Teenage years are pivotal for anyone entering adulthood, and this rings especially true with musical taste. For most of us, our musical journey truly begins during our teenage years as it's a time for exploration, for coming into our own, for making our own decisions in life. Sure, our parents and families and upbringing influence how we choose to live our lives, the music we listen to, the books we read, and the television shows we watch, but this is when we define life for ourselves. And my defining musical decade was the late 90s.

Heavy Metal.

Growing up, music has become something that helps define where you came from. The ’90s was a time where genres expanded & each one got more chances to be in the spotlight. New genres emerged and boy bands became a thing. Female artists & foreign artists also became more widespread. Genres branched out more & new styles emerged as well. So if you can only listen to music from a specific decade, the 90s might be the choice to go with. 


My name is Jacob "Hayden" Handy, I was born April 25th, 2001, in Toronto Ontario, Canada. Growing up, my dad was a very hardworking man, but in his free time, he loved playing the bass. He loved music, and just like my father, my mother loved music as well. Occasionally my mother would sing for my twin brother and me as we sat and listened, she taught us to be ourselves even if we seemed goofy since I was a shy kid. Down the line of my childhood, I gradually started to pick up traits from both my parents, and I even started singing a bit at the age of three. I was passionate about singing at a very young age and knew that I wanted to be a performer. I felt this greater passion towards singing when my parents would play Janet Jackson or Sade on the television, the soft angelic female voices appealed more to my ears than any other. I got used to listening to the female singers, thus why I only knew how to sing high notes as opposed to now. Now my voice range has extended, I can do bass and Sapreno parts, but it is currently not documented.

Roc Nation, the record label and entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008, which is home to musicians such as J.Cole and Rihanna and athletes includes Kyrie Irving and Skylar Diggins-Smith, has announced a historic collaboration with Long Island University (LIU) to create the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment. The school, located in Jay-Z's hometown of Brooklyn, will start enrolling students at LIU Brooklyn from Fall 2021.

Imagine the scenario of your ears only having access to music from one particular decade. As a big music fan, this is the stuff nightmares are made of! There is endless unique, incredible music throughout history. So many different genres that have given me all the feels, and accompanied me throughout turning points in my life. How could I possibly decide the decade my ears would live in forever? Luckily, a lot of my favorite bands and artists have decade-spanning careers, making the decision slightly more clear: the big hair rock, pop party, synth-soaked, rebellious, punk as f*ck '80s!

So you’re telling me I can only listen to one decade of music when I’ve grown up on 90's and 2000s pop music, my nana’s love for Elvis and my own music taste that varies from AC/DC to Nicki Minaj?? Well damn, the answer is pretty obvious to me.

Alright. I have a confession.

Earlier this week, Taylor Swift surprised the world with the announcement of her eighth studio album, folklore. This comes less than a year since the release of Lover.

Hello, and welcome back to Silver Linings, and, man, the world needs some right now.

We're excited to kick off summer with a new To the Beat playlist featuring all the songs and artists you loved this month. Whether you are celebrating pride, protesting for BLM, or showing your support from home, this month's collection has something for you. This roundup highlights music from every decade. Creators shared everything from Lady Gaga's dance-pop hits to Jimi Hendrix's psychedelic rock. Craving Fleetwood Mac's moody tunes? Check. How about Sam Cooke's soulful ballads? Double check.

Alright. I have a confession.

If you know Country music, you’ll know Lori McKenna, and even if you don’t, it’s almost guaranteed a song of hers will have graced your life at some point. The two time Grammy award winner is best known for writing hits such as Tim McGraws Humble and Kind, Little Big Towns Girl Crush, and A Star is Borns Always Remember Us This Way, making us think we’d heard her best work, until now. Releasing her eleventh solo album last week, ‘The Balladeer’ encases you into a world of true human storytelling, and musical genius.

