YEBBA - "My Mind"

YEBBA is Abbey spelled backwards, and the still somewhat-elusive Abbey Smith is one of the most incredibly talented new vocalists rising on the scene and captivating hearts everywhere. The power and soulfulness behind YEBBA's voice is breathtaking, seeming to emanate from the very depths of her core. An astonishingly emotional live performance at SoFar Sounds NYC of a song called "My Mind" went viral after being uploaded around Christmas of 2016.

Casting a spell over the audience and everyone watching online, YEBBA's gritty, impassioned cries and unbelievably controlled vocal runs will leave even the most stoic viewer with chills if not on the verge of tears. Her voice touches people on a beautiful, almost intangible level. Lauded by Sam Smith as, "the only voice that's excited me in a long time, as a singer... her voice sounds like a heart breaking," YEBBA landed the only duet on his new sophomore album. Also receiving praise from other top UK artists such as Ed Sheeran, dare we say it, the newly unearthed gem that is YEBBA might be an even greater powerhouse than Adele.

Her artist name was chosen to honor her mother who always called her by the nickname as a child, and who recently committed suicide, as Abbey so intimately shared with fans on her Facebook page. If this doesn't give insight into the kind of heart that drives YEBBA to create and share her music, what else could? So far only officially releasing a moving debut single, "Evergreen," in October 2017, we can not wait to see what is in store for this amazing woman once the world discovers the gift she truly is.

So today, with hope in hand, I choose YEBBA's "My Mind" as my, find your strength, strengthen your resolve, resolve to do better, song for a, better is the enemy of great, greatness comes from within, within your heart is everything you've ever needed, Thursday.

Ed Sheeran & Passenger - "No Diggity vs. Thrift Shop (Kygo Remix)"

Mix their voices and his beats and what comes out is truly magical. Get into the Bop ... it's the tits. 

So today, bobbing my head, I choose Ed Sheeran & Passenger's version of "No Diggity vs. Thrift Shop" the Kygo Remix as my, get that summer sun, feel the heat in your hair, hear the sun against your skin, song for a, it's a ditty, it's a jive, it's a bop, Wednesday.

Joe "Bean" Esposito - "You're The Best"

Some days are all about the nostalgia.

Joe "Bean" Esposito is a Grammy nominated American singer/songwriter whose career spans from the 1970s to the present day. Esposito's songs have been recorded by Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin, Labelle, Stephen Stills and others.

Esposito was a member of the band Brooklyn Dreams, best known for their collaboration with Donna Summer on "Heaven Knows" and "Bad Girls." Giorgio Moroder asked Esposito to collaborate on his 1982 "Solitary Man" project, which became Esposito's first solo album.

In the 1980s, he is best known for his performances of the hit songs "Lady, Lady, Lady" from the "Solitary Man" album and 1983 film Flashdance. "You're the Best" is from the 1984 film The Karate Kid. Esposito also supplied vocals on Brenda Russell's 1988 "Piano in the Dark," as well as a duet with Laura Branigan on "Come Into My Life" from the Coming to America soundtrack (1988).

So today, with nostalgia in full effect, I choose Joe Esposito's "You're The Best" as my, pump it up, get that jam, who cares so what, song for a, break free, go your own way, live your best life any way you G-D- choose, Tuesday.

G-Flip - "Killing My Time"

It's every artist's dream for their music, and it's more rare that winning the lottery, but every now and then an artist releases their debut single and it just blows up. That just happened to G-Flip. 

Georgia Flipo, also known as G Flip, is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter, producer and drummer from Melbourne, Australia. She has performed as a drummer and backup singer for the Melbourne band EMPRA and performed her first solo show at SXSW in Texas in 2018. She's drummed for years. “I got my first drumkit when I was 9 years old, my uncle bought me a little blue drumkit… I remember trying to be tough and not cry but I was so happy I got a drumkit that I went to the toilet by myself and cried a little bit."

From there, Georgia’s love of drums snowballed and her first drum teacher in high school, Jenny Morrish, showed her an example of a young woman who could loudly and proudly drum in bands.

“Back in 2006/7 you couldn’t turn on Rage or look online and there’d be a girl drummer out front... My drum teacher was my absolute idol, I bought the same drumkit as her, the same sticks as her… she became one of my absolute best friends.”

Tragically, Georgia’s drum teacher and hero passed away in 2015 at just age 31 from cancer. “All she wanted to do was tour America, so then a few weeks later I tried out for a band and worked my ass off to be the drummer of that band, I think I was 19 at the time.”

