Tag: playlist

Mile-Long Mixtapes: Ep. 3

Kellie M Beck Leave a comment

“Mile-Long Mixtapes”: Ep. #3

New Beginnings

by Kellie M. Beck

 

Can we ever really start over?

 

Today, (the day I’m writing this) is oddly enough the Lunar New Year. While it may not be traditionally celebrated the same as the calendar new year, January 1st, it is a celebration of newness. 

 

From what I can tell, we, as human beings, really, really love newness. We celebrate every new year, every new age we turn. We celebrate our times with our families over the holidays by giving one another new things. Every new school year, we buy our children new jeans, new shoes, new clothes. And while some of this serves a distinct purpose, (I mean, c’mon– kids outgrow their clothes at the speed of light!) newness has become a trait of modernity that I can’t help but feel at odds with. 

 

Why? Because newness, in the largest sense, doesn’t exist. 

 

I’m sure it can’t be just me– the idea of starting over is borderline seductive. And maybe that’s just because we never really get to start over– it evades us as does perfection. A fresh start is a version of perfection. But if we spend all our time pretending to start over at every new job, new semester, or every new year– when will we ever give ourselves the chance to grow? 

 

What if we all agreed that newness was impossible to achieve? I think of Walter Benjamin’s idea of what he calls “the aura”. The aura describes the appeal of aged things– how they have been altered by time is what makes them beautiful to us. I think of the old houses of Ann Arbor, or on a grander scale, the cathedral of Notre Dame. We find them beautiful for their aura. 

 

I genuinely hope the same concept can be applied to you and I. 

 

When we relinquish our desires to be new, what is left of us? The only other option for change, if we cannot start over, is to grow. I think about it like a great painting– if we throw away every canvas in which we make a mark we do not like, we will never have a masterpiece. But if we choose to stay, and reckon with what marks we have made on the page, we have the ability then to move past them. 

 

The Ultimate TikTok Playlist

vle Leave a comment

Never would I have thought that I would ever be publishing an arts and culture post about TikTok, but yes, it has come to this (Please don’t hate me). I have been sucked in the the addicting world of TikTok somewhat regrettably, but it’s okay–I now have a new bevy of absolute BOPS. Not only does TikTok constantly inundate you with bangers, it serves as a platform for lesser known artists to grow as well!

Alas, check out this TikTok-inspired playlist curated by yours truly. Perhaps they’ll make a good addition to your next Zoom party. (NSFW)

  1. Don’t Start Now – Dua Lipa
  2. The Box – Roddy Rich
  3. Say So – Doja Cat
  4. Blueberry Faygo – Lil Mosey
  5. Life is Good – Future ft. Drake
  6. Roses Imanbek Remix – Saint JHN and Imanbek
  7. ROXANNE – Arizona Zervas
  8. Savage – Megan Thee Stallion
  9. Supalonely – BENEE and Gus Dapperton
  10. Cuz I Love You – Lizzo

Spring Playlist

jushutch Leave a comment

Spring is the best time for a fresh start, whether it be cleaning, changing your attitude, or starting a new music playlist. As a result, I’ve been exploring a variety of music recently, in order to change up my playlist and fall in love with something new. I’ve found a lot of great music in my search, and a couple artists and songs that have especially stuck out, and I want to share them and discuss what makes each one unique and why they’ve been added to my spring playlist.

classic j dies and goes to hell part 1

Image result for glass beach album cover

The opening track on the album the first glass beach album, by the band glass beach, is bold, exciting, and surprisingly catchy. Although the album title, song name, and lack of capitalization all drive me a little insane, I think it provides a good expectation of what the album sounds like; it’s unconventional, a little tongue-in-cheek, and generally fun, since it doesn’t take itself too seriously. This song is my favorite (although glass beach is a close second) due to it’s dynamic range, both in style and instrumentation, switching between jazzy and soulful to chaotic and over-the-top. The drummer doesn’t hold back, often overpowering the song and creating a destructive yet genuine atmosphere, reminiscent of a punk 90’s garage band. The unique style and presentation give the song an endearing quality, making it a great candidate for my spring playlist.

Alone, Omen 3

Image result for man alive king krule album cover

From the recently released project called Man Alive! by King Krule, Alone, Omen 3 stands in stark contrast to glass beach: it’s melancholic, haunting, and subtle. It features fairly simple instrumentation, but with a great rhythm and surprising dynamics, accentuated by amazing sound effects and sound design. The lead singer has a quiet and casual tone, but one that draws your attention and demands a close listen. Although it’s hard to tell if there is a lot of lyrical substance, there is definitely an incredible atmosphere and feeling conveyed throughout the song, which makes is a great listen that doesn’t get old. The entire album is incredible, and I’d love to write a post about it after I spend more time with it.

 

 

In the Eyes of An Architecture Student: What Music do you Listen to for Studio Work?

themichiganarchitect Leave a comment

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had a wonderful, restful MLK weekend!

