MOVIE??

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

Cruising (1980): 1980 crime thriller written and directed by William Friedkin. Al Pacino is a cop (again) but this time he goes undercover in NYC gay leather clubs

Almost Famous (2000): Set in 1973, it chronicles the funny and often poignant coming of age of 15-year-old William, an unabashed music fan who gets the chance to write for Rolling Stone

Spotlight (2015): More journalism movies! The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese

everyone say thank you to @islandbetweenrivers for starting this, I just polished up our google docs and posted it on tumblr.

Also if anyone has something to add please let me know!

[gorespawn]

and this is boy in the mirror (feat. kidd king) by punchnello <3 also from his album demon youth

actually while we're at it, let's also watch a video of the same guy and his best friend stabbing each other to death in a storage unit

[theweeping-whistlers]

The Daily Fanfic Rec #28

Fandom : Supernatural

Site : Ao3

Title : hell was the journey (but it brought me heaven)

Author : fleeceframe

Summary :

There’s a tag sticking out over the collar of the soft cotton, and it’s an easy distraction from Sam’s droning voice. Dean stares at it for a second before reaching over and tucking it back into its rightful spot, his fingertips brushing the back of Cas’s neck in the process.

“I have The Butterflies,” Cas interrupts Sam to announce loudly.

Dean startles back, and Sam stops talking, looks between the two of them in disbelief. Taylor continues to croon.

“I’m sorry- what?”

or the one where dean and sam finally retire, dean bakes, eileen mixes drinks, everyone has the butterflies, and folklore is the album of the year

Notes :

It's so cute. Castiel and Dean are adorable and just right for each other. Cas is so serious, and then he says, "I have butterflies," and I can hear it in my head. The gruff tone the little grunt that confused Dean makes. It is so realistic, it is so in character, that I was looking for an episode from supernatural that had this scene in it - even comparably sweet to this- and got frustrated when I couldn't find it. This fic and really the whole series is just plain fluff between these two dorks. If that is what you're looking for, then this is for you.

[waxxxwork]

Just finished reading Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo and I loved it. Maybe it’s not for everyone but the slow burn of it all, the yearning, the grief, the Appalachian folklore, the mystery, the summer backdrop… it was all perfect. It scratched a persistent itch for me where I want to bridge the gap between old school spooky queer horror that I love and the best fanfiction I’ve ever read (because I read the best fanfiction I’ve ever read on the daily, I love you beautiful people). One of my favorite tropes or plot points or whatever you want to call it is when characters are so deeply soul connected and in love that they have never realized it (ala Scully and Mulder or Will and Hannibal or or or) and this did that at such an expert level.

I also really meshed the way Lee Mandelo writes. The pining is palpable and heartrending and confusing and I feel a kinship with this writing style. Some parts are slow, but that’s the good part. A character puts “the first MCR album” on at one point and then another character directly references Supernatural so I’m like… wow…. One of Us??? If this author has written fanfic, it is top shelf for sure and I mean that as the highest of compliments. The small bit of intimacy was also written so wonderfully.

This book is one of those things that just give me a lump in my throat and make my brain want to escape from my head and climb up the walls and I want to tell everyone about it but I’m afraid that anyone I rec it to will just be like “yeah it’s okay” and then my heart will break.

But if you want a book that is a wrenching story of end-of-summer rural Southern Gothic academia, rife with grief-driven unconfirmed feelings, queer horror where the horror is more grief than other things, self-realization and curse-breaking then come join the club.

[cleolinda]

Weekend links, April 21, 2024

My posts

Initially I wrote, “I ran my mouth about the Watcher streaming/paywall situation because I make bad decisions,” but I think the post has actually gone over well? In short, I want to see them succeed but I am also deeply fuckin’ baffled. I so desperately want the tea about what was really going on behind all this, and how the guys are reacting to it now, and I really hope they can turn this around somehow. 

Side note, Friday was CHAOTIC. 

Reblogs of interest

The Hot Vintage Lady Polls are escalating in round four. We got to a point where I posted propaganda for Ava Gardner AND Dorothy Dandridge in their matchup. Probably the biggest scandal of round three was Vivien Leigh getting knocked out, but she’s now High Chancellor of the Shadow Realm. The most contentious matchup this time seems to be Judy Garland vs Natalie Wood, which is nearly 50/50 as of this writing. But keep your eye on Hedy Lamarr, who may have Mifune Sweep energy. 

