cmd+vent calendar | Day 11: Katie

Happy Day 11 of the cmd+vent calendar! Please excuse me for getting this out so friggin’ late: I’ve had my face in front of an over for a better part of the day. Cinnamon, sugar, and flour is likely going to be lodged under my fingernails for the next two days as I furiously scrub my hands raw to get clean.

Today’s cmd+vent letter is written by the very best baker I know if my life, Katie. As the Canadian Mary Berry, they can make a mean batch of pies that’d have Ina Garten shook. The origins of our friendship is actually rooted in pop music (aha! Surprise: we’re huge 1D geeks), so when I asked Katie to participate in the cmd+vent calendar, I’m happy to announce today’s letter fuses both themes.

You’re in luck if you’ve been tasked with bringing a dessert for any parties this week–Katie’s shared a handful of tasty recipes to reflect on how sweet 2017 has been in music. Give them a try and hit us back with how the recipes worked out for you.

For those who’re swearing off sweets starting January, may I remind you we still have one week left in December to enjoy a barrage of delectable confections. Treat yo’ self! Enjoy, and happy baking!

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Hello! I’m Katie, a baking enthusiast in my professional and personal life, and a pop music fan. There’s nothing I love more than planning desserts and dishes. I love thinking about how a certain dish can evoke the same feelings a holiday, a person, or even a song does. The relationship between food and music is an important and intricate one. Since dessert is my speciality, here are five of my favourite songs from 2017, and a dessert you could serve with them.

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“Despacito” (Remix) - Daddy Yankee & Luis Fonsi feat. Justin Bieber

"Despacito" was undoubtedly one of the biggest songs of 2017. It had even some of the most vocal Bieber haters getting their groove on. With both Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi hailing from beautiful Puerto Rico, naturally I had to choose a dessert that matched. I ended up picking maduros en almibar, which is ripe plantain slices fried in a brown sugar (and rum) sauce. Think of bananas foster. You can even serve it with ice cream! A fun and delicious dessert that’s also quick and easy to make, so you can get back to dancing to "Despacito" sooner rather than later.

“Green Light” - Lorde

I remember the first time I listened to this song, I immediately loved it. Her album ended up being one of my favourites of the year as well. I struggled a bit trying to think of a dessert that evoked a similar feeling this song gave me. After some deliberation, my mind went to the fact that Lorde is a Kiwi, and a kiwi is green, just like the song. I thought I had hit a dead end because I couldn’t think of a fitting dessert that had kiwi in it, but I remembered these fruity white sangria pops which have slices of kiwi frozen in them. These look beautiful, are delicious, and remind me of summer, just like this song does. Cheers!

“Slow Hands” - Niall Horan

This is sort of a given for anyone who knows me, but biases aside Slow Hands was a real bop! Even being a long term Niall Horan fan, Slow Hands surprised me with its sensuality. So what is a fitting dessert for this tune? I decided on this chocolate soufflé with salted caramel. Soufflés can be a bit tricky, but the payoff is a light and airy cake that is somehow rich and decadent at the same time. It’s kind of sexy, kind of fun, just like the song. Plus it has salted caramel in it which is one of my most favourite flavour combinations. For whatever reason, "Slow Hands" and caramel just makes sense to me.

“HUMBLE.” - Kendrick Lamar

What a tune! First time I heard this song the hook was stuck in my head for days. Kendrick Lamar is at the top of his game, it’s no surprise he’s got seven well-deserved Grammy nominations. And what is more humble than apple pie? But this isn’t just any regular apple pie, it’s apple hand pies with cheddar baked into the crust! Cheddar and apples go surprisingly well together. The saltiness and richness of the cheddar and crisp sweetness of an apple just works. And, you can grate a little extra cheddar on top before baking because extra cheese never hurt anyone. So be humble, and enjoy some apple pie while you’re at it.

“Bodak Yellow” - Cardi B

Honestly, did any song have as much of a cultural impact as "Bodak Yellow?" This song was everywhere this year, and I’m still not tired of it. Seeing as Cardi B is only the second solo female rap artist to get a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, what dessert could possibly live up? I wanted to represent my favourite, and possibly most iconic song line ever, these expensive, these is red bottoms, these is bloody shoes. However, I was finding it hard to find something that was truly red, and that properly represented the song to me. Finally I decided on these rosé champagne cupcakes (which would be easy enough to customize red) because they are beautiful and rich, just like our girl Cardi B.

