Kiiara - "Feels (Jai Wolf Remix)"

She popped on to the music scene back in 2015 with a few good bops, and it's this sneaky beat that, once remixed, I can't get out of my head. Not this biggest single of this album, her 2015 single "Gold" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but definitely the one with the most "feels"

She's got that rough edge pretty that falls right in line with this song. While recording her breakout EP, she also worked as a hardware store clerk. She started a studio internship to help familiarize herself with the music process and get practice recording.

Her sound is soft on the ears but hard on the heart. A contradiction to the core, she's putting out the kind of switchback music that I love to see in in artist, and I'm excited to see what she does next.

So today, because "I'm an actress, I have ALL of them!", I choose Kiiara's "Feels (Jai Wolf Remix)" as my, ditty bop, salty breeze, ocean pearls, song for a, little gifts, hope for the hopeless, keep bringing your best Wednesday.

Tei Shi - "See Me"

The Fader stated that she is "known for making whisper-y, slow and sensual bedroom pop." Tei Shi jokingly describes her work as its own genre, "mermaid music". In an interview with NY Mag, she stated "personally it’s always hard for me to label it as a genre because it shifts and I try to make music that isn’t one thing or the other."

Valerie Teicher, known by her stage name Tei Shi, is a Colombian and Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer based in New York City. She released her first singles and music videos in 2013, also performing live for the first time at CMJ. Tei Shi released her debut extended play, Saudade, in November 2013, which Noisey described as a "layered masterpiece of melodies... expertly entwined vocal loops, and shivery sonics."

In 2014, she released two singles: "Adder(f)all" and a cover of Beyoncé's "No Angel". She was also a guest artist on the track "Holiest" by Glass Animals, an English indie rock band. Her second extended play, Verde, was released in 2015. Her debut album, Crawl Space, was released on March 31, 2017.

So today, with sirens in my ears and saltair in my hair, I choose Tei Shi's "See Me" as my, open your eyes, salt and brine and golden sunshine, summer like a train coming down the track that you can't see around the curve yet, song for a, blackberry brambles, mushroom rambles, heart fragments to be gambled, Tuesday.

Shovels & Rope - "Birmingham"

They've got a sound that immediately makes you start tapping your toes. You want to smile and rock and drink a cold beer. Their music is the heart at the Americana forefront that is at once edgy and nostalgic.

Shovels & Rope are an American folk duo from Charleston, South Carolina composed of husband and wife Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst. Combining threads from their individual solo careers, Shovels & Rope blends traditional folk, rock and roll and country rock.  

In 2008 Hearst and Trent recorded and released the album Shovels & Rope as a co-bill under their individual names, not intended to ever create a permanent act. Hearst and Trent married in March 2009 and continued to perform and record their music for their individual solo careers. Hearst released the EP Are You Ready to Die in 2010 and the LP Lions and Lambs in 2011. 

At the end of 2010 filming began on a documentary titled The Ballad of Shovels and Rope about their life as a band. Originally slated for only 3 months of filming, it didn't end until September 2013. After filming finished a Kickstarter campaign was launched to help get the film finished and released.

In 2012, the pair committed to their joint venture and released an album together under the Shovels & Rope moniker entitled O' Be Joyful, which reached #123 on the Billboard 200.

So today, with memories being made like prophecies, I choose Shovels & Rope's  "Birmingham" as my sunshine and Junebugs, lighting and silver linings, acceptance and hope, song for a, why not today, lemongrass and sugarwater, the breaks that bind, Monday.

Kasey Musgraves - "Space Cowboy"

I have been enamored with this rising country queen for 5 years now. Her breakout hit "Follow Your Arrow" was a progressive anthem for the usually conservative country crowd and she's been able to tap into the youthful progressive and hopeful younger country audience. 

She's a Grammy winner for best country song, and a genuine voice in what can often be a facade filled profession of music. She's got more than enough pizzaz to turn up a stage and as her 2nd album proclaimed, she's definitely pageant material. 

But it's this most recent album where Musgraves has really stepped into her own. She's found a nostalgic country sound blended with the disco country of the 70's/80's and today's folk/pop country that suits her perfectly. Her lush harmonies and heavy reverb make you think of exactly what her title proclaims it to be: "Golden Hour". This one will be on heavy repeat for a while. Just listen to the 1 minute ballad "Mother" and try not to think about your own Mama, thinking about her Mama. 

