Greetings friends of the Internet,
how’s life? Are you as shocked as I am that we’ve already hit 2020’s half-year-mark? I was absolutely gobsmacked (I think this may be the first time I have used ‘gobsmacked’ in a sentence – what a milestone lol) when I realised that six months have already passed. Summer hasn’t even begun yet and I am already sad that it will be over soon.
My music taste this month… hard to put into words. A lot of neo-psychedelic rock mixed with dreamy, romantic vibes that will make your stomach flutter. That’s the best description I could come up with 😂
☀︎ What have you been listening to this month? Got any recommendations? Let me know! ☀︎
As always, you can find the full (60-song) playlist embedded at the end of this post.
JUNE 20 PLAYLIST
Master Of None – Beach House
White Moon – Beach House
All I Wanna Do – The Beach Boys
I Get Around – The Beach Boys
The Eternal Tao – The Voidz
Coul as a Ghoul – The Voidz
Lazy Boy – The Voidz
Where No Eagles Fly – The Voidz
Roky Said – Dead Ghosts
Skeleton Tiger – Tame Impala
Pretty Sexual – Dreamgirl
Love 2 Fast – Steve Lacy
Give Me A Chance – Selectracks
Peach – Kevin Abstract
Gotta Get A Grip (Kevin Parker Remix) – Mick Jagger, Kevin Parker
Bright Blue Day Haze – Mystic Braves
Lost My Mind – Froth
Great Big Bundle Of Love – Brenton Wood
Redbone – Childish Gambino
The Blacker The Berry – Kendrick Lamar
Get Down – Nas
Multi-Love – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
White Moon by Beach House
After declaring that I want one of Beach House’s songs to be my wedding song in last month’s monthly playlist, it should be no secret that I absolutely adore Beach House. Their music exudes such a beautiful, somewhat melancholic, dreamy and romantic vibe that is bound to enchant anyone listening. White Moon (along with Master of None) is the perfect song for a relaxing hot bath surrounded by flickering candles and a glass of wine.
All I Wanna Do by The Beach Boys
If I had to describe this song I would call it “dreamy pop that you can sway to perfectly”. Though The Beach Boys are most definitely a classic, All I Wanna Do remains a song of theirs that is relatively unknown compared to their other songs. Which is such a shame because the sound they produced in this track is simply SUBLIME.
The Eternal Tao by The Voidz
I am in love with Julian Casablancas. I think we’ve established that fact in my last few Monthly Music posts by now? But to be honest with you, I didn’t think too much about The Eternal Tao when I first heard it, mainly because of the constant use of auto tune. But…it grew on me – and now I really, really love this song. Especially the beginning of this song is just so damn catchy. And Mac DeMarco produced it! I love how experimental The Voidz are and admire them for constantly pushing the envelope when it comes to their sound.
Coul as a Ghoul by The Voidz
I’m going insane
You made me this way
Yes. Another song by The Voidz. Because I can’t get enough of their brilliant, brilliant music. Coul as a Ghoul has been stuck in my head and I don’t want it to leave. Basically all I have been doing is studying for my final exam (by the time this post will be published, I will have already had the exam*) and the chorus repeating “I’m going insane” over and over again honestly just describes how I was feeling this past month after staring at my notes for HOURS on end.
*EDIT: I PASSED!!!!!!!
Peach by Kevin Abstract
❤ ❤ ❤
Redbone by Childish Gambino
If you’ve ever wondered what my family life is like, then let me let you in on a little something: my brother beatboxes… a lot. He can’t do anything without beatboxing absentmindedly and sometimes, it drives my parents insane. I remember when Redbone first was released, him and I would blast it in our house so loud, it’s actually surprising we never got a noise complaint.
Recently, he started beatboxing Redbone and it made me remember 2016 and now I’m in a total Redbone phase again and guys… it’s bad. It’s really bad but also really good because this song is AMAZING. I couldn’t tell you how many times I currently listen to this song per day.
