Review

Currently Bumping

06.28.25 — Leave a comment

It’s been a minute since I posted, but I’ve been itching to share songs and artists I’ve had in my sonic rotation recently and remembered I have this blog which is specifically for that XD So without further ado here are some artists and songs in no particular order I think everyone should give a listen too and make me very, very happy~

Artists

RIIZE

SM’s latest non NCT boygroup wasn’t initially a favourite, but they’ve grown on me, especially after watching their amazing visual album. If you’re new to the group or would just like a suggestion, I’d like to bring to your attention “Impossible” and “Another Life“. I enjoy their dance tracks and with “Impossible” that love hasn’t faded, but I was especially impressed with the closing song of their album Odyssey. I love a good mellow bop you can groove to and RIIZE delivers on that every time. I haven’t really met a SM group I don’t like so far XD.

Ziarra

Oh Ziarra, I can’t tell you when exactly I discovered their music but when they released the album Human Form I of course had to give it a listen and loved it immediately. I love all kinds of music, but find Rock to be a genre I can’t help but be particularly picky with so finding artists in the genre I actually enjoy is always a delight, and of course I love being able to support Black folks in a scene originated by us. XD While songs from the album didn’t make it onto my public Saturn Return playlist (mostly because I felt the album was too recent to include) it has definitely been keeping me company as we move through 2025. Two of my favourite songs on the album are “Granny In the Pit” and “I Love You, Say It Back“.

The Halluci Nation

The Halluci Nation is another new-ish group to me. I remember when they were still going by A Tribe Called Red, but very shortly after I found them they became The Halluci Nation. I’ve been enjoying their pro-wrestling themed albums and the punny messages within the songs. I love figurative language and wordplay so of course I’ve been eating up this storyline between the “Halluci Nation” and “Alie Nation” 😏😏😏 No idea at all what these songs could posibly be talking about~ None at all~~~ “The Place” is an amazing song that gets me going and gives me happy vibes, so I’d like to throw that one in the ring for your listening pleasure.

A bit of an aside, but I’ve always said that pro-wrestling is an amazing vehicle for storytelling and is a part of the modern American mythology catolgue as well as super heros. I’m hoping more artists take inspiration and explore wrestling as a vehicle for retelling myths and sharing stories.

TSHA

Sad Girl came out last year and I loved it. After discovering TSHA a couple years ago, I’ve been eagerly awaiting every new drop and Sad Girl definitely didn’t disapoint. For various reasons, last year I went on a Dance kick, rediscovering my love for the genre, and especially, DnB. you can imagine my happy surprise when TSHA had a DnB heavy song on the album. I’ve been bumping “Can’t Dance” like I’m being paid for it. XD

Monsta X

Daddy’s home! XD As a Monbebe I’m thrilled that (for now) every one is back from the military and doing things once more as the full group. To celebrate, some songs from while Shownu was gone were rereleased with Shownu’s vocals added in. I for one was very excited to see Lone Ranger made the cut. I don’t know who at Starships keeps deciding the American 1800 – early 1900s is the vibe for the group, but I love every time they’re dressed up as cowboys, civil war reenactors, and giving us Country adjacent bops. XD

As a long time fan of Monsta X (they turned 10 this year and I’ve been there since the beginning), it was especially fun seeing how they rearranged the songs. There were definitely moments where I’d go, “Oh, if Shownu was on the track he would have had this line,” so seeing where my monbebe ear matched with their decisions was fun to experience on my first listen through the album. They do say this is volume 1, so I’m curious what volume 2 will be? Maybe they will have a part 2 for I.M. when he’s back from his time in the military?

YUTA

Now, if you’re familiar with the concept of “biases” in Kpop, you’ll understand me when I say I am one happy NCT fan these days now that my bias is releasing solo music~~~💗💗💗 I’ve been a Yuta fan (quietly lmao) for a long while but it’s hard to keep my love for him contained. XD I don’t actually like to wear my love on my sleeve, but I think everyone should listen to Yuta’s album and recent EP! I was immediately taken back to my Naruto Christian Rock AMV days and am thrilled with Yuta’s music direction so far. A voice that great is a shame to keep quiet.

BAEKHYUN

Speaking of biases and great voices…Baekhyun isn’t mine in Exo (that’s D.O.) BUT he is one of my favourites XD I love his solo music and or course can’t get enough of the most recent album. “Lemonade” is a favourite of mine.

