Oooh. Another month bites the dust.
Now that I’ve started these monthly breakdowns, I’ve noticed just how short months are. Before I know it, it’s time for another blog post.
So here we are, breaking down #October2020. You know the format. Playlist here.
56 songs for October. Starting with “Bitter”, “Forever”, “Still Have Me”. Fletcher, Fletcher, Demi. Fletcher I feel we have gone through extensively in previous posts, so to keep it short, she’s still very much in rotation.
Demi, however... Demi writes the best 'going through it' tracks. And yes, it sucks that she goes through it in order to produce such powerful tracks, but GOD if she isn’t a vocal powerhouse and doesn’t have an ear for heart wrenching melodies. I do feel Demi has been going through it for a minute now, so I’m wishing her the best.
Playing next is “Mimi”. A 2018 track. The only AJ Tracey track I was listening to in 2018 was Butterflies. I can’t say I ever explored any further, and so I was put on to this track in one of my #VlogstarChallenge training sessions with YouTube a few weeks ago.
Next up is Ella Mai. We all know I love her however I haven’t played this song too much. I guess I’m just not relating to it.
The following few tracks all came from Apple Music’s Sounds of Lisbon playlist.
I’m a fan of Portugal’s music scene, so I do check in with it every now and again, just to hear what the kids are listening to. I particularly love “Bem-Disposto”. It literally means “in a good mood”. It gives me beach cabana vibes, chilling with friends, all of that.
“Effortless” is mixed in in-between the Portuguese tunes. Ant Saunders released a track earlier this year, Yellow Hearts, which was a cute bop that I enjoyed enough. As I was listening to my Lisbon playlist and simultaneously scrolling through Twitter, I saw that my fellow #CreativityWorks buddy, Rosh, had shared her review of Ant’s new track, so of course I paused my playlist to listen. Check out the review here– it is literally spot on and describes the song perfectly.
Back to Sounds of Lisbon. “Só a Pensar” gives me The 1975 feels! It’s got that dream quality. This has to be one of my favourite finds of October.
“Colours” is particularly beautiful. Rebecca works for MTV and facilitated a workshop for us. I did not expect to find out she was a whole artist. But she is. Think Adele. Do give her a listen.
“Wonder”. Oh Wonder. Since this blog post, the song has definitely grown on me. I think I was in the shower one day and thought wait, hold on, Shawn is talking about something very very real. I do wonder what it’s like to be my friends. I too wonder why I’m so afraid of saying something wrong. Truth is, I have made mistakes and will never not make mistakes but as Shawn said, I never claimed to be a saint. Plus, I’m such a particular human… so naturally I do wonder what it’s like for people to love me. How do you love a dreamer? Is it easy or hard guys? Please do be brutally honest.
Pause. Big pause. Moment of appreciation for this track. “Don’t Hold Your Breath” was an anthem in 2011. Absolute pop perfection. I posted it up on my IG story and my cousin replied saying this was the song that got her over her breakup– that made me chuckle. Whether Scherzy truly meant the words or not, I don’t know, but it’s a great track.
“In Bloom” is next. This is Rosh again. I mean it when I say my friends and circles put me on to a hell of a lot.
In fact, the next album I discovered through one of Jasmine Dotiwala’s tweets. Jasmine has been leading our season of Creativity Works over at Media Trust. She’s also on multiple music panels. She shared a shortlist for an international category she was voting on, and Nasty C , a South African rapper, was one of the shortlisted artists. 'Zulu Man With Some Power' is a solid, solid, SOLID body of work. I think I landed on my favourite being “Zone”.
“Selfish” by The Kid LAROI, spilled over from September. I was driving one day and randomly thought about the situation LAROI describes in this track. And well, yeah, I’m terrified of being that way. But to be fair, and this is just me spilling now and if you know you know, but… I won’t be that person. It’s not in me.
Anyways, moving along swiftly. “Wasted Energy”, a beautiful track. Alicia Keys drops these gems every now and again. Again though, no clue how I feel about the lyrical content. Not trying to know either.
“Sunset Lover” is one of my all time favourites. It feels like my soul.
It’s followed by the incredible Brazilian artist Djavan with “Se”. I’ve adored this song since I first heard my stepdad play it. He does an amazing rendition on the guitar and I love singing along with him. Again, it feels like my soul.
