cmdvent

cmd+vent 2018 | Day 4: Jess

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Since I missed posting a letter on Monday, this Tuesday is a double feature. That’s right - double the fun, and what’s more fun than a flagrant, flamboyant glitter bomb?

It feels ridiculous to say “it’s been a politically heavy year” as every damn day requires a level of resistance for marginalized peoples to exist in the world. However, reflecting on visibility of marginalized people within popular culture in 2018 versus my formative years in middle school is unparalleled. 2018 has been so damn good for this, especially for members of the LGBTQ community in music. While it’s still difficult and dangerous to come out as identifying as anything other than heterosexual in a still very heteronormative world, more artists than ever are coming forward as ~queer at the start of their careers than ever.

My pal Jess has taken to highlight emerging artists who’ve leaned into the gay this year. These bold artists are spearheading an entire generation to explore and find comfort in discovering their identities.

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Hi, I'm Jess, longtime cmd+f subscriber, first time contributor. I'm not great with words so I'll keep this short and sweet. I'm coming to you with 5 of my favorite new to me and somewhat lesser known queer artist discoveries of 2018, or #20GAYTEEN as coined by Lesbian Jesus herself, Hayley Kiyoko.

This year has not been easy, but it has been a pivotal one with a significant increase of LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream music. Music has always played a part in lifting my mood and the increasing acceptance and growing popularity of LGBTQ+ artists gives me hope and something positive to look forward to.

  • King Princess first came into my life this year thanks to a certain Mr. Harry Styles when one of his typical mysterious tweets turned out to be lyrics from her song '1950'. Since that acknowledgment, she has been blowing up. She's released a handful of tracks this year, the newest being 'Pussy is God', which if casual listeners didn't already Get It, they should now. 'Upper West Side' is my favorite track off her EP. Also, check out the short film she did with Spotify. Listen here | Watch here

  • REYNA this sister duo has been around since 2011, previously known as Vic and Gab, but I only happened to hear them under their new name for the first time this year. They only have a handful of singles out, my fave being 'Cool With It'. I'm really looking forward to their upcoming EP. Listen here.

  • SUMif sounds to me like a mix between Kesha and Hayley Kiyoko, two of my faves, so naturally I am digging her sound. She released her debut EP earlier this year and since then has been putting out a new single every few months. 'Body' is my go-to dance song of choice. Listen here.

  • Keiynan Lonsdale, previously only known to me as Wally West from TV's The Flash, is another artist who has thrown out a few tracks over the years but became more noticed after dropping 'Kiss the Boy'. In 'Preach', Keiynan's got me shook and awaiting a full album. Listen here.

  • girl in red is my most recent discovery. The 19 year old Norwegian behind these chill sounds literally writes and records in her bedroom. Her EP was released a couple months ago on bandcamp, but the video she filmed for her song 'girls' has racked up over 1 million views since June which is pretty impressive for someone who is self-produced. Listen here | Watch here

Lemme tell you it was quite a challenge to choose only 5, so you can check out this playlist with a bunch of my favorite tracks from LGBTQ+ artists this year. Listen here.

You can find Jess retweeting things here.

The 5th day of cmd+vent is tomorrow!

cmd+vent 2018 | Day 3: Ani

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2018 was a huge year for Hallyu – the wave of Korean culture reverberating beyond East Asia – particularly for K-pop music.

K-pop has been lingering in the background of the Western market for well over a decade, especially after the global (unknowingly) satirical smash “Gangnam Style.” Korea hosted the 2018 Winter Olympic Games and called for their biggest acts to perform at the opening and closing ceremonies for all the world to watch. BTS scored a #1 album on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Dazed Digital regularly covered K-pop music more than ever this year, ultimately giving it cred amongst hip youth culture. Full stop: liking K-pop is fucking cool in 2018.

The appeal and rise of K-pop itself is reflective of our globalized lust for instant gratification. K-pop operates at breakneck speed, with lots of non-scandalous scandals (see: HyunA and E’Dawn of Triple H going public about dating and being kicked off their label for it), underrated bops, new content filtering through every hour. There are groups, sub-units within the groups, soloist projects from members of a group, artists acting in dramas, artists attending or hosting variety shows, artists launching ten ad campaigns in the same week, groups putting out three albums in as little as five months, groups announcing concerts around the globe with three weeks notice, just go, go, go, go, go!