With 10 years drumming experience at this point, Georgia knew if she was going to go solo, it was her other skills that needed sharpening. For 12 months Georgia honed her craft as a producer, bought a midi keyboard and sung and sung and sung. She kept video diaries, worked day and night and even built an LED drum. For Georgia, it was her full-time job.

She's got a spark, something rare and unique, and the voice to use it. Let's see what she can do. 

So today, with magic and hope in heaping spoonfuls, I choose G-Flip's "Killing My Time" as my, murder the parrots, grow through the pain, find beauty in the mud, song for a, choices build destinies, lives spent hoping, dreams for the dancing, Monday.

Tame Impala - "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards"

Their music is at once fresh and familiar. Calling to mind Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison, and other classic rock bands, they've carved out a niche for themselves and created a loyal following of fans. It's the kind of music that makes you want to dance in the sunshine and sleep under the stars.

They are a psychedelic rock band conceived by Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. The band began as a home-recording project for Parker, who writes, records, performs, and produces the music.

As a touring act, Parker (guitar, vocals) plays alongside Dominic Simper (guitar, synthesiser) and some members of Australian psychedelic rock band Pond – Jay Watson (synthesiser, vocals, guitar), Cam Avery (bass guitar, vocals), and Julien Barbagallo (drums, vocals). Previously signed to Modular Recordings, Tame Impala is now signed to Interscope Records in the US, and Fiction Records in the UK.

After a series of singles and EPs, in 2010, the band released their debut studio album, Innerspeaker, which was certified gold in Australia and well received by critics. Their 2012 follow-up, Lonerism, was also acclaimed, reaching platinum status in Australia and receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. The band's third album, Currents, was released in July 2015, and like its predecessor, it won ARIA Awards for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year. Parker won the APRA Award for Song of the Year 2016 for Currents' first track, "Let It Happen".

Parker's music is heavily influenced by late 1960s and early 1970s psychedelic rock, which is achieved through various production methods. Some favoured and often-used effects by Parker include phasing, delay, reverb and fuzz.

Parker's decision to make the music for Tame Impala in the studio by himself is a result of Parker liking "the kind of music that is the result of one person constructing an awesome symphony of sound. You can layer your own voice 700 times for half a second if you want, and I just love that kind of music". However, Parker has to translate his music to a live setting with the band, and the band doesn't play the songs until they have been recorded. "The only jamming that’s done as a band is done a long time after the song is recorded for the sake of the live environment. It’s good for us, because we can take a song that’s been recorded and do what we want to it: slow it down, speed it up, make it 10 seconds or 10 minutes long. It gives us a lot of freedom."

So today, with a diamond sky in my eyes, I choose Tame Impala's "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" as my, only in your dreams, follow me down the rabbit hole, every drop you spill, song for a, well here we go, the only way out is through, one more leap into the unknown, Friday.

Aaron Copland - "Symphony No. 3 - Quiet City"

Few American Composers have been as prolific as Aaron Copland. His symphonic work is stunning and his Choral works can only be described as transcendent. He had a way of assembling his materials in a way that would transform the mundane into the divine. 

Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Composers." The open, slowly changing harmonies in much of his music are typical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music, evoking the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit. He is best known for the works he wrote in the 1930s and 1940s in a deliberately accessible style often referred to as "populist" and which the composer labeled his "vernacular" style. Works in this vein include the ballets Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid and Rodeo, his Fanfare for the Common Man and Third Symphony. In addition to his ballets and orchestral works, he produced music in many other genres including chamber music, vocal works, opera and film scores.

After some initial studies with composer Rubin Goldmark, Copland traveled to Paris, where he first studied with Isidor Philipp and Paul Vidal, then with noted pedagogueNadia Boulanger. He studied three years with Boulanger, whose eclectic approach to music inspired his own broad taste. Determined upon his return to the U.S. to make his way as a full-time composer, Copland gave lecture-recitals, wrote works on commission and did some teaching and writing. He found composing orchestral music in the modernist style he had adapted abroad a financially contradictory approach, particularly in light of the Great Depression. He shifted in the mid-1930s to a more accessible musical style which mirrored the German idea of Gebrauchsmusik ("music for use"), music that could serve utilitarian and artistic purposes. During the Depression years, he traveled extensively to Europe, Africa, and Mexico, formed an important friendship with Mexican composer Carlos Chávez and began composing his signature works.