Taylor Swift. We know and love her all too well as she unmasked this collection of songs that she had written over the last several months while we've been busy parading around covered up as to avoid any physical connection during this abnormal quarantine. Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' album was released on Thursday evening with less than a twenty-four hour notice. Definitely not what TS fans normally expect. Every and any fan is used to several months of Easter eggs displayed about on every social media platform out there. It gives each one of us an idea(or a plethora of them) to figure out what is soon to take place. But Taylor put a good twist on it this time and sought to 'do the different' just plopping this wholesome goodness onto our very laps.

So as I introduce myself, feel free to embrace yourself for the most boring life story ever! Jk (lol) I’ll make it quick and maybe even a little fun. But I’ve always been asked how I got “into music”....

Introduction

The 1975, an alternative band famous for its brilliant music and front man drinking wine while performing. The band had been together since 2002, they didn't get "famous" until about eight years ago.

I remember listening to Come Undone as a child and I loved the song, I begged my mom to play it over and over in the car. My mom only bought the CD just for that one song and didn't really care for the other selection of songs so it went into the obscurity of our media cabinet.

It's not hard for me to pick a favorite era of music. There are only a handful of bands and artists that I can listen to on repeat, over and over again without any skips, and Queen leads the pack. Since the release of the film Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018, there has been an increase of hype around the band and many new people have joined the Queen fan club. However, I have memories from 15 years ago listening to Queen with my dad in his old, beat-up truck.

Disclaimer: this video and story is not to hate on Blackpink. I have been a fan since their debut. I can not believe they will soon be celebrating their 4th anniversary. To think there is a whole generation of k-poppers that weren’t there for their debut. Rather they know Blackpink from DDDD era or Kill this Love.

In 2008, on the debut episode of Spectacle!, a music and talk show hosted by the bespectacled and by now highly respected Elvis Costello, Elton John spoke highly of three of his primary piano-playing influences: Laura Nyro, David Ackles, and Leon Russell. At that time, only Leon Russell was still alive.

This July, artist Kate Gala released her fourth single, “Hold on Tight.” The sultry sound of the music matched with relatable lyrics deliver a powerful song about getting through the coronavirus pandemic. “Hold on Tight is a song that I wrote about getting through the global pandemic. Like so many others around the globe, I had just lost my job, saw loved ones who were suffering through this, and I needed an outlet to try to stay positive” confirmed Kate Gala. “I thought in these unprecedented times, we needed a positive song to help bring people together. With so much divide in the world today, I hoped that at the end of the day, this song could be a reminder we are all in this together.” ‘Hold on Tight’ is a single that tells a story and expresses feelings and emotions in which everyone has felt through this global pandemic. All proceeds of the single, go towards coronavirus relief.

“It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid.”

Nostalgia(n): a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. We feel nostalgia when something interacts with our senses and acts as a recall point for a memory bathed in the rosy glow of happiness. When we smell something that reminds us of happy times, see a visual or even hear an old song or movie associated with that memory. It is not uncommon for nostalgia to hit people at any moment during the course of your life.

The Prophetess

Vinyl is back in style. That is something relatively few foreseen, however everybody can concur upon. Normally, the following thing that happened was a spike in deals of turntables and stereos. With such huge numbers of new clients consistently, there have been a few inquiries that are posed to more than others. One of them is whether there is a distinction between phonographs and turntables. On the off chance that you haven't got it yet, this will be the subject of our conversation today.

Still, since we rarely are exceptionally well-heeled or 'upper dog', we've drawn out more things to brag of. We've, thus, often got proud of the bizarre music genres we're into, the unheard-of facts we learn elsewhere on the internet, the weird, exotic games we play or some closed groups we accidentally got admitted to.

I recently came across an article titled "Music Diversity is Great, but Country Has Got to Go," and the whole thing truly irked me. It's a well-known fact that every genre isn't everyone's cup of tea and we all have the ability to publicly share those opinions. I'm not usually one to address a specific piece of writing by writing my own counterargument, but this one struck a little nerve. I'm sitting here chuckling to myself as I write this because I feel like the person who wrote this country-hating article is slightly hypocritical. And here's why.