(I think I love these brackets for the same reason I love Dracula Daily: it’s delightful that thousands of people on Tumblr actually have deeply-held opinions about things from many decades ago, and if they didn’t before, they do now.)

(“I’m Katharine Hepburn, and this is Jackass!”)

--

Happy Bread Day (Observed)!

Hozier Watch 2024: “Why Would You Be Loved” has arrived on the Wasteland, Baby! special edition. I like this post about how that song is in conversation with “No Plan,” one of my favorites. (I wrote about “Movement” a while ago, but I could have fully inflicted an essay on you about how “No Plan” pulled me out of my six years of hiding from the internet. Anyway, it’s a great album from a few years ago, check it out if you haven’t.) 

Generally I keep my mouth shut about Taylor Swift, but the new songs sure have some lyrics. I love Florence Welch, but I’m scared.

You’ve heard of spoon theory, now check out spell slot theory

“You’re either frolicking in this field with me, or...” is funny, but then you get to the reblog.

What if we lay in this field together and held feet

A deep breach of etiquette with a little dog named Gucio

A story about statue vandalism with a delightful twist

You gotta fight mint with mint (like I can bring in my lemon balm, but at what cost?) 

I saw this post about feeding wild skeletons on Pinterest and I loved it so much that I tracked down the original. 

Once again, Holy Shit, Two Cakes theory

Remember the haunted house I grew up in? Yeah, it had a carpeted bathroom like this.

“gonna start formatting my posts like fics on ff.net circa 2008” will do you exactly the psychic damage you’re imagining 

The Round Table attempts to use Zoom

Video

Lil Nas X covers “Jolene,” Dolly Parton loves it, and @oscar-wet-and-wilde has further Black Country recs

A big loud steppy

“He’s retrieving”

Crispy meows

Watching this angel of a Doberman get a full spa treatment is also self care

AND YOU DARE SAY NO MORE TREATS??!?

The sacred texts

I don’t like thing, now with artist credit 

Personal tags of the week

I love when I can use a really niche, specific tag, and this week, it’s mouth perfect size for meme, with a little shaped on the side.

[dailyalbumrecs]

BGM - Yellow Magic Orchestra

Apple Music:

Spotify:

[bettertwin9000]

Making my rounds around your familia's ask boxes~

Did you know you have two sisters?

Would you rather play electric guitar or bass?

Hedgehogs, dogs, or cats?

How are you?

Favorite song artist?

Song rec~

I Don't Love You, Anymore ~ Ricky Montgomery

Saw Leo do this so now Im inclined /j

1. Im aware of Frida.. dont think there should be another..

2. I'd prefer electric... sounds cooler WAY COOLER but I do have a soft spot for acoustic. Its just so soft sounding

3. CATS‼️‼️‼️ I LOVE CATS MORE THAN ANYTHING THEYRE SO CUTE.

4. Doing just fine atm...

5. Funny you say that - My favorite artist is and always will be Ricky Montgomery. 'I Dont Love You, Anymore' was one of the first few songs I've heard from him, and I still listen to it almost daily.. same with out like a light. He's the only artist that I've listened to all his albums

[vexx-ation]

Account Update (mostly music project stuff)

Hi all! Just wanted to give a quick update on my music project (dw it's still going). I just started medical school, and while I love it, there's a lot less time to fool around and listen to albums than at my last job (alas.). Luckily I've backlogged everything until December 15th, so I'm not in danger of missing a day, but this does mean I likely won't be able to extend the project into next year while keeping the daily format. I do plan on reviewing every album sent to me, and eventually want to make it to 1000 albums, but after 2024 the reviews likely won't be posted daily anymore. That being said, because the backlog is so long and I'm so busy, please know that if you send in an album it'll likely be months before I actually post the review. Just wanted to say that I appreciate the recommendations more than I can say, and feel kinda bad it looks like I'm ignoring yall with how long it takes to post anything. Feel free to keep sending them-- there's no such thing as too many recs when I'm trying to get to 1000 albums!! Also, feel free to Truly send anything, the more niche the better. I've found some of my favorite albums that way :)

TLDR for this part: Daily album reviews for 2024, then switching to a looser schedule. Keep sending recs if you have them, I love what yall have sent so far! <3