“Insecure”. This. Track. Whew! This song kickstarted my whole Car Mood 3.0 playlist (and I hadn’t made one of those in well over a year!). God bless the day I took Inez’s car to it’s MOT. God bless the CD she burned before she got AUX. It’s the Kizomba beat. It’s the production. It’s the lyrics. It’s everything. God I miss a good club night.
Next up is “Head & Heart (Acoustic)”. This version is so soothing, as are most acoustics. It’s why I love them.
I’m pretty sure I came across “In My Maserati” on a random explore page IG reel. It's a little vibe. A small, small one.
“Everything Nice” is next. Keeping it very real, I don’t listen to Headie One. Grime, drill etc– rarely my cup of tea. However, as a music enthusiast, I do always check in anyways, again just to see what’s up and sometimes sounds and artists evolve, so it’s always worth giving things a listen. This is the one track I like on Edna. Another small vibe.
This next song I’m sure you will all recognise as the Tarzan song. This track does have a story as to how it came to be on this playlist. So, I watched Emily in Paris on Netflix and adored it. I then saw Lily Collins and Ashley Park (Emily and Mindy) had played Elle’s Song Association game, which I also love. So I clicked to watch it. Spoiler: they’re a really fun duo. Anyways, Ashley starts singing this song and then goes ‘Oh wait this is your dad!’… and as my mind comprehended that Emily in Paris is the daughter of the guy who sings the Tarzan song… well that was truly a moment for me. So then naturally, I had to find the song and listen to the whole thing. It brought back all the memories and how much I loved Tarzan even though I’ve not watched it in so long! I think I may have loved the Playstation 1 game more than the movie though, I completed that game FAR too many times.
And next, we have some Britney Spears. I am 99.9% sure Henrie Kwushue posted this on her IG story one day when she was reminiscing old pop music. But wherever it came from, I’m not mad. The quality of Britney’s pop music? Astronomical.
Now we have a few Tinie Tempah tracks. I did write a post on Disc-Overy, shortly after it turned 10 years old last month. Check it here. We love these songs.
Next song is a classic. Who doesn’t love “Fantasy”? Again, the levels Mariah was on? *Chef’s kiss*.
The thing about these next couple songs and the artist, is that I do genuinely love pretty much everything she’s released so far. Lauren Jauregui, regardless of if she makes waves or not, puts out really good music. Credit where it’s due. And she’s very versatile too. “NADA” is one of her latest tracks whereas “Back To Me” was one of her first solo projects. Completely different sounds and I love both.
Brick & Lace next. This track is very simply, very fun. Enjoy :)
“Best of Me, Part 2”. I caught this during a No Signal Radio 10v10 break and you know it had to go straight on the playlist. What a vibe. I’m a sucker for old school.
“Ritual” acoustic. See the thing is, I can’t shake Rita. I just can’t. I may go months without hearing about her, but our paths always cross again. I’ll then do a quick check up, and she’ll be doing just fine. Thriving as always, stunning as always, and it brings my heart so much warmth. She deserves the world. Rita turns 30 this month… and I’ve loved her since she was 21. That’s solid. We, are solid.
Next up is “Lonely” by Joel Corry. It’s a dance track. I do enjoy a good dance track every now and again. Sometimes it’s what the mood requires.
And other times, you need “Full Circle” to remind you. I don’t even like talking about this too much, it’s so beyond me and way above me.
Kiana Ledé. This girl. I am excited for her next 10 years. I think she’s got something special, so I’m watching and rooting. My favourite from the deluxe release is most definitely “None For You”.
We’re keeping this female energy streak with Ellie Goulding. Ellie creeps up on me every time. I’m always surprised by how much I like her. She’s consistently good, and a sick performer too. I watched her at Summertime Ball once and was blown away. Honestly, EG is the person that if you know you know and if you don’t then, well you’re missing out and wouldn’t even think you are.
Finally, finishing up with a tune that AhhVeeDaa put me on to. He played "You're Mine Still" just before interviewing us on The Beat London 103.6FM. Respectfully, 1:05-1:16. Even if I’m not applying it retrospectively, I get it.
And that’s a wrap on October! #November2020 is live here. I have quite a bit going on this month so I feel this may end up being a short playlist, but who knows. See you next post :)
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