Tuesday Tunes - "Everything to Me" (Lips)

Oh man, I am so happy I found this song. I will try my best to articulate what it is about "Everything to Me" that made it an immediate favorite for me, but really, just give it a listen and you will understand. You may have heard of it before, but likely a different, remixed version (the Adventure Club Remix is quite popular on Youtube, although I'm a bigger fan of the DJ Fresh Direct remix).

It's just so simple and smooooooth. Stephanie Brown's voice is very cool and down-to-earth, which can sometimes lead to boring music, but that is certainly not the case for Lips. I have already listened to this song like 10 times and I'm still in love with it. Like most of the stuff I recommend, this is perfect music for just playing in the background while studying or reading.

Photo from the LIPS Facebook page

Let's talk a little bit about the lyrics. Just try and tell me that you don't sometimes feel like "there are days I would pay anything just to leave it all behind". This song really speaks to those times when you just wish you were living a different life. Lips frontman (er, frontwoman?) Stephanie Brown, who aptly describes this song as "an everyday account of needing to take a break from your everyday." Sometimes the simplest topics can be the most poignant choices for music, and I'm a huge fan of songs with relatable lyrics.

Photo from Facebook

Stephanie Brown also just seems like a cool chick. I mean, come on. She categorizes her style as DIY Casio Pop, and her keyboard has floral print on it. She looks like the kind of person I would want to party with, and she is from New Zealand, which everybody knows wins bonus points from me.

Anyways, join me in listening to this song on repeat for the next month. Click heeeeere to download the song for free!

Tuesday Tunes - Five Mile Town

Let me introduce you to Five Mile Town. First things first, this band is from New Zealand. Number 1 reason for thinking they’re awesome.

Number 2? There is a banjo in this song. In my opinion, the banjo is a sadly under-utilized instrument in modern music. And it brings such an interesting feel to this song in particular, giving the otherwise pretty typical song a nice twangy (twangy? Twangy.) accompaniment. Also, playing an upright bass in the woods is downright baus (see what I did there?).

Liking this song also means being one of probably less than 500 people who have even heard of this band (their Facebook page only has 472 likes so far). They’re a hipster’s wet dream, really. They don't even have a Wikipedia page. However, they are gaining some popularity in recent days, thanks to a random fan posting their new video on Reddit, so you'd best start following them now while you still have the chance to start hating them later when they become mainstream.

But seriously, a friend (Pete!) randomly introduced me to this band, and I really like their sound. It’s a solid first single and the video for it is simple but beautiful. Considering I have some friends who are trying to make it big in the music industry, I have a fondness for aspiring musicians who need a little help getting their names out there. Check out their Facebook page, Like them if you like them, and share this post with your friends =)