So today, with life orbiting me like the moon, I choose Kasey Musgraves' "Space Cowboy" as my, hold on to your heart, learn to give it away, find the beauty in the broken, song for a, golden and shining, minutes into hours, a life lived fully, Friday.

India Arie - "Ready For Love"

Today is a day to be hopeful, and to tell yourself things that you wish to believe into being true. 

I am ready for Love. 

So, with winsome wonder, I choose India Arie's "Ready For Love" as my, hopeful, soulful, heartfelt, song for a, simple, sunday, happy kind of love, Thursday.

Are you ready?

Greg Laswell - "Sweet Dream"

The last time I wrote about Greg Laswell was back in 2012. It was just after a Sara Bareilles concert where they'd performed together, and let me tell you, I was hooked then, and I'm still hooked now. 

His razor's edge voice has only sharpened over the years. He has stayed steady and true in the course of his career, making music that he wanted to make, and singing words important to him. He has released seven studio albums: Good Movie in 2003, Through Toledo in 2006, Three Flights from Alto Nido in 2008, Take a Bow in 2010, Landline in 2012, I Was Going to be an Astronaut in 2014, and Everyone Thinks I Dodged A Bullet in 2016, as well as several EPs and special singles, and many of his songs have been featured in films and television shows.

In my first post I said he sounded like Johnny Cash singing the songs of Townes Van Zandt. I still stand by that description. He is compelling and deep and his music settle softly into your skin and lingers longer than you would imagine. This sweet little 1 minute song gives you short beautiful glimpse into a hopeful heart.

So today with dreams swelling in my chest, I choose Greg Laswell's "Sweet Dream" as my, here's to hoping, why not today, in the sun and in the rain, song for a, well that's what dreams are for, hope is a heartbeat away, there are no laws to bind us, Wednesday.

Dolores O'Riordan - "Human Spirit"

A few days ago we lost the voice of a generation. The generation of the 90's, of Clueless, of Dawson's Creek, the voice that asked us: "Do you have to, do you have to, do you have to let it linger?"

She had something magical in her Irish lilt. She tapped into the unconventional outsiders and made them feel seen. They were all of us. She continued her musical career long after the success of  The Cranberries faded, and she made some music that, to me, is even more powerful.  She will be missed.

Born in 1971, O'Riordan was raised near the Irish city of Limerick, the youngest of seven. She idolized her dad, a farm laborer who was injured in a bike accident that prevented him from working. But a degree of darkness overshadowed her early life. At one point, her sister accidentally burned down the family home. Later, Dolores said that as a child she had been sexually molested by an older man. As O'Riordan told Rolling Stone in 1995, "I have a lot of secrets about my childhood."

Music became her escape. In grade school, her voice stood out: "If I started to sing, then all the others in the room would stop and listen," she told Rolling Stone. In 1990, she met a local band, the Cranberry Saw Us, and replaced the departing lead singer. Thankfully, they were rechristened the Cranberries. "Dolores came and sang a few songs she had written," says Hogan. "We were blown away that this small girl from Limerick had such an amazing voice. The fact that she wasn't already in a band was a miracle."

So today, with complex melodies in my mind, I choose Dolores O'Riordan's "Human Spirit" as my let yourself see behind the clockwork, wind them up to watch them fall, open your jewel box heart, song for a, like a flame that cannot be smothered, with simple songs come complex feelings, yours were the hands I was meant to hold, Tuesday.

Troye Sivan - "Strawberries & Cigarettes"

So I wrote about Troye back in 2016. I was enamored with him then, and I am just as much now. He is continuing to release fresh, specific, touching music that is both nostalgic and new at the same time. 

Check out my first article on him Here: http://song-and-soul.com/www.Song-and-Soul.com/Song_%26_Soul/Entries/2016/6/22_Troye_Sivan_-_Blue_Neighbourhood.html

He knows just the right mix of cool and sexy, and he always keeps the music right in the soft pocket of his voice. Never reaching, always relaxed and yet somehow still full of emotion. 

This song is all about what that first love, right or wrong, reminds you off. Every good and bad choice you made to get there, and what that memory turns into once it's gone. 

So today, with sunlight on my face, I choose Troye Sivan's "Strawberries & Cigarettes" as my, remember what love was like, stay open minded, getting to know me better, song for a, why not today, this time around the block, walk gently for there are snares along the way, Monday.