Author: Caitlin

Howdy, I'm Caitlin and I'm a senior in Communication Media. My favorite genres of music are pop and indie-rock, though I dabble in most genres. Hope you enjoy my content!

Categories
Playlists

“The Unhoneymooners” by Christina Lauren: Review/Playlist

Book cover for "The Unhoneymooners" by Christina Lauren. The cover a bright yellow background with various tropical flora and fauna including a toucan, big green leaves, pink flowers. The text on the cover reads "The Unhoneymooners" "Christina Lauren" the top of the cover contains a review by Helen Hoang that reads "Witty and downright hilarious.”

“The Unhoneymooners” is a charming and captivating adult romance novel by the duo known as Christina Lauren that was published in May 2019. The principal character and narrator of the novel, Olive Torres, is a twin who feels as if her life is a product of bad luck whilst her twin sister Ami has the exact opposite fortune. After all, Ami is getting married and her wedding consists of items and services she won in various contests, competitions and sweepstakes, making her wedding extremely cost-effective. Meanwhile, Olive is single, out of a job and seemingly has no prospects in career or romance. That is, until her luck begins to turn around.

The rest of this blog post may contain mild spoilers that a reader may not want to see, so if you haven’t read the book and want the main plot point to remain a mystery, then you might not want to continue reading this post.

Continue reading ““The Unhoneymooners” by Christina Lauren: Review/Playlist”
Continue reading ““The Unhoneymooners” by Christina Lauren: Review/Playlist”
Categories
Playlists

If You Like Fiona Apple, Then Listen To…

If You Like Fiona Apple

With the release of “Fetch The Bolt Cutters” in 2020, there are a lot of newer Fiona Apple fans (including me) who were new to Apple’s unique amalgamation of rock and art-pop. I’ve since dove into the deep end of her discography and recently found myself wanting more. So, I decided to make a playlist of Fiona Apple-esque songs. Whether it be artists that inspired her, artists inspired by her or just songs that give me the vibe, I’ve compiled 15 songs (one of which has an Apple feature) that are adjacent in some way to her.

Without further ado, here is the playlist:

“Picture Me Better” – Weyes Blood 

“Skin Crawl” – Alice Phoebe Lou

“Square (Solo Piano Version)” – Mitski

“Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires” – Cocteau Twins

“Show You a Body” – Haley Heynderickx

“Los Ageless – piano version” – St. Vincent

“Song In My Head” – Madison Cunningham

“The Future” – Spellling

“Miss World” – Hole

“Silent Machine” – Cat Power

“James and the Cold Gun” – Kate Bush

“Left Handed Kisses” – Andrew Bird

“Choice in the Matter” – Aimee Mann

“Look For Me (I’ll Be Around)” – Neko Case

“Sweet Bird” – Joni Mitchell

As always, I’ve made this list into a Spotify playlist for you to enjoy.

Until next time,

Caitlin

Categories
Short Stories

Selena Gomez or Céline Dion?: The Story of My First Concert

My First Concert

When I was in 7th grade, at the awkward age of 12, I got the opportunity to go to my very first concert. I went with my older sister, and to be honest, I don’t remember any of it. However, what I do remember is how we got the tickets.

One morning, I was awoken by my dad way before I was supposed to get ready for school. I was groggy and confused, but once I gained awareness of my surroundings, I realized he was on the phone with my mom. They were frantically trying to tell me that my mother had won tickets to a Selena Gomez concert coming up in October. I was excited, confused, bewildered, but more than anything, I was tired. Thus, I shrugged it off and tried to go back to sleep.

When I woke up for the second time that morning, I quickly remembered what had happened earlier. Had my mom actually won tickets to a Selena Gomez concert? How had she done that? Why did she want tickets to see an emerging Disney star? 

On the way to work on that early morning in 2013, my mom was listening to a local radio station and they were giving away two concert tickets to see Céline Dion. Or, at least that’s what my mom thought when she called in to try to win. Miraculously, my mom was the lucky winner, and in the process of securing the details of when and where she would receive the tickets, she found out that she had won tickets to see Selena Gomez, not the beloved singer of “My Heart Will Go On.”

She figured that her 16 and 12-year-old daughters would be excited to go, as neither of us had gone to a concert before, and boy was she right.

Although I don’t remember a thing from that night, I love telling the story of how a mistake, some luck and a coincidence led to me and my sister going to our very first concert.

