2019 – Surfing the Soundwaves

2019 THROUGH MUSIC

It’s the best time of the year…well, for me that is. However, according to social media memes, it is a nightmare for everyone else. Yes, I am talking about this year’s Spotify Wrapped. For some reason, between 2018-2019, it felt as if Spotify’s users had grown exponentially. I mean, EVERYONE was posting about their year in music. I loved it. I think it is so interesting to see what everyone in my life had been blasting for the year. It’s totally invasive. I mean, c’mon, music is basically the gateway to people’s emotions.

So, let’s talk about what my year was like, according to my Spotify. However, I cannot go any further without throwing a little diss to Apple Music. This was the first year I saw people posting that platform’s year review. I must say, like I always do, it looked like trash. Spotify is out here giving everyone a little light show and interactive experience, where Apple is just giving you a bland black and white list. No fun.

ANYWAYS, now I am ready to talk about my year. Every Spotify Wrapped each year is different. This year, they started by taking you through the seasons. The Winter was about as cold as my heart. I was navigating my way through the grieving process still, so I found solace in Ariana Grande. Of course, darkness always has light, so there was some Loud Luxury to spice things up. Spring still had a dash of Ari, but it was Coachella season. Thus, I found myself blasting my new found love Gryffin, as well as throwing in Dillon Francis. Summer was honestly iconic. We have Dillon, we have Gryffin, we have Hayden James, and we of COURSE have Call Her Daddy. I’ll talk about why Summer was so iconic later. The Fall was just about the same, however I rudely phased out Hayden James for a brief period. I mean, I was just non-stop with Gryffin. Thanks Alana for that one. If they were to include this Winter, I am positive it would be The Weeknd’s new singles, back to back.

Then, Spotify gives you a little party to announce your #1 Artist. Mine comes as no surprise, Dillon Francis. I mean, I have always loved him, but 2019 was another level. It obviously was due to the fact that I was going to see him almost every other month. ALMOST. They then go to show you what your top songs of the year were, and put them into a playlist because they’re just TOO sweet. Mine was, “Love No More,” by Loud Luxury. If you’ve heard this song, you just know the vibe. I will say, I was a little surprised by this. I knew I listened a lot, for personal reasons, but not this much. I will say, my favorite part is looking at how many minutes I’ve spent listening to music. It’s never as much as I expect. Another cool thing about this is, since the year is not entirely over, the minutes are still going up every time I login. As of today, December 15, 2019, I have listened to 41,073 minutes of music. I wouldn’t trade those for the world! Spotify wraps up the presentation by giving you the artist you streamed the most this whole decade. I am absolutely sure nobody is surprised to hear that mine was, The Weeknd.

So, let’s talk about why I love this little magic Spotify makes every year. I find that every year it shows me what I really went through. This year, giving me a gist of each season was super special too. Like I said, the beginning of the year I was really grieving. So, it was really powerful to see how I started to pull myself to a more positive mindset, through my music choices. Summer was especially special to me because of my playlist, TEA. I’ve talked about it in previous blog posts, so I won’t beat a dead horse. The nostalgia hearing the first couple of songs from that specific playlist on my wrapped however, was unmatched. They spend this whole build up teasing what you listened to every season, but everyone is always waiting for the final product of their top 5 songs. “Ocean Drive,” has been on my lineup every year since 2015. It never gets old seeing it, or hearing it for that matter. It was cool seeing my top songs of the whole entire decade on a playlist this year as well. “Love No More,” actually made it to my decade lineup. If that puts into perspective how many times I was relentlessly hitting repeat. I always make jokes to one of the artists in Loud Luxury about that song in particular. I constantly will tell him I am blasting it to get over whatever boy I am into during that time. Only to turn around and message him that I took ten steps back. It’s quite comical. Did not work to help me with my boy issues, but did work to help me have a party in my head.

Around this time of year, I always make predictions as to what next year will hold for me. Right now, all I can say confidently, is that “Ocean Drive” will still make the cut. However, for the rest, I can’t be too certain. So many artists are releasing new music, I have no idea what will be my favorite anthem in a month. Probably The Weeknd, but again, I never even have to clarify the obvious.

