Rihanna

March 16, 2018

This week’s been a doozy, innit? We time traveled ahead one hour last Sunday here in the States, and it’s knocked the time-space continuum out of equilibrium. I now am eating dinner after 9 pm, hitting snooze for 50 minutes because it’s pitch black in the mornings, and it’s made me grumpy enough about it to be whinging about something that happens annually that I just gotta elaborate IT HAS RUINED MY LIFE.

It hasn’t ruined my life though… in fact, this week’s been a pretty great week. Despite everyone relevant in the music biz flocking to SXSW in Austin, TX this week, I’ve had ample opportunities to rotate my sweater collection under the crisp, early Spring sun. My friend shared a book she’s been working on for a year for me to read, I had some contracts pull through at work, got to photograph some ancient pottery, and Rihanna has effectively launched the end of Snapchat (more on that in the Selects section).

There are SIX songs I’ve plucked out for you - because I honestly couldn’t part with any of them, and you need to hear them all ASAP.

As always, I hope these songs inspire you to check out more music by these artists, or lead to introducing you to another artist you’ve never heard before!

Remember: if you like what you hear, spread the cheer. Tell your friends about these artists and share the love.

You can contact me by replying directly to the newsletter that is mailed to your inbox every Friday, via my Twitter account, or using the contact page on the cmd+f website.

P.S. If you would like to have this letter sent to your email every Friday, please head over to this link right here to subscribe to never miss a weekly roundup!

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“Revoke Thee” - Latasha | This is the most last minute addition to cmd+f this week, and queen Latasha have clawed her way to the opening spot  for this week’s letter. A self-proclaimed nerd “hood bitch” from Brooklyn, Latasha is coming to step on all of our necks and take names. She’s a forced to be reckoned with, opening “Revoke Thee” with “Fuck these other queens if they acting like bitches/ Everyone’s a sister ‘til their attitude switches.” The bars are stacked with confidence, a story of a woman who will not be fucked with, and honestly? I feel that. There’s one day in a woman’s life when she realizes she’s tired of putting up with everyone else’s shit, including other women who don’t wanna enjoy the magic of sisterhood, so you just gotta step the fuck up and steer your own ship. But you also gotta be realistic about your relationships with people. If they’re wasting your time - Latasha is here to tell you that you gotta cut these vampires from your life. Listen here

“High Like This” - Kevin George | Make way for a new music prodigy. Kevin George is a 20 year old self-taught producer inspired by Prince, Tame Impala, and The Weeknd. He produced, engineered, and mixed his monster of a track “High Like This.” The moody R&B track is a radio ready single, destined to blow Kevin George out of the water. If DJs slipped this on the radio, listeners would more than likely mistake it for a Rae Sremmurd track – and we all know Swae Lee is the king of hip-hop melodies. Give it six months and we may have a “High Like This” collab with a few seasoned rappers in the mix. Whatever Kevin George is doing, he’s doing it right. Listen here

“Stallion” - The Garden | Orange County’s finest punk outfit The Garden returned at the end of last month with a hair-raising, head-banging, absolutely bonkers single “Stallion.” It’s got it all: rock grinding riffs, frantic drum kicks, abrupt key changes, and sick, sick vocals. Listen here

“Modern Romance” - Satellite Young | Now for a complete 180 from the previous song, I present the sickly sweet, bubblegum  synthpop from Japan’s Satellite Young. “Modern Romance” is sugar rush of electric horns and a ridiculously catchy chorus - regardless if you speak Japanese or not. I guarantee you’ll be humming along and bopping your head side to side before the end of your first listen. Listen here

“Fish” - Will Joseph Cook | Will Joseph Cook has been on the radar of many alt-pop enthusiasts for a minute. “Fish” came out last year on an EP released not terribly long after the release of his highly lauded debut album Sweet Dreamer. For “Fish,” Cook turned inward, with lyrics so arresting and sensuous, they paint a story so crisp and fresh on your mind. Listen here

“Pasajeros” - Karma Wears White Ties | This last song came to me by way of my glorious editor, Kimmie, and I have been swimming through it all week. She’s thankfully vowed to put together a Spanish indie playlist (which I’ll link to y’all once it’s complete). “Pasajeros” is truly, truly dope. While most of Karma Wears White Ties are in English, "Pasajeros" is a soft, catchy bop in Spanish, opening with a gentle praise to simply shut up.The Chicago band’s vibe is chill, sounding like a cross between Two Door Cinema Club meets Local Natives. Listen here

New Music Friday Selects

  • Hollywood’s first high budget film with an openly homosexual protagonist hero Love Simon “came out” today. It’s received a lot of buzz and praise, warmed a lot of hearts, and also dropped a hotly anticipated soundtrack! The soundtrack features new original songs by Jack Antonoff, MO, and Troye Sivan. Listen here
  • Brother Chuck P is back………. And he has delivered another suave ass BOP. Listened to “Done For Me” by Charlie Puth featuring Kehlani Listen here
  • Rising South Korean K-Pop group NCT have released their first full length album, EMPATHY, this week. It's a mishmash of experimental pop bops. Listen here
  • Miguel… up to some antics…. Out here….slapping his vocals on a Kygo beat…. Instead of a whole ass album… but…. Let him live…. Listen here
  • Leon Bridges dropped two new songs this week: “Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand” and “Bad Bad News.” Both excellent. The second one? Totally slaps. Listen here
  • George Ezra has dropped yet another tune from his forthcoming album Staying at Tamara’s - this time it’s “Saviour” featuring Swedish folk duo First Aid Kid Listen here
  • Louisa Johnson also has a sexy new single this week featuring 2Chainz. Aptly titled “YES” and it’s got high key Dirrty Xtina meets Pussycat Dolls vibes Listen here
  • Lesbian Jesus Hayley Kiyoko has dropped a chamber pop power ballad??? And it’s great? Listen here
  • Halsey has released a new version of her new single “Alone,” this time featuring bars from Big Sean and Stefflon Don. Listen here
  • The Decemberists have a whole ass brand new album out! Listen here
  • As I said in the intro: Rihanna has essentially killed Snapchat. The app stupidly released an advertisement that asked users if they’d rather “slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown.” Rih took to Instagram, rightfully disappointed, and asked her 60 million followers to stop using the app. The stock shares for Snapchat have plummeted 7% in the time I’ve been reading up on this...  Read here

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A(lmost a)ll of the tracks I have shared in this week’s letter are archived into a single playlist on Spotify for you to follow here.

Subscribe to that playlist, share it with friends, or take some inspiration from the ever growing list to compile some of your own.

If you’re interested in listening to what I’m rinsing this month, you can follow my March 2018 playlist here. There I will dump a hodgepodge of new and old songs that fit my mood and the trends of the month. Having a personal monthly playlist makes a year in review so easy. Share your playlists with me!

See you next week!