Week 1: Paris, Pangea & Planets
Paris by Taylor Swift
In honor of it being the actual e-Hunger Games of getting pre-sale tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour this week, I figured it would be timely to add a song from her most recent album to my top 3 songs right now. Yes, I’m talking about Midnights (3am Edition) edition. This is the ultimate track to back the daydream montage for the character reflecting on their happy, committed, fulfilling romantic relationship. Notice how I wrote “the character” and not “me” because I’m in my “Guess I’ll just stumble on home to my cats, alone” Reputation era currently.
This song is the rose-tinted daydreamy headspace for the main characters and their lovers (get it, Lover, like her other album?). They are soaking in sweet sweet infatuation like brioche in sugary syrup. A Parisian-painted dream. As a very single young person listening to this truly slept-on bop, I can appreciate Paris for what it is: another point to add to my long-term relationship bucket list. Imagine being so in-love with someone that even your daydreams cast them as your leading co-star crush by the glittering Eiffel Tower after hours. You could literally picture anyone accompanying you and yet, you choose the very person you bagged in real life. What a vibe.
The only other thing I want to comment on is my first impression to hearing the lines “Sit quiet by my side in the shade / And not the kind that’s thrown / I mean, the kind under where a tree has grown”. This line made me do a double-take with my ears if that’s possible. I did not necessarily expect such a vivid clarification of a type of shade per say but will say, this does make sense considering her transition from Taylor with the black lipstick and snakes to Taylor taking over the world flawlessly (Taylor’s Version (obviously)).
Pangaea by Naliya (with blackbear)
This song is for all the late night hot girl drives: windows down, hair soaring in your eyes making you lowkey regret not tying it up in a bun before pressing the gas but it’s okay because the cool air grabs your face in a way no lover ever could.
Naliya is a new artist to me. This is the first song I’ve heard by her and let me just say, she sings like that girl from art class. You know who I’m talking about: the one who sits on the other side of the classroom, she paints with rings stacks across all her fingers while rocking mismatching dried fruit earrings, we’re not friends yet but I’m always in awe of her, her art was a glimpse into her mind and her art was cosmic.
blackbear/bear is one of my comfort artists. I found this collaboration through his Instagram stories when it dropped earlier this fall. I have yet to find a feature of his that I don’t vibe to yet. His flow really does compliment Naliya’s voice in a melodious, trying to be chill, sad-boi-hour-esque style. It’s one of my favorite collabs he’s done so far.
I’m really obsessed with “Plate tectonics looking like my heart”. Six words. Six words that can just crumble you from the inside. A simple and powerful way to depict the ever-classic heartbreak. It’s a short 2 minutes and 21 second long song but the replay-ability score is major and would be ~ unreal ~ to hear live.
The concept of Pangaea/Pangea hasn’t really crossed my mind since maybe elementary school, which I’m now realizing it’s a little lame how we don’t casually talk about how every country we know today was once interlocked, where idea of separation was foreign. Petitioning to make supercontinents more prevalent in everyday conversation.
moon and back by JVKE
This is a song that makes you want your crush to turn back and stare into your eyes with their beautiful eyes, for them to text you that the infatuation is actually a mutual sensation, for them to smile at your smile and hug your waist as you dance together on the beach just a few feet away from the lunar puppeteer-ed waves.
The hold this song has on me is something else. Maybe it’s because it’s another shorter song at 2 minutes and 28 seconds but man, does it leave me always wanting to hear more. I can confidently say I listen to this song two or even three times in a row just to prolong it for a few more minutes. I’m also a sucker space themed (the star/moon/planets kind) art.
The concept is nothing new: a love expanding beyond earth to the moon and then back the distance again but the instrumental is entrancing and captivating. The essence of the song itself is a blend of being dramatic, poetic and romantic all at once: “Stars singing like Sinatra / Fly me to the moon, there ain’t nothing that can stop ya”.
At first listen, I really believed it was Bazzi serenading me through the headphones, but it’s not Bazzi, It’s JVKE, who I recently learned has the most interesting origin story. If you don’t know how JVKE got famous, I’d suggest taking a few minutes to read about it. His journey is the definition of using social media as a tool towards transforming your dreams into something tangible. I will for sure be checking in on him and his future music <3.