You can feast your eyes on Katie’s creations (and very pretty kitty) via Instagram: morbidmagic

The 12th day of cmd+vent is out tomorrow!

cmd+vent calendar | Day 8: Liz

Hanukkah is over, and we’re only days away from Christmas, y’all. Are we ready for 2018? Are we motivated to change–on a personal level?

This time of year is typically gassed up with promises, resolutions, and a general whelming sense of Becoming Anew lingering in the air. It’s exciting, but as we all know, many lose that grip not too far into the new year and, just, Remain Existing.

The letter today is written by my pal Liz, who also happens to be from Florida (every person I know from Florida is cool as hell; on the contrary, everything I’ve heard about Florida Man….), though we bonded shortly after (or around?) her relocating to Seattle a handful of years ago. Since then, our conversations are usually shared involving music and pop culture.

Today Liz has been kind enough to share a playlist of songs that motivated her to get out of a slump and into a meaningful career path. It’s so easy to slack on the effort for change, but Liz has shown not all hope is lost! Today, she has a kick ass job she takes much pleasure going to every day, and the secrets she learned from the power of a music playlist are remarkable.

Lucky for us, all of those secrets to success are revealed below.

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How My Hopeful Playlist Landed Me a New Job (And Parachutes Got Me Out of a Bad Job)

[Before we begin, click here to put on the playlist to set the mood]

In setting out to write about music in 2017, I completely failed. Most of the songs on the playlist I'm about to share are from late 2015 at best. But when our dear cmd+f hostess with the mostess reached out to me about writing something, she phrased it as "how music helped you find some joy in 2017." Now that I had a definite answer for: music got me a new job in 2017.

The beginning of 2017 was maybe not the best time to take on a big new personal project. Everything felt fucking bleak. But the only thing that got me through the previously bleakest period, the end of 2016, was planning how I was going to get a new job in 2017. Not just a new job, but a new career path, all while trying not to zombify myself at my workplace I hated.

This is basically a millennial trope at this point, stumbling into jobs that paid bills without ever really meaning to be there, maybe advancing steadily but mostly because it's the next step in front of you rather than the direction you want. As such, we've all developed coping mechanisms: Instagram accounts with cute dogs, Pinterest boards filled with inspirational messages in happy loopy calligraphy, lifehack podcasts, Lin Manuel Miranda's life coaching via Twitter–which are all basically bite-sized updates to self-help books and posters with kittens telling you to "Hang in There."

But for me at least, it's too easy for bossy logic brain to read those tweets and get in my own way without a drop of inspiration. If you go to the replies, you already see people ready with all the reasons that It Just Doesn't Work. And they've all got points, but sometimes you've got to set aside reality, suspend the disbelief, and psych yourself up into believing you can and you will. So I had to find a way to circumvent logic and it turns out my singing is louder than my logic.

Affirmations that would have my eyes rolling back into my head any other time make me feel alive when sung, even when just in my head and even more so surrounded by a crowd all singing along. The idea for a specific playlist to turn to in dark moments was planted in my head in an online Life Skills class in high school that had us choose a theme song. Mine was “Short Skirt / Long Jacket” by Cake (okay, just because I didn't want to be trapped in the accounting department of a geriatric law firm doesn't mean I'm not intensely Type A). “Can't Hold Us” by Macklemore got me through the preparations for a cross-country move (to Seattle, so I have a defense for that choice).

My playlist I made at the beginning of 2017 became more than just a quick pick-me-up though; it was a daily routine. It got me through my walk to work every morning, where I would find the self belief to write another contact email (LinkedIn, man) or research another master's program, any way I could think of to invest in myself without leaving my job.

I give 100% of the credit of the creation of this iteration of this playlist to “Dreams Come True” by Brandon Flowers. The 80's aesthetic of the whole The Desired Effect album made me feel hopeful in a way only a John Hughes movie can, but the horns on this song are pure sunshine for me. Actually, you're going to notice horns on a lot of these; I have a type.