Whether you had your Spotify Wrapped, or your Apple Music yearly review, I hope it brought you as much joy as it brought me. If it didn’t, maybe take a second to analyze what you went through in 2019. Then take a step back and realize where you are now. Does your music reflect that? If so, stop to think about why. Like I said, music is the gateway to our emotions, whether we are conscious of it at the time or not. So, sit back, reflect, and enjoy the music. Can’t wait to see what 2020 holds for all of us in this new decade!

Coachella 2019 Recap

I know why some of you are here…you think I had another Coachella disaster. I’m going to be completely honest, for the sake of content creation, I wish I did! However, no. This year was perfect. Maybe that’s just a part of growing up and not being a stupid college kid anymore. Or maybe it’s the simple fact that I did not take a sip of pineapple cider. We won’t know!

This year, like all years, I decided to trek to the desert for Weekend 1. Overly excited, I packed my bags, and left right after work on Thursday night. To my disappointment, I hit traffic at 11pm on the 10 FWY going towards Indio. Sadly, the cold brew high was wearing off. By the time I got to Indio, my friends were exhausted on the couch watching Flip or Flop Vegas. Classic. I go to sleep and wake up bright and early on Friday morning, obviously excited to finally be back on my turf. While we didn’t have any artists to see until the evening, we wanted to spend the afternoon catching up by the pool. In my head, I was already planning my outfits, as if I did not spend all week sorting them out to pack. The time comes to get ready and I am FEELING the Red Bull coursing through my veins. The excitement is too real. It is at this time that I should mention how we THOUGHT we were going to get to the festival. We figured with the Uber lot probably being crazy, and the prices being a rip-off, we would just walk. To justify that, we said, “It’s only a mile.” ONLY A MILE. In the hot ass Coachella sun. In cute ass outfits. We were way too confident. So, I strap up my sandals, throw on my romper, and get ready to walk my happy ass to the festival.

About 10 minutes into the walk we realized, this just wasn’t it. This was not the life hack we had envisioned. Luckily, some guy in a van pulled up next to us and told us we looked like we needed a ride. So, we got in. For someone who watches way too many murder mysteries, I really did not hesitate at all to get in this large white air conditioned van. However, as you can assume from me sitting here writing this, I didn’t die. Once we are in the festival it is madness. The first day always seems to be the most crowded. People are getting a feel for the land, seeing what’s new, and deciding what artists to see. Although this wasn’t my first year, Coachella had changed the layout and added tons of things since I had been last. However, my big ego wasted no time taking charge when my friends suggested I lead the way. Festivals are only truly fun when the blind leads the blind. We decide to ring in our first Coachella sunset with Gorgon City. At this point, they are our first act, and I can already feel my wardrobe malfunctioning. My sandals were chafing my ankles and my romper was about to give me a little nip slip. However, with the power of my anti-chafe balm, my ankles were blister free! As the sun set fully, we decided to walk around and check out the rest of the stages. The thing about the lineup this year was that most of the acts were super spread out. There was really no sprinting from one stage to the next to see your faves. The night was going amazing until it got EXTREMELY COLD. I knew from previous years it gets chilly, to where you need a cardigan if anything. No. Not this year. This year I was shocked at how windy and cold it got. So much so that day two I purchased a sweater.

Let’s fast forward to day two. No more complaining about how cold I was.

We wake up, in a little worse shape than Friday. Exhausted, dusty, and crusty (literally). That’s what caffeine and 20 minute showers are for. My outfit today was the most simple. We really had nobody on the list that we were DYING to see, so it was going to be our day to explore all the new things. So, I just threw on a tube top, shorts, and my favorite white platform sneakers. Safe to say, these sneakers are nowhere near white anymore. Will I still wear them? Absolutely. After exploring all the boujee food, and seeing the cool little HP dome, we ended our easy day with Gryffin. Who, by the way, totally blew me away. I have been listening to him since we’ve been back. Specifically, the song, Remember. My only regret of the night, is not seeing Billie Eilish. However, her set was later in the night, and it turns out she came on late because of technical difficulties. A recurring theme that Coachella still has not been able to master.

