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| *generic Real Music Fan(girl), not Ashley |
Music is a big part of my life – cliché as fuck but so true! While I aim to be in the music industry on the business side of things, I’m all about making playlists based upon moods and creating mixtapes for my friends. Music is largely about the emotional experience it gives you, and here are ten songs that I [painstakingly] chose to represent my top picks for this summer.
Senses Fail - Renacer
My school is in the middle of bumblefuck, nowhere, but every once in a while, our local venue gets some killer shows. Senses Fail, one of my favorite bands, announced a date in May that was the night before I was supposed to leave for the semester, but with an album as brutally addictive as Renacer, there was no way I couldn’t go. So, of course the logical solution to this is pack half your room, chug a 5 hour energy, go to the show, and then have another 5 hour energy and pull an all-nighter to pack up the rest of your stuff before your mom shows up at 9:30 the next morning. When this album came out, it was the title track opening the record that really got me pumped. Seriously, just listen to first couple of seconds, before the lyrics even start, and don’t tell me you don’t think of mosh bros pacing back & forth across the pit. “The cave you’re afraid to enter/holds the treasures you seek” is a hook that instantly grabs you into screaming the rest of the lyrics, complete with violent finger pointing, “REBORN! My heart, it no longer bleeds / REBORN! I’ve got the love that I need / Stop wasting your time waiting on misery / I’m reborn eternally.” Also, in case you didn’t take Spanish in high school, “renacer” translates to “to be reborn,” which is what Senses Fail has truly done with this record.
Paramore - Still Into You
Since I was maybe 14/15 years old, I’ve always been kind of sad that I’m not Hayley Williams. She’s immensely talented, writes beautiful music, has some badass hair, and is a powerhouse in the music industry, proving that female frontwomen are just as capable of capturing an international audience as men. Paramore’s self-titled record came out right around when Fall Out Boy released their comeback album,
and to be honest, my priorities were definitely to FOB. However, upon listening to Paramore’s album a few times through, I knew theirs was also going to be an instant favorite. While I absolutely adore “Now,” it was “Still Into You” that just barely edged it out for a spot in my top 10 summer jams. The song is so sugary sweet that I couldn’t help but blast it as I opened up the blinds, put on a sundress, and twirled
around in celebration of the warm weather returning. It’s cheesy, but hey, so is the song, “it’s not a walk in the park to love each other/but when our fingers interlock, can’t deny, can’t deny, you’re worth it/’cause after all this time, I’m still into you.” It’s not possible for me to have this song come on in the car and not belt out the chorus with a giant smile on my face.
Beartooth - I Have A Problem
I have a problem of my own…I’m a hopeless scene kid. Seriously. One of my favorite bands was Attack Attack!, especially when Caleb Shomo took over on vocals. Their self-titled is one of my top records to date…and of course, two records into his career as a front man, he leaves and the subsequently band breaks up. But you know what else is great? When a band member’s new project is just great as their original
gig. Enter: Beartooth, the power-violence/punk-rock/sort of hardcore outfit that Caleb now fronts. “I Have A Problem” is the single off the band’s debut EP, Sick. The gritty, angry sound of Beartooth is like a matured scene kid, one who’s evolved from the “neon years” of skinny jeans & coontails to rocking snapbacks & flannel while getting in the pit. The lyrics pretty clearly talk about alcoholism and being in
a dark place, but eventually admitting that you have a problem [in case you haven’t noticed]. The recognition of the unhealthy solution comes screaming at you with the emphasized lyrics of “substance therapy never set me free.” It’s a circle-pitting, stage-diving anthem for sure, and as soon as you get to the pre-breakdown line
of “I don’t know about you, but I’m admitting now that I have a problem,” I can’t even control myself. I try to bar myself from the pit [being 5’4” is not favorable for that shit], but when I see them next, I may break my own rule just because motherfucking Beartooth.
Fall Out Boy - Death Valley
I am one of those people who absolutely died when Fall Out Boy officially announced their hiatus had ended. The soundtrack to my middle school years, FOB were one of those bands whose tour dates had always eluded me. One of my friends tipped me off in December that they’d be playing Skate & Surf in May, but when the news officially broke, it was still a golden sunlight of scene kid victory that I basked
in for days. The first single, “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up),” was a triumphant comeback in itself, but the whole album really showed a matured group of guys who hadn’t forgotten their roots in swooping emo bangs and white belts. The feature of this song I cannot overlook is the dubstep – yes, that really just happened. There’s a dubstep bridge of sorts that actually fits quite well in the song, taking the catchy rhythm to an ethereal electronic vibe for just a moment before delving right back into a final chorus. They performed this song at Skate & Surf and it was truly something else. It’s also one of those songs I always end up putting on mixtapes, so naturally my best friend and I have blasted this while driving around all summer long [I think I’ve converted her into an Overcast Kid <3].