“Ain't Got Far to Go” by Jess Glynne is my personal training montage song. It's not a triumphant cry at the top of the mountain, but for right when you've turned the corner, you've set a goal and can see it, far in the distance but as a real physical thing. Even on the rainiest Seattle walk, I wanted to sing along. I didn't because: a) don't be that guy and b) have you heard Jess Glynne's range?

“So Close” by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness was a song that came to me at just the right time. I was salivating for the new album that came out in February (look, a 2017 song!) after hearing “Fire Escape” live over the summer. At first, I was just latched to the crazy danceable synths of the chorus but the messaging over and over that Scared is Good, "there's no safety in desire" helped with each sending of an email or resume.

Honestly, if you need a positivity boost, just go to an Andrew McMahon show and be in his presence, which is easy enough when it feels like he's touring most of the year every friggin' year. He radiates good energy and has no fear. I mean, who runs into a crowd of strangers under a rainbow tent and let them carry him aloft an inflatable duck? Someone who kicked cancer's ass and lived to sing the tale, I guess.

I'm not going to list each song here but the themes remain the same, do the fucking thing (“Do It Anyway” - Ben Folds Five), don't live in the past (“Spotlight” - Patrick Stump), and keep pushing (well, “Pushing On” - Oliver $ & Jimi Jules). There's more downbeat songs, like “Keeping Your Head Up” by Birdy, who was brought to my attention by cmd+f, but more on sadness in a bit. Also, I continued adding to it throughout 2017, because in this gig economy, one position isn't enough and never stop making connections, not if you're going to be the boss, The Man (The Killers), and the Woman (Kesha). And no judging my X-Factor and Eurovision additions, if you've gotten this far without judging the rest at least.

That was all great for the beginning of the day, all the possibilities still ahead of me. The walk home had a bit of a different process. I needed not just an influx of positive messaging but someone to help me affirm my dissatisfaction with my life, that I was right to be unhappy, that I wasn't this person in this cube wasting away. I didn't need a whole playlist for this, just one album: Parachutes from Frank Iero and the Patience.

These songs helped connect my teenage-like angst ("No one's ever been like me before") with where I was as an adult ("So tired of being old and feeling cold and numb"). I started feeling like myself again, and that not fitting in where I was wasn't the equivalent of being an overdramatic outcast. And it helped me accept all those positive messages too. Being a naysayer feels a lot less cool when singing "Let's all be difficult and never try too hard, Let's all be critical of those who show their heart" along with Frank's sarcastic sneer.

The biggest impact of some of these artists in 2017 for me was carrying it forward and seeing them live. Whatever you get from singing the song by yourself, in your head, it's amplified 1000% when hearing it from every direction, pressed against a bunch of strangers who it all meant as much to, each in their own way. It's a good thing my new job is flexible on work hours (even if it pays less, non-profit arts life, y'all!) because that is an addictive feeling that I've been chasing down all year. Hopefully, that's what will get me through 2018 too, or some miracle that makes things a little less bleak like a working government.

Otherwise, if I had to write about music specifically released in 2017, you would have gotten 5000 words about why Everything Now from Arcade Fire was unfairly trashed and is actually amazing.

... Maybe some opinions are best left to yourself.

“Songs for a new life” Playlist | click here to listen

1. “Dreams Come True” - Brandon Flowers
2. “Ain’t Got Far To Go” - Jess Glynne
3. “So Close” - Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
4. “Do It Anyway” - Ben Folds Five
5. “Anything” - Hedley
6. “I Can Do Anything” - 3OH!3
7. “Keep On Keeping On” (feat. Brendon Urie) - Travie McCoy
8. “Spotlight (New Regrets)” - Patrick Stump
9. “Whatever It Takes” - Imagine Dragons
10. “Pushing On” - Oliver $ & Jimi Jules
11. “On My Way” - Tiesto w/ Bright Sparks
12. “Rise N Shine” - Eva Shaw, Poo Bear
13. “No Matter What” - Little Monarch
14. “Keeping Your Head Up” - Birdy
15. “Don't Tread on Me” - Kai Straw
16. “Rut” - The Killers
17. “I Woke Up In A Car “- Something Corporate
18. “Lines That Burn” - Tilian
19. “Work This Body” - WALK THE MOON
20. “The Man” - The Killers
21. “Woman” - Kesha
22. “Hurricane” - MisterWives
23. “All the Way Up” - Reggie N Bollie, 2Face Idibia
24. “Yodel It!” - Ilinca, Alex Florea
25. “Short Skirt / Long Jacket” - Cake
26. “We're Gonna Take On The World” - Mustard Plug 