Jennifer Jess is an exceptionally talented independent songwriter and musician from Atlanta, GA that’s taking the world by storm with her heartfelt lyrics, strong voice, and pure passion for the music she creates. Her latest single released to Spotify and other online music retailers is titled “Me First”- an introspective, acoustic piano version with strings that is easily one of the most beautiful tracks to date. The beautiful-crafted lyrics “So I’ll strike the match and watch it burn, say goodbye or better or worse. For once in my life I put me first.” will strike a chord in your heart. I fell in love with the song due to that verse.

By day, the soundtrack is the throb of dryers and the roar of the spin cycle, at night, the Old Cinema Launderette dances to a different beat. The distinctive Durham venue has created a special niche for itself as one of the best bijou concert halls in the country. Quirky and intimate, it’s invited an impressive array of artists – from folksters to punks – to put on a show in front of the tumble dryers, earning rave write-ups in the national press along the way.

Right, another smash hit musical that graced the stage on the Norwegian Getaway. I was completely blown away with the talent this contract. Both casts were phenomenal, from Burn to this show. I couldn't catch my breathe. For this show it is inspired by the famous recording session that brought together the famed rock and roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time.

"You have to know someone." "It's not open to the public, you have to be invited." "They send a car, they won't let you drive there." "They are more Covid careful than the CDC."

It's 2009. You French kiss your middle school crush Alex for the first time while Usher's "Love in This Club" blasts from his family desktop's crappy speakers. On your walk home, you play "Fergalicious" on your hot pink iPod Shuffle. Later that night, you watch the music video for this song called "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga with your best friend. Honestly, it's pretty weird, but you like the song anyway.

The use of language is so particular and phenomenal. We give words to concepts that are nothing but a construct of what goes on inside our heads. We applaud and reward the ones who do it well. These are the people who understand how to use the sounds coming out of their mouths as more than a means of communication. These people give us a new thought process; it becomes guerrilla warfare in your head because what you have accepted as normal is now being challenged. We either accept it or we don't. Either way, we appreciate these people who seem to get the idea of language.

Have you wondered if you have musical talent? Keep Reading to become a master at the guitar.

To promote your music on Soundcloud, you have to work hard and explore every day. As a musician, you are the one who should take care of your account. Even if there are people who help you, anyway the biggest responsibility is on you. But as an artist, at first, you may not be aware of how to promote your music and get more plays. The music industry changes very fast, and it is important to be up to date. In this article, we introduce five main strategies that will help you get more plays and have a strong position on the Soundcloud.

Do you know how many great artists have started their career from YouTube? One of them is Justin Bieber, who was very young when he began to share his art with others. He was doing covers of famous songs, and step-by-step he started to promote music videos on YouTube. One of his first uploads is the cover of Chris Brown’s song, which he posted 12 years ago.

Many people love the guitar, whether playing air guitar, on Rock band games, or actually playing the instrument. If you want to learn guitar or wish to become a more talented player, this is the place for you.

As it is said, music feeds our soul. And that is why we love to invest in good music and sound systems. But have you wondered how majestic musical equipment can be when it can produce so many kinds of rhythms and music at a time? We are talking about guitars here.

It’s 1972 and I had just turned 16. wow, 16 would be a great turning point in my life. However it did nor turn out that way.

Summer is my favorite season, so the close of it is often bittersweet to me for some reason. Fall doesn’t start until mid-September, but August is practically an unofficial end to summertime when you think about it. Memorial Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and the Fourth of July are behind us. Camps, vacations, and other summer traditions might be too. Heck, we’re halfway through the year after June! Then come mid- to late July, back-to-school season kicks off with supplies on sale and classes starting. And, pre-pandemic, public pools closed after Labor Day anyways.

Man and the Echo -"Capable Man"- (Men of the moment) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DazMseVYGhU

His catalog seemingly gets better and better with every release. His fourth album, Southeastern, is still recognized as his finest album, but I can't imagine that will remain the case forever.

