Guess Who's Back!

I'm baaaaaack with s'more and BETTER music! All through my exams and even now as I take summer classes, music is so much a part of me. It's healing, it's therapeutic and most importantly, it's energizing. It keeps me going. I know charts and billboards have changed a LOT over the last month, artists have come and gone...

So here's a tiny compilation of what I've been listening to this past month. There are two categories, as few people can do without the loud,thumping rap/hip-hop, while the others can take the slow, acoustic music no mo'.

On a Hiatus

Okay, I'm a temporary road to creating a semi-Podcast (minus the fact that you can listen to it on your i-pod whereever). With the year coming to a close, school's getting busy. But within a few weeks I promise to come up with good stuff. I'm planning on a lot of improvements on here - for you to be able to access the music from anywhere (all you need is an internet connection) - and just thinking about it gets me excited. Until then, feel free to browse through earlier posts and visit the artists's websites. I never uploaded songs, but will in the future (thats what a podcast is after all!).


Cheers!

Frou Frou

Who: Frou Frou

Members: Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth

Best Songs

• Close Up
• Shh
• Psychobabble
• Let Go
• Must Be Dreaming
• Hide & See

What: Techno songs that are somehow best categorized under ambient music. Close Up has a little rock in it that suits Imogen's style. Their song Let Go was also featured in Garden State.

Post-Valentine Songs

Literally. I downloaded an assorted array of songs, which I must say are absolutely GREAT and suit the post-Valentine days. The one's in red are a must-hear and the rest are equally good, but probably just something I would listen to (and not all you normal people).

• Temperature - Sean Paul
• Ordinary People - John Legend
• Cherry Cola - Savage Garden
• Unbreak My Heart (Regresa A Mi) - Il Divo
• Everytime I Look At You - Il Divo
• Drops of Jupiter - Train
• Sail Away - David Gray
• Best I Ever Had - David Gray
• Bend in the Road - Donavon Frankenreiter
• So Far Away - Donavon Frankenreiter
• The Greatest - Cat Power
• Bu De Bu Ai - Pan Wei Bo (chinese)
• Someday - Flipsyde

Bollywood

This is one of my favorite Bollywood movies. Maybe because of its songs.
The movie is called Veer-Zaara, a touching tale of two people from different countries and their love for each other keeping them strong through whatever they were forced to endure. Sounds like a typical love-story, right? But the songs give a real-life feel to it.
Most of the songs are soulful, almose like the story of two bleeding hearts surviving just to hear one word from each other. Sorta sad, but the movie was a big hit in India and Pakistan (and wherever it was broadcasted).
The places where the songs are shot are breath-taking and give one of the most wonderful insights into what life is really like there.


Bluffmaster is another major "blockbuster" in India right now. With Abhishek Bachchan singing in Right Here, Right Now, any movie would have been a success :P He sings really well! But I've been a big fan of his deep, rough voice so I can't say about most people. The movie's songs are now embedded in my playlist.Literally.

Amr Diab

Two songs that have made a HUGE comeback with my late-night hours:

Habibi and Aywa Ana Aaref
-by Amr Diab

His voice is mesmerizing, even though I don't get a single word of what he's saying. while Ayway Ana Aaref is slow with a soft Arabic rhythm to it, Habibi is more fast-paced and I think has been dubbed into a lot of other languages into remixes and a few originals by artists.

NuOvO Spirit

This new year, my playlist seems to have taken a liking to Electronica/Dance music. I'd liked Euro-pop when I was in my early teens(like most teens, right?) and I think that taste gradually grew more... sophisticated. Now I LOVE listening to Frou Frou, Moby, B-Tribe, DJ Krush, IO, William Orbit, Faithless, Olive, Moodswings, dZihan & Kamien to name a few. Smile by Olive and Psychobabble by Frou Frou are a must-hear for anyone who'd like to venture into this Ambient, relaxing anf at times, foot-tapping world.


My recent roadtrip to Florida also added a whole lot of genres. I knew I liked listening to Latino, Indian, NZian, Cambodian, Arabic music... but nah-uh, more was to come. Friends I travelled with carried CDs filled with S. African, Turkish and S. American artists. And... WOW! I got a whole new Ethnic playlist ready and playing throughout the trip. Outlandish (Aisha), Amr Diab (Habibi Ya Nour El Ain), Viva (Jaago Zaraa), Strings (Yeh hai meri kahani and Door), Lucky Ali (O Sanam), MIA (Pull Up the People), India (w/ Marc Anthony) and a few other latin singers I can't remember right now. THIS is what people have in mind when they're thinking how to spice up the dance floor. So rock on this new year with something different 'n good spirits~!