Day Three. I am starting to realize this is IT. However, I am trying to not start the day already sad picturing the end. All my faves are today. We have Zedd, Khalid, Dillon Francis, Ariana Grande, and NGHTMRE. Unfortunately, today was probably the worst in terms of Coachella microphone malfunctions and technical issues. However, not knowing that, I slap on my forehead jewels and we hop in our van. We start off by seeing Zedd. Now this is where I am starting to get emotional. The sun is setting, and all my favorite old summer songs are playing. I am sure if you heard me singing in the back of the videos I took, you will hear my voice crack. The lump in my throat stayed the whole set. It was bittersweet. I was sad it was ending, but still so happy to be in my favorite place. Once his set ends, we decide it’s time to stock up on water, the night is just beginning. There is about an hour gap until we go see MY MAN, Dillon Francis. While I have seen him many times in the past, my love for him has grown way stronger since my last music festival. While waiting for Dillon, we decide to stop at our baby Khalid’s set. This is where the speaker malfunctions become a real bummer. His mic kept cutting out, and the speakers in the back seemed to be completely blown out. This has happened every year I’ve been to this festival, and always on the last day. So, we decide to head over to the Sahara tent early. At this point, I am getting so excited, that I can’t stop moving. My friend Emily is taking it upon herself to let everyone in our friend group know, that I am the bitch commenting on every single one of Dillon’s photos on IG. Classic. He goes on, and it’s AMAZING. I think I even said, it felt like a really cool house party that everyone’s always wanted an invite to. During this set, was when I got the most EXTREME video of my singing. Remember the one of me screaming during The Weeknd at Life Is Beautiful? This one is comparable.

After Dillon gets us hyped for the night, we decide to head over to Ariana Grande and see what’s up. To my disappointment, the speaker situation had almost gotten worse. Of course, right around the time that she brought out some of the members of NSYNC. I at least got to hear a muffled version of Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored. So, we decide to go back to the Sahara tent one last time this year, to go see NGHTMRE. While I knew some of his stuff was super hardcore, I was really looking forward to his set. For those of you who don’t know, my friend who passed away, this was one of his favorite artists. One of my favorite songs at the moment is GUD VIBRATIONS, which I absolutely had to end the night with. He closed Coachella with music that you just couldn’t stop dancing to for an hour. Which was the perfect way for us to end our weekend. Exhausted and content.

The thing I love the most about music festivals, and going with the perfect group of people, is the dynamic. With my friends, there is never a time when we have to fight about who wants to see what artist. Which is something I hear happens a lot between friend groups at festivals. However, our music taste is so similar, nobody ever has to make a sacrifice to see another person’s favorite. This means, we all get to enjoy not only the experience, but being with each other. Sometimes people ask me why I attend festivals if I am only super stoked about a couple artists. For me, yes, it mainly is about the music. However, I have also learned that it is about the memories you make with your friends along the way. While Saturday I had nobody I wanted to see, I had the best time watching one of my friends cry seeing her favorite artist ever. Something about that makes the experience 10x better. I know there were no Coachella disasters this year, and I am sorry to disappoint anyone who was hoping I almost got heat stroke again. However, Coachella 2019 exceeded my last minute expectations.

Billie Freaking Eilish

As some of you may know, Billie Eilish is an artist that took 2018 and made it her bitch. For someone like myself, it is always fascinating to watch artists blossom. Sometimes, when it happens this quickly, it really has me wondering how it happened. Was it just luck? Opening for the right act? Becoming friends with the right person? How do these small breakout artists really take the charts by storm?

Believe it or not, “Ocean Eyes,” Billie’s take-off single; came out in the year 2016. However, it didn’t fully reach popularity until artists in 2017 started remixing it. Around this time of sudden popularity, Vanity Fair decided to interview her as an up and coming artist. Still naive to the inner workings of the industry, Billie gave an enthusiastic interview about who she is and what is to be expected from her. Cut to 2018, they conducted a follow-up with the same questions, but exactly 365 days later. Almost 20 million people have seen this side-by-side interview and the comments are eye-opening. However, we will touch base on that later.

