Lewis Capaldi - "Someone You Loved"

Lewis Capaldi emanates an air of mystery that is in large part due to his sudden and explosive emergence into the music scene. The 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Bathgate, a small town out of Scotland, crafts highly intimate and powerful folk music that further adds to his mysterious aura. Lewis Capaldi's debut single, "Bruises," was his foray into the music scene, and what an absolutely amazing first foray it was. "Bruises" garnered over 13-million plays in a matter of a couple of months following its release, cementing Lewis as a name to look out for. Following the release of "Bruises," Lewis returned with two singles, "Lost On You" and "Fade," both acoustic yet powerful songs that led up to the release of his debut EP, Bloom.

In an interesting turn his second cousin once removed is actor Peter Capaldi, who appeared in the music video for today’s song "Someone You Loved". He is also a distant relative of Barrhead born nuclear physicist Joseph Capaldi, praised for his work towards the Higgs Boson International Project.

So today, with the breath of dawn approaching, I choose Lewis Capaldi’s "Someone You Loved" as my, time will ease your pain, Life's about changing, nothing ever stays the same, song for a, lean into the new and uncomfortable, you are not your belongings, you are not other people’s perception of you. Thursday.

Ex:Re - "Romance"

As the result of a failing relationship the beloved British songwriter let her feelings break lose, resulting in a record that is as stirring as it is mesmerizing. And here's why it should become your musical ally during the transition into spring from those cold winter days.

Running parallel to Daughter, Elena Tonra, guitarist, vocalist and lyricist of Daughter, has assumed the pseudonym Ex:Re (pronounced ex ray) for her eponymously-titled debut solo album, a deeply personal record that was made with both a sense of urgency and a cathartic need. 

Tonra’s candid solo songs document the time after a relationship ended and are written like unsent letters to herself and others.  Taking on a creative moniker, she chose Ex:Re to mean ‘regarding ex’ and also ‘X-Ray’ as a way to look inside and see what is really there.  Writing took a year but the recording process lasted mere months, turning to Fabian Prynn (4AD’s in-house engineer and producer) and composer Josephine Stephenson on cello to help bring Ex:Re to life.

Elena said of the album, “Although the record is written for someone, a lot of the time it’s about the space without that person in it.  In every scenario, there's either the person in memory or the noticeable absence of that person in the present moment.  I suppose it is a break-up record, however I do not talk about the relationship at all, and he hardly features in the scenes.  He is only felt as a ghostly presence.”

In he album Ex:Re addresses both the endpoint of a process as well as the road leading towards it. Just like the end of a relationship. It’s a bare and honest record. Simple, effective and without any unnecessary gimmicks. That’s the biggest strength of it and the fact that it also helped Tonra on her way to recovery is another plus. Despite its bleak nature this record can indeed spread home through its relieving character. When everything’s been said out loud you are finally allowed to move forward. And this future truly is probably a quite exciting one for one of contemporary music’s most gifted songwriters, that much seems for sure.

So today, with the world seeing right through me, I choose Ex:Re’s "Romance" as my, find the love inside, see the love in every spark of life, reflect the love to every human you see, song for a, if not now - when, if not I - who, if not love - what, Wednesday.

Lake Street Dive - "I Can Change"

Like a bell that cannot be unrung, once you hear Lake Street Dive they cannot be forgotten. Buzzing in the back your mind you keep asking yourself “what was that line?” and “How did that melody go?” until you take it upon yourself to simply listen again.

Lake Street Dive is a multigenre band that was founded in 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band's original members are Rachael Price (lead vocals), Mike "McDuck" Olson (trumpet, guitar), Bridget Kearney (upright bass), and Mike Calabrese (drums). Akie Bermiss (keyboards) joined the band on tour in 2017 and is on their 2018 album. Lake Street Dive started at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The band was named after a street with many dive bars in Olson's hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band tours in North America, Australia, and Europe from their base in Brooklyn.

All the band members were singing and/or playing musical instruments by the time they were in third grade. Most had some classical music training growing up and their parents were musicians. In their own way, had migrated to jazz by the time they met. However, the band says they were influenced by the music their parents were playing at home. This ranged from classic jazz to '60s soul to rock and roll.

