Music

I have been wanting to write about this for the longest time.  Music (for the most of us, if not all) somehow has been an instrument of making one's situation better or maybe sometimes worse (in some ways).  There are those lyrics that seem to relate to just about everything that you are going through in your life, both good and bad.  And sometimes it just makes you feel good and happy even if there's a need to search for its meaning just so you could understand it.  I remembered listening to kpop back in early high school where no one seems to relate with me except for the people I've got to know through the internet then bleeding out to Mayday Parade's Three Cheers for Five Years, Taking Back Sunday's Cute Without the E and The Used's Blue and Yellow (just to name a few) til early college sophomore year. #realtalk hahahah! 

So I'd like to share with you artists that I have grown to love more and more this year.  I have learned to like different genres no matter how opposite they are with the previous ones I've liked.  Some of these artists I just discovered recently, but some I knew about from way back.  I hope some of these artists provide you that feel good feeling after listening to good music.

This list btw is in no particular order.

1.) Matthew Mole

Due to the autoplay function in Youtube, I got to hear his music August of this year after listening to Jeremy Loops. Please please please listen to him live, he is sooo good! I love artists who perform exceptionally well on live shows.

I have a lot of favorites from this guy but my top 3 would have to be Take Yours, I'll Take Mine, The Wedding Song and Same Parts, Same Heart. I just get all kilig and feel good when I listen to his songs 😍 And I must say that I also like his take on Will.i.am's Heartbreaker.

"The Wedding Song"

I can't profess that I understand it
But I see me holding your hand ❤️❤️❤️

This. I cant even. 

2.) Of Monsters and of Man (OMAM)

My friend told me about this ages ago but I only got to really listen to their songs, that was around June or July this year, from again the autoplay in Youtube right after The Lumineers' Hey Ho on repeat.  My favorites are Crystal Eyes and Little Talks.

"Crystal Eyes"
I know I'll wither
So peel away the bark
Because nothing grows when it is dark
In spite of all my fears
I can see it all so clear

"Little Talks"

Though the truth may vary this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

3.) Us the Duo 

Thank you to Facebook friends who shared their video on their covers and for the movie Book of Life (which I love!) for introducing me do this talented couple! My original fave is No Matter Where You Are and cover faves are Titanium and Don't You Worry Child.

"No Matter Where You Are"

I will hold on to everything we've got

A quitter, a regretter, and forgetter

Is everything I'm not ❤️

4.) Jeremy Loops

Well I have Ben Brown to thank for for introducing me to this very talented man! I've been hooked  since last year and it has been a regular on my playlist ever since :) It has been one of my dreams to be a volunteer and help plant trees, like what they do in an organization he co-founded called Green Pop :) No, I don't have a green thumb like my parents do but I would really love to try and do it as well. If you know of any org's here in Davao please do let me know. I have tried it before back in High School and College but didn't really know the importance and its impact.  I was just merely submitting to the school requirements. tsk 

My hands down favorite would definitely be Down South. And let me just say that I love the music video they made which came out days before my birthday this year.

"Down South"

In the light of day

With open eyes

In the time it takes

To decide

That I wanted you to stay and

I didn't wanna go

I wouldn't take it away from you no no

5.) Mumford and Sons

I just can't remember the first time I listened to them, where and through whom. My favorite is Wait for You. And yes its because of Book of Life. Hahahah! Because I just love that movie! Aaand Hopeless Wanderer. I had a good laugh at the music video, if you haven't yet, check it out 😉

"Wait for You"

So I'll be bold

As well as strong

And use my head alongside my heart

So tame my flesh

And fix my eyes

That tethered mind free from the lies

6.) The Lumineers

Favorites are Hey Ho, Stubborn Love and Ain't Nobody's Problem. Uhm. Sorry. I also forgot who I listened prior or who suggested the band. Maybe it was after listening to 2 Door Cinema Club or Capital Cities? Idk.