You can find Liz swimming through the net on Twitter: @sportiefish

Raise a glass: day 9 of the cmd+vent calendar drops TOMORROW! Tell all your friends!

cmd+vent calendar | Day 6: Brittany

Happy Monday, everyone.

Today’s cmd+vent calendar letter lends on a more somber note than the previous letters we’ve tapped into so far. It’s deeply personal and an extremely special letter to be sharing with you folks, and I’m so grateful to introduce you to my friend Brittany.

Brittany and I met in college through a mutual friend, and instantly hit it off (likely having the same name helped) – though it was kept merely on a very cordial acquaintance level for a bit. After pleading for help to move into my apartment seemingly into the ether on my Tumblr, this kind soul who mostly knew me for posting archival Raf Simons and Tilda Swinton photos for the past year and a half on the internet, offered to help me move into my apartment in Seattle.

The rest of the year delved into discussing art, having very niche Jamie Bell film dates at her apartment, and sharing music recommendations. After I graduated college, I moved back home to LA. Around Thanksgiving of that year, Brittany made her big move to LA to stake her claim in Hollywood. I returned the favor and helped her move into a cramped apartment in Toluca Lake.

We have rather loud modifiers both B and I can associate each other with. I’m sure for me she’d name Raf Simons and Tom Ford’s A Single Man. For Brittany, I associate her with the Southwest desert and Tom Petty.

We’ve lost so many legends in music over the past couple years, and I know the sudden loss of Tom Petty hit Brittany hard.

I now leave with you her heartfelt reflections of Tom Petty’s impact on her life with his music.

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Tom Petty’s album Full Moon Fever dropped in the spring of ’89 and so did I. About ten years later, I’d ask my mom about my initials – B.A.D.? Who signed off on that? – and she pulled out that album. It had been on repeat during her last weeks of pregnancy. She played “Yer So Bad” and explained that when Tom said “bad,” he meant the best. He meant beyond. And she sang to me, like she always did: “But not me, baby / I’ve got you to save me / Yeah, yer so bad / Best thing I ever had / In a world gone mad, yer so bad.”

In elementary school I had Full Moon Fever on cassette and a Playskool tape-deck stereo with a detachable microphone and that was all I needed. “The Apartment Song” was on Side 2. I’d listen to it over and over, just six Mississippis to rewind. Probably still to this day, if you asked my family for my favorite Tom track, they’d say “The Apartment Song”. In a way it probably is.

When an officer pulled me over for going nearly felony-miles- per-hour over the speed limit on a deserted stretch of Oregon highway at 2:00am, “Runnin’ Down a Dream” softly scored his writing me my first ever speeding ticket. I could have sworn he was smiling. Another important teenage first did not include Tom (in point of fact we were listening to Coldplay’s Parachutes album, or part of it), but I did listen to “Crawling Back to You” as I drove myself home, feeling both very lonely and very young.

In the summer of 2008, the girl who would become my best friend and I “met” at a Tom Petty show at the Gorge in Washington. We had lived in the same dorm freshman year, but had never hung out. We texted on our flip phones, agreeing to walk to the merch stand at the start of song five and say hello. The fifth song that night was a cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria”, and – to paraphrase the immortal words of J.K. Rowling – there are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and listening to Tom Petty go full fucking savage on a Van Morrison track is one of them. A few years later when Bri and I were roommates and of legal drinking age, we would get ready to go out, swaying around the pre-game to “Honey Bee” and “Cabin Down Below,” sultry, dirty rock tracks that – P.S. – still do the trick, if you’re in the market for that sort of thing.

