May 2018

Let’s start May with this refreshing mid-tempo jam. It hits steadily and clean, like a spring rain, and with anticipation, with momentum in the beat, as we speed towards summer.

It was life’s circumstances that split the two, not necessarily a problem in the relationship. He left her for his music career:

“I guess I left you for the radio / I gotta find my sunshine”

There’s something bigger for him out there, his “sunshine”.

“I can’t come back for you / Don’t give me time / I can’t come back for you”

And for some reason, he doesn’t see it as possible to come back. It’s a decision he’s made and one he’s not looking back on. But that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t think of it:

“You know it breaks my soul / I still feel your heart beatin’ / When I’m on the road”

“GOODMORNING” because it’s the happiness twice over. The happiness of waking up next to your lover and saying “Good morning”. That was the initial ‘good morning’ and then Frenship went after their music dreams. And then there was the happiness of following your fire, of going after your dreams and starting that journey with a “Good morning”. Then the comma. The pause of uncertainty. And finally, the “Goodbye”. “Goodbye” because it’s a single, goodbye – one whispered not exclaimed.

Right around the 0:54 mark is where I turn this jam up and scream out the lyrics:

“Pushing past the limits / Trippin’ on hallucinogenics”

This song is very catchy and even has an added dig at the usual profiles women are interested in:

“Go find yourself a man who’s strong and tall and Christian”

Matt Maeson, great work, would love to see a similar jam next time about sobriety hopefully – good luck!

Kygo keeps getting these absolute stars on his tracks. This one, Remind Me to Forget, with Miguel is a perfect example.

I love the confusion in the title – Remind Me to Forget. The scars left over from the love are the things reminding Miguel to forget. But they’re also the mechanism of his memory.

This is a nice add to Kodaline’s repertoire of songs. Follow Your Fire is a midtempo jam that begs the ultimate question: “Did you follow your fire?”

There are many times when a song is supposedly addressed to someone else, to a different “you” then you, the person reading this right now. The “you” in this song for example is Kodaline’s teenage lover but as the song progresses and closes on the refrain soft and low, the you is you. So the question remains:

“Did you follow your fire?”

This song is a woman’s song, straight to the point – there’s a chance even that it makes you blush. Ashley Monroe’s vocals are strong, demanding and the country tune plays well with the lyrics:

“Got you high in a motel room” 

It’s a very well put-together track and the message and purpose of the song is clear.

Thanks to Brooke for another great rec!

Lauv again! Chasing Fire is a mid/uptempo jam to turn up real high in an automobile. I think I’ve already said my piece on Lauv in previous playlists before so there’s not much more to add there.

As for Chasing Fire, I love its driving beat and the chorus is super catchy.

Thanks to Chiara for this rec!

Good Thing’s all about the dreamers of the world.

“I want to have it all right now / But sometimes you gotta wait for the good thing”

DENM’s track is uptempo, playful and easy to connect with. Here’s to hoping he gets to live out those dreams one day!

You know that moment in a party where you’re like, damn, I just want to leave right now? When the drinks wear off and you start thinking “tomorrow was going to be my productive day!”.

Now how about that moment happened and in that moment there was Thomas Rhett standing in front of you proposing you two “leave right now / meet me out back, if you like how that sounds”. 

Answer: yes.

I think this song might catapult Rhett into some mainstream attention beyond country, rightfully so.

Runaway is a well-produced tune that highlights two great vocals: Tayla Parx and Khalid. Like most songs titled Runaway, this songs about running away with a lover and leaving everything behind you.

Running away, as a fundamental concept, is really only a thing for kids. As a kid/teenager, you can run away from your parents because you have parents and their house to run away from. But when you get older, this escapist daydream fades and adults are left with daydreams about running away from their lives via Southeast Asian backpacking trips and the like. We don’t call that person a runaway though, nor their action, running away, the way we would with a kid. Interesting, that, isn’t it?

From the very first measure of this song with its 4 chords, I knew this song was fire. The guitar’s plucked repetition keeps it light while Zayn’s voice spreads like Speculoos on a warm English muffin. It’s sweet and soft and feels like white, freshly washed linens in the morning. This feeling didn’t come out of nowhere though, it’s the lyrics and the warm instrumentals that frame it so sweetly:

“Sweet baby, our sex has meaning / Know this time you’ll stay to the morning”

And my favorite line:

“Duvet days and vanilla ice cream / More than just one night together exclusively”

The duvet days line is the best. I could listen to it on repeat. It’s the white that Zayn invokes in a cotton duvet and in the vanilla ice cream that plays the scene out right in front of you: a lazy morning spent tangled in sheets and then deciding it’s time to finally do something, that something being getting ice cream of course. It’s also the way he emphasizes the “du” in duvet and inflects his voice in “ice cream”. It’s all very sweet.

The chorus riff comes in at 48 seconds and is honestly very Jesse McCartney-esque. The next bit of the song alternates between this higher register of Zayn’s voice and quicker tempo with the intro’s lower register and slower tempo. Then Zayn melds the two together around the 1:57 mark and finishes it out.

It’s odd that Zayn released this song after his breakup with longtime girlfriend Gigi Hadid but regardless of the timing, it’s nice to hear a song on the radio that’s sweet about love and talks about commitment beyond the night. Thanks Zayn.