What I was up to in 2023!
December '23 Song of the Month:
See You Again (feat. Kali Uchis) - Tyler, The Creator, Kali Uchis
There were quite a few months throughout 2023 where this song was one of the contenders for my song of the month and I am really glad that it got its month to shine. There are a couple specific details of this song that I find really interesting. First, as mentioned before, I am not one to really pay too much attention to the lyrics of a song, but some of the lines in this song are so poetic (my favorite is "I wonder if you look both ways when you cross my mind"). Additionally, the chord progressions in this song are really cool. To only dive into one, the root of the chords for the verse chromatically go down, however on the fourth chord, they do something different. Instead of just going down a half step, they pair that expected fourth root note with its major third. The reason why I find this pretty cool is that a major third is usually a pretty "comforting" harmony, but in the key that this song is written in, the major third of the fourth note creates a lot of dissonance with the root key. So, it creates a really interesting mood as the listener feels more "comfort" the longer they hear that chord. It's small details like this which are scattered throughout the song that made this my December song of the month.
November '23 Song of the Month:
Are You Bored Yet? (feat. Clairo) - Wallows, Clairo
In the midst of all of the chaos of from school work, I found myself playing this song quite a bit as it was pretty calming. With its playful melody and strong chord foundation, you can't help but bop your head to the rhythm of the song. Throughout the song, you hear background vocals an octave higher that I feel really complement the lead singer well and also create a good transition to the next verse. Another really cool detail that was added is that in the chorus, the lead singers and the instrumentals create a sort of round where the instrumentals accompany the singers in the latter half of the chorus by playing the melody of the former half of the chorus. By having so much familiarity of the song sprinkled throughout in the accompaniment, you get a nice sense of peace.
October '23 Song of the Month:
Till Forever Falls Apart - Ashe, FINNEAS
Yet another song that I heard for the first time this month! I had never really heard of Ashe, and heard only a few songs by FINNEAS, but this quickly became one of my favorite songs for the month. It is a pretty uplifting song talking about how their love will persist even if everything collapses. This song has a nice back and forth initially with the two artists and I really like how while similar the background is somewhat different for the two. When we hear Ashe sing, it seems a bit more playful and simple, however, when FINNEAS sings, it seems a bit more intense with a steady drum line. My favorite part of the song though is by far and away the bridge. I find it really fascinating that even though they sing different melodies with different rhythms, they still work with one another.
September '23 Song of the Month:
Angels Like You - Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus has such a unique voice and I feel as though this song highlights all of these characteristics really well. This song starts out pretty similarly to Kill Bill (June '23 Song of the Month) in that it has gradual ups and downs, but then as we get to the last line of each verse, you can hear the delicate and precise riff ("when it feels right", "close your eyes") that leads us to the chorus. To juxtapose something so careful as this with the powerful emphasis on each note really showcases Miley Cyrus's versatility. But that is not my favorite part. As mentioned, the chorus starts off pretty strong, however, line by line, it seems as though Miley Cyrus just keeps taking it up a notch. With this, you can hear the slight change tone in her voice as it becomes a bit more raspy which I feel perfectly captures the mood of the song.
BoilerMake takes on St. Louis!!
Every year, BoilerMake, an organization that hosts Purdue's largest hackathon, goes on a retreat to a nearby city to have fun and explore the city, but also improve team chemistry and become better friends with everyone. This year, we went to St. Louis and it was an absolute blast! We were able to go apple picking, explore Delmar Loop and Washington University, and visit the St. Louis Zoo!
August '23 Song of the Month:
Beverly Blues - Opia
Funny enough, I heard this song for the first time after listening to the Spotify radio album of Downward (July song of the month). I'll be honest, this song takes a couple seconds to get used to, but once you understand the rhythmic pattern and how the tune is incorporated into it, you can't help but bop your head to the beat. One really unique thing about this song that I love is that typically, the rhythm of the melody that is sung is dictated by the drum line. However, in this song, the lyrics throughout the entire song are specifically chosen to and emphasized in certain ways to add an extra layer of percussion (also seen briefly in Golden Hour by JVKE and Don't by Ed Sheeran).
July '23 Song of the Month:
Downward - Ripe
I had never heard of Ripe before July and only heard them from listening to radios on Spotify, but I started to really like their music, with Downward being my favorite. I really love how this song explores different rhythmic patterns. Starting off with a simple guitar tune and slowly building up, I think what made me fall in love with this song was the sudden contrast to a staccato rhythm in the prechorus. It really caught me off guard as it seemed like the genre suddenly changed, but I feel like it added a whole other dimension to the overal song. It then returns to the same pattern as the chorus, but this time, the percussion is syncopated (on the off beat) which I thought was pretty cool.
Seattle 2023!!
This summer, I spent 6 weeks of my internship working in Seattle! It was an incredible experience where I got to try a lot of new food, explore the different sites, and enjoy the great views. Here are some of my favorite pictures!
Gasworks Park is a really unique place to visit with the great view of Seattle skyline, Lake Union, and of course the massive gasification plant. 10/10 would recommend trying to catch a sun rise or sunset there!
The view walking down towards Drumheller Fountain in the University of Washington campus will always make my jaw drop. Seeing Mt. Rainier centered above the fountain with lush greenery on either side is amazing.
Even though I had been to Seattle before, I had never gone to Pike's place! So, it was one of the first things I did when I got there. It was incredibly lively and so interesting to see all of the different shops.
After I completed my final work day at Amazon, there was one more sight that I had wanted to see from close up - the Great Wheel! While we didn't end up going on it, we explored the pier and all of the restaurants inside.
Prior to coming to Seattle, I had seen an instagram reel about this one restaurant that sells "baby burritos". And by that, they mean burritos the size of babies! They have a whole wall of their burritos next to new borns.
There are a lot of cool attractions in the Space Needle area, one of which was Chihuly Garden and Glass. It is a massive display of different stunning glassworks made by Dale Chihuly. If you do go, I'd highly recommend going on a sunny day to see how the different pieces catch the sunlight.
This is a picture of the view from my office balcony in Bellevue. We were lucky enough to be able to see Rainier from there!
Saving my favorite picture for last, my girlfriend and I spontaneously decided to walk along the water by UW where we were able to see downtown Bellevue, downtown Seattle, and a really pretty sunset :)
June '23 Song of the Month:
Kill Bill - SZA
I typically don't listen to much music by SZA, but there are a few that I really of which Kill Bill is by far and away my favorite. It is a rather simple song with not too much accompaniment, but what I find really like about this song is the chorus. Again, nothing too complex, but the melody follows a pattern of steadily becoming higher before falling back down. It's a bit tricky to describe, but this pattern sways you back and forth almost making you feel a bit dizzy - something which I've never seen with any other song.
May '23 Song of the Month:
In The Stars - Benson Boone
When listening to music, I tend to focus more on the tune and rhythm of a song rather than the actual lyrics. However, after I listened to In The Stars a few times - enough to loosly sing along to - I noticed how beautifully this song was written. As a tribute to his late grandmother, Boone details vivid memories with her and how he is coping with losing her. It quickly became one of my favorite songs as the lyrics are complemented wonderfully with a rather simple accompaniment to emphasize his message.