After years of being a casual fan of the music and eccentric music videos, I fell face forward into this cultural craze. It’s fascinating. It wouldn’t have been easy without my friend, Ani, whom I share a mutual love for all things pop music with, helping me ease into discovering more about the K-pop as a whole. For this year’s cmd+vent I asked her to reflect on her year with K-pop, and she kindly wrote about one of her long time favorite groups.

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In September 2014, the Tumblr community was talking about Jessica Jung leaving her group, Girls’ Generation. I wasn’t into K-Pop back then, but I did know about GG being one of the biggest girl groups ever, and I was obsessed with “I Got A Boy,” one of their most important singles. I didn’t know much about the industry, and I was only starting to get into music groups of this sort, so I was devastated because I thought this meant the group would be over.

Two years later, I started diving into K-Pop and was thrilled to find out GG were doing more than fine. They’d released an album as eight members in 2015, and had gone on an incredible tour named Phantasia. Losing one member hadn’t stopped these girls at all, and I fell in love with them all over again. Their music kept me company through graduating from university, and then through family drama. The strength of their bond shining through their songs kept me hopeful and happy, and they became one of the most important sources of joy for me at times of despair.

In October 2017, three more members left the company; Tiffany, my favorite, Seohyun and Sooyoung had all decided to pursue a different path – kind of, because their statements all said that though they weren’t renewing their contracts with their company, but they were always going to be a part of GG. This was confusing, and I, for one, was devastated. This couldn’t mean anything good. Losing one member was one thing, but going from eight to five after ten years of being together was a big blow and I was worried about the continuity of the group. Tiffany’s exit in particular was hard on me. She wanted to go back to her hometown, Los Angeles, and go to college. As much as I always want her to have everything she desires, this was heartbreaking for me because it meant I wasn’t going to get content from her for quite a while.

Since I discovered them, GG have always proved me wrong, and in 2018 they did it all over again. Tiffany released three songs this year, while doing multiple advertising campaigns and being featured in so many magazines I’ve lost count. The five members of GG who remained under SM Entertainment put out a single with an incredible B-Side, showing that each of them has more than enough talent to carry a song with absolutely no problem. Taeyeon put out one of my favorite mini albums ever by any artist, and debuted in Japan with two amazing songs. Yuri finally debuted as a solo artist with a perfect mini album. Hyoyeon put out two singles that highlight how much she still has to offer. But above all, throughout the year, all members of GG have made an effort to let the fans know they’re still a group, and they’re forever a family. They show support for each other constantly, whether it be by featuring each other in their music videos, like Tiffany’s “Teach You,” or through social media and interviews, where the three members that left SM always make it a point to remind people they are, and will always be, Girls’ Generation.

This year was a tough one for me, but Girls’ Generation were right by my side once again, in new ways but forever present when I needed them, and for that I am very grateful. Here’s my selection of songs mentioned above, though I highly recommend listening to everything any Girls’ Generation member has ever been involved with and will be happy to provide a full playlist.

My heart wanted to put “Peppermint” here because it’s my favorite of the three songs she’s released so far in her new solo career, but the video for “Teach You” features her bandmates, Hyoyeon and Sooyoung, one still under SM Entertainment, which is a gift I didn’t expect to ever get, much less this shortly after Tiffany leaving the company. We got it because these girls love each other and they don’t need to be constantly reminding us of that, but they do it anyway.

Hyoyeon’s music is a hit or miss with me because it’s not my usual style, but I can’t imagine anyone not being instantly hooked by “Sober.” Her voice really shines in this one, and the music video is jaw dropping. She’s one of the best dancers in the industry, and it’s always a gift to see her move, but this choreography in particular, immersed in the atmosphere, of the video gave me chills.

I didn’t want to be unfair and choose more than one for Taeyeon, but the choice was almost impossible because everything she’s put out this year has been magical. This song is fun and it could have easily been a title track if “Something New” wasn’t there. Taeyeon’s vocal power is impossible to hide, and though her ballads are always priceless, there’s something special about her just having fun with a song like this one.

