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![[PLAY THE PLAYLIST] BEST FUCKING MORNING ☕️](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61cb91c18cbd5c31ee4ab0fd/1671489716744-8O7CT3IXTS432DLNW4P5/bestfuckingmorning.png)
[PLAY THE PLAYLIST] BEST FUCKING MORNING ☕️
Recently I’ve trying to be more thoughtful with how I start my day. With all of this time in quarantine I’ve taken the opportunity to observe how impactful tiny thoughtful adaptations can be. Not just on a daily basis either, as I’ve found that sometimes the change can be so swift it’s often within an hour or even a matter of minutes, depending on the situation.
We all know music is a major mood shifter. Unfortunately, sometimes it feels like because we’ve gotten so accustomed to the habit of recklessly consuming things to make us feel better that we do this with music a lot more than any of us would like to admit. I know I’ve certainly been guilty of that myself. Additionally, when you’re already not giving too much thought of what you’re consuming, it’s hard for me to believe that it means that all that unused thoughtful energy is shifting to what you’re putting out into the world and any subsequent side effects, either positive or negative.
I intend to take more ownership of how this space factors into this consumption habit equation for everyone, so of course I felt the need to make a fucking playlist about it. 🤪
I took some time thinking about not just what makes me feel good, but exactly what makes me feel my ⚡️fucking best⚡️. IMO, there’s truly nothing better in this life than the opportunity to identify how your talents/strengths can help people, throwing all of your energy into that thing, and then witnessing the magic that comes from those efforts. To be clear, I’m not just talking about ways that earn you money from doing this either. It can also be little things like knowing you’re a good personal cheerleader and being able to notice when someone could need some pom-poms waved in their direction and seeing their reaction. It’s ✨ literally the fucking best✨ ESPECIALLY when all parties involved decide that shit is going both wayyysss.
Community.
Connection.
Intention.
These are the things that BEST FUCKING MORNING☕️ is made of to the best of my ability. Sometimes you’ll get ✨a feeling✨ from the music, but as often as I could, I wanted the words ringing through your ears to make you feel fucking great, too. Additionally, I wholeheartedly believe that it’s equally important that the people making the good vibes you ingest should absolutely coming from good fucking people and I can say with a great level of confidence that these are all really good fucking people. I took a lot of care to make sure that even if one were to treat this playlist like a LoFi Chill Beats To Study To kinda deal where it’s mostly going to be background noise, that the few times that your brain decides to focus in on what’s actually happening that hopefully in that moment you feel empowered to remember that you always have the opportunity to choose happiness in spite of whatever bullshit gets thrown at you.
Let me be very clear that this is not me tryna shove some toxic positivity on your ass. That shit is annoying as fuck and not welcomed in this house. You always are entitled to however you feel, absolutely.
BUT
When you wake up feeling meh and decide you deserve to feel at minimum a little bit better.
Or you wake up feeling fucking great and want to hold onto that feeling as much as you can, possibly even going next level with that shit.
I promise you this shit will take you there, wherever that may be.
Although this collection of vibes was arranged in a way to be uplifting incrementally, feel free to let The Algorithm™ move you and shuffle this shit if you are so inclined. That said, I def invite you to see if you can notice a different if you listen both ways. Additionally, I intend to honor the inspiration behind this playlist and occasionally implement tweaks every now and then, hopefully to further enhance this vibe. Mostly likely additions only, no removals or substitutions.
As long as this playlist is in your life may you never forget that you deserve the fucking best. 💖
![[SONG OF THE DAY] St. Lucia - "Bigger"](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61cb91c18cbd5c31ee4ab0fd/1671498401173-9MT2J37ZDZI2JCD1D5NL/image-asset.jpeg)
[SONG OF THE DAY] St. Lucia - "Bigger"
Even though I’m in bed battling what feels like it could be a cold my heart is so full today.
You guys, last night I finally got to see St. Lucia live! 😍🙏🏻💖✨
Unbeknownst to me, I am apparently amongst the top listeners of St. Lucia on Spotify. Jokes on them, because I’m just now looking at my #data on Last.fm and based on the time period that I listened to them most I probably listened to them the most on Rdio (RIP) than I have on Spotify. At any rate, I got invited to a #SpotifyFansFirst event last night where they played their upcoming album, Hyperion, in the background while we snacked and drank for a bit and then played a set full of old favorites and newer nuggets we will be obsessing over in the coming weeks.
Of all the new tracks they played, “Bigger” (which dropped last week) by far encompasses everything that I have grown to love about this band in the past 7 years. There’s something so undeniably heartwarming about Jean Grobler’s voice on it’s own, but the music itself is always ethereal and expansive, as if it were impossible to contain the notes because they just dissipate into the atmosphere. When you factor in the genuinely heartfelt lyrics on this song, well, “Bigger” is just one of those songs that when you hear it you’re briefly concerned that your heart might float out of your chest.
It was truly a magical night and playful streaming-related shade aside I’m very grateful that Spotify facilitated me being able to see one of my favorite bands.
Hyperion drops next Friday (September 21st) as does their extensive tour starting at the Pier 17 rooftop here in NYC. You can see the full routing for their tour over on their website.
[2016 Recap] A Few Of My Favorite Things
bless Topsters for assembling this graphic infinitely easier than prior years
Surpriiiiseee!! I'm going to do my year end wrap up differently than most of the ones I've seen. Mostly because I have so many to share, but mostly because I like to let the music do the talking and help you get better connected to the artists themselves. Instead of recaps of each record, I'm going to point you to my favorite tracks so if any of these are new to your ears you'll have the best starting point I can give you.