Getting involved in a heady, tumultuous relationship with a guitar player in college is a 20/10 Do Recommend if you’re hoping to accumulate a very extravagant and chaotic emotional palate for later use as a television writer. My suggested method? Break up and get back together as often as you can, and be sure to define each step with Petty songs: “Breakdown” and “A Thing About You” and “You Wreck Me” when things are good; “Feel a Whole Lot Better” and “Don’t Do Me Like That” and “Don’t Come Around Here No More” when you’re being sloppy little punks. Take the time to listen to the Wildflowers album together at least once a week. And whatever you do, don’t forget to move to L.A. several years in, return for a visit one Christmas, go to one of his shows, and hear him dedicate “The Wild One, Forever” just to you. After your week-long dissociative episode, you’ll have ascended to a higher plane of existence. Easy as pie.

On Monday, September 25th, 2017 a girlfriend of mine and I watched from the nosebleeds of the Hollywood Bowl as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performed the final date of their 40th Anniversary Tour. I had snagged tickets just two days before, breaking my tenuous vow of frugality, knowing if the boys were in town and I didn’t see ‘em I’d regret it. And I would have. Everyone was in high spirits and top form. They played the hell out of dozens of songs – a few from deep, deep in the archives – living up to Tom’s greeting at the top of the show: “We’re thinking we just want to treat tonight like a big vinyl record and put the needle down wherever we want.” From the first beat through the final chord, the audience was thunderous and electric. We floated home. It was Tom Petty’s last show. He died seven days later.

I was at work in the writers’ room when rumors of his cardiac arrest began to spread. Despite the unconfirmed nature of the news, my phone – on vibrate in my purse – began to hum. It buzzed fitfully for the rest of the day. I placed a palm over it, willing it still. I held my emotion tightly in my throat. Over the next couple days, more than forty family members and friends reached out to me, sharing condolences or a song or a memory or just a “fuck, dude.” And though it felt (and feels?) inane and selfish to be mourning a man I never met, I was stunned and so grateful to hear from all these people I loved. Knowing the folks who know me best – who have witnessed my life – thought of me that day… it made me feel less inane, less selfish. A little less nuts for crying in my car that week to endless repetitions of “Alright for Now” (no Mississippis, just one button on my ergonomic steering wheel).

Bruce Springsteen distilled it, elegant in its simplicity, just the way you’d expect him to: “Good songs stay written. Good records stay made. [Petty] made a lot of great music, enough to carry people forward.” The overwhelming feeling I have now is gratitude. Grateful to be carried forward by “Into the Great Wide Open” and “Time to Move On” and “A Mind with a Heart of it’s Own”. And if this letter inspires you to listen to any one song, let it be “It’ll All Work Out”: “Now the wind is high and the rain is heavy / And the water’s rising in the levee / Still I think of her when the sun goes down / It never goes away, but it all works out”

Rest easy, Thomas Earl Petty.

You can listen to every song mentioned in this letter in a single, convenient playlist right here

Follow Brittany on the net via Twitter and Instagram: @brittanydushame / brittanydushame

Stay tuned for Day 7 of the cmd+vent calendar dropping tomorrow!

cmd+vent calendar | Day 5: Richard

It’s a not so lazy Sunday here at cmd+f HQ. For day 5 of the cmd+vent calendar, I’ve got a very special friend of mine to talk about one his most favoUrite artists that, in a roundabout way (I suppose), brought our friendship together.

The origins of my friendship with Richard are very unclear, but we possibly linked via a now defunct music (sharing) forum circa 2006/07. Facebook happened, then Twitter, and Tumblr followed closely after, and we were just those people who’d jump from new social media platforms and always follow back, but we’d always bond over the same kind of tunes. Being close in age, we were young, impressionable teens hungry for fucking cool music. While I was skirting around the Cobra Snake scene in LA, Richard was dancing his way through sticky-floored clubs in London.

Nowadays, Richard likes to remind me how American I am whilST I poke fun at how British he is, and typically debate over the best place to score a burger and CHIPS in the world. When I visited London this past October, we were both the oldest people in the crowd jamming out to Wolf Alice in a tiny club in Camden. Despite getting (and feeling) older (our knees ached after that gig), our concert going habits have hardly changed.