In terms of other projects, especially daily ones, I do have another that I'm gearing up for 2025. I love taking photographs (landscapes almost exclusively), and plan on queueing up those to post daily starting in 2025. I'll also be posting reviews of things that I read, listen to, or watch, but those will be more sporadic and of varying quality

Final note: Thank you SO much to every single one of my followers and people who interact with my posts. I post some really niche concept and love to yap, so to know that people are reading it, finding new music, and sending in recs because they like my stuff means the world. I don't really browse tumblr much (I only really post) so if you have a project you want me to check out or promo on my more popular fandom blog (it literally has over 10x the follower count of this one lol) hmu!! I love seeing people's projects :)

Sorry for the wall of text-- I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

[ace-of-hearts-and-spades]

The NO-SKIP Albums: A Tag Game 🎶💖

rules: share the albums that you can listen to nonstop. those lightning in a bottle-albums that scratch ur brain just right. every single track, an absolute banger. u could not skip one if u tried. no notes. stunning, show-stopping, immaculate. ur no-skip albums. 🔎 bonus & optional (but imo, v fun) rules: 1) add a track rec for us to listen to! AND 2) share ur favorite line(s) from that track! 👀

Thank you SO much for tagging me in this @ventiswampwater, @rottent33th, and @visceravalentines. This was so much fucking fun, I love getting to talk about music sdhgsgdhsjdg <3

Absolutely no-pressure tags, only if you want to! @spookyscaryslashy, @lucifers-horror-harem, @bisexual-horror-fan, @bluecoolr, @slaasherslut, @ace-disgrace-on-the-case, @lady-of-glass-and-bone, and literally anyone else who might be interested in doing this. Consider yourself tagged! :3

Album info, track recs, and lyrics under the cut!

Black Labyrinth, by Jonathan Davis

Track recc: "Underneath My Skin" Something's crawling underneath my skin, I fear / Something's dying, rotting deep within / Something's crawling underneath my skin, I fear / Something's dying, I will not give in

Greatest Hits, by the Cure

Track recc: "Cut Here" So dizzy, Mr. Busy, too much rush to talk to Billy / All the silly frilly things have to first get done / In a minute, sometime soon / Maybe next time, make it June / "Until later" doesn't always come

Future Nostalgia, by Dua Lipa

Track recc: "Pretty Please" Put my mind at ease, trickle down my spine / Oh, you look so pretty, please / Every single night, I need your hands on me / When your kisses climb / Oh you give me sweet relief

Hybrid Theory, by Linkin Park

Track recc: "By Myself" Because I can't hold on when I'm stretched so thin / I make the right moves but then I'm lost within / I put on my daily facade again / But then I just end up getting hurt again

Fallen, by Evanescence

Track recc: "Imaginary" In my field of paper flowers / And candy clouds of lullaby / I lie inside myself for hours / And watch my purple sky fly over me

See You On the Other Side, by Korn

Track recc: "Throw Me Away" Flesh wound, flesh wound / With medication, it will fade / Should I assume / That someone hears me when I pray? / Love, full of hate / Don't you love / How I break?

Sevas Tra, by Otep

Track recc: "My Confession" I think about it all the time / I'm volatile and afraid to cry / But I'm still not comfortable in my skin / And the anesthetic's slowly wearing thin

Sinner, by Drowning Pool

Track recc: "All Over Me" Something I might just regret / Something you will not forget / Maybe I should throw away / Everything I've learned today

The Fear of Fear, by Spiritbox

Track recc: "Cellar Door" Transform my death into a conduit / This body separate from the fear of fear / Inside a coping mechanism for monotony / I will destroy the double vision / That I was forced to leave

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

friend i listened to “spring thief” by yorushika and it’s been on repeat for the past hour… please give other song recs by yorushika that you like 🫡 ALSO YOUR FIC WAS SO PRECIOUS AND THE SONG WORKED SO BEAUTIFULLY WITH YOUR WRITING/REALLY ENHANCED THE VIBE OMFG oh 2 live in an apartment w sashisu and get breakfast made daily by suguru <3 - @dollsuguru

KAIROOO MY ANGEL i still haven’t read ur rb of the fic (saving it as a treat for later today :3 hehe) BUT TYSM FOR READING AND FOR UR KIND WORDS ILYSM 🥺🥺🥺 with that being said ……..

