ASMR 12.15.14

I can't believe the day would come that I actually would love a Taylor Swift song. Not that Taylor Swift is bad or anything, but I am really not a big fan. She is too trendy and youthful and though my taste in music is very very wide, it too has its limits. Well, apparently not. And one Sunday after cruisin' with my boys, I realized there is seriously something disturbing with the three of us liking and singing Swift's single. I barely survived Carly Rae Jepsen but thank goodness I didn't call her...


Pick of the Week:
Blank Space by Taylor Swift (released 10.27.14)

Might Interest You Pick:
When I Find Love Again by James Blunt (released 12.15.14)

Retro Picks:
Baby I Lied by Deborah Allen (released 1983)
You And I by Kenny Rogers (released 1983)
I Will Always Be Your Friend by George Duke (released 1982)

Seasonal Picks:
Something About December by Christina Perri (08.01.12)
Underneath The Tree by Kelly Clarkson (10.29.13)


I put the window down of my car, crank the volume up and sing with much bravado when my favorite artists randomly hit my playlist. We're talking about The Killers, Eminem, Matchbox Twenty, Robin Thicke to name a few. But to do the same to a Taylor Swift song, geez, anything is possible I guess! But how can you blame me? The song Blank Space is catchy and the youth totally relates to it. I mean the single Shake It Off was another pop hit and was #1 in the charts until Blank Space booted it off. Taylor outdid Taylor, swiftly. And even if you have a personal bias against the pop queen, give the song a few runs and the next thing you know, it'd be stuck in your head like crazy. Trust me...

Remember James Blunt, the guy who sang You're Beautiful?? Well, he is back and his new single When I Find Love Again shows not the typical mellow Blunt we've known. This single is a little to the pop side and though it is not a certified hit, it can get some good airing time. Some will find it very different and Blunt's new approach may surely make or break him. That means he can very well be another one of those one-hit wonders. Check his single under his new album Smoke Signals which was just released as I am writing this article.

A Filipino movie back in the 80s redefined my childhood. While a lot of my contemporaries remember the more upbeat pop songs in the movie i.e. Borderline by Madonna, Just Got Lucky by Jo Boxers, Kiss On My List by Hall & Oates (just to name a few), the very penetrating dramatic scenes were pegged by equally dramatic songs, hence my retro picks. Baby I Lied was playing in the background in a scene where the teen realized he has the hots for his mother's sorority sister who happens to be a neighbor and at that very moment was coming out of the pool all wet and sultry. That iconic scene, which played in the minds of most Filipino boys back then, made having the gaga for older women seem attainable. The song by Deborah Allen was just perfect. And on another scene, another teenager, who was "made a man" by yet another older woman had to leave the boy teary-eyed and heartbroken, after a brief unwritten relationship, when she had to migrate to the U.S. to be with her husband. That slut LoL! The poor boy was standing in the street, camera focused on him and the plane in the horizon, sunset and all, while Kenny Rogers' You And I playing to complete the sad setting. Lastly, the band of teenage brothers (which is what the film was all about) was having a gloomy season and decided to hang out in one of the boy's pad. Dark room with only a lamp and some blink lights to provide gleam, appropriately I Will Always Be Your Friend by George Duke was suited in the scene and gave the boys their only mellow bonding song. All three songs were great picks, sentimental I know but the scenes just called for it and there could never had been better choices...

It is the time when the cold climate comes in and the turtle necks come out. And every year you would probably hear the same Christmas song you've been hearing for ages. But I have my own ones that I put on repeat when Yuletide season is around. One mellow by Christina Perri and one upbeat by Kelly Clarkson. Perri's Something About December calms you down when everything seems hustling and bustling. I love it because it reminds me that although Christmas is a happy season, it also calls for solemnity every now and then. However, to equate that with jolliness, Clarkson's Underneath The Tree provides the kick you need to feel so Christmasy! It almost has the same tune as Mariah Carey's rendition of All I Want For Christmas Is You. But I like Kelly's better because Carey's is overplayed all the time. Not that there's no room for both merry songs so yeah, all is good during Christmas time! Oh and if in case you want to hear the saddest Christmas song ever, then listen to Sam Smith's delivery of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas! Chestnuts and eggnog anyone??