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It was 2007, I’d been to the NME Indie Rave Tour- a sea of glowsticks in a London venue that’s now a gym- and was gradually filling my iPod with dancier music when I discovered this mix. I instantly fell in love with everything Ed Banger, but especially Justice. I started DJing, badly in my bedroom at first and eventually to other mostly appreciative people, making friends (one of whom is now genuinely successful) that I played with regularly. My early sets had some good ideas of my own, but large parts of them were either inspired by or just directly lifted from Justice sets.

The first time I saw Justice live was at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, in the town I was born in, in 2008. The set was a sort of mix of live & other people’s songs done on Ableton, they opened with the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme and as soon as the drums of Waters of Nazareth kicked in I lost my shit for the next half hour. I’ve seen, and met, them a lot of times since then but until this year it had been a little while. 

A very recent picture of me and Justice (it was 2008)

Then came Glastonbury. This was my 6th Glastonbury, it’s my favourite festival and I have always wanted to see my favourite band there, this year the time finally came. I’m old now, so I didn’t want to be too near the front- my girlfriend and I stood on a bench towards the side so we’d have a good view. From the moment of the first synth of Safe And Sound I was worried I was going to fall off because I was dancing so hard on this narrow piece of wood. The middle aged woman dancing next to us seemed slightly concerned for my wellbeing, we explained afterwards just how much I loved them. Despite being old, for an hour and a quarter of 2017 music made me feel like a teenager again.

Richard likes to crack jokes on Twitter a lot. Follow him here: @rchrdctswrth

More cmd+vent calendar drops tomorrow!

cmd+vent calendar | Day 4: Kim

It may be the weekend, but the fun ain’t stopping just yet. We have a little over a week left until Christmas Day, I’m sending my best wishes to all of you out there still scrambling for last minute gifts or having to prepare not to grimace too obviously during your upcoming awkward office holiday party.

For those of you out hitting up the brick and mortar shops this weekend, my dear friend Kim has THE letter for you: she’s the proudest Texan I know (okay, there is maybe ONE other person I can speak for being as Texas as Kim), and the biggest Disney nerd I know (and actually nobody can compete for this title from Kim). No matter how much you love things, you’ve gotta make sacrifices to do what you love. Ol’ Kimmie packed her bags and moved to live inside Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disney World full time. Next time you’re in Orlando, you can easily spot Kim sporting mouse ears, eating Dole Whip, and singing tunes from the Hercules soundtrack.

Here's Kim in her own words:

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Between not one, but two cross-country moves, my daily commute, and tourist traffic, I’ve spent more than my fair share of time in my car this 2017. Anyone who has ever been in my passenger seat can tell you that I only have one rule when it comes to driving music, but it’s one that I follow religiously: N a ong llowe.

Let’s face it, we really went through it this year. No matter who you are, this has been a rocky one for all of us, and it’s so easy to use car time to wallow in everything that’s going wrong with the world. That stops now, my friend.

From now on, I urge you to use the time alone in your car for its intended purpose–singing very loudly and making the person next to you at the light wish they had put you on their Snapchat.

Here I present to you a selection of my favorite songs released this year that will be sure to get you grooving:

1. “WORSHIP” (feat. MNEK)-–The Knocks

his easily one of my top-listened to songs this year. MNEK’s booming, soaring voice over The Knock’s expert production harkens back to the 90’s in a way that’s delicious and not at all gimmicky.

2. “One Foot”-–WALK THE MOON

early 3 years after their sophomore album, Walk the Moon came back with a vengeance with this song. This track has a decidedly more modern feeling than the 80’s Talking is Hard but they still managed to sound exactly like themselves. It’s weird, but it works.

3. “Bad Behavior”-–The Maine

he Maine’s ability to evolve their emo sound to soft-rock goodness never ceases to amaze me. I’ll admit that I spent most of the summer with my windows down and this song up loud. The relentless chorus feels both timeless and fresh and will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

4. “Frightening Lightning”–The New Respects

If there’s one thing I want to see more of in 2018, it’s lady rock bands. If the movie Baby Driver as exactly the same in every way except that the title character was a woman, I like to think that this would be her get-away song.

5. “Heartthrob”-–Superfruit

his song is 100% sugary sweet bubblegum pop but in absolutely the best way. The lyrics should sound cliche but somehow just serve to fully transport you back to the 90’s, and tbh I’m perfectly fine sticking around for awhile.

