I really fell in love with Paradis a couple years back so I built the playlist around them and then looked for other recent French songs I liked.
I spent hours deciding on songs and the play order. This is what I've settled on. The theme is perhaps quite different from other themes: it's a French(-speaking) dream. All the songs have French lyrics.
It starts out with the heavy passion of "Roche", which is perhaps a bit slow of a track to start with, but I like it. Then into the chill shuffle of "Toi et Moi". The three tracks that follow shift the mood into lighthearted, beach vacation territory, with female vocalists. Finally, the closer brings back some bittersweet romance.
I know foreign-language lyrics are hard to pick out, but many of these songs have very slow and articulate speaking so it's pretty fun to pick out words and phrases you might remember from high school French class.
This is one of the more personal lists I've put together. Ironically, it contains some songs that seem to be very impersonal, almost cliche -- "Just Like Heaven" and "These Days." I believe in these songs for this list, and I hope they act as access points.
The list plays in three acts, and loosely traces an emotional arch common as summer turns to fall turns to winter.
I'm not a Death Cab fan, but this song struck me immediately when I first heard it on the radio. It reminded me of New Order and I quickly put it into my personal rotation.
This first act follows the acceptance of fall's arrival, a quiet, more reflective time than the summer. The feeling of enjoying the calmness that follows summer.
Act two pulls us down, as self-reflection tunes to self-immersion, the bloom of fall has fallen off the rose, and the coldness remains.
It's my opinion that NIN's The Downward Spiral is one of the best and most important albums of the 90's, and likely beyond. I had been working on a Limelight for it, but found that these two songs fit perfectly here.
Act three represents the "snapping out of it," though the lessons of the cold and the dark have been learned. 1:15 of the "Piggy" remix is the climax of the list, when a 4x4 beat hits out of the turmoil and noise and followed up by a swagger found at 1:45.
"Ruiner," in a single song, encapsulates The Downward Spiral for me. The movement, dynamics, rhythms, noise, melody, and sheer epic-ness. A tour-de-force that is often overlooked in favor of the singles from the album.
I need to begin by saying this list was originally an ode to Halsey's incredible "clementine." It hits all the marks for me and is slightly reminiscent of Regina Spektor in her Soviet Kitsch days with a little more pop finesse. It's a song I'll be listening to for years to come.
While I was curating that playlist, though, I came across "Did It To Myself" by Orla Gartland and was caught off guard by my immediate love for the song and for Orla's voice. I followed the youtube rabbit hole to take in as much of Gartland as was available and am seriously into her. It always pleases me to discover an artist early in their career and I'm sincerely hoping she takes off. There's so much good already and a ton of potential. Enjoy!
Little Mix won UK X Factor and my heart in 2011 and have released bop after bop ever since. It's truly a crime they haven't made it to America and I have no idea why that's the case. They've released 5 studio albums and had countless hits across the ocean and are one of my favorite go to's for some fun pop.
Any other fans out there? What song(s) do you wish were included? What would you swap out?
I took her question and tried to apply the same premise of a Summer Cool Down. This list pairs some of my favorite songs from the summer, and ones that I hope blow up this fall. I also tried to feature strong female vocal performances, and kicked off the list with three strong female performers: Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Rey.
Erin went with Ariana Grande's "Boyfriend," but I went with "Don't Call Me Angel." In a conversation I had with Erin, she said that "DCMA" gave her Ariana-Fatigue but "Boyfriend" felt fresh to her. I feel the opposite. To me, "BF" is just a continuation of the lightweight, disposable, self-important navel-gazing she's kind of trademarked over her past two albums. "DCMA" is a return to high energy, glossy, hard-working pop music that won me over on her Dangerous Woman album.
I'm rooting for Saweetie, and even though "My Type" isn't my favorite track off her latest album, I thought it was a great simple summer song. So much so I'm bookending the body of the playlist with two remixes of it. A bombastic instrumental, all these guest flows pop over it.
I follow that up doubling-down on Erin's lament of "Motivation" not making a bigger splash. What I said before about a pop track working hard, this one does that. A lot going on in a tight little piece of pop euphoria. Maybe they are making it look too easy?
IMO, Lizzo for sure won the summer with "Truth Hurts" and she's winning the fall with "Good As Hell," which Erin put on her list. We can only imagine what could have happened with "TH" if it hadn't been for "Old Town Road."
The list concludes with "Hot Girl Summer" which definitely has an end-of-summer vibe. Unlike on "Megatron," Nicki sounds relevant on this track. I loved her album Queen, but it does play more like a victory lap instead a contemporary player on the scene. Which is fine! She's earned it!