WayV

WayV is one of my favourite groups, period (though these days whether or not they’re my favourite NCT group is a hard choice to make) and so every new album I like to play on repeat. “Invincible” helped get me through my Saturn Return so I need to especially shout it out here. XD I joked in my video that it’s basically a Gospel song for me. It’s a must have for any hype playlist.

Songs:

  • Chill Baby – SZA
    • This whole album is a delight to listen to, and this song would have made it onto my Saturn Return playlist if I’d listened to the album sooner, but SZA is a more recently consistent artist in my catalogue. She’s definitely carrying me into 2026 XD
  • Stunner – Ten
    • I tend to like every other Ten release, but this most recent album was very fun and got me excited for the Summer. Stunner is an amazing song, but I wish they’d kept the overall vibe/theme of the Korean version for the English one. The English parts already worked, but for some reason they alter it completely in the English version of the song 🥲🥲🥲
  • Creme Brulee – David Archuleta
    • I’ve been a David Archuleta fan since day one. I’m excited every time he releases something new and I can’t wait for his next album! Seeing his growth as an artist has been such a joy to watch. XD I feel like we’re growing up together.
  • Tilt – Irene & Seulgi
    • I love this Red Velvet sub-unit and am tickled pink they released this in June lmao The promo pics alone had me losing my queer little mind.
  • Life We Live – Project Pat
    • Oldie but a goldie. This song kept me going through my Saturn return, but didn’t make the cut for the playlist because, tbh? I was being greedy and didn’t want to share lmao Sharing now because the moment has passed. Sometimes you don’t have to share everything XD I’ve been luxuriating in keeping my most precious enjoyments to myself lately, but am willing to open the vault of what I enjoy so others can also have some fun this Summer. XD
  • No Show – Haquin
    • A new artist to me found through finally looking up who did the vocals on a Dance track I like. Not the same person, but finding that person’s Instagram lead me to this person and I like the song and eagerly look forward to their next work. XD
  • Tidal Wave – Got7
    • I know I said these aren’t in order…but I had to save the best for last. If you’ve seen my karaoke streams you know I love Got7 and I love BamBam’s musicality. Is there a song he’s written I don’t like? Tidal Wave is the perfect Summer song, the way Got7’s voice blend together and the sweet lyrics full of youthful romantic yearning just get me. I actually cried listening to it the first time because I was so touched. The whole album is amazing but this song is my favourite, even before Python (which BamBam also wrote lmao). If you listen to only one song or album on this whole list…let it be this one! At least for this lovely Summer season. XD It’ll keep you sane, I promise!

Ok, that’s my song suggestions for the season! This wasn’t exactly meant to be a list of listenings to indulge in during these hottest of hot months, but that’s what it came out to be. I hope you are doing well and would love to know what you’re listening to, what you’re working on, and how you plan to get through these upcoming dog days of Summer?

– XOXOX

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Gosh Darnit She Did It Again!

05.06.23 — Leave a comment

If you were in schools during the 2010s, then you know the chokehold “If I Die Young” by the Band Perry had on the youth the moment it came out. I was in one of my Country phases at this time…lmao I’m always listening to Country actually and was living in the South on top of my predisposition for folksy-tunes, and this song went triple platinum on my phone. It seemed like The Band Perry appeared out of nowhere and dropped thee song of the youth, then dipped never to be heard again.

In fairness, I don’t follow artists as closely as I could, and I especially didn’t follow artists like I do now, back then. I was happy enough to have the perfect Country-Emo bop to sing at the top of my lungs and sob to thinking about all the other teens in the world taking the song to heart. It’s a song everyone wanted played at their funeral in the case of their untimely death. It’s a song I thought of many times over the past few years, as Covid became something all young ppl felt was just another ploy to endanger our lives thanks to the carelessness of people who we’re told to look up to and respect.

If I Die Young, felt like a protest song to me. It’s something I defiantly sang loud and proud. I didn’t actually want to die. That sort of depression wasn’t really my thing as a kid. But I could relate to wanting to do something drastic to get people to realise how ridiculous and hypocritical they are. The song felt ironic and too real to how many of my friends felt and I could see younger kids would also feel. Maybe if we all just dropped dead adults would finally do something about all the things killing us. If we just cut out the middleman and do it ourselves, that would show them.