During the late 1940s, Copland became aware that Stravinsky and other fellow composers had begun to study Arnold Schoenberg's use of twelve-tone (serial) techniques. After he had been exposed to the works of French composer Pierre Boulez, he incorporated serial techniques into his Piano Quartet (1950), Piano Fantasy (1957), Connotations for orchestra (1961) and Inscape for orchestra (1967). Unlike Schoenberg, Copland used his tone rows in much the same fashion as his tonal material—as sources for melodies and harmonies, rather than as complete statements in their own right, except for crucial events from a structural point of view. From the 1960s onward, Copland's activities turned more from composing to conducting. He became a frequent guest conductor of orchestras in the U.S. and the UK and made a series of recordings of his music, primarily for Columbia Records.
 

So today, with music living around me is places I can't see, I choose Aaron Copland's "Symphony No. 3 - Quiet City" as my, open your heart, floating just above your head, in a dimension you can neither see nor feel, song for an, open you heart to the possibility, change nothing but your perception, you are the divine made flesh, Thursday.

Ratatat - "Wildcat"

They've got a unique and individual sound. Pulling on classic rock roots and new electronic sounds they've made a name for themselves in the music industry as the ones to watch, and boy are we watching.

Ratatat is a Brooklyn-based electronic rock duo consisting of Mike Stroud (guitar, melodica, synthesizers, percussion) and producer Evan Mast (bass, synthesizers, percussion). Their live performances bear strong similarities to the performances of the psychedelic rock bands out of San Francisco in the 1960s, with energetic light shows, swirling colors projected onto a screen, and clips of movies thrown in. Evan Mast creates and edits the videos that are projected on the screen. Many of them are included on their YouTube account.

They've toured with acts such as Björk, Daft Punk, Vampire Weekend, Mouse on Mars, Franz Ferdinand, CSS, the Faint, Super Furry Animals, Clinic, Panther, and the Killers, so you know there are huge things on the horizon for them.

So today, hunting my prey, I choose Ratatat's "Wildcat" as my, hunter or hunted, blood in the water, scent on the wind, song for a, careful what you wish for, walking right behind you, sneak attack Wednesday.

The Eagles - "One Of These Nights"

They are icons and legends. Some of the original Americana Rock makers. They produced a sound that was somewhere between country and rock, and that encapsulated their entire generation. They were country rebels and their music became the voice of an era.

The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. The founding members were Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals) and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals). With five number-one singles, six Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, and six number-one albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, two of their albums, Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and Hotel California, were ranked among the 20 best-selling albums in the United States according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Hotel California is ranked 37th in Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and the band was ranked number 75 on the magazine's 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

The Eagles are one of the world's best-selling bands in history, having sold more than 150 million records—100 million in the U.S. alone—including 42 million copies of Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and 32 million copies of Hotel California. Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) was the best selling album of the 20th century in the U.S. They are the fifth-highest-selling music act and the highest-selling American band in U.S. history.

The band released their debut album, Eagles, in 1972, which spawned three top 40 singles: "Take It Easy", "Witchy Woman", and "Peaceful Easy Feeling". Their next album, Desperado (1973), was less successful than the first, only reaching number 41 on the charts; neither of its singles reached the top 40. However, the album does contain what would go on to be two of the band's most popular tracks: "Desperado" and "Tequila Sunrise". The band released On the Border in 1974, adding guitarist Don Felder as the fifth member midway through the recording of the album. The album generated two top 40 singles: "Already Gone" and their first number one, "Best of My Love".

Their 1975 album One of These Nights included three top 10 singles: "One of These Nights", "Lyin' Eyes", and "Take It to the Limit", the first hitting the top of the charts. Guitarist and vocalist Joe Walsh also joined the band in 1975 replacing Leadon. The Eagles continued that success and hit their commercial peak in late 1976 with the release of Hotel California, which would go on to sell more than 16 million copies in the U.S. alone and more than 32 million copies worldwide. The album yielded two number-one singles, "New Kid in Town" and "Hotel California". Meisner left the band in 1977 and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit. They released their last studio album for nearly 28 years in 1979 with The Long Run, which spawned three top 10 singles: "Heartache Tonight", "The Long Run", and "I Can't Tell You Why", the lead single being another chart-topping hit.

The Eagles disbanded in July 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks. They toured consistently and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden, their first full studio album in 28 years and their sixth number-one album. The next year they launched the Long Road Out of Eden Tour in support of the album. In 2013, they began the extended History of the Eagles Tour in conjunction with the band's documentary release, History of the Eagles.

Following the death of Frey in January 2016, Henley stated in several interviews that he did not think the band would perform again. However, the Eagles continued performing in 2017 with guest musicians Deacon Frey (son of Glenn) and Vince Gill.

So today, with magic in the moonlight, I choose the Eagles' "One Of These Nights" as my, sway your hips, shake your hair, lean back your head, song for a, dream it into being, believe it's on it's way, look to the sky and hope, Tuesday.