All posts in: Music

Culture
16 Jan 2021

This Weekend:

What We’re Watching: Bling Empire (Netflix)

At some point, we’re going to have to address how we feel about Asians being portrayed in shows like this. We tolerated House of Ho, but one episode into Bling Empire and I’m already finding it’s a lot less cringe-y. Actually, it is more comparable to Selling Sunset, which people (myself included) seemed to love on Netflix. In the first episode of Bling Empire, we get to know the players and the competitive drama between Anna and Christine. It’s wildly childish, but it’s not my life so I find it highly entertaining!

What We’re Listening To: Death Cab For Cutie – The Georgia EP

Death Cab has always been a constant in my life since I was young so we’ll never miss any kind of release from them. The E.P. itself is short and sweet, but we’ll take what we can get in this pandemic. My favorite tracks so far seem to be “Flirted With You All My Life” and “Metal Heart.” There’s a charming cover of TLC’s “Waterfalls” included that I also think is worth a listen.

What We’re Wearing: Hunter Rain Boots

We were in muddier areas this past week and it was the perfect excuse to slip these on. When I was living in Seattle, this was considered a staple. I haven’t had much use for them in California, but I knew I couldn’t leave them behind. Not only are they perfect for rainy days, which may actually be leaving us as we inch closer to spring, but these will protect you in any smaller streams that you may cross. Those occurrences are rare, but this actually happened this week!

What We’re Eating: Crab Arancini

I was craving pizza earlier this week and have a weakness for Beretta’s Margherita Burrata. It pairs perfectly with their crab arancini that they have as an appetizer so I added this to my order as well. It’s the perfect snack, but I’d happily and easily turn this into a meal. They also serve it with a sauce that reminds me of a sriracha mayo that I honestly need to just have on hand in my kitchen at all times.

Music
16 Jan 2021

Song of the Day

Olivia Rodrigo – drivers license

This song blew up only a week ago, but already I feel behind in posting this today! Y’all know how much of a fan I am of TikTok. It’s incredible to see how viral new songs can become on this platform and translate into popularity off of the app. Through repetition and hearing this song over and over again on videos, I came to know all about Olivia’s suspected drama with her ex and I can’t believe how invested I am in this now. Regardless, all drama aside, the song’s lyrics are even being compared to that of Taylor Swift who is known for these types of songs. Olivia has now set a high bar for herself and we’re looking forward to the next single after this one!

Music
14 Jan 2021

Tiny Desk (Home) Concert: Jazmine Sullivan

It actually wasn’t long ago that we shared Jazmine Sullivan’s song with H.E.R. as a recent “Song of the Day.” From start to finish, this Tiny Desk (home) concert was incredible. I’ve said this before, but music has really been one of those things that has been healing for me personally throughout this pandemic. Whether I’m working through the days, it brings a kind of warmth to my home that I never utilized before. That may be because mostly we rarely home before. Now, we’re finding better ways to fully use that space and sound is what I’ve been leaning into. Despite a raging pandemic, I’m glad that Tiny Desk Concerts have continued in this format.

Music
08 Jan 2021

Super Bowl Halftime Show to be 24 Minutes

Before I read this article, I didn’t even know that the Super Bowl Halftime show was only 12 minutes long. It always seemed much longer to be, but now reading 12 minutes, that seems like nothing. Pepsi said the decision to double the time was because we all missed out on a ton of live performances this year and they want this performance to feel like a concert. That seems nice. I also think The Weeknd sort of deserves something like this especially after getting shut out from The Grammys.

Regardless, we’re looking forward to it!

[Source]

Music
08 Jan 2021

BTS x Coca Cola

https://youtu.be/-kxyNtWKCe4

Army will never cease to amaze me. As soon as this advertisement was released by Coca-Cola earlier this week, fans of BTS jumped all of this. Somehow they immediately knew that the voice in this ad belonged to Jungkook and was then followed by the rest of the vocal line. There’s even a separate video that plays this song and identifies at which point each member is singing. This wouldn’t be the first time the group has done a beverage ad before, but you may notice that this tune is once again, all in English. Naturally, it is a bop and we need the full track now.

Music
04 Jan 2021

Big Hit New Year’s Eve

For the first time ever, we were more excited for another country’s New Year’s Eve celebration. Honestly, it’s a low bar because I don’t even love New Year’s Eve to begin with! This year, I decided to split a ticket with a friend so that we could watch BTS’s label, Big Hit, throw their New Year’s Eve concert special. While the performances were pre-recorded due to COVID restrictions, they still aired it “live.” And if we do the math, live by Korea times equals to me waking up at 4:00 AM Pacific Time and wrapping up the show by 7:30 AM Pacific Time. The next day felt like the longest day ever as I tried to bring myself back to my normal sleep schedule, but it was worth it. Somehow, I managed to make it to midnight for our own New Year’s Eve, but fell asleep promptly after.

BTS performed their usual hits as of late, “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On,” but they also brought back a classic: “Best of Me.” Even though I wished their set list could have been longer, their collaborations with Steve Aoki, Lauv, and Halsey were still a treat. Big Hit wouldn’t share all of their performances with us, but they did post “Dynamite” and I never get tired of watching it. I’m also sharing TXT and Enhypen performances which I also loved!

Culture
04 Jan 2021

Blog Roundup

  • The Astonishing Duality of BTS [The Atlantic]
  • How the Pandemic is Forcing Women Out of the Workforce [Vox]
  • The 10 Most Popular Recipes of 2020 [Bon Appetit]
  • 5 Small Changes to Make for a Happier New Year [The Every Girl]
  • Remembering the Startups We Lost in 2020 [TechCrunch]
  • Money Lessons From A Truly Terrible Year [The Cut]
Music
03 Jan 2021

Performance of the Day

https://youtu.be/7xJl97CxpnM

This isn’t a new song by any means, but I love how ITZY joined IU for her song BBIBBI. It’s such a sweet song and it’s always cute to see other Korean artists collab and perform together.

Music
02 Jan 2021

Song of the Day

LeeHi ft. Crush – For You

When it comes to traditional holiday music, we’re not always a fan, but I am loving the songs that were released around the holiday time this year. One of them includes this collaboration between LeeHi and Crush in a very romantic duet. How cute is this?