Tove Lo just released her fourth studio album, Sunshine Kitty, and it is hot. Beginning to end, it's full of memorable tracks. She's toned herself down a little for this album; If you've wanted to get into her music but she's always been a bit "crass" for you, then you'll love Sunshine Kitty.
'Stay' is my favorite track and 'Really don't like u' is a fun single featuring the only Kylie I care about (Minogue, obvs). I filled out the rest of the playlist with some current tracks I'm feeling. Enjoy!
Leslie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Turn it up" The combination of Ozuna and the pace of this song makes it a "banger" in my book. It has a solid base throughout, and unlike other songs with a lot of features, "China" seems like more of a cohesive super band than all of the 5 artists recording in different studios at different times.
Elaine - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "My jam" This collaboration is hot, total banger. The Shaggy sample is a nice throw back and pumped up here latina style. Hot dembow in the chorus that gets everyone jumping. I am partial to Ozuna on this track which you will hear all through my comments on this takeover. Leslie and I saw Ozuna in concert last month at the Los Dells latin fest and he opened his concert with this tune. Wish I could dance to this one in the discoteca!
#2 OTRO TRAGO / Seco
Leslie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "My jam" I've definitely come off my "Otro Trago" high this week, but I still love it. The variety of textures from the different artists in this track is very appealing, but it could use more Ozuna.
Elaine - ⭐️⭐️ "Leave it on" Ok, so I LOVE Ozuna as always but not a huge fan of Sech’s raspy urban tone. “Otro trago” and “China” have been battling it out on the charts, but I definitely prefer “China.” The dembow is slower on this one than “China” and not as catchy in my opinion.
#3 SOLTERA / Lunay
Leslie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Turn it up" I heard a woman playing "Soltera" in her car while I was walking by and literally asked her to turn it up. The triple threat of Lunay, Bad Bunny, and Danny Yankke is very fun and reminds me of top Latina tracks from the early 2000s. The more time I spend with this track the more of an appreciation I have for the core instruments - the high hat and the key board.
Elaine - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Turn it up" To be honest, I prefer the original to the remix. Great chorus, bopping my head listening to it now. Saw Lunay in concert at Los Dells as well and the crowd was going crazy for “Soltera” performed not as the remix version.
#4 BAILA BAILA BAILA / Ozuna
Leslie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "My jam" Ozuna or bust. This has been my jam for MONTHS. I never get sick of it. It's fun, dramatic and has a killer beat.
Elaine - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Turn it up" OZUNA. LOVE. I still like “Síguelo bailando” better of his songs centered about dancing, but the chorus is fun and catchy. Everyone was up, screaming, dancing and singing along when he sang it at Los Dells. This happened with all of his songs at Los Dells though. So fun. So amazing that Leslie and I got to see him in concert. Unforgettable.
#5 CON CALMA / Daddy Yankee
Leslie - ⭐️⭐️ "Leave it on" The chorus for me is only part of the song I really like, the rest is just ... too much Daddy Yankee?
Elaine - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "My jam" I don’t think this one will get old for me! Another great sample from Informer that is a banger. Only thing that would make this song better would be Ozuna :)
#6 CALLAITA / Bad Bunny
Leslie - ⭐️⭐️ "Leave it on" This track was tailor-made for summertime. The softer side of Bad Bunny offers a sort of reggaeton lullaby, albiet a pretty inappropriate lullaby, and I kinda like it. But I also don't seek out this track, it's on I'll enjoy it, but otherwise I won't think about it.
Elaine - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Turn it up" Love the cool vintage vibe at the very beginning that is not really used in Reggaetón music. I have a lot of respect for Tainy, his rise to fame as a producer, and the thought that goes into his beats, but I am not a huge Bad Bunny fan. Great chorus and beats but wish it had another singer on it besides Bad Bunny. I say turn it up though because it does different things with the beats, the vintage vibe throughout, and the vocal kicks than the majority of Reggaetón music.
#7 NO ME CONOCE / Jhay Cortez
Leslie - ⭐️⭐️ "Leave it on" The remix featuring J Balvin and Bad Bunny that takes the song to a new level, but I still find it kind of boring. Not sure if it needs more or less Bad Bunny?
Elaine - ⭐️⭐️ "Leave it on" This one does not grab me at the beginning or with its chorus. Again, Bad Bunny’s voice is grating here in places to me and would be better if a different rapper was on it. Also, it is too long and loses its appeal as it goes on for over 5 minutes.