The band members profess to love the entire Beatles discography. Kearney wrote "Hello? Goodbye!" and the band plays "Don't Make Me Hold Your Hand", both referencing Beatles tunes. Olson says he was inspired by Paul McCartney's love/vice lyrical concept in "Got to Get You Into My Life" when he wrote "You Go Down Smooth."

The band's traditional Halloween specials and covers on the EP release Fun Machine give an idea of the genres that influence them. These range from songs by the Mamas and the Papas, ABBA, the Drifters, Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates, Jackson 5 and Paul McCartney.

The band has been influenced by classic pop and swing era jazz. "We want it to sound like the Beatles and Motown had a party together," says drummer Mike Calabrese. Critics describe their music as "Sounds Like: Llewyn Davis's favorite pop group; Motown meets the Brill Building in jazzy, soulful, woulda-been Sixties chart toppers."

Price has said that the band's performances are influenced by the audience in front of them. "We are translating [crowd energy] on stage, trying to figure out what kind of energy to put out to the crowds. For the first time we feel we can mold the energy of a room."

Their influences are strong, and you can tell. Their music comes vibrantly to life and sticks with you for days. In little ways in can change your mood, or your day, simply by speaking truthfully.

So today, with the hope of change and the knowledge that no change is really necessary to be whom you want to be, I choose Lake Street Dive’s "I Can Change" as my break open and bleed out the bad, let yourself fill up with the light, the moment when the source and the stream are the same, song for a, find the divinity that you already are, look up to the stars, shine on, Tuesday.

Emeli Sandé - "Sparrow"

Scottish soul singer Emeli Sandé has returned with a staggering new anthem, “Sparrow.”

The track boasts another powerhouse vocal performance from Sandé, who starts the song with a soft croon that flutters over a delicate blend of piano and chimes. But “Sparrow” changes in an instant, the rumble of a cymbal introducing a full gospel choir that backs up Sandé as she flies forward over marching drums and a sweeping orchestral arrangement. “Yeah, we’re gonna take the long, the long way home,” Sandé belts, “Oh, we’re gonna take the world, the world by storm.”

“Sparrow” marks Sandé’s first solo song since 2017, when she released a six-track EP, Kingdom Coming. Her last full-length album, Long Live the Angels, arrived in 2016. Last year, Sandé collaborated with a variety of artists, notably contributing to Chic’s latest LP, It’s About Time, while also partnering with Naughty Boy on the single “Bungee Jumping” and Don Diablo and Gucci Mane on “Survive.”

Sandé has said she wants her music to be remembered like that of Nina Simone, one of her favourite artists. Sandé was first exposed to Simone at the age of eight, hearing her perform the song "Why?" after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. After hearing such sorrow yet uplifting lyrics and expression through Simone's performance, Sandé was inspired to have a similar future with her music career. She also said: "These days nothing lasts, music is like fast food, you're in then you're out. She said, as much as she would like, she would never play the piano as well as Simone, but she would give it her best shot. She loves the songs Simone produced, including "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" and Simone's version of "I Think It's Going to Rain Today". She said that Simone's original songs are very poetic: "So when I listen to commercial stuff at the moment, I’m just thinking ‘haven’t you heard Nina Simone, haven’t you heard how a song should be written?" She went on to say "We choose and consume, feast and forget, then rush on to the next hot thing. There's no point chasing that kind of success because it's so transient. Far better to follow (our) own paths and be true to (ourselves)."