WAHHHHH I’M SOOO OVERJOYED THAT U LISTENED TO THE SONG???? ISN’T IT AMAZING????? yorushika makes me fully insane they’re my favorite band Ever hhhhh i’m so glad u thought it added to the fic 😭😭 their songs are all super nostalgic and bittersweet and summery so they’re just . perfect for sashisu & stsg.. u asked for more recs so ofc i will deliver >:3

i genuinely don’t think there’s a single yorushika song that doesn’t hit so i have like 25873 favorites BUT here are some standouts….. some have mvs and others don’t but yorushika’s lyrics are genuinely so so beautiful and incredible so i’ll make sure the links take u somewhere u can read them <3

blooming in that summer

my absolute favorite <333 like, absolute favorite. it changed my life. i want to live in it. the lyrics are insane the instrumental is out of this world and the final chorus always always gets to me. i’ve cried listening to it bc it’s just so so good AND it’s also the most stsg song ever so i cry when i listen to it and think of them (someone made an animatic of stsg with this song that quite literally lives in my brain rent free u can find it here) <33

hachigatsu, bou, tsukiakari

another of my absolute absolute faves!! lyrics are so good i cried, instrumental is so good i cried, and the final chorus . makes me cry. notice how i’m already repeating myself bc literally all of these songs are incredible in every possible way aaa ALSO the singing 😵‍💫😵‍💫 esp at the end. there’s so much emotion in it and it makes me sick actually whewww

replicant

another absolute favorite :33 (i’m gonna be saying this for all of them i think but i mean it sincerely ok…) kairo this one makes me ill. it’s so gojo coded. it’s Him. the lyrics just remind me of him sm (they’re incredible btw the final line makes me batshit insane) AND THE INSTRUMENTAL??? might be my fave yorushika instrumental ngl don’t quote me on that tho 🙏🙏 just such a lovely summery song it smells like seasalt and tastes like clouds :3

kamisama no dance

AAAA ANOTHER ABSOLUTE FAVORITE kairo this one is getocoded. i knowwww you’ll understand. some of my favorite yorushika lyrics Ever and that’s saying a lot. it also has crazy lore bc it’s connected to this whole story being told in some of yorushika’s albums and :((( yeahhh. this one feels kairocoded to me but that might just be bc it’s so getocoded LMAO i have a feeling you’ll like it though!!

robber and bouquet

THIS ONE IS SOOO LOVELY the instrumental…. 😵‍💫😵‍💫 i love it sm. i’d say this one is kinda different from classic yorushika stuff but in a very good way!! also i’m legally obliged to inform u that this one is tojicoded as HELL i associate him w the lyrics so much…. also i adoreee the way suis sings in this one her voice is so gorgeous wowowow… the sense of fatigue…… so good

just a sunny day for you

A CLASSIC but for very good reasons . the mv is just gorgeous, the lyrics are stunning and the instrumental is sooo nostalgic and summery n bittersweet :((( just the best. sashisu coded also!!!

aaaand finally here’s their yt channel!! there are so many other songs i adore that i wanted to mention but i think these r enough for now 😭 oh but here’s also a yt channel that makes lyric videos for their songs in case u wanna find some more!! :3

[shy-sapphic-ace]

Introduction post! (I guess!)

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Hi! I’m Chloe, she/they (but honestly? anything’s fine), labels: lesbian • sapphic • asexual • demigirl • queer, I love reading & writing & consuming queer media, and I also love you <3

My AO3

Fandoms that are always on my mind: Star Wars, Star Trek, LOTR, Supernatural (yes, really), Doctor Who, Ace Attorney, Good Omens, Dead Boy Detectives, Dracula Daily, Welcome to Night Vale, Malevolent, The Magnus Archives, The Mechanisms, The Glass Scientists, Alien Stage, Link Click, but there are sooo many more— these are just those you’re more likely to see me post about :)

STUFF I’VE MADE! ->

My list of queer book recs and older(?) queer character book recs 📚🏳️‍🌈

My list of podcast listens/recs 📼🎙️

This fae-ish music organizer I made…? 🎶🌸

I’d love recommendations to my humble “songs I’d perform drag to” playlist I daydream to 🕺🪩

Check out the "robin hood mechs au" tag for stuff about the album I’m writing! A queer dystopian Robin Hood retelling, told in the Mechanisms’ style, where I cast the mechs as characters and such. The final version will be posted to AO3 when I’m done :)

I also have a “dracula the (other) musical” tag if you’re interested in the Dracula musical I’m writing! Based on the book by Bram Stoker and fuelled by my love of dracula daily and re: dracula, and also wanting to learn how to write a whole musical. I don’t expect it to be done any time soon, though…

I sometimes post or reblog stuff tagged as "positivity" if you need a little cheering up? Please take care of yourself and stay safe, I love you.

