Sophie Hutchings - "By Night"

Sophie Hutchings is a Sydney pianist and composer who has developed into a performer of unique beauty and international renown. Her music has been described as beautifully fragile along with a deep sense of urgency making for many shades… Her Compositions are a blend of Piano, Strings, Field recordings along with elements of woodwind percussion and ethereal vocals. 

Flitting from the soothing, idyllic, and melancholy to urgent and tempestuous, her music sat comfortably alongside that of Rachel's, Max Richter, Peter Broderick, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Dustin O'Halloran, and Nils Frahm. With a gregarious, outgoing personality belied by her music's wistful introspection, Hutchings was born into a musical family. Her father was a jazz musician who had toured the U.S. and played with Frank Sinatra, and her brother Jamie fronted the alternative rock band Bluebottle Kiss.

She began making music as a child on the family piano. In later years she was influenced by shoegaze and ambient, and by post-classical pioneer Jóhannsson, whom she once named her favorite composer. Initially extremely shy about performing, she did not make her recording debut until age 32, when, in 2010, Sydney experimental label Preservation released her first album, Becalmed. Recorded by Tim Whitten, longterm engineer for avant-garde trio the Necks, the album was largely solo piano, with the occasional interjection of pedal steel, strings, and drum kit. The influences of ambient, jazz, and indie rock were noticeable, but more subliminal than overt, transmuted in a kind of musical alchemy. Perhaps the most obvious influences on the album were seminal post-classical group Rachel's and Michael Nyman's classic score for The Piano. The album was very well received, and Hutchings released a follow-up, Night Sky, in 2012, which saw her broaden her palette, including more arrangements for strings and woodwind which gave the album more of a chamber feel. Many of her family members, including her father, played on the record. A completely solo mini-album, White Light, appeared in 2014, before her third full-length, Wide Asleep, dropped in 2016.

She holds the intangible dreamscape in her hands, and offers it to her audience like an unwrapped candy to a child. Take it, and be ready for something you never knew you already loved. 

So today, with dreams in my head, I choose Sophie Hutchings' "By Night" as my, what dreams may come, throw ocean waves and purple showers, like a wave you cannot see the top of, song for a, blink and you'll miss it, this is your chance, open your hands - you can accept nothing new when you are holding on so tightly to the past, Tuesday.

Chairlift - "Polymorphing"

Before they officially parted ways, Chairlift have shared one last music video. It’s for “Polymorphing” from their 2016 LP Moth. Lead singer Caroline Polachek directed and edited the video, which was shot at her apartment and includes the band’s family and friends. “I wanted to make one last Chairlift video, and ‘Polymorphing’ is a favorite of ours—perhaps the most ‘us’ song of our last album,” Polachek said in a statement. “It’s the least conceptual video we’ve ever made; there’s no datamoshing or dance moves or foreign language translation—just a toast to our fans, to our friends, to the city, and to constant change! And yes, there is actually toast in the video.” Chairlift have been making off-kilter pop music for more than a decade, and it seems that’s enough for them, for now.

Chairlift formed initially as a project between Aaron Pfenning and Caroline Polachek at the University of Colorado in October 2005. The group intended to make background music for haunted houses. Along with bassist Kyle McCabe, Chairlift recorded the beginning of Daylight Savings EP at New Monkey Studio in Los Angeles, California in April 2006. Chairlift relocated to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in August 2006 and signed to Kanine Records in June 2007. Patrick Wimberly joined the group in early 2007. After writing and recording while Polachek was still in college, Chairlift released their first full-length album, Does You Inspire You, in 2008. Their song "Bruises" was featured in the 2008 Apple commercial that launched the fourth-generation iPod Nano. The single "Evident Utensil" was nominated for an award in the "Breakthrough Video" category at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The album was rereleased by Columbia Records on April 21, 2009, after the band signe with the major label. The rerelease included two additional tracks not on the original release and a longer version of "Make Your Mind Up". Chairlift went on their first international tour, opening for bands like Phoenix, The Killers, and MGMT. Pfenning left Chairlift in 2010 to pursue his solo career in Rewards.

On September 7, 2011 they released the video to their single "Amanaemonesia" from their second album Something. For their 2012 single "Met Before" Chairlift created an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure video that Buzzfeed awarded the number one spot on its "23 Best Music Videos of 2012" end-of-year round up. Their sophomore album Something released via Columbia Records on January 24, 2012. Something features production from Dan Carey and Alan Moulder. After the record was released in Japan, Polachek co-directed a video for a Japanese version of "I Belong In Your Arms" with director/animator Eric Epstein.

Through the time Polachek was finishing her solo record Arcadia, Chairlift continued working on their third record, "Moth". "Moth" was released January 22, 2016. On the same day as the album release, Chairlift was featured on "Sweet"'s snapchat story discussing their history, their music, and promoting their newest album. Moth features 10 songs, including the single "Ch-Ching", which was featured on snapchat. 

So today with things clearly in hindsight, I choose Chairlift's - "Polymorphing" as my, you can't deny, there's something better, do you inspire you, song for a, break it off, slip up and stand back up, change the dice when the luck and been lost, Monday.

