Sarah's Music Blog

I'm a music-obsessed engineer with an innate love for writing. I love vinyl albums, songs that make me dance, and heartfelt artists so raw and obscure I can’t even find their CDs in that hipster record store downtown. Simply, I listen to what speaks to me. :)

[musicblogbysarah]

The Flying Stars Of Brooklyn NY - My God Has A Telephone - Gospel Soul 45

This fills my soul - both spiritually and musically. This is the kind of gospel music I always needed and wanted in my life. I love that this song sounds brilliantly artful and the message is not watered down, which is almost impossible to find. This is a piece of musical gold. Even if you are not religious, I do not think you can dislike this song (unless you hate soul music). I also recommend giving the song “Live On” a listen too; it has an even breezier feel.

The Flying Stars of Brooklyn NY is categorized as “lowdown gospel soul.” The music has a 60s and 70s soul vibe, and definitely reminds me of some of my favorite old vinyl albums. This artist is definitely worth a listen. I hope to hear more from this artist in the future, and I hope to hear more artists like this emerge in the music scene.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

(Listen at the link or get a free download.)

“What Kind of Love is Like That” by Aaron Espe, Madi Diaz

This somber tune starts with a piano ballad vibe and a first line that hooks you immediately, “I was such a fool thinking I could have you for myself.” The song’s beat, ethereal sounds, and instrumentals make this song a dynamic, well-rounded sad song that isn’t just another depressing piano ballad. The beat picks up at the first verse, which is matched and emphasized with the rolling cadence of the vocals. The track builds in complexity and fills in with more instrumentals to create a full, rich sound. The repetition of “I was such a fool” throughout is haunting and relatable; I think we’ve all felt like a fool at some point in our lives.

I find this song to be so intriguing, captivating, sobering, saddening, and entrancing. It haunts me, and spirals me into a pensive trance. It’s the kind of music that demands my immediate attention, engulfs me, reminds me of the nagging sadness deep in my gut, and compels me to write (something I haven’t been doing as much lately, but really need in my life). But this song doesn’t depress me; it fills me with (somber) life.

This is a song that requires a good set of headphones or a good sound system, because - though you may still thoroughly enjoy the track without it - you otherwise miss the punch of the beat and cannot enjoy the song in its full glory.

This song is an unreleased demo that Aaron Espe wrote with his friend Madi Diaz. I discovered this song while watching an episode of the show iZombie and then feverishly searched for it on the internet. I then stumbled upon the link I posted here which is on Aaron Espe’s website. This link provides the only available way to listen to the song: music player on the webpage or free download.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“Simple Man” by Graham Nash

I heard this song play at the end of a TV series. “Simple Man” is “a simple tune” that lets the lyrics shine bright in the forefront. The most enamoring words lie within the chorus, “I just want to hold you, I don’t want to hold you down” sung in captivating harmony. It’s a beautiful tune full of complicated feelings.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“Timmy’s Prayer” by Sampha

I think the easiest way to know a song moves you is when it, quite literally, gives you the uncontrollable urge to move - to turn the volume up to its highest notch, to close your eyes and dance and sway in its consuming hypnosis on repeat until you are tired as hell and fall asleep.

Low-fi hip-hop is a cool genre of music that I need to explore more...

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“Jesus Christ” by Brand New

There’s something I deeply love about music that exposes one’s faith intertwined in a naked, ugly, unrefined firsthand experience. Music like this shakes my soul and faith awake.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“I Found” by Amber Run

Two desperate, distressing strikes of high-pitched piano notes - then in stomps a confident, provocative, painful first line sung in an auto-tuned Bon Iver-esque voice. It’s an ethereal ballad that stamps its words onto (and into) your heart. The bridge builds with a stomping beat, complemented with synthetic notes and layered with more beats. It transforms the track from ballad to electronic anthem, which then brings the chorus in one more time. To me, “I Found” tells a climatic conflicted story that I can feel and relate to.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

Chris Stapleton - Either Way (Audio)

“Either Way” by Chris Stapleton

The acoustic guitar arrangement is... floating slowly down the river as the sun dims; it is the ceiling fan breeze when you can’t but lay on your bed and stare at the ceiling; it is the sway of weeping willow branches and the melancholy when nothing feels right. The finger-picking, sliding, hammering on and off the guitar strings feels like actions performed instead on your heartstrings. Your heart is filled and emptied before a single word is sung. The lyrics are everything your heart began to already feel. The words are that feeling when snow falls into the back of your sweater when you untie your scarf; they are cool, icy pricks that melt and permeate your parched body. And by the time Chris Stapleton finishes belting the chorus and hits the first pungent “either way” - the tears roll, figuratively or literally.