Until next time,

Caitlin

Categories
New Album Review

“Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night” New Album Review

Take The Sadness Out of Saturday Night Album Cover

ALBUM: “Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night” by Bleachers

RELEASE YEAR: 2021

LABEL: RCA Records Label

RATING: 7.25/10

BEST TRACKS: “Chinatown” “How Dare You Want More” “Stop Making This Hurt”

FCC: None

“Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night” is finally out after over a year of teasing by Jack Antonoff, who said at the beginning of 2020 that his third album would come at some time that year. 

With a total of 10 songs that clock in at nearly 34 minutes, this album contains collaborations with Annie Clark (better known as St. Vincent), Lana Del Rey and Bruce Springsteen. The three singles “45,” “Chinatown” and “Stop Making This Hurt” are indubitably three of the strongest tracks.

As a fan of Antonoff, I was somewhat surprised by how reminiscent of Bleachers’ previous album, “Gone Now,” this release was. To Antonoff’s credit, he did experiment more than usual on this record, as seen with an instrumental solo in the back half of “How Dare You Want More” and strong vocals in the opening track, “91”. However, he seemed to fall back into his own tropes of big jazzy instrumentation and writing about the same themes he’s been writing about for his entire solo career (shadows, heroes/being saved, and waking up being just a few of the tropes he falls back on). What once felt like a refreshing take on pop music is now starting to feel somewhat trite.

What some may see as repetitive, others may interpret as cohesive and consistent, so it’s a matter of how you frame the context surrounding the album. Criticism aside, the album is good, and definitely worth the listen, but simply not what I was hoping to see from Antonoff. 

Track 9, “Strange Behavior” (previously known as “Behavior”), is a cover of a song he had written in Steel Train, a former band of his. The new rendition is more soulful and intimate than the previous, but I’m partial to the rock instrumentation and the overall execution on the Steel Train version.

As always happens with a Bleachers record, the album’s themes and generally upbeat nature left me feeling hopeful, which is a rare and beautiful gift that Antonoff possesses, and is one that just can’t be taught. Although I definitely prefer Bleachers’ two previous records, “Strange Desire” and “Gone Now,” I appreciate the artistry and love that clearly went into “Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night.”

Categories
Band/Artist Profile

An Ode to Mallrat

Image used under the Creative Commons License. Sourced from Flickr user kingArthur_aus.

Mallrat (in her personal life known as Gracie Shaw) is a 22-year-old Australian pop singer and songwriter that has been releasing music since 2016, with the debut of her first EP “Uninvited.” I mentioned Mallrat on my “Australia Favorites” blog back in April. Her discography includes three EPs and a handful of singles. With earnest and angsty lyrics, she brings a refreshing perspective to the world of pop. She has collaborated with artists such as Cub Sport, Allday, and producers like Konstantin Kersting and BJ Burton. 

My favorite of her projects is her 2018 release, “In The Sky.” This five-song EP intertwines the familiarity of streamlined-sounding pop with teenage uncertainty, hope and despair. However, if you’re not a fan of vocal chops, I would stay away from this EP (it’s covered in them). “In The Sky” also has killer cover-art, one of my favorites of all time. 

“In The Sky” – Mallrat (cover art)

My favorite (and in my opinion the best) track by Mallrat thus far is “Charlie” off of her 2019 EP “Driving Music.” She has said that “Charlie is about a lot of different things, but mostly just loving people so much, regardless of whether it’s reciprocated or not.” This song was at the top of my 2020 Spotify Wrapped, and is overall an amazing song about the beauty of the human ability to love. 

I’ve been listening to Mallrat since 2016, and I hope to one day see a full-length album from her. I also think she has a voice suited for soft rock, and would love to hear her experiment in that realm as well.

Sources for this blog include:

Categories
Miscellaneous

Tips and Tricks for Moving

Moving Tips with cardboard box

I have lived in the same house my entire life, so when it came time for me to go to college in the late summer of 2019, I had never moved before. Granted, I have an older sibling who also went to college, and my parents have moved a countless number of times in their lives, so they were able to help me with that process. However, because of the pandemic, I had to transfer all of my belongings six (soon to be seven) times within the span of two years– and although the process never gets any less stressful, I have learned some tips and tricks along the way.

1. 30 Gallon Trash Bags are your best friend.

Especially if you’re not spatially aware (like me) it’s nice to have giant bags you can just throw random stuff in. They are especially useful for bedding (even when it’s folded, it takes up so much space) or clothing. I would advise against putting anything fragile in one of these but for fabric items, they work just fine.

2. Your belongings are probably not going to be organized the way you want them to be, and that is okay.

Once you come to accept that the whole process is going to be extremely stressful no matter what you do, it takes a lot of the pressure off. Obviously there are things that you can do to make the process easier (as that is the goal of this blogpost) but chances are, logistics will get in the way of perfect organization, and that’s alright.