New Politics - Harlem
A perfect segway from Fall Out Boy because honestly, I’d never heard of these guys before I saw them open for FOB. The date I went to was within the first two weeks of my internship. Their sound is so infectious! I spent my entire summer stuffing envelopes with this blaring through my headphones. There’s no way you can listen to this song without tapping your feet and clapping in time to the intro, right? It’s got the perfect summer vibe, all I can think of walking down a sunny sidewalk to my office and everyone breaking out into a giant dance party, High School Musical style. New Politics has what I like to call “grit sugar” to them; the rock n’ roll rambunctiousness of a college kid playing a house party combined with the justright sweetness of pop radio [and they’ve already broken into a Doritos commercial so hey, props to them]. The rest of their stuff is just as catchy, check it out for sure.
We Came As Romans - Fade Away
Every WCAR album so far has had one of “those” tracks on it for me; the one song you hear for the first couple of times and realize it’s given you chills. Tracing Back Roots is a solid record but “Fade Away” is a strong contender for my favorite. Dave and Kyle’s different vocals are perfectly matched, the rough and clean styles blending pretty much flawlessly. With such a sweeping chorus, it is impossible not to belt out along with the gang vocals while driving home from your summer internship [or maybe that’s just me? am I weird for singing Warped Tour-core bands at the top of my lungs to relieve stress after a long day?]. My favorite part is the bridge, “rise higher / your mind is an echo / shine brighter / get out of the shadows
/ I won’t fade away,” leading into the final, most driven chorus in the whole song. Even though this past Warped was my fourth or fifth time seeing them, their live performance certainly didn’t disappoint. Their fan base is one of the best crowds you could possibly put yourself in, too, which makes me love their music even more.
Smallpools - Mason Jar
One of my friends posted another Smallpools song on Tumblr and I loved the dreamy synth-pop feel right away. Their self-titled EP featured “Mason Jar” and it has such a summery, happy-go-lucky feel to it. I hear the beginning melody and all I want to do is put on a dress that has a lot of twirl-factor and run around a meadow or maybe an indie Brooklyn rooftop soiree that has lots of Christmas lights and locally brewed beers or something. It’s light, it’s fun, it’s whimsical, it makes me want to dance around with my friends and put flowers in my hair and just smile. Smallpools is coming to my school in a few weeks and I cannot WAIT to finally see them. For such a young band, I see big things for them a la twenty | one | pilots.
Balance & Composure - Reflection
B&C is probably one of my favorite bands, hands down. Their debut full-length, Separation, is one of my top albums of all time. With the announcement of their next album, The Things We Think We’re Missing, came the release of the first single “Reflection.” Just with the beginning riff, I felt myself slipping into the state of musical bliss that Separation brought to me, and I knew this album was going to slay. The sort of 90s-alt/grunge feel makes this feel ethereal, while the lyrics add a sense of longing to rebuild that every person in the audience will feel, “you said you’d come when you’re ready/and I’ve been taking my time/burn all the wreckage and start it all over.” The amount of feeling that this band puts into their music is one I have found in very few other artists, and this song makes me so amped to hear the rest of the album. Can’t wait.
Tallhart - Holy War
You know when you go see a band live for the first time and they just seem off? Obviously very few artists can sound exactly like they do on a finished studio album, and you can usually attribute the difference to a grueling tour schedule or a shitty sound system. Tallhart is NOT one of those artists. I listened to a few of their tracks fromBloodlines last fall before I went to see them open for Say Anything, but I got to the venue late and didn't end up seeing them. However, I finally got the chance to see them again at Skate & Surf, the revived New Jersey festival that came from the same team that brought you the now-defunct Bamboozle. In the middle of a depressingly rainy weekend came the beautiful golden alt-indie sunshine that is Tallhart. Crooning vocals and melodic guitars made "Holy War" one of the biggest sing-alongs of their set, "bloodshot eyes see a man across the sea / says he wants a holy war and he's coming for me." I adore all of Bloodlines, really; a balance of intense and relaxing that made my hour long train commute the perfect blend of "time to unwind" and "don't fall asleep and miss your stop." Tallhart also dropped a new album this summer, We Are All The Same, that you should definitely check out as well!
Beyoncé – Run The World (Girls)
IT’S THE QUEEN BEY, Y’ALL. I had to wake up immensely early for an hour-plus commute to my internship, and once I got there, droopy-eyed and decaffeinated, this song would motivate me into kick-ass mode. The drums, the lyrics, the fact that Beyoncé took four months to track down a dance group from Ethiopia to adapt their choreography for this song [and feature them in the video]…it is all just perfect. I got the chance to see Bey perform at the Barclays Center on the last date of her Mrs. Carter World Tour this summer and holy SHIT does she put on a production. Even if I didn’t know all of the songs, the atmosphere she creates is absolutely unreal and honestly something I wish I could bring all of my friends to. All I wanted to do was dance my white-girl ass off and belt the high notes towards the end of this song –
and trust me, given enough time alone at home, I totally did. This is definitely a girl power anthem for the ages and one of my favorite summer jams.
For more playlists, positivity and other updates from Ashley (including cute dog pics, who doesn't want those?) hit her up on tumblr and follow here on twitter/instagram @ ashleyoverdrive
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