The Blacker The Berry by Kendrick Lamar
In light of everything that has been happening recently in regard to the Black Lives Matter movement, I just had to include this song because… well 1) it’s Kendrick Lamar and I love this song and 2) this song educates immensely and pushes you to really think. In The Blacker The Berry, Kendrick indicts both racism and gang violence – two subjects Kendrick has always advocated against in his music. If you listen to any song fully from this Monthly Music post, I hope it’s this one.
“I mean, it’s evident that I’m irrelevant to society.
That’s what you’re telling me: Penitentiary would only hire me.“
There has been a lot of outrage surrounding this song ever since its release in 2015 and it has been interpreted a hundred different ways. The first line of this song is “I’m the biggest hypocrite in 2015” and already, we are pulled into wondering why. The answer to why lies in the very last verse of this song.
“So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street, when gang banging make me kill a n**** blacker than me? Hypocrite!”
I interpret this as follows: The narrator of the song (black) has killed at least one black person due to being part of a gang. He calls himself a hypocrite for blaming white people for violent crimes against blacks when black-on-black crime is just as prevalent. I bet you’re beginning to see why a lot of people felt offended by this, seeing as black-on-black crime is often used as an example to belittle racial injustices, especially when it comes to racially motivated police brutality.
Yet to simply take this meaning without taking the other lyrics of this song into account is (in my eyes) a little closed-minded. Already at the end of the first verse, we hear the narrator aggressively spit “you made me a killer”, you referring to a racist system.
“This plot is bigger than me, it’s generational hatred
It’s genocism, it’s grimy, little justification“
The two lines above underline that message. Kendrick draws up a connection between that oppressive system and black-on-black crimes; The two are interlinked in his eyes and personally, I agree. To this day, African-Americans are one of the most segregated groups in the USA. To imply that this segregation (due to a racist system) isn’t a critical factor that influences black-on-black crimes would therefore be extremely ignorant.
The Blacker The Berry is definitely a think piece and still so hauntingly relevant in its meaning. Which is incredibly sad, when you think about why it remains so relevant. Very little has changed these past 5 years. Please listen to this song. Just listen. Pay attention to what he says. Listening is the least we can all do right now.
Sticky Situation 
I LOVE UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA! I feel like nobody else really knows them so that made me ridiculously happy. Love all these picks! If you haven’t already I really recommend giving Fuck The World (Summer In London) a listen. Such a vibe!
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OH MY GOD!!!! MIA! I had no idea you were a fellow Unknown Mortal Orchestra fan! How did I not know this?? They are so underrated, it’s KILLING ME. I had the pleasure of seeing them live in 2018 and they were SO GOOD. The crowd was immediately hooked, they just had this amazing stage presence.
Also, I just listened to Fuck The World and I love it! You’re right about it being a vibe; the whole thing (music video included) transported me into another dimension – thank you for recommending this to me! I’m going to check out Brent Faiyaz’s other music now ok byyyeeeee
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YES GIRL!! This is such a good playlist! Obvi big yes to Childish and Kendrick – I feel like people really got to appreciate their music and understand their work over the last few months with everything going on, and how relevant both of them as artists are at the moment! Honestly, Kendrick Lamar’s entire catalogue is one big think piece – the man doesn’t stop and I love him for it x
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So true about a lot of people only coming to appreciate those two artists now and being fully aware of & LISTENING to the messages they have been spreading through their music for YEARS.
I think the best thing about music is the power that it holds, the volumes it can speak. That it can be so much more than something that “sounds nice”, that it can be used to protest against injustices, raise awareness, inspire change,.. I think that’s incredible. And artists like Kendrick have always had the urge to do just that, have seen it as their responsibility to make their listeners think. x
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The fact that we’re just 6 months away from 2020 ending is making me face some kind of existential crisis oh dear god.
And honestly, I’m running out of words to appreciate your playlists! Literally every single one is so good! I was just listening to some songs I added to my playlists from your post last month when I saw this! And very random but I’ve gone back to listening to Redbone as well. It just popped up when I had an old playlist on shuffle and now I can’t stop
ahhhh
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Same. It just went by so.damn.fast. And thank you, Arshia, I’m so glad you enjoy these playlists as much as I do! :’)
Redbone is such a specific vibe that I feel like we will always come back to it in the future. It’s almost hypnotic, I could easily listen to it on repeat for hours on end.
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