3. Collect cardboard boxes in the few weeks/months before you’re about to move out.

If you don’t have room for boxes or don’t want them cluttering your space, collapse them and then reconstruct them when it’s time to start packing. 

4. Storage units are also your best friend.

If you’re going back and forth between two places (as is common for college students), the ability to not have to lug non-essentials back and forth is amazing. They can be somewhat pricey, but if they’re within your budget they are 100% worth it. 

5. Distract yourself with podcasts, television and music.

The process will not be fun, so you may as well make it bearable with media of your choice. Just be sure it’s not something you want to pay too close attention to, because you will be packing/unpacking your belongings and thus won’t be able to watch the screen the whole time.

6. Ask for help.

Along the same vein as the last tip, having help from family, friends, and/or roommates is indispensable. They can serve as a distraction, help or even just companionship along the way.

I hope these tips are helpful, and if you’re in the process of moving right now just know that you’re not alone. Hopefully one day we’ll finally invent teleportation and that’ll make everything 100% easier. 

Until then,

Caitlin

Categories
Playlists

2000s Film Soundtrack: A Playlist

Text Reads: 2000s film soundtrack

Certain songs give off a very particular energy, and I’ve decided the energy I like most in a song is the following: songs that sound like they could be in the soundtrack coming of age film via the early 2000s. To indulge myself and to share the wealth, I’ve compiled a playlist of songs released in the mid-1990s to mid-2000s that radiate that vibe. Granted, upon some research a couple of these songs were in films from around that time, but not any that I’ve seen, so it seems like I might just have a good radar for soundtrack songs. 

“You You You You You” – The 6ths

“What Will Give” – The Radio Dept. 

“The Future Pt. 1” – Voxtrot

“You Are My Face” – Wilco

“The Good That Won’t Come Out” – Rilo Kiley

“Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying” – Belle and Sebastian

“Another Travelin’ Song” – Bright Eyes

“Across The Universe” – Fiona Apple

“Blue Flower” – Mazzy Star

“The Morning Sad” – Veruca Salt

“I’ll Believe in Anything” – Wolf Parade

“Magic 8 Ball” – Cub

I’ve made a Spotify playlist of this list just for you. If you check it out, I hope you enjoy it.

Until next time,

Caitlin

Categories
Classic Album Review

“Stranger in the Alps” Album Review

Stranger in the Alps album cover

ALBUM: “Stranger in the Alps” by Phoebe Bridgers

RELEASE YEAR: 2017

LABEL: Dead Oceans

RATING: 8.5/10

BEST TRACKS: “Funeral” “Smoke Signals” “Scott Street”

FCC: Explicit

Released in 2017, “Stranger in the Alps” is Phoebe Bridgers’ debut album. This record was a remarkable launching point for Bridgers, and is everything a debut album should be. With themes ranging from loss, loneliness and depression, the album is sad, honest, but not overly cynical.  The album’s title is in reference to “The Big Lebowski,” and the way a line of the movie was edited for the TV (clean) version of the film; irony is clearly never lost on Bridgers and her humor peeks its way through her lyricism throughout the album.

On tracks “Georgia” and “Motion Sickness” she lets her vocals shine, although they stand out on every track. As I said on my “Best of Phoebe Bridgers” blog post, Bridgers’ “diary-like storytelling, sorrowful disposition, smooth vocals, and folky melodies combine to make top-tier indie music.” 

Bridgers, no stranger to collaboration, worked with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes on this album. Track 9, titled “Would You Rather,” contains vocals from Oberst, whom she later would collaborate with on Better Oblivion Community Center. She keeps her inspirations and predecessors tangible in her work, with references to the deaths of David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister in the record’s first track, “Smoke Signals.”  The penultimate track of the album “You Missed My Heart” is a cover of a song by the same title originally by Mark Kozelek, released in 2013 on “Live at Phoenix Public House Melbourne.”  

“Stranger in the Alps” is sonically and thematically cohesive, although sometimes it does fall victim to repetitiveness. Totaling 11 tracks and clocking in at 44 minutes, the album feels like a good length and tends to be more refreshing than it is redundant. The final track of the album, “Smoke Signals (Reprise)” ties the album together with a callback to the first track.

Although I definitely prefer her sophomore album “Punisher,” which was released in 2020 (be sure to check out Lise Nox’s review of it), “Stranger in the Alps” certainly gives that album a run for its money.