I put all of these songs and others that I love to drive to in a playlist that you can find here.

Happy driving!

You can find Kim on the net via Twitter: @thekimmiem

The fun don’t stop here: tune in for day five of the cmd+vent calendar tomorrow!

cmd+vent calendar | Day 2: Christina

Photo courtesy of Christina Ventura, 2017

It’s day two of the cmd+vent calendar.

While I swore I wouldn’t grind myself down to commit to choosing just one favorite song of the year, I managed to coax someone else into doing it. Who could be so brave? It’s Christina, of course.

Quick little backstory: Christina is the reason cmd+f is "a thing." In late 2015, the two of us started a newsletter called “What’s Poppin’?” in which we shared 5 songs each of us were really digging every few weeks (also there was a lot of pop culture slander folded into the mix).

Now Christina eat, sleeps, and breathes music full time with her day job, so we’ve scaled back on the music criticism (now it’s all about those Shadowhunters recaps, baby).

While Christina managed to settle on a single, definitive favorite tune for 2017, she also tucked in a handful of other artists to check out.

________________________________________

Hi, I'm Christina. I'm a digital marketer working in music in NYC.

This is a little intimidating. It feels like you can capture the essence of a person based on their playlists. I know I often judge people based on what music they do (or don't) listen to.

I was going to use Spotify's handy Wrapped function to choose my Song of The Year, but it turns out my most listened to song this year is one that came out last year. So, that's where I'm at emotionally.

I'm kind of going to cheat on this assignment and give you my "also-rans" before telling you definitively what my favorite song this year was. Full disclosure, 99% of the music I listen to is by British artists. There's a special place in my heart for baby UK bands that hustle and play tiny rooms when they come to America.

• The Amazons are a rowdy bunch from Reading. If you like Sundara Karma and Circa Waves, you'll like these dudes. Their debut self-titled album came out this year.
• Joy Room are a four-piece from London who have, I kid you not, only 3 songs you can listen to but I am absolutely charmed.
• Zuzu is a 22 y.o. rocker from Liverpool who also has a handful of tracks you can listen to. There's a theme here. If you're British and have only 2 songs to your name, I am your champion.

Some more established artists I kept going back to include:

• Perfume Genius' excellent album No Shape
• Portugal, The Man's "Feel It Still"
• Jamiroquai's "Automaton"
• Migos' Culture
• John Mayer's The Search for Everything (do not @ me)
• and Harry Styles by Harry Styles (also do not @ me)

Ok, so here it is. My song of the year.

It’s... BIG FOR YOUR BOOTS by Stormzy.

If I die tomorrow, I am comfortable with this being part of my personal brand. "Did you hear about Christina? So sad. She really loved Stormzy."

I love Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo, Jr. like I gave birth to him myself. Controversial opinion: he's better than Skepta. I said it. Stormzy's words, music, and actions have a profound impact on his audience. 2017 doesn't allow for celebrities on the fence. Stormzy has always spoken out about inequality, whether it was trendy or not. His success in the UK is huge for Grime and people of color in music. I was at his first ever NYC show in a dingy but much-loved venue in Brooklyn called Market Hotel a few years ago. That was one of the most special nights. I'm heartbroken and disappointed that he hasn't made it over here after (outside of festival plays). "Big For Your Boots" is on Stormzy's debut album Gang Signs and Prayer which came out this year.

Check out Christina’s fantabulous adventures in the photo pit on Instagram: @hiventura

Stay tuned for a new edition of cmd+f dropping tomorrow! The next cmd+vent letter will go out Saturday, December 16.

cmd+vent calendar day 1: Ana

Welcome to the first letter of the cmd+f advent calendar–or should I say, the cmd+vent calendar?

You may be scratching your head thinking, "what? It isn't Friday now, is it?" (more likely in far simpler terms floating about your head). Fear not: it is indeed the middle of the week. Hanukkah has already kicked off, and we are only (approximately) 12 days until Christmas.

As a special thank you to all the faithful readers of cmd+f (and to avoid having to compose a very cliche list of my favorite songs released in the past 12 months), I've reached out to a handful of dear friends to write about how and what particular music has impacted their time living through 2017. Consider this project an extension of the bonus section that lingers at the bottom of the cmd+f letter each week.