Kendrick Lamar - "Blood"

Regardless of whether or not this genre of music is your "thing" you can not deny the fact that this album is genius. It's the first non classical or jazz album to ever win the Pulitzer Prize. That is how staggering this work of incredible artistry is. Listen to it just once, and tell me you don't feel the same way. 

I can not profess to have been a huge Kendrick Lamar fan, I knew his music through his collaboration with other artists, but this heartbreaking look into what self-reflection can be, is earth shaking. 

Lamar has been branded as the "new king of hip hop" numerous times. Forbes said, on Lamar's placement as hip hop's "king", "Kendrick Lamar may or may not be the greatest rapper alive right now. He is certainly in the very short lists of artists in the conversation." Lamar frequently refers to himself as the "greatest rapper alive" and once called himself "The King of New York."

On the topic of his music genre, Lamar has said: "You really can't categorize my music, it's human music." Lamar's projects are usually concept albums. Critics found Good Kid, M.A.A.D City heavily influenced by West Coast hip hop and 90s gangsta rap. His third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly, incorporates elements of funk, jazz, soul and spoken word poetry.

Called a "radio-friendly but overtly political rapper" by Pitchfork, Lamar has been a branded "master of storytelling" and his lyrics have been described as "katana-blade sharp" and his flow limber and dexterous. Lamar's writing usually includes references to racism, black empowerment and social injustice, being compared to a State of Union address by The Guardian. His writing has also been called "confessional" and controversial. The New York Times has called Lamar's musical style anti-flamboyant, interior and complex and labelled him as a technical rapper.

He speaks words of truth that often go unheard, but he speaks them nonetheless. He is a master of his trade, and he refuses to accept someone else's views as his own without inspecting them first. If this is what the future of Hip-Hop sounds like, count me in. 

So today, with the ground breaking beneath my feet, I choose Kendrick Lamar's "Blood" off his Pulitzer Prize winning album "Damn." as my, shake the earth when you walk, change the landscape with your desire, find a world full of pearls, song for a, I shall be the first, I shall be a star to follow, I shall burn my own path, Friday.

Brandi Carlile - "Every Time I Hear That Song"

Few people in music have the kind of fabled career that Brandi Carlile has. She had her huge breakout with the hit "The Story", but has struggled to find commercial success. She is a critics darling and more than respected in the industry, but her audience never quite seems to know where to land with her. She has a fierce set of fans and it's easy to see why.

Her voice is charismatic and emotive. She makes you feel every word she sings, and the plaintive calling tone her sound rings true the blue american sound. She has something that most female singers strive to find. She has grit. She makes you believe that she's lived every single story she sings about. 

 The Story was awarded gold status in 2017, having sold over 500,000 copies to date. Carlile's most successful album to date, The Firewatcher's Daughter, earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard200.

Carlile's music through the years has been categorized in several genres, including pop, rock, alternative country, and folk. She said of her style, "I've gone through all sorts of vocal phases, from pop to blues to R&B, but no matter what I do, I just can't get the country and western out of my voice.", and the truth is, we don't want her to. Her sound haunts you like a good dream that you don't want to let go of but still can't quite remember.

So today, with memories floating by, I choose Brandi Carlile's "Every Time I Hear That Song" as my, brittle leaves of memory, like mist in the morning, shadows shortening as the day lingers on, song for a, find you in every little detail, the me you helped to build, set free the things that no long serve you, Thursday. 

Fauré - "Requiem: In Paradissum (Feat. Orchestra & Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia)"

One of the great gods of classical music, Fauré knew how to weave instrument and voice together in a way that was truly transcendent. He excelled at taking the mundane and making it divine. His influence on the romantic musical style has endured centuries and, i'm sure, will continue to do so. 

So today, with hope of divinity touching my soul, I choose Fauré - "Requiem: In Paradissum (Feat. Orchestra & Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia)" as my, with stardust in your eyes, with magic in your fingertips, with love in every action, song for a, find the impossible easy, how does he do it, easy as 1 2 3, Wednesday. 

Kina - "Girl from the Gutter"

Kina Cosper is best known for her work with Grammy Award-nominated group Brownstone, but it's her 2000 solo single "Girl from the Gutter", that always pops into my brain. It's a 90's era GEM that was remixed often and is usually overlooked in the fun pop that came out in the early 00's.

Kina was born in Detroit. She found limited success with her single "Girl from the Gutter", which received strong airplay and peaked at #21 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. She then released her self-titled debut album on July 18, 2000. Kina peaked at #14 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

A few years after their release, Kina's songs began popping up in various TV shows. In fall 2005 "Give & Take" and "I Love You" both appeared in an episode of the UPN sitcom Girlfriends. Kina's song "Sincerely" was also featured in the motion picture Beauty Shop.

This song was just so inspiring and empowering. It gave the listener a voice, and told them you are worthy and you are beautiful no matter your size, color, orientation or age. 

She's no Beyoncé with mega-hit after mega-hit, but she had a moment, in that moment she chose to empower everyone who has ever felt different or like an outsider. So give me one for nostalgia. 

