Haylee’s Inspired Blog of Music

     I would like to get one more post it and bless everyone with the latest news I have heard from Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding on Switched On Pop, as I listen to a recent post called “Why ABBA songs just hit different.” I was not ever really interested in ABBA, but when I moved to college I got a roommate who was obsessed with them! I chose this podcast post because maybe it will help me understand her obsession better and get to know ABBA themselves.      They start off by explaining that for every ABBA stan, there was a hater. They gave an example of an interview where Robert Christgau says, “We have met the enemy, and they are them.” I guess to be popular, you have got to be able to handle the haters that come with them. Next, the hosts begin with speaking on their vocals. They play acapella clips showing how contrasting the singers are with each other, but how well they work. They go into the studio aspect as they talk about them laying their own vo...

     I decided to go for some extra credit and reflect on some Switched on Pop. An episode from last week titled Taylor, Adele, & Silk Sonic’s broken hearts club. I found myself enjoying it more than I thought I would. This episode is narrated by musicologist Nate Sloan, songwriter Charlie Harding, and guest Brittany Luse. The first sentence in the description literally says, “This week we are having a blast feeling really sad.” and honestly? Same. Finals are going to literally kill me. This drew me into to episode and got me interested.      This episode starts off with an ad. As usual. Besides that, we get to kick off with some Taylor Swift. The main focus on her was her recently rerecorded and released album Red . Brittany explains that she listened up on Taylor before they recorded and she had some interesting notes. While speaking on the song “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” she describes Taylor’s music throughout the years and how her older musi...

  Hello, it’s me… Haylee COMING AT YOU WITH ONE OF THE LAST POSTS WHOOO! To wrap us up, I decided to show off the song that really introduced me to one of my favorite artists, “Hello” by Adele. Holy crap, can you believe it has been six years since it was released? SIX YEARS?! This is a song I can remember singing in the car and talking about with all my friends. It is such a dramatic song, I love it. It gives serious movie vibes and is one of the real causes as to why I have been such a main character since I was young. Also, this song is one of the first that I can remember becoming a “meme.” This was when I started getting introduced to the internet and seeing it everywhere kept me invested. I love thinking of her song as a voicemail. Each “hello” signifies a new voicemail, a new scenario. Her lyrics “but when I call you never seem to be home” just go to show. She says “hello from the other side” of the phone my guy. Can you guys tell that I am so glad to almost be done with...

     I don’t know about you, but that last Thanksgiving was one for the books. It’s been a long week, so we’re taking it slow this week with Ani DiFranco’s “Not a Pretty Girl.” At first, I thought this song would’ve been some sort of rock or hype song. However, it is pretty slow and acoustic. While singing this song, Angela sounds very tired, like she’s been saying this over and over, yet no one is listening. The first minute of this song is just her and her guitar. There is some sort of a desperate and sad tone to her voice, but that changes when the drums come in. The song is still quieter and slow, but her voice becomes a tad aggressive as she’s trying to sing her point across.      The point of this song is that she doesn’t want to depend on a man. She sings about kittens being stuck in trees and damsels in distress, but more importantly how she doesn’t want that to be her. It almost seems like she’s been let down one too many times, and is determined t...

  Alrighty folks, it is just that time of the week again. I am SO PUMPED! We are almost there, everybody! It’s been quite the adventure, and I am almost sad that it is passing by so fast. ALMOST. Well, anyways, this week’s post is about the one and only Paul Simons and his beauty of a song that is “Graceland.” Listening to this song just puts me in such a peaceful mood. I think it is so cute and I could see myself adding it to one of my playlists. It’s got a little bit of funk to it, which could be good for dance parties, but I’m thinking of it more as a roadtrip kind of song.  Unfortunately, I cannot relate much to this song. I’ve never been married, to Memphis, Tennessee, or had a child! Although, one part of the song mentions being a ‘human trampoline.’ The idea is when you feel like you’re falling or tumbling in turmoil, it’s like being on a trampoline. Which I could see? I don’t know, some songs are a little funky in their music and lyrics. It’s alright though, I stil...

  Annddddd it looks like we’re up for another song of the week! I wasn’t too familiar with many of the songs in this chapter, so I chose one that I thought looked fun. I’m also in a silly mood (we may or may not have just flipped all of our neighbors furniture because they left their door open…). So I chose the song “Psycho Killer,” by Talking Heads!! I figured it would be an interesting one, and it definitely was! Right off the bat I knew I recognized the bass line, and turns out Selena Gomez sampled it in her song “Bad Liar.” I thought that was interesting.  Another thing that I found super cool about this song it that some of the words are French! Did I google translate them to understand what was actually being said? That is for me to know and for you readers to maybe never find out… Ha! It translates to, “What is that… What I did that night, What she said that evening, Realizing my hope, I launch myself towards the glory.” I think the song is pretty cool, and it was e...