I’m back again this week to discuss my answer to the question: What music do you listen to as you’re doing studio sketches or modeling?

First things first, I’ll just say, I have always been someone who’s been easily distracted no matter the context. So, getting me to focus and stay still to focus on specific tasks under a seemingly far away deadline is like pulling teeth. Whenever I do my structures assignments, I’d say that I listen to anything really, I find that classical music is alright too (I did used to be in orchestra, in case you were wondering how I don’t fall asleep listening to it for two hours straight). For any assignments that involve in-depth writing, like essays or reading, I listen to instrumentals. Again, orchestral music is great with me for this. I also really enjoy listening to dub step or even just instrumentals to tropical pop songs, and even remixes. I’ve even done quite well listening to non-English music. As soon as I hear English music, I find it inevitable that the lyrics will end up somewhere in my paper haha. As for my studio design sketching and modeling, I guess I do not really distinguished playlists for either of the tasks. I enjoy listening to anything really, as long as its upbeat. So, pretty much anything within the genres: pop, EDM, tropical house, and synthetic instrumentals, I find quite inspiring to my work actually. Besides the fact that sometimes I will find myself awake or still-awake at unearthly hours, I just find that anything upbeat and catchy just sets a great groove for me to “settle” into the work that I need to do. I oftentimes find that the beats and catchy lyrics keep me energized for hours, as I’m usually doing some sort of tedious, repetitive task either with my knives on the cutting mat or on my laptop with the software. I do also think that the devices that I use to listen to my music influence my ability to make this work as well. Sometimes. if there is just too much linework, or powerful renderings that need to be done, I will go to the BT Lab (our PC classrooms with very powerful computers) and I just end up listening off of their PC with my earbuds. If I’m at my desk doing my work on my laptop, I’ll just listen off of my laptop with my earbuds or my wireless headphones- the only downside with the headphones is I often get too warm or my head starts to hurt from the weight and pressure put on my ears for the extended period of time. Now, if I’m modeling, I find it immensely more convenient to use my wireless headphones- you can imagine, there’s a ton of materials and blades and sketches scattered on the desk, so the last thing you need or want is a tangled wire of your headphone getting caught on stuff, as you’re constantly re-positioning in order to produce the most effective cuts. I’ve definitely forgotten to charge my headphones and ended up using earbuds, and the result was just some wasted minutes to untangle things, or bring my phone and headphones along wherever I moved. Aaanddd, here’s what you would consider the click bait of this post: an excerpt of my playlist! I hope ya’ll will give it a go, whether you’re sprawled in bed or doing your own work. If you do, (or don’t I guess) and have comments or suggestions, feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments below, or reach out to my instagram at: themichiganarchitect Ciao 🙂

TheMichiganArchitect Work Playlist Winter 2020 🙂

Mike Perry feat. Tessa: Stay Young

Sistek feat. Tudor & Amy J Pryce: Pitfalls

Doja Cat: Say So

Far East Movement feat. Jay Park: Sxwme

Maggie Lindemann (Cheat Codes and CADE Remix): Pretty Girl

Bazzi (Bazzi vs Young Bombs Remix): Mine

Timeflies: Once In a While

Timeflies & Shy Martin: Raincoat

Alex Ross feat. Dakota & T-Pain: Dreams

Ali Simpson: Guilty

Allie X: Catch

Overstreet: Carried Away

Lovelytheband: Broken

Jax Jones & Ella Henderson: This is Real

Arizona: Electric Touch

Kim Petras: Icy

Alexandra Stan: Little Lies

Adventure Club & Crankdat feat. Krewella: Next Life

One Republic (Arty Remix): I Lived

The Knocks feat. Foster The People): Ride or Die

Austin Mahone: Better With You

Tiesto feat. Stevie Appleton: BLUE

The Mixtape

Cait 1 Comment

As a sort of conditioning or pep-talk to myself, I’ve decided that my sophomore year of college at UofM will be a year of self-love, a year of self-acceptance, self-exploration, self-embracement, and being unapologetically “me” and all the things that coalesce into a hazardous, but lovely, marbled sector of “shared space” on the “Me” Venn Diagram. In an act of naive but confident resolution, I’ve decided I know who I am now and I am not willing to compromise that for any one person or any amount of necessity to capitulate who I am to the Sheeple Effect here at Michigan. If we’re coming down to brass tax, what I mean is I’m a boss-ass bitch. I’m a cool lady and I’m gonna “do me” this year. Sorry, mom.

Here are a few songs by female artists that are also bad ass bitches. These ladies belt and play their hearts out unapologetically in the face of a male-dominated industry that wants to shrink them into sexy, solo acts in lieu of Pop Top 20. These fierce musicians play on in their own unique styles that range from freak-folk to spoken word and kick ass the whole way there.