I'm just here to have some fun! Please be respectful and I'm sure we'll get along fine <3

(Link to the picrew I used for my pfp)

[a-moth-to-the-light]

Most-Listened of March 2024

[last month]

This was such an exciting month of releases--Purplekiss, Day6, BLEACHERS?? Chung Ha gave us a couple of songs, Nina Suárez came back out of nowhere, Lucy dropped a single, OLIVIA RODRIGO IS BACK?? I've been super excited for the J-Hope album, too, but I haven't been emotionally ready to check it out, yet, since I want to have the energy to really love it! Not to mention the Seori EP-- PLUS Bol4 and StayC both dropped some covers of huge 2019 k-pop hits.

And that isn't all. The highlights of my month were seeing Bruce Springsteen (only my favorite artist ever.) and Gregory Alan Isakov in concert(s)! So honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed by just how exciting music is right now. (It doesn't help that this month gave me my first album of the year candidate, too!!) This post will be my opportunity to go a little wild, then :)

1. Leopardos -- Ine Güemes

I should not enjoy this listening experience as much as I do. That whistling noise should annoy me by now, after all these listens, right? ... Right? Nope. I love it. This song is so soothing, it's literally the musical equivalent of a deep breath.

2. Appaloosa Bones -- Gregory Alan Isakov

Concert prep + THE sulking song this month. Look, I'm a guy who needs my daily floor time (floor time. perhaps you require it.), and it always involves considerable sulking. (At this rate, you're gonna see a sulking song on this list every single month. It's a tradition now!) I've been losing it about "Was I that gone? / Man, I hope not / Glad you found me when you did" and "The pages slow / in the room I called your name" and "They haven't made no pill / To get us across the winter time" ...

3. All Things End -- Hozier

You know what ended? My eight-week class. *sigh of relief* All things end, truly! Now I just need the reminder that this semester will end, too...

4. Death To My Hometown -- Bruce Springsteen

I'd never heard this one before, but I ASCENDED when I heard it live (the horns section was. fantastic.) and I left it on repeat all month post-concert.

5. The Ledge -- Fleetwood Mac

This song makes me proud of my music taste, honestly--see, I can like weird experimental stuff, too! It sounds wonderfully, comfortingly crowded--like the ambient noise from a nearby café, or like falling asleep with the TV on. I don't know, it's just a feeling I find myself really enjoying. I'm also SO deeply in love with the round-style singing (see: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" rounds in middle school choir) Fleetwood Mac sometimes does (see: my obsession with "Paper Doll"), and they do it in this song !!

6. I Don't Want to Know -- Fleetwood Mac

I like this one for the same reason I like "Second Hand News"--that cheerful self-deprecation just never fails to draw me in. ("Second Hand News" is still better, though!)

7. Smart -- Le Sserafim

Does anyone NOT like this song? I missed the Eve Psyche hype train last year, so this one's hitting me doubly hard. I think the sweeter tone of "Smart" suits Le Sserafim's vocals much better, and the production is just plain adorable! This has been my go-to song during classes, when I need something to cheer me up without making me too overwhelmed.

8. Luz -- Ine Güemes

That vocal processing is SUCH a standout--so soft and hazy and fluffy, just a fascinating texture when you really focus on it, but endlessly pleasant when you leave it on loop and zone out, too. (Look, I REALLY loved this album this month.)

9. Nota de Voz -- Los Hermanos Laser

Classic indie boy music! I like "Azul Plateado" from this album, too, and I have a feeling the whole album will hit for me during the summer--I tend to like that exhausted-sounding alt-rock stuff a whole lot around July & August :)

10. Light Sprite -- Baby Pantera, Isabella Lovestory

Thanks for the rec, @pocima !!