Categories
Miscellaneous

The “Rosyln” Mystery

Twilight New Moon Soundtrack Picture

The “Twilight” movie series recently got put onto Netflix, and to celebrate, I decided to listen to some of my favorite tracks from the soundtracks. A fan-favorite track from the “Twilight: New Moon” soundtrack is a song called “Rosyln” by Bon Iver and St. Vincent. This song is often referred to (incorrectly) as “Roslyn” (with the letters “y” and “l” flipped around from the soundtrack’s spelling). I’ve always regarded the original spelling as strange, but figured there was some explanation behind it; some “Twilight” or Bon Iver lore that I hadn’t quite grasped.

When I looked into it last week, I quickly found out that there is no clear-cut explanation. Let me relay what I’ve found out to you.

When you search up the title of the song, Google immediately tries to correct you, because as far as I know, there is little else in this world named “Rosyln” and it thinks you’re making a spelling mistake.

Justin Vernon (the man behind Bon Iver), has referred to this song in live performances as “Roslyn, Washington.”

Video begins at 0:22, when Vernon announces the name of the song they will be performing. He clearly says “Roslyn” and not “Rosyln.”

Fans have pointed out that Vernon loves the show “Northern Exposure,” and that it has had a large influence on him (including commissioning a fan for a tattoo related to the show as well as naming his band and a record label after aspects of the show). The show, although set in Alaska, was primarily filmed in Roslyn, Washington. They think that the title is a nod to that.

So why is the track spelled “Rosyln”?

Some fans mistakenly thought that the song was merely misspelled on Spotify, and that the original soundtrack CD was spelled “Roslyn.” That thought, although the most convenient explanation, is incorrect. The original CD’s packaging spells the track as “Rosyln.”

Long story short, we don’t know for sure. My personal guess is that a typo was made at some point in the publishing process of the soundtrack, and once it was noticed it was too late to fix it. There is much debate between fans whether it should be referred to as “Rosyln” or “Roslyn,” and my personal stance is that it was published as “Rosyln” and should be referred to as such.

Categories
Classic Album Review

My Favorite Albums, 3 Years Ago

Favorite Albums, dated June 2018, 1. gone now by bleachers 2. melodrama by lorde

Long ago, my main interest in music heavily focused on pop music. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, (stuff is usually popular for a reason) my music taste has really strayed away from that as I’ve gotten older. I recently found a picture of an old journal entry from when I was 16 that chronicled my favorite albums from the time, and I wanted to reminisce on them and share how I feel about them nowadays.

My journal entry from June of 2018.

“Gone Now” – Bleachers

I still deeply love this album, and revisit it annually, but it’s no longer in constant rotation like it used to be. Bleachers was a gateway into more of the “indie” music that I am into nowadays. This album will forever be my favorite thing that Jack Antonoff has put his magic touch on.

“Shawn Mendes” – Shawn Mendes

This journal entry is from June of 2018, and that album came out in late May 2018. I most likely last listened to that album in August of 2018. It was definitely a temporary love, but I remember it being good pop music.

“The Human Condition” – Jon Bellion

This album definitely is a product of its time. It just feels very 2016. It was one of the first albums I ever deeply fell in love with, and eventually even went on to see Jon Bellion in concert. It’s definitely not something I would still listen to nowadays, but it meant a lot to me back then.

“What Do You Think About The Car?” – Declan McKenna

This is still one of my favorite albums of all time. If you like “Brazil,” the most popular song off of this album, then you should definitely give the rest a listen.

“Death of a Bachelor” – Panic At the Disco

This isn’t even their best album (in my opinion their first album takes the cake). Again, definitely not something I currently listen to, but it was important to me back then.

“Oh Wonder” – Oh Wonder

This is an extremely underrated pop album. While I rarely ever revisit nowadays, I still love it dearly. Maybe the nostalgia I have associated with this album makes me see it through rose-colored glasses, but it was the first album I properly listened to from beginning to end all on my own. 

“Conscious” – Broods

This is another underrated pop album, and I don’t think nostalgia is fueling my views this time. Broods’ 2019 release “Don’t Feed The Pop Monster” is an album I revisit more often than this one, but both are amazing and in my opinion, stand the test of time.

“Melodrama” – Lorde

This is the best pop album of the 2010s. I felt that way then, and I still feel that way now.

“+” – Ed Sheeran

I remember wanting to make both sides of the list even, so I kind of added this one as a last-ditch effort. I loved this album in 2013, but I seldom revisited it when I wrote this entry 3 years ago and don’t now.

“Dream Your Life Away” – Vance Joy

What I said about “+” applies here, except I do revisit this one nowadays.

There isn’t anything wrong with the albums I don’t listen to anymore, they just belong in that period of my life. I can’t help but wonder what I’ll think of my current favorite albums three years from now. Only time will tell.

Until next time,

Caitlin