For Day 1 of the cmd+vent calendar I'd like to introduce Ana. She currently resides in the southern Hemisphere and was likely sweating her ass off in front of a volcano writing this up. I'll leave her to the rest of this letter.

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Hey, I’m Ana–a 20 year old community radio host in New Zealand.
No, I don’t know Lorde. Yes, like every other New Zealander, she is a friend of a friend of a friend. I thought this cmd+f advent calendar was such a cool idea from B, and when she said she wanted people to share how music helped them find joy in 2017, I knew exactly what to write about.
I’ve been trying to make my way into radio for a couple years now, but it wasn’t until this year I solidified myself a proper announcing job. Sure, it’s a small community radio station based inside a record store, but it’s a radio station nonetheless. Thanks to this job, I’ve grown a new passion for New Zealand music because one of our goals is to try enlarge the focus on local acts. From playing ‘70s Kiwi bands (Dragon) to the newest voices in soul (Ria Hall), we try to cover as many bases as possible.

In this letter, I thought I’d highlight some of the NZ artists and songs that have come to my attention in 2017, and maybe you’ll learn about someone new!

Matthew Young

I’m starting with Matthew Young because he’s the one who really got this ball rolling. A few months ago I was looking at what new music had been added to our rotation, and his song "Collect" popped up. I was immediately obsessed, and added it to my own Spotify playlist. A few weeks later he released "Hey," which (at the time of writing this), has now racked up almost a million streams! Both of these songs have a really cool, chilled out vibe, paired with relevant lyrics and his pleasing voice. He has some other songs available from a 2015 EP, but personally I’m waiting to see what his next project delivers us.

TEEKS

Listen to his voice. That’s all I really need to say. TEEKS (or, Te Karehana) came out with his debut EP ‘The Grapefruit Skies’ this year and it’s a 6 track mix of his deep and soulful voice alongside some emotive storytelling. He’s also not forgetting his roots, accepting his recent VNZMA Best Māori Artist award with a speech fully in te reo Māori. In a country where we are currently having debates on whether or not te reo should be compulsory in schools, I’m glad artists like TEEKS are keeping it in the forefront. "If Only" is one of his singles from the EP, detailing the perspective of a person who is apologising for not being in love with someone who is in love with them. I’d recommend checking out the music video while you’re there, to catch him in a very handsome orange turtleneck.

The Miltones

The Miltones are an Americana/blues group who released their self-titled debut album this year. They’ve taken on a genre which some people (e.g. my pop trash-loving self) will easily dismiss out of concern for it sounding dated and boring… but it’s anything but that. The quintet bring a lot of life and relevance to each song. My personal favourite is "Glory," which starts off a bit eerie, then ventures into the psychedelic realm. I’m gutted because they actually performed at a tiny intimate venue in my town this year–but it was a couple of weeks before their music had even been introduced to me! I won’t be missing it if they return, that’s for sure. 

Montell2099

Okay, honestly? I’m not even a fan of Montell’s music. He’s a trap/hip-hop producer who found his success through Soundcloud, which isn’t generally what I gravitate to. I’m still *so proud* of how far he’s gotten and am following his every step. Montell comes from a small town near me with a 4.6k population, so it’s really impressive that he’s managed to break away from those restrictions and end up with a 21 Savage collaboration; "Hunnid On The Drop." Fingers crossed he manages to connect with other big names in the music industry and 2018 brings him more success!

SACHI

SACHI!!! These two guys have been at it for a couple years now, but they only came onto my radar in 2017 with their hit "Shelter." Looking at my Shazam, I can actually say I discovered that song on the 5th of June! It’s fair to say they’re the most successful out of the acts I’ve covered, but I still wanted to mention them because they’ve been releasing consistently quality tracks over the past few months, and it’s always a highlight when I check New Music Friday/Release Radar and I see they have a brand new song out.

(bonus playlist of these songs and MORE because I had a lot of fun curating this!)

- Ana

You can find Ana on the net via Twitter: @anadayviez

Stay tuned for Day 2 of the cmd+vent calendar dropping tomorrow!