So, who is Billie Eilish? Why is she so popular now? Apart from her amazing music, I really wanted to pick apart who she is, with the little information she probably shares about her true self, on social media. For starters, I believe breaking out on the charts has to do with calculated luck in the algorithm. Every streaming service for music has one. I started to believe that Billie was just popping up on people’s feeds at the right time. Which, very well may be the case. However, I think a lot of it had to do with the people she was touring with and the festivals she played. People do not recognize how powerful the combination of word-of-mouth and social media can really be. Say Billie Eilish was performing at Lollapalooza one year and there is a celebrity in the crowd. All that person would have to do is post about how amazing she is, and off go people to Spotify or Apple Music to stream her songs. That is where the algorithm starts to come into play. If in a short time frame, people are all of a sudden streaming this one artist, the app is going to assume EVERYONE is going to want to do the same. Eventually, Billie ends up on Ones To Watch, and Top 40 Songs playlists overnight.

Now that she is so popular, she has to decide what she wants her image to be. In the 2017 Vanity Fair interview, her personal style was already a tad tomboy-ish. She was wearing chains, big sneakers, and baggy clothing. However, her silver/purple hair and subtle/glowy makeup were still very feminine. On her Instagram, @wherearetheavocados, you can kind of see her transform through social media’s eyes. With every picture, her clothes get baggier, and her smile becomes more non-existent. Personally, I do not like her style at all. I have a couple friends who agree, and we have all had heated conversations about it. However, I always say the same thing, it’s her “brand.” When Lady Gaga first came into fame, her style was WACK. Now that she has become more established and self-aware, her fashion has changed completely. I think when it comes to self-image, Billie is just trying to figure out who she is, while still maintaining this boy-ish vibe.

Now let’s talk about her music. Her voice has to be one of the most angelic voices I have ever heard come out of a 17 year old. When “Ocean Eyes” became popular, it was such a beautiful melancholy tune. At the time, I would have labeled it as something more “Indie.” The more she released, the less I was able to categorize her into a genre. However, referring back to her 2017 interview with VF, that is part of her vision. Not being confined to a definitive musical box. My two favorite songs of hers at the moment are: “Bellyache” and “bitches broken hearts.” With the song “Bellyache,” I love how beautiful her voice is in comparison to the tragic lyrics. She even stated herself, the lyrics are simply about murder. She is singing an upbeat tune about killing her friends. What’s not to love about that? Again, FBI agent in my computer, I am just kidding. When listening to her album though, you will realize that a lot of her songs are very sad. It could be reflective of what she is going through in the industry. The way she is handling growing up in the public eye. In her 2018 interview with VF, she flat out said that everyone in the industry is sad. Other artists may be hiding it by singing about the great times in their lives, however, Billie is very transparent about the things going awry. With the song, “bitches broken hearts,” she is really tapping into that melancholy vibe. With little instrumentals in the background, her voice takes center stage. She simply is singing about someone missing her, but being in denial. It’s honestly an empowering song, with a rainy day attitude.

Lastly, I want to talk about the controversy surrounding her 2018 follow up interview. I had watched it when it came out and thought about how much she had changed looks-wise. Her style was edgier, her hair was blue, and her eyes looked tired. However, recently a friend of mine has become really enamored with Billie Eilish’s presence. She was talking about the interview, which brought me to watching it again. The comments stunned me. The majority were talking about how sad she looked now, and how naive she was in 2017. To me, yes, she does look a little bit more sad. Becoming famous overnight had put a lot of pressure on her, as she states herself. I can’t imagine how tiring it must be trying to figure out who you are, while also trying to battle the pressure of what the world wants you to be. While I do think she looks exhausted and sad, I also think that is just a part of her age. She is so young and growing up in front of now 12 million people. Talk about overwhelming.

When it comes to Billie Eilish, I have always been in awe of her voice. I think that this is just the beginning for her, and her talent is going to take her so far. I think she is going to take 2019 by storm. With the many festivals she is set to play, Coachella being a big one, she is going to have a busy year. I think it will be interesting to see how she grows musically and fashionably in the next several months. I also hope she doesn’t let the pressure of the industry get to her. The world can sometimes be a cruel place, but I think she will use her art to heal herself and her fans this upcoming year.