Tag: Harry Styles

Music - What I'm Listening To

Friday Jam Session: Rainy Days

Amanda

If you ask me what my all around favorite music genre is, anyone who knows me well, know that it’s country. But if you were to ask me what my favorite “music mood” was, I think many more of you would be surprised (Or are just confused by what I just said LOL).

Making playlists is something I’ve been doing for a LONG time. From the beginning when I had an iTunes in middle school I started created playlists and mixed CDs, all revolving around different themes, events and moods. I actually still have a lot of my old mixed CDs in my car and like to pop them in every once in a while for a fun throwback. Anyway, above all, my favorite “music mood” is by far what I’ve always personally called “soul music.” I know that I should probably find a different name, because traditionally “soul music” is associated with jazz, gospel and the blues, but the label has just always stuck with me. So what I am referring to is essentially slower, laid back music, often with a single instrument. Most often, this music isn’t your really passionate love songs or really sad songs, but more of a lighter dose of either of those, or just a bit more lighthearted. And it is always best listened to on a cozy rainy day, or a relaxing, warm sunny day.

When I decided that this was going to be an upcoming feature playlist, it was way too long (hundreds of songs), so I started picking through over the past couple of weeks, and then separated that into two lists. I followed my usual rule and tried to focus on including a big variety of artists, instead of multiple songs from the same artists. Which is SO HARD, considering some of my favorites, like Vance Joy, could have whole albums on here. I’ll also say that, for the most part, I don’t really put country music on a playlist like this. In my mind, that is a different kind of playlist.

The first list that I am saving for later features my all-time favorite self-proclaimed “Soul Music,”… all songs that are permanently on repeat. But today’s post is still pretty great, and since we’ve been having quite a few warm spring rainy days where I live recently, labeling this as my “Rainy Days” playlist was perfect.

Enjoy!

What are you listening to lately?

See ALL past Friday Jam Session posts HERE.

British Artists
90’s  Country
Post Break Up
Motivation
Favorite Albums in 2017

Music - What I'm Listening To

Friday Jam Session: British Artists

Amanda

I am headed to London late next week for a long girls weekend with one of my college besties, Brandi, so I thought it would be fun to throw together a playlist that focused on British artists. Which, in hindsight, was a bit easier said than done. Other than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, I didn’t have too many expectations of what would be included, but as I started to dive into my saved music as well as exploring other playlists on Spotify, I discovered that I should have been more specific, and just focused on one era and genre. There were so many artists and bands that I forgot or never realized originated from the UK!

So, my list is a bit eclectic, ranging from the “British Invasion” to current music. To keep the playlist from being too long, I did decide to limit it to artists and bands that were only from England, not from Ireland (sorry U2) or Scotland. However, please don’t go fact checking on me… I’m sure I messed up at least one or two 🙂

Enjoy!

Alright, let me know what obvious favorites I missed!

What are you listening to lately?

See ALL past Friday Jam Session posts HERE.

90’s  Country
Post Break Up
Motivation
Favorite Albums in 2017

Music - What I'm Listening To

Friday Jam Session: Post Break Up

Amanda

Just keeping it real over here on all accounts.

First, it’s not Friday. But last Friday, my Wi-fi was down all day due to a crazy wind storm we had and this Friday I have a different post that I want to specifically post on that date. But hey, I definitely jam out other days of the week, so really, it works. #rebelyell

Second, I’m fully aware that it is a bit dramatic to create and share a playlist titled “Post Break Up,” but hey, unfortunately most of us need a playlist like this at point or another. You are welcome.

I’ve been adding songs to this list over the past couple of weeks and it was MUCH harder to keep it under a reasonable number than I thought it would be, which was silly to think because all artists have at least a handful of break up songs to their name. And really, I could have just made the list with only country songs… or only Taylor Swift songs.

So is this list a bit cheesy? Yes, because there was no way I was leaving Dolly out of it. And it is definitely full of angst (my teenage self would be so proud). But it is pretty well-rounded — meaning it covers every stage of a break up and quite a few different situations. So please note, I obviously don’t personally relate to every single song, quite a few are just songs that I enjoy and love to jam out to regardless of what they are about. Enjoy!

p.s. There are a few songs that are explicit, just FYI, if that’s not your thing. #sorrymom

What are you listening to lately?