Every time I hear the song I’m taken back to those days. If you’ve followed my other blogs over the years, I’m sure you’d have an idea of what teen me was like. XD She was a trip. Very intense and prone to extremes, but what’s youth for if not exploring the dramatic in life?

Recently Kimberly Perry from The Band Perry released a second part to the iconic song. Once again, proving the cosmic perfect timing of song writers. The second part to the song calls back to the attitude of the past narrator and lovingly, if a bit sardonically reflects on how they’ve changed their stance since. It’s almost an apology to their younger self, “Sorry for the angst, I’m actually really happy I didn’t die so young after all. I’ve found so much to live for since!”

Age changes so much. We often look back on things we enjoyed as children and can’t help but shake our heads and laugh at the direness of it all. Everything seems so great and insurmountable as a child. Your highs seem mountainous, and lows feel like trenches. You have nothing to compare it to, nor the wisdom to understand it.

Growing up is so hard, many people seemingly find themselves stuck at certain ages. Aging is harder for some than others, with so many trials and blocks coming in the way of people becoming the best them they can be.

Personally I’m someone who believes no one is here by accident. In the grand scheme of things, of course. I think everyone has a purpose. Not all world altering, but in life it is the small moments that make it worth living, so it’s those so-called nobodies who really make our time on Earth worth the experience.

I do believe If I Die Young (part 2) is a song that shows us how we give meaning to our own lives. That’s how we survive the seemingly unsurvivable. We plant the roses we want to smell, why wait for our own funeral, which we won’t even get the chance to enjoy?

Like Ms. Perry (I assume), I also had a change of heart as I grew older and grew past my dark days. It does get easier with time. I like to think of different times of your life as seasons. That’s a common way of viewing life I enjoy. We can’t have a good Summer without sometimes a harsh Winter. Spring eases us into Summer, but it’s no less important, bringing us to the harvest of Autumn thanks to all we sowed then. Everything has a rhyme and reason, even when we don’t always see the purpose. Sometimes even what has no purpose, can be given purpose. It’s all about how we choose to interpret our world and what happens in it.

I’ll definitely be playing the mess out of this new song. It’s just as enjoyable to listen too and is just as impactful as the last.

That Time of the Year Again

12.21.21 — Leave a comment

The year comes to a close, and for once I’ve completed my top X of 20XX playlists early! While I’m still looking forward to what new songs will squeeze their way out before the year officially is over, I’m pretty satisfied with all the new music I’ve listened to so far. There are some regular faves of mine that have made the list again, but there are also some new artists and groups. My Spotify Wrapped varies a bit as far as what new I listened to that I actually enjoyed like that, but I think overall it’s pretty similar.

I actually thought I listened to a lot of old artists this year, but I ended up listening to a lot of new people, and really enjoyed it! I even made a playlist this year just so I could keep track of all the new artists/albums I was listening to, but weren’t exactly new this year. Spotify features that allow you to make shared playlists with others also ended up introducing me to a lot of new music. Looking forward to next year and what all else will come!

My Top 21 Songs of 2021:

Top 21 songs of 2021 Spotify playlist

My Stop 21 Albums of 2021:

Top 21 albums of 2021 Spotify playlist

Storytelling

08.27.18 — Leave a comment

These days I find it difficult to string together enough sentences and paragraphs worthy enough to be called a blog post. These are difficult times (when aren’t they?) and I’ve still yet to find the answers to various personal ailments and grievances, but what I have had energy to do is continue to nourish my love of good music. Since this previous post I’ve listened to so many good songs and albums. Janelle Monae, SHINee, Monsta X, NAO, and many more have graced these weary ears and provided a semblance of peace and hope. Some music has been old, some has been new. All has been on repeat in my head and earbuds.

If you thought The Code was an amazing album (much like I did and still do) then the release of The Connect: Dejavu must have completely blown you away. (much like it did me) Monsta X’s vocals have continued to only improve with every new comeback and I’m disheartened that I didn’t get the chance to see them live again for their second world tour after having been able to see them last year. Jealousy is the wonderful continuation of Dramarama I never knew I needed. Carrying on Dramarama’s movie soundtrack feel, Jealousy completely sucked me in, bringing on more scenes and story ideas than ever before. I’m not exactly the most well versed genre-wise, but Monsta X always manages to have a fresh and exciting sound in their tracks. They’ve done hip-hop, R&B, tropical-house, and with these newest albums even embraced their more alternative-rock side. There’s hardly a genre I think they can’t do well, and so far this isn’t a thought they’ve disproved yet.