Today, with nostalgia and narcissus, I choose Kina's "Girl from the Gutter" as my, let it be me, gadzooks, give me just one chance, song for a, take a look at me now, filled with with magazines, not bad for a girl like me, Tuesday.

Nick Drake - "Northern Sky"

The eternal Doomed Romantic ... he is cited as an inspiration by huge stars such as R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Robert Smith of The Cure; Smith credited the origin of his band's name to a lyric from Drake's song "Time Has Told Me" ("a troubled cure for a troubled mind"). He is England's Townes Van Zandt, who had limited success in his life, but who helped to inspire and change the musical landscape for decades to come.

 Drake was obsessive about practicing his guitar technique, and would often stay up through the night experimenting with tunings and working on songs. His mother remembered hearing him "bumping around at all hours. I think he wrote his nicest melodies in the early-morning hours." Self-taught, he achieved his guitar style through the use of alternative tunings to create cluster chords. These are difficult to achieve on a guitar using standard tuning; Drake used tunings which made cluster chords available using more conventional chord shapes. In many songs he accents the dissonant effect of such non-standard tunings through his vocal melodies.

Nicholas Rodney Drake  was an English singer-songwriter and musician, known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work has posthumously achieved wider notice and recognition. Drake signed to Island Records when he was 20 years old, while a student at the University of Cambridge, and released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. By 1972, he had recorded two more albums—Bryter Layter and Pink Moon. Neither sold more than 5,000 copies on initial release. His reluctance to perform live, or be interviewed, contributed to his lack of commercial success. No footage of the adult Drake has ever been released, only still photographs and home footage from his childhood.

Drake suffered from major depression, and this was often reflected in his lyrics. On completion of his third album, 1972's Pink Moon, he withdrew from both live performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. On 25 November 1974, at the age of 26, Drake died from an overdose of approximately 30 amitriptyline pills, a prescribed antidepressant. His cause of death was determined to be suicide.

Drake's music remained available through the mid-1970s, but the 1979 release of the retrospective album Fruit Tree allowed his back catalogue to be reassessed. By the mid-1980s Drake was being credited as an influence by such artists as Robert Smith, David Sylvian, and Peter Buck. In 1985, The Dream Academy reached the UK and US charts with "Life in a Northern Town", a song written for and dedicated to Drake. 

So today, with nostalgia and hope blown together on the breeze, I choose Nick Drake's "Northern Sky" as my, sing for those who have no voice, lift up the light for those in the dark, strike the blow for those who are defenseless, song for a, little lovebirds huddled on the branch, holding hand when you're 80, I could love you forever, Monday.

Itzhak Perlman - "Adagio for Violin and Orchestra in E Major (Mozart)"

There are violinists, and then there is Itzhak Perlman. He is the Yo-Yo Ma of violin, he is the Maria Callas, the Frank Sinatra, the modern day Mozart, of the most played classical instrument around the world. He is a virtuoso, a prodigy, he has talent, but more importantly, he has the passion. 

Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also to the irrepressible joy of making music, which he communicates. In January 2009, Mr. Perlman was honored to take part in the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, premiering a piece written for the occasion by John Williams and performing with clarinetist Anthony McGill, pianist Gabriela Montero, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. In December 2003 the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts granted Mr. Perlman a Kennedy Center Honor celebrating his distinguished achievements and contributions to the cultural and educational life of our nation. In May 2007, he performed at the State Dinner for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at the White House.

Over the course of his career, Perlman has performed worldwide, and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a State Dinner at the White House honoring Queen Elizabeth II, and a Presidential Inauguration, and he has conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the Westchester Philharmonic. In 2015, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

erlman appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show twice in 1958, and again in 1964, on the same show with the Rolling Stones. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1963 and won the Leventritt Competition in 1964. Soon afterward, he began to tour widely. In addition to an extensive recording and performance career, he has continued to make guest appearances on American television shows such as The Tonight Show and Sesame Street as well as playing at a number of functions at the White House.

While primarily a solo artist, Perlman has performed with a number of other musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman, Jessye Norman, Isaac Stern, and Yuri Temirkanov at the 150th anniversary celebration of Tchaikovsky in Leningrad in December 1990. He has also performed and recorded with his friend and fellow Israeli violinist Pinchas Zukerman on numerous occasions over the years.

As well as playing and recording the classical music for which he is best known, Perlman has also played jazz, including an album made with jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, and in addition, klezmer. Perlman has been a soloist for a number of film scores such as the theme of the 1993 film Schindler's List by John Williams, which subsequently won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. More recently, he was the violin soloist for the 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha along with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Perlman played selections from the musical scores of the movies nominated for "Best Original Score" at the 73rd Academy Awardswith Yo-Yo Ma and at the 78th Academy Awards.

So today, holding on to the small pools of tranquil calm that float around me, I choose Itzhak Perlman's "Adagio for Violin and Orchestra in E Major (Mozart)" as my, with open eyes and an honest heart, through the rain comes the rainbows, swan songs only happen once, song for a, let go and laugh, find the center, balance like a Santelli, Friday.