Music – Page 2 – Why Would I Write

Call me in the morning, tell me how last night went

May 10, 2018 by goodnewsgeorge

I first discovered Post Malone when he was mentioned on a H3H3 video a while ago. At that time I had no idea who he was and he looked like a chill guy so I thought I’d check him out on YouTube. Based on his appearance, his music was definitely not what I was expecting. He had the look of an aggressive gangsta rapper or a metalcore band’s frontman (he wanted to play guitar for Crown The Empire in the past). Turns out, he had some of the chillest soundcloud raps on the internet.

I wasn’t blown away initially, but his music slowly grew on me and I found myself singing along to his catchy choruses and imitating the background noises in his songs (skrrt pop yuh ey). Like a lot of music I discovered randomly, it was something I never knew I would like. I think 2003 George would have rejected this music outright. While he writes songs about money and bitches and sings with autotune, he does it well enough to stand out from the crowd. The fact that he has such a soothing voice complemented by a laid back vibe and clever lyrics (how can I make sense when I’ve got millions on my mind?) puts this guy up there as one of my all-time favorite singers.

I’m genuinely surprised he’s not huge globally (or maybe he is and I’m just unaware). His explicit lyrics might possibly stop him from being a mainstream wonder in this side of the world. He recently released his sophomore album which also took awhile to grow on me (I love it now) that has some of his best work IMO. Here’s a bunch of my favorite Post Malone tracks:

Post Malone ft. Quavo – Congratulations

Post Malone – White Iverson

Post Malone – Go Flex

Post Malone – Leave

Post Malone ft. 2 Chainz – Money Made Me Do It

Post Malone – Patient

Post Malone ft. Khelani – Feel

Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – Rockstar

Post Malone – Better Now

Post Malone – Stay

Post Malone – Candy Paint

Music and Memories

April 3, 2018 by goodnewsgeorge

Today, I was wondering about how why music can evoke such vivid and powerful memories, so I did a quick search and found this article that I found very interesting. TL;DR: our brains are better at recalling memories when we have something to guide it with i.e. music. It is why we learn through songs as children (remember A-B-C-D?).

One of my most vivid music-related memories – even though it happened so many years ago – was my first dance with a girl. It was way back when I was in GIS, at a school dance. Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On was playing while I was standing by the side of the hall, like a chump, working up the balls to ask my crush for a dance. I managed to do it halfway through the song, after the first chorus, so I only got to dance with her for the remaining half. I was elated that night. Probably the happiest I had ever been up to that point in my life. And now, whenever I hear that song, memories of that night come rushing back, and I can’t help but smile to myself like an idiot.

Another song would be Aaron Kwok’s Dui Ni Ai Bu Wan. I remembered loving the song as a kid. I sang along to the chorus (because I didn’t know any of the other words) every time I heard it on the radio or TV. But that’s not all. There was one time, we had some relatives over, and for some reason I had agreed to put on a show for them. I remember before the performance, I spent a few minutes in the bathroom styling my hair with a comb and some gel. I don’t know why I did it – I wasn’t even dressed nicely. I probably had on some home clothes or pajamas but it didn’t matter. My mom put the song on and I danced my heart out. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t good, but I received applause for trying.

Where’s your mama gone? Where’s your papa gone? Middle of the Road’s Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep evokes memories of a time when my late uncle was still around. He used to take me and my elder sister out all the time and we’d always be listening to songs on the radio. That song was one of the few songs we could sing along to. One of our favorite pastimes would be sitting through those drive-thru car washes. There was just something magical about high pressured water being blasted at you while you were protected behind glass. And then all the washers spinning around wiping the car dry. I also fondly remember watching those little orange balls spinning around at pump stations whenever he had to fill up his car with gas.

Isn’t it interesting how music and memories is an alliteration as well?

But then you said, “Stay Beautiful”

March 13, 2018 by goodnewsgeorge

Today, as I was looking for a Moose Blood song on YouTube to share, I noticed there wasn’t a video available so I had to look it up on Spotify instead. It was then I realized that the song must have meant something to me to actually launch Spotify just to share it. I won’t lie, these guys weren’t on my radar since their last release, but when their new album dropped I was blown away and went back to relisten to their whole discography.

Moose Blood is a pop punk/emo band in similar vein to bands like Neck Deep and LYU. Despite their metal sounding name (what the fuck does Moose Blood even mean?) Anyway, this band has been around since 2012 though I only discovered them when they signed to Hopeless Records, where they put out an amazing album called Blush. Songs about love, loss, heartbreak, death – all sorts of tear-jerking anthems can be found on the album. Think – a grittier Dashboard Confessional with an English accent. A more mature-sounding You Me At Six.

There are no blazing solos or pick sweeps to be found in their brand of music, but that’s not the point of music anyway. It’s all about what it makes you feel when you listen to them, and songs by these guys are full of feels. The fact that their albums feel very diverse, while retaining their core sound, shows that Moose Blood aren’t afraid to turn it up when they want to. The occasional guitar delays peppered throughout their riffs remind me a lot of The Dangerous Summer and The Graduate, which I love. I don’t have a long history of listening to Moose Blood, but falling in love with their discography again this year has pushed them up to one of my all time favorite bands.

Their latest album is available for streaming on Spotify now. Here are some of my favorite songs from the band:

Moose Blood – Talk In Your Sleep