Personal Observations for 2016
This was a weird year for me in terms of listening/discovery habits. Instead of fighting against music consumption trends, I decided to play along. I dove head first into my Discover Weekly playlist. I even followed some of my friends' in order to see what I would find and set up an IFTTT recipe to archive everything recommended to me so I could go back and reference it later if I wanted. I barely touched my SKOA inbox, which probably upset a lot of publicists. Anyway, according to Last.FM's data (since Spotify never ended up sending me mine), I listened to 1,919 new artists this year, which is ABSOLUTELY INSANE. But really when you think about how much music Discover Weekly puts in front of you, it's really less than what everyone had the potential to check out (which is 1,560 if you figure we get 30 new tracks a week for a year). I am in the 98th percentile in music listening per Last.FM (meaning I listen to more music than 98% of people who still scrobble to Last.FM) and I found myself panicky and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of music that Spotify thinks I can get through on TOP of the music I already love and want to enjoy, or the random rabbit holes I end up falling into that typically bring me great new baby bands. I guess most people approach Discover Weekly differently than I do, letting artists come and go as they please, but knowing the transformative power that music possesses, I'm always wary of passing on an opportunity to be affected and share those experiences with others.
It's crazy to think that 20% of what stuck with me this year was randomly generated by The Algorithm and not delivered to me by humans. I almost said that the human delivery was through cosmic forces, but really, if music finds its way to your ears/hearts by friend or by Algorithm, both are cosmic in a way, no?
This is my struggle at present. I value the connection that happens when a humans experience music together, whether it be by recommendation or attending shows together. I worry this experience will continue to be diminished the more we silo ourselves into our algorithm-based echo chambers. I really hope I'm just out of touch and someone will point me to where this is the opposite, but I can't ignore how self-serving shows feel now every time I treat myself to a Night Out. This has been on my heart/mind too much lately to ignore it, so expect some changes to how things go down on the site (starting with making more time for this now that my new job isn't crazy busy for awhile).
What music moved you this year? Did you like some of these records but different tracks? I'd honestly love to know so please drop me a comment. Also if you want more than favorite tracks out of me for these records, feel free to bug me on Twitter I am happy to share!
My Favorite Things Of 2016
New #Content Alert: The 'di-SKOA-ver weekly' Playlist
"Play it! Don't you wanna hear what's next?!"
I've noticed that a lot of my friends who use Spotify have developed a new habit. Every Monday morning without fail I watch in my friend feed as they all pour over their Discover Weekly playlists throughout the course of the day. This is all well and good. I'm actually happy to see that my friends in and out of the music business are anxious to find new music to bring them joy.
In terms of what happens post-playlist, though. I'm never really sure. I only really hear about when the magical Spotify-powered algorithm "fails" someone during any given week. I never hear the celebratory "THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE BAND!! THANKS ALGORITHM!!" or "GOING TO SEE MY NEW FAVORITE BAND TONIGHT THANKS TO A PLAYLIST!"
How does one communicate with a playlist/algorithm exactly?
This is where yours truly comes in to play.
Starting today, I'm launching what I will playfully be referring to as the di-SKOA-ver weekly playlist. (You know me and my love of puns! I couldn't help myself.)
This is how I intend to run such a playlist:
- Just like Spotify, once a week the dedicated playlist below will be updated with a fresh crop of songs.
- Just like Spotify's playlist, some will be old, some will be new.
- I will mostly be sourcing the music on my own, but will occasionally be taking recommendations from Sprout, Shey, and Fam Like You!
- Unlike the Spotify playlist, should you find yourself in love with a song/band, upon adding that music to your own collection YOU'LL HAVE A HUMAN TO TALK TO ABOUT IT.
- Another important thing! All the artists in said playlist I will learn things about before updating the playlist for the week so when we talk it'll actually be a stimulating conversation!
- More importantly, if I notice that a ton of people are interested in the same artist, I'll make it a priority on the site to do more coverage for them in the form of tour updates, interviews, etc.
Obviously you are encouraged to follow this playlist from your Spotify account, but I'll also make sure the playlist is sitting pretty on the homepage for your convenience.
BTW we can be friends on Spotify too if you're into that. I love stalking my friend feed for new music and getting inboxed things to try!
ALRIGHT LESS TALK MORE ROCK ENJOY THESE JAMS, FAM!
[Watch] St. Lucia - "September" (Video)
St. Lucia aptly pairs evocative, and often eerie, visuals with his pulsating, tribal track "September". Flashing lights connect with celestial footage, blending the two in sync with the rhythmic bass and vast array of synthesizers. Watch the clip above.
"September" is the title track from St. Lucia's September EP, which is now available.
[Listen] St. Lucia - "September"
St. Lucia gets the party started to kick off the weekend, dropping the very danceable "September". The track is an expansive, synth-heavy number, a full six minutes that requires you pull out your best dance moves. Stream the song below.
"September" will be included on St. Lucia's upcoming September EP will be available digitally on September 25th.
[Listen] Charli XCX - "You're The One" (St. Lucia Remix)
Check out a little remix of Charli XCX's track "You're The One" from the wonderful St. Lucia. The pair are also set to play a series of dates in the coming months. Looking at Charli's tour schedule she's pretty busy for the rest of the year with support slots alongside Coldplay and Azealia Banks.
[Watch] St. Lucia - "Before The Dive" (Official Video)
New York's St. Lucia has gotten a lot of love from the SKOA crew over the past 6 months or so and it's not about to stop now! He's just unleashed his official visual accompaniment to "Before The Dive" and it features sea and lots of hazy cuts. A very nice video that sits along the song well with its slow motion pans. It'll be released on May 14th if you fancy copping a copy on vinyl or just via digital download.
Is Summer here yet? I'm getting bored of waiting now! In the mean time though, St. Lucia will play at Brighton's Great Escape Festival this weekend! More on that over here.