"Hey Ho"

I belong to you

You belong to me

You're my sweet heart ❤️

7.) Odesza

Aaaaand another thank you to Ben Brown for using Waited 4 U on a lot of his vlogs which got me addicted to this artist. I would have to admit that there was at least a month or two, that I would only listen to Odezsa. Perfect road trip playlist.

My favorites are Say My Name and Waited 4 U remix (Wow! Such a shocker, I know), original is by Slow Magic. I remembered getting a little bit cray cray when I heard Say My Name play in American Eagle. Yep. I'm crazy like that.

"Say My Name"
I always call for confidence
Your compliments look good on me

8.) Gavin DeGraw
I just get to imagine romantic moments more perfectly when I listen to his songs. And I've got One Tree Hill (So high school. And oh, Naley btw is still the best couple ever!) for introducing me to such a talented man! He is so underrated! And people who really know me knows that I love me some underrated artists 😉

Really, I have a lot of favorites from this guy.. I've been listening again and again to Soldier, Best I Ever Had and Make a Move for like a million times starting the love month of this year. I've heard of these songs before but maybe I just grew attached to them this year. I even included a line from Soldier on my blog post, Valentines Day Gift Ideas.

"Best I Ever Had"
You said take me home
I can't take this place
There's too many hipsters
And I just can't relate

You're my neon gypsy
My desert rain
You're my helter skelter 
Oh how can I explain?
...
I think I love you
But don't even know you ❤️

9.) James Arthur
Oh he got my ears hooked through Impossible.  I kind of disliked him at first as he seemed a bit conceited (that's just me though) because probably he know he's good.  But damn.  He is good. hahahaha I got goosebumps while listening to his final performance for XFactor.

My original fave just has to be Recovery.  I loved his performance where he got to joke around with the crowd by calling out to the male fans like dogs.  It made me laugh.  His eyes in that video looked so good 😍

And his full sleeve tattoos made him a lot hotter! Just like Gab Alipe and Chris Carrabba. My crushes 😍

"Recovery"
In my recovery
I'm a soldier at war
I have broken down walls
I defined, I designed my recovery

10.) Sarah Bareilles
Her music is close to perfection. Ah. Just like Gavin DeGraw, I've been a fan for years. This year, the dominant songs have been Love on the Rocks and her cover of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I remember listening to both songs back again late April.  It just kept playing in my head, I had it on repeat when I decided to resign for work on my birthday.  Perfect music for what I had been feeling at that time.  Sipping on some wine and listening to her. Aaaaah R&R mood. I tried playing it on the piano but I couldn't really play the exact chords that she's playing. Please hit me up if you know it.

Check out her Goodbye Yellow Brick Road cover.  Even Elton John approves of it!

Other favorites are I Choose You ❤️, Uncharted, King of Anything.. Well actually there's a lot! lol

"Love on the Rocks"
I needed a raise
I worked so hard for this love mine
Still I got nothing to show for it

Here's a simplification of everything were going through
You plus me is bad news

"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's plenty of me to be found
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
Sniffing for tidbits like you
... I've finally decided where my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

11.) Shawn Mendes
Just could not let it slip that I missed to include Shawn Mendes so I felt the need to edit this post.  I first heard of him when I had my first trip to Mati last April as the girlfriend of my friend had Stitches on her playlist. 

My favorites are Show You, Something Big, and I Know What You Did Last Summer with Camila Cabello.  The latter has been on my head for a week now and my office mate seems to get in to this song as well :)  I can imagine singing this with my girlfriends, it will be so much fun!  I also like Stitches and Aftertaste but not as much as those 3 songs.

Check their performance of IKWYDLS live if you haven't yet 👌

"I Know What You Did Last Summer"
He knows dirty secrets that I keep
Does he know its killing me?
He knows, he knows, does he know?
That his hands have touched my skin
I wont tell him where I've been
He knows, he knows, he knows

I know what you did last summer
Just lie to me there's no other
I know what you did last summer 
Tell me where you've been
I know what you did last summer 
Look me in the eyes my lover
I know what you did last summer 
Tell me where you've been

--edited on Dec 9--