October Tunes

I know. I know. I’ve been absent. Severely absent. Pinky swear there’s a legitimate reason, but that’s a post for another day.

Today’s post is our monthly wrap-up of tunes I was rinsing during the last month. October produced some good music. There were some covers that slapped (Miley Cyrus I’m looking at you), some cinematic masterpieces (ahem, Shawn Mendes) and some great discoveries made.

So, if you’re keen to see what I was listening to during the month of October while I was anywhere but on my blog, keep reading.

Ungodly Hour – Chloe x Halle: These girls have a ridiculous amount of views on their latest music videos, and I can guarantee I’m at least a hundred of them. Especially this one. It’s gotten to the point where I know the live version with the choreography and the ad-libs better than I know the studio version. These two are so bloody ethereal and heavenly it’s hard to measure up to these ladies. So strong vocally and so effortless in their performance. I’m on a bit of a Chloe x Halle binge and I highly recommend.

Heart of Glass – Miley Cyrus: What much else could I add to the discourse surrounding this gift from God itself, that hasn’t already been said. Not a lot.

Last Time – Giveon, Snoh Aalegra: Giveon delivered once again, this time he brought my gal Snoh with him. This song is the definition of smooth and sultry and I’m all about it. Both of them deliver creamy vocals and their voices blend so perfectly together.

Poetic Justice – Kendrick Lamar, Drake: I blame the Savage x Fenty show for this one. You know the vid I’m talking about. Neon green hair Lance, dancing with two other male dancers in silk pyjama sets behind mesh fabric then the camera pans to our gal Cara Delevingne? That’s the one. That and this song has always been a tune.

Wonder – Shawn Mendes: I’ve spoken already about this song. You don’t need me to ramble again because ramble I will. Check out the blog post HERE.

Like You – Bow Wow, Ciara: Oh my lord this song. I heard it in a TikTok and just got violent flashbacks to singing it when I was a lil kiddy. Just the Ciara hook, the way it gets stuck in your head is a medical issue, but I don’t have that much of a problem with it.

YEAHNAH – Church & AP: Church & AP. Was obviously gonna mention them again at some point. If you haven’t heard me go on about this NZ duo before, check out my post on them HERE. This is such a track. It’s from their latest EP, At Thy Feet, and it’s arguably my favourite. The bass line, the drum, it’s got a very UK feel to it if that makes sense. Dera Meelan, the producer is phenomenal on this track and it’s done so well. Church, AP and Dera are trio to watch when they’re together.

Way Down – Ocean Alley: Another tune from Ocean Alley. I’m on a bit of a bender with these guys too. This goes back to their surf rock roots perfectly, complete with heavy drum beat and head nod-inducing guitar riff. Baden, the lead singer, also delivers one of my favourite vocal performances so far.

So Done – Alicia Keys, Khalid: My girl Alicia. I can’t help but think of my childhood and driving in the car, listening to her albums with my Dad. She’s such a staple piece of my youth, so when I saw she had an episode dedicated to her on Netflix’s Song Exploder, I was all over it. This isn’t the track the episode covered, but it’s from the same album, and I mean…Alicia Keys and Khalid? Bliss.

going out – ROLE MODEL: More ROLE MODEL. This guy is making waves and they just get bigger and bigger. Last month it was BLIND, and now we’ve got going out. It’s not an overly complicated song, but the lyrics are so well written and constructed, with a super catchy hook and it’s just a hit in my eyes.

Self Control – Frank Ocean: It’s that part of the post where I share the inevitable Frank Ocean song I found myself obsessed with during the month and for October it was good ole Self Control. It’s just that guitar man. I mean, we done been knowing Frank’s lyrics could break the stoniest of hearts and his voice is sent directly from angels, but the guitar on this track just gets me. I love this song. I could be mid hype and I wouldn’t be able to find it in myself to skip this song.

Kevin’s Heart – J. Cole: I think I love this song so much for it’s intro. It’s just beautiful. That said, J. Cole consistently delivers, and I’ve been going back to the KOD album over the last month and digging up some of the treasures on that record, this being one of them.

On My Mind – Diplo, SIDEPIECE: Complete change of pace and we have some DIPLO on the playlist. I added this to my before the uber comes a little while ago, and then I saw more than a few TikToks using this song and I just had to add it to my daily playlist because of how often I found it stuck in my head.

Not My Neighbour – Niko Walters: I found this song through a series on YouTube called Don’t Make It AUX, which is one of the vibiest playlist series I’ve ever seen. I’m a huge fan of Jordan and Lance who I mentioned earlier, and they got Niko as well as Matui, the lead singer of SIX60, on their latest episode so I had to find out more about Niko. I genuinely spent the rest of the day on his Spotify, listening to his music while doing my work and getting on with it, but this song is by far my favourite. Highly recommend. Super groovy and chilled out, perfect for summer, which is on it’s way here in Australia.

Higher Place – Skip Marley, Bob Marley & The Wailers: Another song I discovered from the Don’t Make It AUX show, this time recommended by Matui Walters, who as I mentioned, is the lead singer of one of my favourite bands, SIX60. Skip Marley, Bob Marley’s grandson really puts such a modern and relevant spin on his grandfather’s tapes and recordings, even sampling some of Bob Marley’s speaking and writing in this track, hence the feature. This song is so good. There’s an incredible drop that is understated, yet hits so hard at the same time, and I’ve been rinsing this song all month.

Only Time Makes It Human – King Princess: I remember a couple years ago when King Princess was always on my radar…now, not so much. I discovered this song by pure lucky – my phone refused to connect to the BlueTooth in my car, so it was the rare occasion where I chucked on the radio, and this was on. I instantly made a mental note to add it to my playlist when I got home because of how insanely catchy the hook is. I’m in love with this disco-pop genre and though I’d never think it, King Princess does it so effortlessly. Nails it.

Over Now – Calvin Harris, The Weeknd: We love Calvin Harris around here. We know this. Add in The Weeknd, who’s also riding this disco-pop wave making itself known in 2020, and you have a tune like this. I mean, dreamy synths, some smooth RnB style percussion, a slappy bass and Abel’s impeccable vocals, make this a killer track. So low-key and ambient, I love it.

positions – Ariana Grande: She really pulled through at the end of the month didn’t she? I’m so exciting for her upcoming album, probably more excited than I’ve ever been for anything she’s ever put out, and this single has a lot to do with it.

What were you listening to this month? Let me know in the comments!

x

Priya

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