Sandé began working in the studio with Naughty Boy in 2009, where the pair first worked together on Chipmunk's debut album, I Am Chipmunk. When Sandé was 16 years of age, her parents took her to Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor Tour and she said she always wanted Keys to hear her music. She spoke on why she likes Keys so much: "I’d read about her background and identified with her on so many levels. She was mixed race like me, a great student who'd been top of her class, who played piano and loved Nina Simone. And there she was in the pop charts, yet with songs that had a message. I saw 16,000 people hanging on her every word and thought, "I want this kind of attention. I want Alicia to know my music." The pair met when Sandé had just came back from New York and just began a second songwriting stint, but this time involved with Keys. The pair sat at a piano and played for hours trying to come up with a good track. She said that she wanted the songs on her debut album to be fresh and she wanted to try and take it back how she wrote songs at the beginning of her career. Sandé had classical music training as a songwriter in her teens and learnt to play the piano at an early age, and getting across that she played, made and wrote her own music was very important to her. She said on the album, she wanted people to see every side of her as an artist, so it was important to have songs there where there could be a real connection with the lyric, rather than there just be throwaway pop music. Joni Mitchell and Lauryn Hill were also major influences for the album.

This song has so many powerful levels. It reminds you that the journey is just as important as the goal. Some times you have to explore every single possibility to make sure that that last path you take is the right one, and that’s ok. Take your time, stay true to yourself, take the long way home.

So today, with weary wings and a smile on my face, I choose Emeli Sandé’s "Sparrow" as my, climb every mountain, look out for me, I’ll find my hero’s welcome, song for an, accept the pain in equal measure, in this present moment there is nothing to worry about, live here with me on the journey, Monday.

Sara Bareilles & John Legend - "A Safe Place to Land"

Like the sneaky little devil that she is, Sara Bareilles snuck out this album ahead of schedule, and it’s simply glorious. This is one of the hidden gems on the album, it sneaks up with it’s own power in the rocking ocean of uncertainty.

She talks quite a bit about about her own struggles with depression and how that has affected her, her music, and this album. It resonates deeply in this song.

His strident clear timbre and her soft round velvet smoothness wrap around each other beautifully, at once making the song aching and soothing. John does something rare and beautiful here. He takes what is given and adds to it, jumping from melody to harmony as easily as a switching hands, and helps to weave a beautiful audio tapestry. Neither voice fights for the spot light, they dance in and out of it individually, but together.

Go check out “Amidst the Chaos” immediately.

So today, looking for the sunrise, I choose Sara Bareilles & John Legend’s "A Safe Place to Land" as my, one situation at a time, heartache like an ocean, be the hand held out to someone in need, song for a, stand your ground, look for the light, in this moment there is no pain, Friday.

David Fischbein - "Skinny Love"

This delicate piano cover fell into my lap today and I dissolved into it. It is ethereal and heartbreaking at all once. Delicate and fragile it haunts you with a familiar melody only to open up into the real emotional grist mill that is this song, all while walking slowly and deliberately through the chords. Never rushed or so overwhelmed with emotion that it presses ahead of the pace, it continues like a hymn that echoes in the rafters long after the organ and the choir has stopped.

So today, with a little bit more of myself alive in the present, I choose David Fischbein’s delicate cover of "Skinny Love" as my, follow the emotions, behind the thought, you are not your mind, song for a, be present with me, here - now, hold on to that as long as you can, Thursday.

Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line - "Meant to Be"

So I can honestly say, that while I knew of both of these artists before I hadn’t really delved into them as performers. While I knew Florida Georgia Line to be great country artists and I’d heard a few of Bebe Rexha bops I hadn’t given either of them much more thought than that.

Well, wasn’t I wrong.

Rexha's musical style has switched with each album, but she has been labeled as a pop artist. Her songs span a wide range of genres, including hip hop, alternative rock, EDM, R&B and country. She was mainly influenced by Lauryn Hill whom she calls the "Queen of R&B". She was also influenced by other artists such as Bob Marley, Madonna, Blondie, Alanis Morissette and Coldplay.

Florida Georgia Line was formed in 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee and began as a cover band. In December 2011, they signed to the Big Loud Mountain label. Their second EP, It'z Just What We Do, was released in 2012 and charted on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Several months later they signed with Republic Nashville, part of the Big Machine Label Group. They released their second album, Anything Goes on October 14, 2014. Their third album, Dig Your Roots, was released on August 26, 2016.