Because I didn’t choose a ballad for Taeyeon, I’m choosing one for Yuri. Her mini album is amazing, and I strongly recommend checking out the music video for “Into You,” its title track, and giving a listen to the more upbeat tracks. However, “Ending Credit” is the jewel of the crown in my opinion. In this beautiful slow song, Yuri’s velvety vocals are so sweet you can feel every emotion in the lyrics without even paying attention to what they mean. It’s the kind of song that takes you someplace else if you just close your eyes for three minutes and seventeen seconds. It also helps that it’s the promise for a next mini album, which, after listening to the first one, seems like the most urgent of matters.

This is such a special song to me it took me a very long time to figure out how to put what it means into words. It’s a beautiful song, with a lovely melody, and the harmonies are outstanding, as expected from GG. But above all, it’s a song about taking a break. I look up to idols a lot because they inspire me to work hard, to dream big but especially to know dreams don’t happen unless you give your all and stay focused. “Fermata” is about knowing hard work is important, but it’s also important to sometimes take a moment to yourself and breathe. To remember who you are under all those layers of stress. When this song came out, so did a reality show in which we got to see these girls in their almost thirties finally going on a vacation, and after seeing how happy they are on stage and putting out new music they’ve worked hard on, it was so important to me as an adult to see them also enjoying a moment of peace that they earned.

I mean, I couldn’t possibly end this without the title track. Considering this sub-unit only gave us two songs, it seemed fair to include them both. It’s been said many times “Lil’ Touch” was SM’s way of telling us even with five members, GG was always going to be a force to be reckoned with, and the success of a song with zero promotion is a true testament to it.

Ease your way into K-pop with Ani on Twitter: @ceotiffanyyoung

The 4th day of cmd+vent is tomorrow!

cmd+vent 2018 | Day 2: Kim

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As one of the biggest contributors to my new music discoveries this year–particularly Spanish-speaking acts, and a ton of great pop female vocalists–Kimmie is busy as all HECK.

The number one hustler has also managed to get promoted at work this year, be accepted into a graduate studies program, and find a way to regularly discover new music. Perhaps this is a sign Kimmie holds the secret to work-life balance, or maybe my threshold for handling most situations is extremely low.

Day 2 of the 2018 cmd+vent calendar is brought to you by my second pair of eyes.

Kim combs through my weekly letters (remember when I used to regularly churn those out every Friday?) before I send them off to your inboxes. Now the tables have turned, the editor has been edited, and she is here to share five fresh tunes by emerging artists from this year.

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If there’s one thing I’m really great at, it’s making promises to myself that I don’t keep. I couldn’t tell you how many blogs I’ve left abandoned around the internet, how many half-baked podcast ideas sit unrecorded in the depths of my Google Drive. (Hey, at least I’m consistent!)

In my cmd+vent calendar letter last year, I mentioned that I wanted to see more lady-led rock bands in 2018. I’m happy to say that while I decidedly did not stick to my workout regimen and my meal prep plan has fallen by the wayside, this is one thing I actually stuck to. That’s what we in the flake business call progress, baby.

Let’s get to the music, shall we?

“Last One” – The Aces

I’ll be honest and say The Aces’ debut album When My Heart Felt Volcanic was my absolute favorite album of the year. It’s 13 tracks of shimmery, sugary pop songs that will stay in your head for hours. “Last One” is no exception, with it’s foot stomping beat and insanely catchy chorus. It’s easy to forget that you’re singing about a love turned sour.

“Fascination” – The Beaches

If my life was actually a 90s rom-com (my favorite genre of movie), then this song would be playing in the background of a whirlwind romp in an impossibly old city. True to the band’s signature sound, this track is youthful, energetic, and slightly manic in the very best way. It’s everything a young, naive Kim (the one who didn’t know about taxes or health insurance) thought being in your 20s would be. Turn this one up loud and live in that fantasy for 3 blissful minutes.

“Fool Moon” – Anteros

Many of us (myself included) first got a taste of this London band when their song “Drunk” was featured on the soundtrack of the summertime Netflix hit movie To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. “Fool Moon” is the third single leading up to their first full album, out next year. The track buzzes and sizzles, and feels like disco and 80s synth pop had a baby that’s way cooler than I’ll ever be.