11. I Am Right On Time -- Bleachers

This is a weirdly muted album for Bleachers (especially on the heels of "Stop Making This Hurt" and "How Dare You Want More" from their last album), and this is the most weirdly muted of them all--I really feel like it should be... more, somehow? But it's still quite a cathartic listening experience, and I keep coming back to it!

12. Really Like You -- Gyubin

I've started giving myself 30 minutes of reading time in the mornings, to help me wake up and not be completely miserable about it, so I've been reading a whole bunch of webtoons. (Hell, maybe I'll read a book one day!) This one's the perfect cutesy webtoon soundtrack, and I think it might be here because I left it on repeat while reading Blooming Season?? (I just finished catching up with Jackson's Diary, and I think I'm gonna start Death of a Pop Star next!) Anyway, Gyubin sounds lovely here, can't wait for a comeback!

13. Self Respect -- Bleachers

The production on this song is just SO exciting overall!! But I'm mostly here for the saxophone. God, it's not even that much of the song but it's gorgeous !!!

14. Nieve Sin Fin -- Ine Güemes

Nice aesthetic piano :)

15. Rush -- Twice

I love how dizzying this song is--it's chaotic and overwhelming in the most wonderful way! I was a little disappointed by it when I first listened to the album, I think because their vocals here are much softer than usual. When I let myself get swept away in the production, though, I totally get the appeal.

Five-Star Songs (& Albums!) This Month

BBB -- Purplekiss (the tiktok-music trend finally got me last year--against my will, admittedly. unfortunately for me, "bbb" is a fantastic example of that easy-listening, viral-tiktok sound from a group i'm already obsessed with, so of course i'm a huge fan. great vocal performances and silky songwriting? yeah, it's great--the muted aesthetic doesn't bug me at all--and i actually kind of love the super-short horn sections in the chorus. they're surprisingly full-sounding!)

Beam Beam -- Jeon Soyeon (i didn't get this one at all when it first came out, but i've warmed up to it over the years--and this month it just HIT. it's the perfect showcase of soyeon's energy, and it's such a rush!!)

Death To My Hometown -- Bruce Springsteen (five stars bc it has the words "robber barons" in it!!)

Girl I've Always Been -- Olivia Rodrigo (i keep underestimating olivia rodrigo's power as a performer. of course she could make this country-sounding track work. of course she could make it my favorite from the album in an instant. who am i to question??)

Hey Joe -- Bleachers (a sing-along for the politically disillusioned. happy 2024, fellow usamericans. well, at least the harmonies here are delightful!)

Jesus is Dead -- Bleachers (i mentioned that this album is unusually muted for bleachers--not dull as in 'boring in terms of production or songwriting', but dull as in dead-eyed and zombie-like. the vocal delivery, especially, is unusually bland and flat. "jesus is dead" is definitely the best use of this half-asleep, grayscale aesthetic on the album--a song as hopeless and monotone as its delivery. it's strange and stylish and messy, too, AND there's also a sax solo ?? and it works great ?? i admire it so so so much--i'm very surprised this didn't make the most-listened list, i've been looping it a whole bunch.)

The Ledge -- Fleetwood Mac

Self Respect -- Bleachers (re: saxophone.)

White Rabbit -- Jefferson Airplane (i don't think it's much of a hot take at all to say this one is fantastic. i heard it for the first time in february, and i've been completely obsessed since!!)

Heráldica -- Saramalacara (okay, i've had like. a week. with this album, but it was love at first listen--and "humo" already had my heart, anyway. the atmospherics are breathtaking, the production crisp and intense, and saramalacara's voice // the vocal production here fits SO well!! there's a song called ".tumblr" that's definitely worth checking out, though i enjoy every song on here !! except "_cuervos". i admire that one but god it disturbs me i never want to hear it again.)

Qué Nos Mantiene Despiertos -- Ine Güemes (first album of the year candidate of 2024 !!! not much of a surprise, i'm sure, given my top 15. more breathtaking atmospherics, but in the exact opposite direction of heráldica! this album is full of really unique textures, but all that chaos doesn't make it any less soothing. each song is distinct, but they all come together into this sweet, fluffy youtube-lofi-mix type of experience--and look, i'm a college student. could i ask for anything more in an album?)