I first heard this song on some sort of radio station extension of NPR, in which Chris Stapleton was performing a few songs off his latest record. His performance embodied everything I love in music - and the incredible part is that that raw tangible quality of his live performance is captured organically in the recorded track. If you like the stripped-down, raw, vulnerable kind of music, this gem is for you.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

I’m back.

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted on here. During this time away, I didn’t want my precious time consumed with spending hours curating every word I placed within a blog post text box. But, the words in my fingertips (and heart and mind and soul) have been stifled for too long, and they must be freed. 

Maybe writing a post here - here or there - will give me the liberty to begin making the time to write the poetry I have been needing to write, but have ignored for several months now. 

I used to treat my inner writing (the words that manifest inside me before or if they are ever written) as a heartbeat, as something that had to happen and couldn’t be muffled without detrimental consequences.

I am no longer sure that happiness is a good enough reason to stop writing, when a writer is who you are. Let me free this part of me again. Thanks for listening (or reading, I guess I should say). Hello again. Welcome back to my music blog.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

Leon Bridges (NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert)

I have become such a huge fan of soul music from the 50′s to 80′s. I thought I could only find this type of music on used records in the record store, until today when I found Leon Bridges. For my fellow old souls and soul lovers out there, take a good listen to this young artist. He’s got a style similar to one of my old-time favorites, The Temptations. Leon Bridges is the new take on soul. Enjoy. :)

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“Give It Up” by KC and The Sunshine Band

My mom sometimes calls me an “old soul.” This description is becoming more and more fitting as my vinyl collection grows and I listen to more and more oldies and disco music. I’m currently listening to disco music on Pandora, and this is one of my favorites from today. (Why don’t disco clubs still exist??)

It just occurred to me that this blog post/song title coincidentally acts as a hilarious pun, since today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning to Lent when Christians often give up something for the 40 days until Easter Sunday. For those giving up something for Lent: “Baby, give it up, Give it up, Baby, give it upppp!”

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“A Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin, in honor of Carole King

If you missed this performance and didn’t catch its subsequent shares and rave reviews since its airing, you have to watch this video. The Kennedy Center Honors aired on Tuesday night and one of the honorees was Carole King who wrote (with her husband) “A Natural Woman” for Aretha Franklin. This performance brought me to tears when I saw it, and made me tear up when I re-watched it via this YouTube clip. There is no other soul artist like Aretha Franklin.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“You Get What You Give (cover)” by The Maine feat. Brennon Smiley

I have been anxiously awaiting the release of this very song. “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals is my favorite song of all time, and as you may know, one of my favorite bands is The Maine. When I heard The Maine announce they were to release an EP of cover songs, one of those song being “You Get What You Give,” I immediately filled with excitement, anticipation, and the highest of hopes. The best part is: they didn’t disappoint me.

The Maine kept the integrity of the original, but injected some of their own style. The song isn’t radically different from the original - its same energy is maintained - but the vocals and electric guitar are a little different. The substitution of John O’Callaghan’s wonderful, unique vocals brings the song to a new, cooler level. The vocals of Brennon Smiley, a musician I had not known prior, complement John’s perfectly; he adds depth to the vocal sound. The song feels lighter and more rock ‘n’ roll, but still upbeat. The Maine’s rendition of “You Get What You Give” still makes me want to get up, dance around, and sing at the top of my lungs, just as the original does. That’s how I know it was a job well done.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“Lazy Jane” by Jenny O.

“And today I’m being Lazy Jane, I’m feeling blue”

From time to time (or often), I like to watch a silly or strange TV show or movie, haha. Without cable or iTunes credit, I decided to look up the TV show iZombie and watch an episode of the latest season. The song “Lazy Jane” played in the background of the scene while the main character was disappointed about the sad, cyclic process of losing a friend and finding a new one. The character pours herself a drink she calls the “Live and Learn.”