“Can’t Be Mine” – Disco Hue

Two years after their debut EP, Disco Hue is back and more gloriously 80s than ever. The Singapore based group delivered us a wonderfully synthy love song that sounds genuine and far from contrived. This song is modern, yet still somehow feels like it would be right at home in the background of a Stranger Things episode.

“Something to Believe In” – The New Respects

This band is actually the one that inspired this whole quest to begin with when I featured their rambunctious tune “Frightening Lightning” in last year’s letter. Earlier in 2018 they blessed us with an entire album full of funky basslines and powerhouse vocals. This track showcases everything I love about this band and is sure to leave you wanting more.

“Golden Prophet” – Roxiny

In this track, Roxiny shares her own story of surviving sexual abuse, and hopes to aid others in their own roads to recovery. This song is eerie and heartfelt, with her voice barely containing the power and anger in her words as she sings. Roxiny, who is Dominican-American, shied away from becoming the Latina pop star her first record label originally wanted her to be, and instead is using her creative control to not only create glam indie rock music, but also infuse her own feminism and activism into all of her ventures.
 

I hope you have as much fun listening to these artists as I did! I put them all in a playlist (plus a few extras!) here. Happy listening!

You can find Kim tweeting between her Dole Whip breaks on Twitter: @sportsbruja

The 3rd day of cmd+vent is tomorrow!

cmd+vent 2018 | Day 1: Ruchi

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Happy first day of the cmd+vent calendar 2018!

Kicking off the first say is my pal Ruchi. We first met each other five years ago when we were both jobless and in the midst of One Direction fever. She flew to Los Angeles from Philadelphia for the end of their Take Me Home tour. We met outside Staples center for the first of four nights of concerts, and hung out with each other the entire weekend in her Airbnb in Los Feliz. Long after the 1D fever has broken, I've watched Ruchi make her way through many seasons–most notably taking the chance to move to The Big Apple, swallowing it whole, moving back to Philly, all the while bossing up with some exciting job titles to lead future leaders.

She’s one of the very few people I know who lives truly in the moment. Ruchi’s traveled all over the globe for concert experiences you’d dream of attending. Her energy and enthusiasm is infectious, and since meeting her, it’s definitely influenced me to take more time to have fun in this short time we have in this life.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of balancing daily life and travel, Ruchi is a creature of comfort. I’m sure many of us can relate to wanting some anchors to keep us upright from time to time.

For day one of the calendar, Ruchi takes us through her top picks off her favorite album release of 2018.

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I’m the type of person who listens to songs over and over again. Headphones in, mind whirring, the songs become balms, background noise, lyrics that stitch themselves onto my tongue and provide me a language for the words cooled deep inside me unsaid. I find songs and I latch onto them for entire weeks, entire seasons. They don’t have to be new songs - sometimes they are heavy with nostalgia, uncovered by some random search on Spotify, sometimes they are overplayed on the radio or related to me by a recommendation on Twitter, years old. Sometimes, they’re the whole album from one artist, a voracious consuming of an entire catalogue.

In 2018, Vance Joy had a permanent rotation on my iTunes this year. Something about his music compels me to wear out each song, to plunge into the guitar and ukulele, the wavery vocals, the simple clean truth of his lyrics. In this letter, I’d like to share the four songs that I played the most this year off his album Nation of Two - one song for each season. I hope you have a chance to listen to them, and to enjoy the charming, at times almost anthemic nature of his music. For me, they provided a soundtrack to pivotal moments and feelings over the year, and might, hopefully, give you insight - a little window even - into four snapshots of my life. Thank you for reading!

I. lay it on me

winter comes in cold, slushy and blustery, with a massive snowstorm and dark grey clouds above a new york city skyline that’s slowly become home. despite the way the sun is a weak, watery yellow and the howling wind makes my skin feel raw, i am tentatively hopeful. there is something to be said about being alive to greet another year, and i’m starting a new job, trying to find my footing in a world that’s been a little shaky of late. winter sounds like hope in the dark - like a lighthouse is on the shore, far away and distanced by choppy waters, but there. so even though it’s hard and scary, i wake up early every thursday morning and take a commuter train into the old, familiar-but-now-foreign city streets of philadelphia, and i close my eyes, thumbing well-worn pathways on my phone touchscreen, hitting play again and again on a song that searches deep inside me, burrows deep, swims in my veins and reminds me i’m not alone though it’s been bewildering and lonely, reaching for something just out of range, fighting for a life that feels right and choices that feel true. i’m not even sure i’m making progress but the wild leap of faith doesn’t sink stones in my belly anymore. instead, winter convinces me to try, to breathe in the sharp air and listen to the words blaring through my earphone, imploring me to unburden myself, to lay it all out in the line, to believe in others and the future. and if i don’t trust myself - well, for now, at least i trust this song.