They were discovered by Nickelback producer Joey Moi at a county fair, and the three began entering the studio together. Unlike typical country music sessions, the group spent days polishing songs, which were collected on the duo's second EP, It'z Just What We Do (2012). In terms of production, the band modeled their sound on bands such as Nickelback, Shinedown, and Three Days Grace, while Moi aimed for each song to resemble hair metal group Def Leppard in structure.Major labels became interested when the song "Cruise" first aired on satellite radio on The Highway channel and began selling well in the iTunes Store, leading to a deal with Republic Nashville and Big Machine Label Group.

This song hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. Simple, honest, rousing and toe-tapping, it slips into your feels when you least expect it.

So today, with a smile and some tears, I choose Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line’s "Meant to Be" as my, go on and get it, hope for the hopeless, look for the silver lining, song for a, hope never hurts, hold your own hand, dream a little dream for me, Wednesday.

Peggy Lee - "La La Lu"

Norma Deloris Egstrom, known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and performer. During her career, she wrote music for films, acted, and recorded conceptual record albums that combined poetry and music.

In 1942 Lee had her first No. 1 hit, "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place", followed by 1943's "Why Don't You Do Right?" which sold over 1 million copies and made her famous. She sang with Goodman's orchestra in two 1943 films, Stage Door Canteen and The Powers Girl.

In March 1943 Lee married Dave Barbour, a guitarist in Goodman's band. Lee said, "David joined Benny's band and there was a ruling that no one should fraternize with the girl singer. But I fell in love with David the first time I heard him play, and so I married him. Benny then fired David, so I quit, too. Benny and I made up, although David didn't play with him anymore. Benny stuck to his rule. I think that's not too bad a rule, but you can't help falling in love with somebody."

...when she left the band that spring [1943], her intention was to quit the footlights altogether and become Mrs. Barbour, fulltime housewife. It's to Mr. Barbour's credit that he refused to let his wife's singing and composing talent lay dormant for too long. "I fell in love with David Barbour," she recalled. "But 'Why Don't You Do Right' was such a giant hit that I kept getting offers and kept turning them down. And at that time it was a lot of money. But it really didn't matter to me at all. I was very happy. All I wanted was to have a family and cling to the children [daughter Nicki]. Well, they kept talking to me and finally David joined them and said 'You really have too much talent to stay at home and someday you might regret it.'"

She drifted back to songwriting and occasional recording sessions for the Capitol Records in 1947, for whom she recorded a long string of hits, many of them with lyrics and music by Lee and Barbour, including "I Don't Know Enough About You" (1946) and "It's a Good Day" (1947). With the release of the US No. 1-selling record of 1948, "Mañana", her "retirement" was over. In 1948, Lee's work was part of Capitol's library of electrical transcriptions for radio stations. An ad for Capitol Transcriptions in a trade magazine noted that the transcriptions included "special voice introductions by Peggy."

In 1948 Lee joined vocalists Perry Como and Jo Stafford as a host of the NBC Radio musical program The Chesterfield Supper Club. She was a regular on The Jimmy Durante Show and appeared frequently on Bing Crosby's radio shows during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

She recorded a popular version of "Fever" by Little Willie John, written by Eddie Cooley and John Davenport, to which she added her uncopyrighted lyrics ("Romeo loved Juliet," "Captain Smith and Pocahontas"). Her relationship with Capitol spanned almost three decades aside from a brief detour (1952–1956) at Decca. For that label she recorded Black Coffee, one of her most acclaimed albums[citation needed] and had hit singles such as "Lover" and "Mister Wonderful".

Lee was nominated for twelve Grammy Awards, winning Best Contemporary Vocal Performance for her 1969 hit "Is That All There Is?" In 1995 she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

She could entrance you, make you laugh, and then make you cry all in the same song. A renaissance woman if ever there were one. With a smile that could light up a room and voice that asks you to turn the lights down, she was the kind of star they just don’t seem to make anymore.

So today, with a little stardust falling from my pockets, I choose Peggy Lee’s "La La Lu" from Disney’s “Lady & the Tramp” as my, find your own magic, sweep up all your broken pieces, something new can be beautiful, song for a , beginnings always come disguised as endings, it never hurts to dream, I hope for you so many good things, Tuesday.