𝙸𝚏 𝚒 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌, 𝚒 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚝𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎【２０００ｓ】e𝚛𝚊. 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚢, 𝚛𝚊𝚙, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚙 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌, 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚘. 𝚃𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚛𝚊 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚜, 𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚋𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜. 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚒 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚒 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚛𝚊 𝚒𝚏 𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎.

The New Groove is an easy-read article that helps you discover new music every single month! Last month was all about the black women in the music industry who have been, and still are, providing us with amazing tunes to listen to. This week I’m zooming back into the world of new music and giving you all the info on who to discover this month!

Remember the times where making a personalized playlist for a love one was a great act of love? Well... I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t born then. However, I do love the idea of making personalized playlist with an acquired taste. And with the mountainous rise of lo-fi music being streamed today in platforms such as YouTube and Spotify, I thought to myself, “Why not make a playlist of songs I want to hear, and share them with the world?”

Roc Nation, the record label and entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008, which is home to musicians such as J.Cole and Rihanna and athletes includes Kyrie Irving and Skylar Diggins-Smith, has announced a historic collaboration with Long Island University (LIU) to create the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment. The school, located in Jay-Z's hometown of Brooklyn, will start enrolling students at LIU Brooklyn from Fall 2021.

Neverlands' long-anticipation of South Korean Girl Group (G)I-DLE's another comeback song this year, "DUMDi DUMDi." The music video for the song was released two hours ago in the U.S., and all I can say that the sound is different from any other song they have ever done. (G)I-DLE are amorphous, fierce young women who have proved to the Kpop world that there is nothing that they cannot do.

It's not always easy to be productive, but one thing that is a huge help to me is to play movie soundtracks in the background. I like to put together a list of a variety of moods and paces, with tracks from all kinds of different productions. These are 15 of my top picks of tracks that are great for helping you get through whatever task you have in front of you.

There is nothing that makes me feel the way music makes me feel. Music is the gateway to my heart. Growing up in the Bronx from the late 90s into the early 2000s played a huge role in my musical knowledge. Every time I reminisce on my childhood, the music holds the centerpiece of my attention. I remember days when I would come home from school and my two older brothers and I had no responsibilities whatsoever. We would watch music videos all afternoon from Ashanti to TLC to Mariah Carey and Puff Daddy. When I started singing, I was around six years old and I sang Usher's Let It Burn to my mom and she smiled so hard! R&B music has been mighty tasteful to me from such an early age. Throughout my life I've always been drawn to learning more about it, especially because it is such an essential fragment of black culture. Simply growing up and hearing songs on the radio about love and relationships created an open door for me to do my research as a child. With that being said, I started singing The Temptations, The Jackson 5, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and all the other phenomenal Motown acts at only eleven years old. I fell in love with the 60s and there was nothing that I wanted more than a time traveling machine. Yes, I was aware that this was a very crucial and uncertain era for people of color, but the music alone made me want to take a trip back in time. Although I have a ton of love for the 60s, I also began dabbling into the 80s/90s. What y'all know about New Jack Swing? There is something about the roughness and sensuality of the way the instruments were incorporated into the music made by Bobby Brown, Babyface, New Edition, Guy and so many more! We call that "babymaking music." I'm always told that I have an old soul, and it shows in my music choice whenever I get a hold of the aux, but it's definitely prevalent in my fashion choice too. This era makes me realize that it's so much deeper than the music. The entertainment, the fashion, and music made it worthwhile. Remember oversized hoop earrings, high waist jeans and baggy windbreakers before we starting recycling those very same pieces today? Remember films like Love Jones and Sister Act 2? Even shows like Living Single and A Different World!

Bobby Vinton is an American pop singer and songwriter. He is of Polish heritage and in music circles he became known as “The Polish Prince”. One of his most popular songs “Blue Velvet” reached number one and became the inspiration for a movie by the same name.

July,