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HERE’S A THING: KYLIE HUGHES - SELF TITLED

In which we go track by track of the new album and I tell you some things.

1. "Heat"

I'm so embarrassed to say that I didn't really realize this song wasn't referring to cars / driving literally, but it's SUCH a strong opening song that gives a really good feel for what the album's sound is like. It's easy to see why it was picked as one of the singles -- this song is so catchy and has such a great hook that you really can't help but singalong. It's got a great vibe and interesting lyrics and shows off her vocals well -- this song is the reason why I decided to keep listening to the album.

2. "Gotta Get Out"

I'm sure Kylie's gotten comparisons to Taylor Swift in the past, but dude, this song is SUCH a Taylor Swift song. But like, the era of Taylor Swift that was my absolute favorite. This is easily one of my favorites on the album, and it almost completely has to do with the details: the stomp claps in the background are a great touch to a song that's meant to be sung with your girlfriends in a car with the top down. The background harmonies are gorgeous, but (and this is going to be the Vocal Major in me) her diction in the song's verses is so strong and straight *clap* to *clap* the *clap* point that it makes me want to sing this in a sassy voice that I don't even really have. Don't even get me started on that sick sick build of 'shit that you don't need' that builds to the chorus. GENIUS.

3. "Leave It Alone"

Alright... I have to admit, this song I had to give a few listens to before I dug it. It's not that it's a bad song -- it's actually catchy as hell once I got into it -- but it does feel a little out of place in the album as a whole. Whereas every song I can hear the Shania Twain and Taylor Swift influences, this one is 100% an Elle King "Ex's and Oh's" comparison for me. Again, not a bad thing, but I only just started liking that song. So.

4. "Love Somebody Else"

HEEEEELP. I love sad songs. It's the 2000s emo kid in me. This song kills me but like, in the best possible way. "I'm as good as it gets / but if you want second best, be my guest and go on and love somebody else" -- OUCH. Right in my heart. Listen, I'm a heartless bitch and haven't been in love with somebody in a very very long time but this song makes me want to gaze soulfully out the window as the rain pours outside. "Love Somebody Else" is a movie moment.

5. "Always On Your Side"

The 46 second long intro in this song is everything. Everything. It really brings you on the journey of the song itself: "you won't ever leave this town, but if you wanna burn it down, I'll help you light it" is such beautiful imagery and wordplay and it's complemented perfectly by the music, with the haunting piano combining with the crashing drums. This is another one of my favorites on the album.

6. "Little Did You Know"

I consider this and the past two songs the Emo Era of this album. Look, it's not a bad thing. I told you, I love sad songs. And this is the perfect trifecta to the Emo Era: "Little Did You Know" is such an angry, sad, frustrated, above it all song and the build to the key change in the end is perfectly executed. Yet another one of my favorites on the album, with lyrics like "little did you know, you had me / and I don't miss you at all" speaking volumes. And the outro is a perfect contemplative way to bring an end to the song, with it just softly fading away. A++++

7. "Hungover"

This has a bit of an indie feel to it that I'm pretty into. Still the country / pop you're used to at this point on the album, but just a bit of an edge to it that if you find your interest waning halfway through, this definitely will pick it back up. One of my favorite parts about the way Kylie does music is that she can take lyrics that sound dumb, like "passed out on the couch / with pizza in my mouth / don't know how I got home / but thank god I'm here alone," and breathe life and a new angle to them with her vocals and music. "Hungover" on first listen sounds dumb... but is easily one of my favorite songs lyrics-wise on the album.

8. "Dead or Alive​"

"You force my hand, you won't win this fight / gonna take you dead or alive"

This song -- its lyrics and instrumentals -- could have easily come across as cheesy. You can't deny that. It's a fine line. But "Dead Or Alive" walks it perfectly, sounding like a song I could easily see performed live by an opening act for John Mayer (which, guess what, Kylie once did). The guitar solo is killer and her yell of 'save your soul tonight!' near the end honestly had me whispering out loud in the middle of Starbucks, "well damn."

9. "Uh Huh"

Gonna be honest, this is probably one of my favorite produced songs on the album. Kylie's voice just sits so perfectly in the track. ANYWAY, music major nerdiness aside, this song is probably one of the easier listens on the album and one of the most pop. It's one of those songs I can imagine sitting poolside to, just soaking in the sun, for like, a moody Lana Del Rey summer. It's understated -- maybe in a way that it shouldn't be for a song that's 9th on the album, but I digress -- but it holds its own against the rest of the album.

10. "Free Fallin"

I WAS HOPING THIS WAS A TOM PETTY COVER AND IT'S NOT BUT IT'S OKAY. But Kylie, do one please. It would be dope.

Anyway. Whereas the last song was a "Summertime Sadness" song, this one is 100% an Ingrid Michaelson "Girls Chase Boys" track. It's just so feel-good: it makes me think about my college days when nothing really mattered because I was ~not a girl, not yet a woman~. It's running through the streets in the middle of the night, bonfires on the beach, skating down the boardwalk... it's probably the best way to spend your summer.

11. "I Can't Believe We're In Love"

I'm sorry, but this is another song that I'm still struggling to like in the context of the album. I like it -- I think it's a very sweet track -- but so close to the end, it's easily forgettable.

12. "Forever Is A Long Way"

Kylie's vocals are beautiful in this track, but again, a bit unmemorable. I have this theory that -- like playing live -- the last song on an album should be the epic showstopper, the one that sticks with you. Because it's the last song you hear and the last impression you get of an album. And this is a good song, but it's just like... that's it?

CLICK HERE to buy the new album, and be sure to keep up with Kylie (not to be confused with Keeping Up With the Kardashians):

Website��Facebook Instagram Soundcloud Twitter

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100 DAYS OF 1D, DAY 2: “CHANGE YOUR TICKET”

In which we discuss how Niall begging me not to go made me question my sexuality.

~*~*THE VOCALS*~*~

This song UPSETS ME, because what the FUCK. It’s CONFUSING. It’s ALARMING. You know how you think you know what you like and don’t like and then something happens and it flips you upside down? Like the time I thought I was straight and then watched Glee and realized that I had never known the feeling of love at first sight until I saw Dianna Agron. It’s like that.

This is what I felt the first time I ever heard “Change Your Ticket.” I’m a simple girl: my thought process listening to 1D songs is always ‘everything Zayn touches is perfect, Harry’s pretty dope, Liam’s aight, Niall’s also aight, and how did Louis make it?’ It’s standard for me. (Except for “Clouds,” but that’s for another time).

But I’m just gonna say it: Niall’s voice is the best in this. I truly don’t care what your thoughts are. I always thought of Niall as a little bit of a mythical creature. Like, he’s technically in the band, yes, but not really a member of the band so much as a magical entity that adds just a dash more charm to an already charming assortment of gentlemen. I love the kid but I don’t equate him with The Backbone of One Direction. But I swear to GOD, I had never been more sexually confused in my life after hearing him sing the lines ‘girl, don’t leave me all alone in this hotel’ and ‘one weekend, I promise that I’ll never tell.’ WHAT? I thought I had figured my life out and was going to marry Tyler Hoechlin and Dianna Agron but apparently Niall is now a serious contender for side bae and I just shivered from the implications.

Also, LOUIS? His voice fits so well in this song that I almost didn’t even realize that was his voice. I cannot believe it. I literally cannot believe it. I listen to this song quite often with disbelief because I literally cannot believe it.

Don’t get me started on Liam. Like, the ‘don’t go’ part truly fills me with regret for having to go. I’M SORRY LIAM, I have to go.

Obviously Zayn and Harry kill the song, but for once I’m not singing praises for them and it’s CONFUSING.

~*~*THE LYRICS*~*~

Listen, from the amount of times I’ve heard songs like “No Control” being described as sexy lyrically, you would think a song with lyrics like ‘you should probably stay, probably stay a couple more days / come on, let me change your ticket home’ does nothing.

You’d be wrong, because it does a lot.

The song is objectively sexy, yes, because they’re literally saying ‘don’t go yet, let’s have some more sex.’ BUT! Where this song verges is that it has the element of romance, which is always a good thing because I’m trash and my favorite movie is A Walk To Remember. When they kick in with the ‘girl I don’t want to say goodbye,’ it just makes me so verklempt. It makes me imagine being the significant other of someone famous and only getting a day or two in between tour dates to be with them. It makes me imagine having to deal with Skype and phone calls for 3 months worth of a relationship before you can see your significant other again. It makes me feel very emo.

I hate this song so much.

~*~*THE JAM FACTOR*~*~

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is probably one of my favorite One Direction songs ever, which is upsetting because it didn’t actually make it onto an album. Why didn’t they make this a single? Why isn’t there a music video?? Who do I have to blow to get a feature length film surrounding this song??? I need it all. iTunes says I’ve played this over 800 times and I still feel like it’s a new experience every time I listen to it.​

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NICE!!! “I’VE GOT A DARK ALLEY AND A BAD IDEA THAT SAYS YOU SHOULD SHUT YOUR MOUTH (SUMMER SONG)” BY FALL OUT BOY

NOPE! Don’t care what you think of my musical tastes after this. This is one of the few tracks that can reduce me to tears on every single listen and one of my absolute favorite songs – not just by Fall Out Boy, but of all time.

For a bit of background (without going into detail – I’m sure they’re all online, but I’d prefer to show at least some semblance of respect for Pete and that time in his life), “I’ve Got A Dark Alley…” was written by Pete in response to his attempt at suicide, and is the only song he’s ever indicated that the band will never play live. It’s vulnerable and moving, a heartfelt confession to how Pete must have felt at the time, and it spoke to me in a way that no other song ever had up until that point in my life. The way the lines ‘I’m hopelessly hopeful’ and ‘my back has been breaking from this heavy heart’ are sung continue to hit me on a gut level and over the hundreds – if not thousands – of times I’ve listened to this song over the years, I still manage to find ways to love this song even more than I did before.

From Under The Cork Tree came at a time when I was at my most depressed and my most suicidal; “I’ve Got A Dark Alley…” was my anthem. The helpless quality to the track, the openness, the incredible bravery it must have taken to write a song like that and release it into the world, knowing that it would be dissected by everyone that knew and listened, knowing that millions of people around the world would hear it, but writing it and recording it because you wanted or because you needed to… it’s one of the things that’s always made me love Fall Out Boy (and Pete Wentz – even when people would make fun of him or roll their eyes at him, I was always on his side) so much: the willingness to be themselves, even if it perhaps wasn’t what people wanted.

[jessjamz-blog1]

NICE!!! “GOSPEL” BY RICH CHIGGA FEAT. KEITH APE AND XXXTENTACION

Look, regardless of your thoughts and feelings on XXXTentacion, there’s basically no denying that he’s got amazing talent. That flow and energy on the first verse is so great -- I usually listen to really chill acoustic music in the morning (because guess what!!! mornings suck!!!!!!) but I accidentally started playing this song and it woke me up. Keith’s verse sold it for me even before Rich came in on the home stretch.

Speaking of Rich, I was lucky enough to make it to one of his New York shows while he’s here in the states and it was a lot of fun, even if it was only like 30 minutes long and he played “Dat $tick” twice because he doesn’t really have any other songs. This kid is mad talented. So much so that I bought a freaking neon yellow fannypack that says ‘RICH’ from his merch booth. I’m not ashamed but I am a little lost.

[jessjamz-blog1]

WEEKLY JAMZ

5 great songs I heard this week, featuring Sigrid, Yellow Days, The Maine and more.

1. “Plot Twist” by Sigrid

2. “Gap In The Clouds” by Yellow Days

3. “Am I Pretty?” by The Maine

4. “Ain’t It Funny” by Danny Brown

5. “Wait” by NomBe

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BREAKING NEWS, SPECIAL REPORT: THE WORLD DOES NOT DESERVE HARRY STYLES

We interrupt our usual programming to bring you this special report: HARRY STYLES EXISTS. 

Unless you're an uncultured swine or one of those "the guys in One Direction are GAY!!!!!!" music elitists who are also clearly homophobes, you're probably aware that Harry Styles is, in fact, the second coming of Christ. This is what Jesus was telling us about when he said that he's going to come back at The End Of Times to judge people and tell them if they're chill enough to come into heaven or so shitty that they have to party it up in hell with all of the other Eternally Damned. He was talking about Harry Styles.

I mean, think about it -- 45 is in office. Brexit is a thing that happened. France dodged a bullet there, but Syria is still a situation and news coming out of Chechnya is more and more disturbing as the days pass.

But ​LISTEN. Last night Harry Styles performed (in my humble opinion) the best song on his album, "Kiwi," on the Late Late Show With James Corden wearing a green jumpsuit. Let that sink in: Harry Styles, pop culture enigma, the guy that's been romantically linked to more women than I think I know in my life, said "fuck this" to the RompHIM shit that's been going around and put on a pantsuit to remind people of why he's The Best Ever And Fuck Your Gender Normativity.

(To clarify, I couldn't give less of a shit if you want to wear a romphim. I'm more angry about the fact that instead of just, like, calling it a romper and marketing it toward men, they had to masculinize it. Like, how fragile do you need to be in your masculinity that you have to give a piece of clothing a different name based on gender?)

The jumpsuit! The hair! The vocals! Harry strutted around that stage like he'd been performing solo his entire life, like this is just a stop on his massive tour that's already been around the world twice, instead of the first performance of one of the most rocking songs on an album that came out a week ago. He commanded that stage like a seasoned pro. I was shook and lost. Everything from his performance, to the performance of his band members, to the really extra (but somehow still not enough!!) fire/spark stuff in the background, all contributed to a sensory experience that truly made my week.

Harry is too good for this world! It's like, sure, 45 is going to make this country go down in flames but at least for this 3:16 long video I can pretend like everything's okay because Harry is singing about having my baby. (it's none of your business.)

Also, the way he says "I'm gonna pay for this" at 2:08. Like, Harry..........the way you said that made me forget what you're going to pay for, but it doesn't matter because you can have it for free I'm sure.​

[jessjamz-blog1]

NICE!!! “THINK ABOUT YOU” BY DRAWING NORTH

I’ve been a fan of Drawing North’s for a while now -- I heard their song “Fire Eyes” last year and it reminded me of a more rock-oriented Fall Out Boy (and if you know me, you know I love Fall Out Boy). 

It’s pretty great to see the musical evolution the band has gone through in the course of a year: “Think About You” has more of a stadium feel to it than their previous banger “Stay,” which I think helps show off a new side to their sound. It’s refined, it’s mature, and it has a really great simplicity to it while still capturing the epic feel they were going for. Lyrics like I still think about you, about you / do you still feel what I’m feeling too? could come across as cheesy very easily, but Drawing North balances it out with the minimal beats so that instead of cheesy, it actually sounds quite earnest.

Also, Drew Southwell is hot. There, I said it.

“Think About You” is available on Spotify now. Find Drawing North on Facebook and Soundcloud.

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NICE!!! “NEVER HAVE TIME” BY THE ROYAL FOUNDRY

Have you ever listened to a song thinking you know how it’ll go, so you listen to it with your finger on the ‘x’ button while you listen for the perfunctory 1:30? I’m ashamed to admit that was me with this song.

I’m familiar with The Royal Foundry through their previous song “Running Away,” (which I loved) but haven’t listened to them in awhile, so when I clicked play on the track and heard some weird Mumford and Sons meets Coldplay sound, my mind instantly went “another one bites the dust I guess!!” As I was sitting there lamenting the death of A Band That Could Have Been, something weird happened at 0:23: the tempo picks up, the background vocals kick in, the strings get more dramatic. Okay, I thought, sounds pretty lit.

But then!!! One minute in, the song completely changes track, and then, one minute and fifteen seconds in, the song gets lit. The out of control, hectic frenzy drives the song in a way that the first bit is lacking. The relentless spitting of the lyrics never have time for me / never have time for you over an almost rainforest-sounding backing track pushes the song over the edge from predictable to noteworthy.

“Never Have Time” is available on Spotify now. Find The Royal Foundry on Facebook and Soundcloud.

[jessjamz-blog1]

100 DAYS OF 1D, DAY 1:“Temporary Fix”

In this episode, we talk about the Immaculate Conception of Harry Styles and Niall’s magnetic dick.

~*~*VOCALS*~*~

Y'all, I am a Zayn girl through and through but Harry's voice?? SMFH. Imagine God himself came down to earth and used his (or her - or their, idk!!) own two hands to handcraft a 6'0" human being with wavy brown hair you wish you could run your fingers through and an impish grin that can literally make you give him your wallet because it's so mesmerizing.

Then imagine he/she/they was/were like, "I'm also going to make him wear a bunch of florals and pinks and stuff because FUCK the gender binary!! Also his name is gonna be Harry Edward LOL sry" but it's like, all of that is secondary anyway because God accidentally gave him the voice of an angel mixed with the voice of a devil because it makes you feel good things but it also makes you wanna do bad things.

Like, go ahead Harry Edward, I can mostly ignore how problematic the lyrics are if you're singing it to me. Just please don't smile at me with that impish grin because I haven't gotten paid yet this week and can't really afford to be giving anyone my wallet right now.

But ALSO, the swag in everyone's voices in the song is so legit. It genuinely sounds like they're trying to convince me they're the leather jacket guys in Grease. Like, imagine what the direction was in the studio while they were recording. "Alright, Niall, imagine you're literally being pulled to a girl magnetically via your dick. Now tell me what you think your voice would sound like." (AM I WRONG?)

~*~*LYRICS*~*~

GOD this song is problematic and also makes me feel really sleazy. Like, I feel like I need to take a shower but I haven't even DONE anything. Listen reader, if you're in a relationship and a person is telling you that they can be your booty call if you need time away from your significant other, you run AWAY because that sounds like a bad time all around. Like, I'm sure it's a good time in the moment, but you know what else is a good idea in the moment but horrible afterward? Having a mild lactose intolerance, saying "fuck it," and eating 5 slices of Dominoes Pizza and a side of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked Ice Cream*. (This is not something I know from experience, I swear.)

Also, hearing Louis sing the words "let me touch you where your heart is" truly makes me want to dry heave. Don't @ me, Louis fans.

Still though, this song is such a jam.

~*~*THE JAM*~*~

IT'S SUCH A JAM. Literally sue me!!! I don't care!!!! You know I'm aware of how problematic it is but you should also know I regularly sing this song under my breath while on my morning commute to work, which I'm sure would have made some awkward situations with the people around me if I wasn't too busy JAMMING to it. Like, I swear to god, this song has touched me where my heart is.

*this post was not sponsored by Dominoes Pizzaor Ben & Jerry's. But Ben and Jerry, if you're reading, hmu I luv u <3

[jessjamz-blog1]

NICE!! “WANT” BY BOYTOY

I had the pleasure of seeing legendary 80s rock band Midnight Oil at Webster Hall in NY this weekend and it was AMAZING. Seriously, it was like going to a rock concert and a town hall meeting at the same time. Wild.

But arguably one of the best parts about the show was the super super rad all female rock group, BOYTOY. Listen. When I say they rocked, they rocked. The crowd was full of jaded 40+ year old men trying to relieve their young, rebellious punk rock days, and even they were bopping their heads to the music. Like, not an easy task.

I think what I like most about this song is the IDGAF attitude to it. It makes me want to go skateboarding on a boardwalk by a beach, which is saying something because 1. I don’t skateboard 2. I hate beaches. But the guitars give off such a cool vibe, and the two voices play off each other so well. The drums give just the right amount of kick, and the song sort of trails off in a “well, I guess we’re done with the song now” way that’s not sloppy in a “well, I guess we’re done with the song now, maybe let’s do another one I guess?” way, but more like “well, I guess we’re done with the song now, time for us to go out and surf a 50 foot wave.” I’m into it.

“Want” is available on the 7″ limited edition Putty vinyl on Bandcamp. Find the band on Facebook and Soundcloud.

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NICE!!! “BATTLECRY” BY JORDAN MACKAMPA

“Battlecry” is one of those tracks that makes you want to pick up a picket sign and march to the White House to give 45 a piece of your mind. The track has a timeless feel to it -- you can hear the influences of jazz and country folk, even among the modern sounding percussion -- that makes it sound like an instant classic.

And it’s powerful. The track opens with one of the greatest rallying cries you can come up with in today’s political climate: “I won’t stay silent, even without air in my lungs. I’ll stand my ground, and I won’t run from the guns.” The references to ‘I Can’t Breathe’ and ‘Stand Your Ground’ are commanding and biting, and make the track all the more timely. And the way the song builds to the final anthem means I can listen to it over and over again without feeling any kind of monotony.

“Battlecry” is off of the Tales From the Broken EP, out now. Find Jordan Mackampa on Facebook and Soundcloud.

[jessjamz-blog1]

NICE!!! “HEART SUNK HANK” BY JOHNNY FLYNN

If you listen to this track and you tell me it doesn’t put you in your feelings, I would wonder if you even had feelings. Seriously, the lyric ‘I’m weeping for the one girl that I love’ is so simple but says so much.

The production on this is what really makes the song for me: it starts off with the warm, scratchy vinyl sounding recording before moving into a live sound, and then back to the vinyl recording. The transitions are seamless and make you feel like you’re moving in and out of worlds, while Johnny’s voice grounds you with its emotion: oh, the ocean carries me... like, I’m not even sure I fully understand what that means, but I feel it. 

I think, in the world of folk-y, acoustic singer/songwriters its easy to get lost in the noise. But the stripped down quality of “Heart Sunk Hank” truly sets Johnny Flynn apart from the rest.

"Heart Sunk Hank” is from Sillion, out now. Visit him on Facebook and Twitter.