Pump Up My Siberian Sleigh Ride

Yep. That's all I want for Christmas. Well... I could settle for a little less... something. Besides the surprise Christmas presents under the tree, I stumbled upon the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and I have to say, this has GOT to be the best stumble ever in my playlist's history. Like Amazon reviews put it, "If you're looking for something out of the ordinary for the season, The Lost Christmas Eve is for you." Upon doing some research on the band's biography, it turns out that the band was formed in 1996 by Paul O'Neill, who was later joined by friends, writers, composers and collaborators, to create music "that was so melodic it didn't need lyrics. And lyrics that were so poetic that they didn't need music but once you put the two of them together, the sum of the parts would be greater than the whole, and you couldn't imagine them apart." Wow, that IS some serious brain-storming that went into the making of this league of... extraordinary (the very best) singers and musicians and genre-mixing the classical, rock, Broadway and R & B worlds. O'Neill set out to create a Christmas Trilogy - The Lost Christmas Eve being the last volume. Not going into the details about the story behind every album of theirs, this album's about a little angle sent to earth to complete Jesus's unfinished work. Of course, its the new world he lands into, and what more perfect city to start... than New York. I first listened to Siberian Sleigh Ride, and was enraptured. The slow piano start, which fuses into heavy electric guitar and organ would have the same effect on any new-age rock and classical music fans. It reminded me of Aerosmith and a lot of the hard rock (that I thought I couldn't listen to at a stretch, but surprise surprise!). The Wisdom of Snow is another favorite of mine - soft, flowing piano keys that just mellow out your soul... A similar song would be Christmas Bells, Carousels and Time - this one haunting with tinkling bells and a "something-lurks-in-the-shadows" feel to it. Over-all, the perfect Christmas music for all kinds of music lovers. You'll find a song in there that is just right for you - and probably one that suits your Christmas spirit. And if your spirit needs some pumpin', there's Pump It by the Black Eyed Peas for it. Their whacky lyrics, booty-shakin' hip-hop, R&B beats get you up on your feet and whisk out that old accessory that screams "MONKEY BUSINESS!" Uhm, not really, but its the kind of music that would put some spunk in you and make you want to hit the club. Be good though... Santa likes good kids :) Fergie, the female lead singer, is amazing. Her voice IS her attitude... and what an attitude she's got. Very, very... nice, boys. Thats what I'll be listening to these holidays. Spending quality brat-time with loved ones. Have a smashin' New Year's and a Christmas that would drive Santa crazy. If you know what I mean. Sooo.. turn up the radio, blast the stereoOooOo riiiight now ;) Stay safe and have a good time!

Wake Up to Jem's "24"

"In 24 hours they'll be laying flowers on my life, it's over tonight... I'm not messing..."

Who: Jem Griffith
When: Released in March 2005
What: Finally Woken, a solid debut album

This song, 24 by Jem is one of those songs you can listen to when you need some motivation to DO something, right then and there. I'm not big when it comes to lyrics with Jem's songs, but her soulful voice and the earnesty in her voice that truely bounces on one's musical vibe... is amazing. 24 has a 'I'm-free-from-you' feel to it and reminds me of the type of music someone might listen to after a recent break-up. Don't know why... but I just do! But, I've always liked eletric guitars and strings. The same would go for They, but it has a slight church-like tune to it. Falling For You is another good song, which I got to listen and download from a friend. The lyrics of this song actually rang true and that's why I decided to share my interest in this new British artist's songs. The cautiousness and skeptism people have around people they like is put so well in this song, that it reminds you of Dido's White Flag. She DOES sound a lot like Dido, but with a youthful and more sprighty debut album. I haven't heard the rest of the songs on her album, but the tiny clips of what I did on Amazon show promise. She's burning up the charts around the globe and kudos to her for such music. You might like her if you can put together Dido, Evanescence, Beth Orten and Sarah McLachlan.

Back to Bedlam indeed

Who:James Blunt
When: Released May 2005
What: Top-selling debut album of 2005 in the UK

I heard You're Beautiful by James Blunt a few times on one of the MSN radio stations and it was the guitar being played that caught my attention. Of course, I couldn't wait to have it on my playlist and downloaded it - now I can't get enough of it! Its so... pure, heartfelt and comes straight from the heart of a sensitive person, its pure bliss to listen to such a song. Blunt's voice is very similar to Damien Rice, who's debut single sold out the most in 2004. The same seems to be happening to James Blunt's single Back to Bedlam this year. He's extremely talented, CAN sing and it shows in his lyrics, which are inspired from his years as a British army captain, peacekeeper in Kosovo and guard at the Buckingham Palace. No Bravery has a emotional punch to it, with a lot of strong songwriting and producing. Wiseman is another favorite of mine and is by far, the best song sung by him. He IS the "modern musical hero" with a lot of depth and emotion in all his songs. Definitely worth listening to if you liked Damien Rice, Anna Nalick, Keane, Jack Johnson and to an extent, Coldplay.

Cheers!