See past Friday Jam Session posts HERE.

Music - What I'm Listening To

Friday Jam Session: Favorite Albums in 2017

Amanda

I am SO EXCITED to bring back this series. Blogging is such a fun hobby for me and a way to both journal my life and exercise my writing skills outside of work, so in 2018 one of my goals is to blog more regularly. Friday Jam Sessions used to be some of my regular posts, but how I was doing them at the time — choosing one song to highlight for a bunch of different categories and writing a review for each — were just so time consuming so I eventually got out of the habit of doing them. But music and discovering new artists and tunes is still one of my favorite things and I missed sharing these posts. So now that I’ve become loyal to Spotify a few years ago, I am going to switch things up and share playlists I build on there around different themes. This is much easier for me to do because I listen to Spotify almost all day, everyday, regardless if I am at work, in the car or at home. And I’ve always had the habit of sorting songs into playlists based on moods or themes as I go. So right now I am aiming to get one of these posts up about every other week or so. Let me know if there is any particular theme you want me to feature!

See past Friday Jam Session posts HERE.

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To start us out, I decided to look back at 2017 and feature my favorite 10 full albums that were released that year. My music tastes stretch far and wide, but not surprisingly, artists that came out with full albums that I listened to over and over to, were almost all artists that I consider some of my all-time favorites. I decided to put three songs from every album on the playlist, which was NOT EASY. I should also note that Chris Stapleton technically came out with TWO new albums this year (because he’s amazing) but I counted them as one in this list…and still included three songs from each.

  • Ed Sheeran // Divide
  • Maren Morris // HERO
  • Chris Stapleton // From a Room Vol. 1 and 2
  • Logan Mize // Come Back Road
  • Harry Styles // Harry Styles
  • The Greatest Showman Soundtrack
  • Aaron Watson // Vaquero
  • Taylor Swift // reputation
  • Turnpike Troubadours // A Long Way From Your Heart
  • Halsey // hopeless fountain kingdom

A few playlist notes…

Halsey was a bit of a surprise to me because I don’t recall really liking much from her first album, but I really liked her sophomore album this year. Harry Styles’ freshman solo album solidified that his talents stretch far beyond his work with One Direction and I spent most of 2017 demanding that my friends listen to it. I was over the moon that Logan Mize finally gave us a new full album and proceeded to reminisce about all of his concerts I went to in college. My obsession with Ed Sheeran continues to know no limits and after discovering Maren Morris when her original EP came out a few years ago I have to remind myself that she’s still considered a new artist. After listening to him a bit in college, Aaron Watson shot up my list when I finally caught one of his concerts back in September and was kicking myself for having missed out on more of his music for so long. Maybe its because we’re the same age and I feel like I’ve grown up with her, but I’m still a shameless fan of Taylor, and after being a little concerned about LWYMMD as the first single off the new album, the rest of it was everything that it should be. Turnpike Troubadours has such a distinct sound, and I finally made it to one of their concerts for the first time, which only solidified my love for their music. Chris Stapleton’s sound continues to memorize me and I will never be able to wrap my mind around the fact that he spent so many years writing for other people before making it on his own. I FINALLY saw him live in concert this past year, and he is even so much better live — if that is possible. Finally, I couldn’t not mention the album that seems like everyone can’t stop talking about, and that is The Greatest Showman soundtrack. The movie was SO GOOD and the soundtrack has been on loop in my car for weeks. I think I know every word to every song by now.

I am sure that I forgot or overlooked a few albums,  but I did have these others on my list when I was planning this post, so I suppose they deserve honorable mention.

  • Little Big Town // The Breaker
  • Thomas Rhett // Life Changes
  • Old Dominion // Happy Endings
  • Grace VanderWaal // Just The Beginning
  • Demi Lovato // Tell Me You Love Me

And these are artists with albums coming in 2018 that are on my radar so far that I am looking forward to.

  • Dierks Bentley
  • Vance Joy
  • Justin Timberlake
  • Kacey Musgraves
  • Twenty One Pilots
  • Brothers Osborne

What are you listening to lately?

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