by Kaila Divak

1. “Tiny Dancer” – Elton John – Almost Famous

I honestly think this song has to be at the top of my list, because it is tattooed on my wrist for the rest of my life. When “Tiny Dancer” plays in Almost Famous, the whole band is singing together on the bus. Sir Elton John himself said that this song became as famous as it is today because of this movie. It came at such a pivotal part of the film, right after a huge fight, where nobody was speaking. One of the men in the band begins to sing along with the song, playing on the radio, and everyone else just follows suit.

2. “Epilogue” – Justin Hurwitz – La La Land

This one really pulls at the heart strings for me. I think I’ve always loved this song, but the idea that it was in the most frustrating part of the movie for me really made me overlook it for a long time. Once I watched La La Land a few times and understood that not every movie needs to end on a happy note, I realized how amazing this song was. It brings you along on a seven-and-a-half-minute story, and you don’t even need the video to picture what is going on, in my opinion. I also love how the end of the song is so simple, yet so heartbreaking. If you really listen to the end of the song, Sebastian doesn’t play the last note on the piano. I always thought that that was symbolism for him not wanting him and Mia’s relationship to end.

3. “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” – Jim Croce – Stranger Things

This one was awesome to me. I remember watching this part of the episode in season three of Stranger Things and immediately wanting to be a music supervisor. It obviously fit perfectly because the title is “Don’t Mess Around with Jim” and the scene was focused on Jim Hopper. He just successfully managed to get his step-daughter and her boyfriend to break up, and he is over the moon about it. It cuts from his initial satisfaction about the breakup to him screaming along to the song in his Bronco truck. The transition to this was unbelievable and could not have been placed better.

4. “Joshua Tree” – Ruthie Collins – The Ranch

I love the way this Ruthie Collins song was placed in the Netflix series, The Ranch. The song has a pretty melancholy sound to it, and in this case, it is playing in the background at the bar where Mary meets Heather and Luke to pick up the things that they saved for her when she was evicted from her house while in jail. It is a very powerful scene, as she refuses all help from them. “Joshua Tree” is super powerful in this part of the show, and I think that the music supervisors did a great job at placing Ruthie’s song here.

(This one’s on Netflix… Part 7, Episode 5 of The Ranch)

5. “Between the Bars” – Elliott Smith – Stuck in Love

I love the music in this movie. This song is played as Louis and Samantha sit in his car and share their favorite songs. Louis asks Samantha to close her eyes and listen, and she starts to cry because she’s scared of committing to having feelings for someone. I think that this song was a very indie choice, and it fits so well. It became sort of mainstream because of this moment in the movie. And I will always think of this moment in this movie when I hear this song.

by Steven Metrejean

Aside from my first music love of pop and R&B, I have grown to be a fan of many of our artists who range in the folk and Americana realm. I’m coming to find that genre can be an incredibly restrictive qualifier placed on music. As far as I’m concerned, as long as the music is enjoyable, then it’s good music! This is a fairly comprehensive, but by no means extensive, list of the music that I have been digging lately:

“You” by James Arthur

I have been a fan of James Arthur now for a few years, and it is his voice that I can never get enough of. His natural rasp, his range, and his ability to convey the most desperate and heavy of emotions through my headphones or speakers makes me envious, to say the least. Many of his songs are on the heavy side of lyrical content – his struggles with addiction, anxiety, family troubles, and struggling with fame. I discovered his sophomore album, “Back from the Edge” about two years ago during a time in my life where hearing someone sing about those issues was very familiar and therapeutic. “You” is James’s most recent release, coming out only last week and it has been on repeat everywhere I go. It was hard to wait so long for new music from him, but he made it worth the wait. Overall, the album is a bit more optimistic, but his voice has lost none of its power and emotive potency.

“Truth Is” by Sabrina Claudio

Delving into the R&B world, Sabrina Claudio is one of my favorite R&B newcomers of the past couple of years. Again, it’s her voice that has me so captivated. Whoever she works with on her vocal production and recording is an absolute genius! Her lyrics are so full of imagery and intimacy that you can’t help but feel like she’s crooning directly into your ear. Her latest album, “Truth Is”, capitalizes on these strengths even more. She is growing up before our eyes, and her material continues to broach more mature themes – but she is never gratuitous. Plus, she has a song with ZAYN on this record, so One Direction fans should be excited about that!

“Forces” by Jill Andrews

I’m not sure how much I can say without giving too much away, but Jill Andrews is working on a new album and ooooooooh my god it is SO good!! “Forces” is the second single from the upcoming album, and it is just phenomenal. Her voice has such a lived-in quality to it, and her lyrics about “Forces that we can’t control” are very poignant to the close-to-graduating college student that I am. If there is one thing that I have learned over the past three and a half years of life on my own, it’s that sometimes life happens. And most of the time life is completely out of our control. After a little listening party we had with some of Jill’s biggest fans, this song just gets me so excited for the entire album!

“Turn Off the Light” by Kim Petras

If you’re a fan of pop music, chances are you’ve heard of this German pop princess in the past couple of years. She has burst onto the scene with her ear for a hook and some of the best synth-pop production in the past decade and I love every second of it! “Turn Off the Light” is her Halloween themed project that actually expands on a similar project she released in the fall of 2018. Songs like “There Will Be Blood”, “Bloody Valentine”, “Massacre”, “Demons”, and “Everybody Dies” are just a sample of what to expect from the album. Petras really leans into the camp and spectacle of the spookiest time of year, and she does so with some of the best pop songs to be released in 2019. It’s perfect to put on at your costume party this year!

“Velvet: Side A – EP” by Adam Lambert

After four years, we finally have new music from Adam Lambert. If you weren’t a huge fan of his 2015 album, “The Original High”, because of its electropop and house music roots, then you might be a big fan of this new project. Featuring all organic instrumentation, Lambert is harking back to his roots in glam rock and classic rock leaning pop music. His voice is stronger than ever (if you can sense a theme, it’s pretty obvious that I love a good singer). Listen to “Closer to You” for a master class in power balladry that is sure to blow you out of the water!

As I said before, this is by no means a complete list of all of the music that I have been recently digging. But I think it’s a pretty good sample of the music that has me inspired and excited to be starting a career in this industry. Let us know if you’re digging any of these artists or what music you’re diving into this week!

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