“Lazy Jane” has simplistic instrumentals, but the edgy bluesy vocals carry strong, solemn lyrics that make you feel something; no musical glitz required, only raw soul. Jenny O’s vocals have a Stevie Nicks-type quality to them, which I love. The lyrics may not exactly align with my current state of mind, but the feeling this song gives me (and the feelings the iZombie character felt) sure seems to. I think it’s a good song for any time you’re feeling lazy and blue, and want to just soak in that feeling for a moment before you decide to move past it, whether permanently or temporarily. It’s a song for a solemn rainy day too. 

And if you need a random zombie show to watch: iZombie.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“Untitled 8″ by Sigur Ros

The life of an engineering student is never calm or stress-free, so sometimes I have to find my peace in great music as I press on with the never-ending amounts of work I have to do. Music helps me focus, but when my Explosions in the Sky Pandora station got too distracting, I remembered Sigur Ros. 

Sigur Ros is an Icelandic band that actually sings in Icelandic - unlike another Icelandic band I love, Of Monsters and Men, who sings in English. Since Sigur Ros sings in Icelandic, a language that doesn’t sound anything like English, it has a pleasant, instrumental feel to it. I’m impressed by the fact that Sigur Ros can be popular in the United States even though they sing in a language very, very few people know (because let’s be real, many Americans want everything in English and don’t want to learn more than one extra language at most). And what that tells me is - Sigur Ros has such an incredible sound and vibe that it transcends all language barriers. Sigur Ros can evoke emotion in me even when I can’t understand a single word they sing. 

Sigur Ros has that emotion-packed, ethereal quality to their sound. Listening to their music is like finding refuge atop a beautiful and lush Icelandic mountain, where you can have infinite space to think, or enough room to parse through all your avoided emotions at once in what feels like silence - and with that, whatever chaos you had in your heart or mind or soul, can find at least a little bit of peace.

“Untitled 8″ might be my favorite Sigur Ros track. It’s from their untitled album released in July. Listen to the track and just soak it in. I hope it brings you peace amidst chaos, like it is me.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

Album Review: 1989 by Ryan Adams (cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989)

I’ve disappeared from my blog for about two months! That’s the longest gap I’ve ever had. School's been crazy and busy.

Taylor Swift is a brilliant songwriter that has always had a way with lyrics and melodies. Her album 1989 (released a year ago) has been wildly successful. Then there’s Ryan Adams, a brilliant musician, songwriter, and vocalist. His style is rock with notes of country and folk. I enjoy listening to both artists, and appreciate them for their immense talent. When I heard Ryan Adams was working on a cover Taylor Swift’s entire album 1989, I waited in anticipation, expecting (or hoping) something magnificent would manifest... and oh, did it, far beyond my highest hopes.

Ryan Adams transformed Taylor Swift’s catchy lyrics and melodies into something more organically complex and musically artful. He took great pop music and created the rock’n’roll singer-songwriter translation, infusing a slight 80′s pop rock vibe reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen. Adams took 1989, an album in which I only purchased half the tracks, and molded it into my genre of music. He added the raw acoustic and electric guitar sound that almost all pop music lacks to my ears. Ryan Adams made me love 1989 from start to finish. He makes me want to play it over and over, in a never-ending loop. He made 1989 sound completely new, yet didn’t reinvent it. He gave the original version the respect it deserved. Well done, Ryan Adams.

If you and I have any overlapping musical taste, I recommend giving this album a listen.  It. Is. Brilliant.  My favorite track is “Out of the Woods”; its rich, soulful acoustic guitar work and delicate vocals send me into blissful hypnosis. YouTube has the full album.

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“The Whole of the Moon” by The Waterboys

I’ve always loved 80′s music, and songs reminiscent of the 80′s. I heard “The Whole of the Moon” on my drowsy drive to work at 6am one day, and I just turned it up as loud as the volume could go. The richness of the instrumentals in this is incredible; it’s something far less common in today’s music playing on the radio. 

--Sarah

[musicblogbysarah]

“Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith feat. John Legend

I admit that I’ve never been a huge Sam Smith fan. His vocals normally sound a little on the whiny side, to my ear anyway. But this - this is a magnificent performance by Sam Smith. Sam Smith’s sharp, powerful range adds depth to John Legend’s lower, full-bodied, ultra-smooth, soulful tone. The mixture of their voices create an emotional and dynamic vocal performance. Easy, beautiful piano laid behind such vocals makes for a beautiful song that nearly feels like an a cappella spiritual. To add to its beauty, “Lay Me Down” was sung on Red Nose Day 2015, an event to raise funds for those living in poverty.

--Sarah