Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. I recently reconnected with an old friend I first met when I was 12 years old! His name is Gilmore and he’s been living in the Falls all his life. He’s a blast. We decided to make a movie together to exercise our creative muscles. Unfortunately neither of us have a camera. So we have to use the back-up camera on Gilmore’s Toyota Yaris to shoot the movie and that has limited our options for subject matter. As it stands now, the movie is an erotic-thriller about a guy who installs license plate frames. We just got done with the first draft. I’ll let you know how it goes.
My taste in music tends towards the obscure. I listen to a lot of new music every week, but it’s almost all from bands that don’t have much mainstream success. Recently I started listening to more top 40 this year than I have in decades. Like a lot of people over the age of…. say, 30, it often seems like modern music isn’t very good. It feels strangely low energy to me, which is weird because you think of the popular music of any era being aimed at young people, and you would think young people would want something a little more upbeat. But what do I know. The fact I’m using the term “young people” means I’m already out of the loop.
But diving back into the Top 40 has made me appreciate a lot more new music than I have in recent years. So here are some of my favorite songs/artists from the first half of 2021. All of these songs/videos have many millions of views, so there won’t be anything new here for those of you who are still plugged into the music scene. But if you checked out of pop music a while ago, hopefully you’ll find something here you like.
We’re Good by Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa has been putting out music for a few years now, but this is my first time paying her the attention she deserves. She’s a legit talent and this is a great song.
Follow You by Imagine Dragons
My understanding is that it’s pretty uncool to like Imagine Dragons. They’ve been around for a while now but I’ve ignored the top-40 stuff so completely over the past decade that I don’t really know anything about them. There’s nothing revolutionary about this song, but I still like it quite a bit. The video is pretty enjoyable as well. It features Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Build a Bitch by Bella Poarch
There’s more polish on this one track than in every song released between 1952 and 1969 combined, but it’s still a great two minute and thirty second pop song. Bella Poarch is a tiktok sensation, but this song would have been a hit in many eras. Fun video too.
Save Your Tears by The Weeknd
I’m not a big Michael Jackson fan. And not even because he was probably a child molester. I just think a lot of his music was weak-ass, corny garbage. So I’m not predisposed to like The Weeknd who is heavily influenced by MJ, but this song has grown on me. And this performance of the song from the Billboard Music awards is pretty dope.
Dispatches from Marmalade Falls 