II. we’re going home

spring brings with it a slow, sobering descent into reality. i’ve been commuting for three months and now it’s time to bite the bullet and pack up a truck and go back to philadelphia. the personal upheaval that chased me out of brotherly love into a big apple is not gone, but tempered by time, and the long train journeys have sapped energy out of me in a way that means something has to change. i can return now to the place where i met my best friends, where i lost my virginity and people i deeply loved, where the best year and worst year of my life happened in rapid succession. i can return now to streets that haunt me like winding ghost roads, to buildings that hold memories the way photo albums do, in dusty tones of sepia if you just open the door. but returning to all that means leaving somewhere that fills me with an indescribable longing - a sense of unfulfilled but burgeoning potential, of being alone but not lonely, of being thwarted but tenacious, of being the center of the world and smug about it but also not giving a damn about anyone else’s opinion. it means leaving new york city just as i started reconciling with - no, reveling in - all of its contradictions. so as the u-haul drives down the highway, with brooklyn in the rear view and new jersey ahead, we turn up the radio and sing out a song that feels honest in its bitter and it’s sweet. it’s not goodbye so much as a bridge between my past and my future - that liminal space where possibility shone, and might, universe willing, shine again.

III. one of these days

summer means 31. it means crossing a milestone into what has always felt like a purgatory of adulthood, where i ought to have things figured out but circumstances mean i’m just as messed up - maybe even more than - i was in my early twenties. in fact, i’m listening to love songs even more now, turning back time to when i was a teenager, when i immersed myself in the narratives onstage, full of wild-eyed fantasies of romance and adventure later in life. but unlike when i was younger, the songs only serve to remind me of the distance between dreams and damning reality, the person i was and the person i am, the slow path i am traveling to figure out who i am going to be. i feel dissatisfied, this itch under my skin, a white-knuckled fight to punch through the walls i constructed for myself, the borders i am too scared to cross and the mistakes i am too ashamed to examine in great detail. i don’t like that i have aged but not grown, not by the metrics i would set for myself, i feel like i am stranded on the side of the road, staring unseeing into an uncertain horizon. but when i listen to joy’s voice, i am moved by the lyric wherever you’re going you’ll be in the right place. there’s catharsis in the song, so much so that listening feels like a confessional, and for crucial moments in time, i let myself accept that maybe no one has it all figured out, that there is grace in the journey more than even victory in the destination - that maybe, just maybe, the next year of my life can be more about lessons than looking back.

IV. alone with me

autumn is warm in a way that seeps through my bones, makes it feel like i am coming alive slowly, waking up from a sleepy, year-long nap. i tilt my face to the sky and feel a buzz in my veins, the fizzy restless nameless excitement that comes with unseasonably hot weather, sweat dampening my hairline and backs of my knees, the smell of sunshine making the air expand inside my lungs, my chest wide with it. i’m happy. it’s been so long since i’ve been just that- happy. and the music i listen to is similarly happy, sweet and catchy, the kind of songs i listen to with the window open and the breeze carding its fingers through my hair. picturing myself on the coastline, driving to meet a beautiful girl, holding hands by the beach, lost in the dizziness of first love. for once, the fantasy doesn’t burn just because it isn’t true. instead, it feels like a prediction - like singing out loud to a future that can and might happen. or a benediction, like the night sky twinkling with a million stars, like a soft touch and a kind voice. it’s brass and banjo, and it makes me sink into the sound. makes me sink into myself. that’s the power of the right chorus, sailing high above the melody - it can lodge itself in your soul, bring you into your body.

crash you fully into your own life, just waiting to be lived.

Follow Ruchi’s adventures around the world on Twitter: @_ismybones

The 2nd day of cmd+vent is tomorrow!