As this post is titled Storytelling and Monsta X music and their music videos always inspire and contain such vivid imaginings it’s only right I turn to another talented, multi-genre artist. Janelle Monae’s “Dirty Computer” is amazing. I teared up watching her beautiful multi-year labour of love. A love letter to her seniors, to the art of music, to her community, my community, to her self, to entire genres…there’s too much to say. I’d never have enough to mention it all. I loved the emotion picture and I love the album. I haven’t always been a big fan. No particular reason, I just wasn’t overly fond of her style of music (that and I was at an age where I disliked nothing more than liking anything my older sister liked). As the years have gone by and I’ve gotten to listen to more music and learn more about different artists my tastes have changed. While I doubt I’ll ever completely catch up in what I’ve missed out on by being stubborn, I definitely won’t mind catching up either.

Some new-to-me/rediscovered artists I’ve been listening to these days, include A.C.E., Ciara, Empress Of, Hyolyn, BOA, Marron, COASTCITY, IN2IT, and Mitski. My playlists (site curated, and my own creations) have been full of them. Mostly I’ve had Level Up, Take Me Higher, and Hyolyn’s newest songs on repeat, along with Amazons (gag, I know, but I forgot to end my Prime subscription in time so I’m making use of it until next year, not gonna let all that money go to waste. I’m still mad about it) Introducing: Latin playlist. There are a lot of good artists, but I don’t have the time or energy to name them all. The ones listed are just the ones I listen to the most now.

Most of the songs I listen to now, at least while on my laptop, are for story telling. I’ve been using Youtube to make playlists for my story’s ever since 8tracks became less suitable to use (and I’m not overly fond of Spotify, plus they don’t have all the songs I use either). One of the first posts I made on here was about soundscapes and my love for MyNoise. I even mentioned how great it is to layer sounds, especially when trying to set a mood, but lately I’ve been more focused on telling the story, or elements of the story through playlists.

My playlist for my werewolf/vampire romance novel I think shows this the best. It currently has 26 songs, I keep finding more to add, and it has songs suiting the main characters, some of the themes, and even the setting/feel of the story. An example of the variety, I have both the song for 7pm from Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Monster by EXO in the playlist. I also have Close to You by the Carpenters and Moon Woman by HOMESHAKE.

7pm is a song for setting, a magical town that seems quaint at first site, but something is eerily off about it. Monster is a bit of a joke (I also have Wolf by the same group), I added the song because of the concept of the song and music video. Close to You is for the relationship between child and parent. While the song can be seen as a romantic one, I’ve always related it more to childhood and parental affections, as that’s how I’ve seen the song displayed growing up. It’s sweet, yet also melancholy. Moon Woman is about the MCs, the main couple. Coincidentally I also really liked the title of the song and used it as the playlist title, and as the working title of my story until I can find a better one.

P.S.

I’ve also been working on another playlist on the side. I’ve just been collecting “club” songs and putting them in one big playlist. I’m not sure what it is, I’ve never even been clubbing myself, but something about songs and clubs, and clubbing songs really helps get the ol’ writing gears turning. I’ve entire stories just centered around sci-fi club aesthetics. I just really love a good dance bop. Dance music…is truly music for the soul.

Soundscapes

09.01.16 — Leave a comment

As much as I love music, sometimes the best thing about music is the environment you listened to it in. A year or so ago I came across a blog post on tumblr talking about this new sound generator website called my noise. My Noise dot net is a website that features exactly what it says on the tin, noises.

What I like to do is use the various sound generators to set the mood and atmosphere for while I’m listening to music and writing. I’m particularly fond of the sound of rain and a fire going while listening to something jazzy. Something about the combination of chill beats and mellow tunes while rain falls in the background and a fire crackles really puts me in the mood for a good cup of tea and gives me the focusing boost I need to crack out a chapter or two in even the most difficult of projects.

With so many generators, even out of the ones available to those who haven’t donated, the possibilities are really endless, especially with the animation option which alters the sliders and gives the sound generator a different feel from the last sequence.

Here are a few of my favourites: