A merry #MusicMonday to you all!
I wanted to take just a brief moment to sincerely thank everyone for reading and sharing. I’ve heard some really great feedback about Aural Fixation over the past couple of weeks, and it means a lot to me to hear that people are finding things they enjoy! Part of the fun of a column like this is that you (or I, for that matter!) never know what to expect. So let me just say, to everyone who’s trusted my taste and supported the site in general:
Weeks like this are a perfect example! Today we’ve got country, indie, and R&B all in one place—who says you have to decide on just one kind of music to jumpstart your week?
Certainly not we at Literally, Darling, for we are creatures as varied and erratic as our eccentric tastes in music. And without further adieu, I’ll let you hop to this week’s delightful array of earworms.
Rock on, darling.
— @Litzwich
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The Naked and Famous: “Hearts Like Ours”
“Hearts Like Ours” is the latest from The Naked and Famous, and it’s dreamy indieglam at its finest, gliding along with the wistful, aloof appeal of an ’80s love song. Though it doesn’t quite have the immediacy of the tremendous “Young Blood,” the chorus is phenomenally satisfying, and everything about the cut from the gruff guitar to the sparkly synths really works. There’s something star-crossed in the sound, really capturing the sound of a love—and song—that’s meant to be.
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To listen to this week’s full playlist, click here.
[divider]– [/divider]Beyoncé: “Standing On The Sun” (SOS Reggae Mix)
Okay, so, I already posted the original “Standing On The Sun.” But, like. It’s new Beyoncé.
And this remix is really good.
I’m all for anything with island flavor, particularly reggae influences, so naturally when Beyoncé started throwing down about love and sangria with an affected patois, I squealed a bit. (This track also makes me not-so-strangely nostalgic for Sean Paul. WHATEVER, OKAY. The 2000s were awesome.)
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To listen to this week’s full playlist, click here or press play at the bottom of the page.
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Pawws: “Slow Love”
Fun, bright-but-minimal, just a little bittersweet: “Slow Love” is what offbeat indie dance-pop’s all about. Pawws‘ sound on this song is something like a little sister to indie gems Grimes and La Roux for me, capturing all the unexpected appeal of a current, fresh sound with the familiarity that makes a solid hook really sink in.
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To listen to this week’s full playlist, click here or press play at the bottom of the page.
Ariana Grande: “Baby I”
I need it to be known that what I’m about to say is not said with a light heart, but…
This is the best should-have-been-a-Mariah Carey song not recorded by Mariah Carey, maybe ever.
Like, y’all, get on “Baby I,” because it’s on that infectious late-’90s Mariah ish like WHOA. (It’s actually just as delightfully reminiscent of MIA 2000s R&B mainstay Ashanti.) And if you’re not sold, just wait for that bridge and the ad libs over the last chorus. This girl can sang.
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To listen to this week’s full playlist, click here or press play at the bottom of the page.
[divider]– [/divider]The Civil Wars: “Dust To Dust”
This song is exceptionally lovely, the stuff heartbreak is wrought from. I first caught on to The Civil Wars after they teamed up with Taylor Swift for The Hunger Games‘ sensationally awesome soundtrack cut “Safe And Sound,” as I imagine a lot of people did. And I’m so glad for that, because “Dust to Dust” is the understated kind of dramatic that doesn’t just tell a story—it captures its utter essence, evoking an emotion so clear and specific that not crying is almost not an option.
Beautiful.
Unfortunately, this is one of those SoundCloud clips that isn’t shareable. Click the song title to listen to “Dust to Dust,” or to listen to this week’s full playlist all the way through (it’s included), click here.
[divider]– [/divider]Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz: “Talk Dirty”
This song may be a tad trashy (go figure, right?), but the beat (and those horns!) are way too sick to let it slip through the cracks. Jason Derulo is some kind of übersexual Usher–Shaggy–Chris Brown hybrid on “Talk Dirty,” and it’s a lot to take in, but damn am I into this new direction he’s taking. I’m actually not normally a huge fan of brass in my pop music, unless it’s flawlessly executed (like the iconic Chi-Lites horn section sample in Bey’s “Crazy In Love”), but I’m into this.
(As a fair warning, 2 Chainz‘s verse is, ah… For consenting adults only…)
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To listen to this week’s full playlist, click here or press play at the bottom of the page.
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Aural Fixation runs new music every Monday, right here on Literally, Darling.
Tweet and follow me on Twitter @Litzwich to give your feedback, comment on the column, or just to share your favorite Britney .gif.
With a background in stage acting, professional experience working in PR & marketing, and a number ofsongwriting and recording projects to his name, this jack-of-at-least-several-trades currently lives—where else?—in eclectic Austin, Texas. He has recently taken the plunge and made the daunting but inevitable decision to put the "professional" in professional writer.
Austin writes and rants about music, identity, pop culture, dating, social media, gender and sexuality, and muggle studies.
You can read his poetry and personal essays at Litzwich.Wordpress.com, or follow his erratic but often entertaining stream of consciousness at your own risk at Twitter.com/Litzwich.
- Aural Fixation: 11/11 (A Moment Of Silence For Veterans Day) - November 11, 2013
- Aural Fixation: 10/28 (An LD Halloween Playlist) - October 28, 2013
- Album Review: Katy Perry, “Prism” - October 23, 2013
When I first heard “The Way” by Ariana Grande (which I secretly love), I thought it was Mariah Carey – glad I’m not alone on seeing this similarity. I think Ariana is doing a better Mariah than she does these days!