If you have ever had the pleasure of speaking to me for more than five minutes, I most likely started talking your ear off about some artist I discovered or rediscovered. Listening to music and thinking about why exactly I enjoy it so much generally takes up a significant portion of my month and November was no different. So in this article I’ll do what I do best: convincing you to give the music I enjoyed this month a listen.
Firstly, my newly discovered appreciation for Brazilian music. To address the elephant in the room, I have to give a certain new man in my life credits for introducing me to this music. While I can see how this would make for a less convincing argument on why this music is objectively good, please hear me out. Portuguese is a beautiful and very romantic language and particularly Portuguese from Brazil is very pleasant to listen to in song form. The playlist I listed below has a delightful mix of Brazilian instruments and rhythm, beautiful voices, and romantic lyrics. It is the perfect playlist to lighten up this dark, Dutch fall and winter season. Some songs I listed below are my absolute favorites. And yes, they are all love songs… Big part of my month I guess.
Tim Maia – Eu Amo Você
Caetano Veloso – Voce E Linda
Jorge Ben Jor – Oba, Lá Vem Ela
Then, in a radical turn to a very different genre: metal. I will continue to push more metal into the musicology realm, as I have always done. Yet I can see how metal can be unapproachable and – in consequence – underappreciated. Fortunately, this month I mostly listened to metal I would describe as ‘’spiritual metal’’. This is not really a genre or type of music bands consciously make ; I use it to group together metal that makes me feel like I should lay down on the floor and levitate. This metal is not so rhythmically structured and aggressive as you might be used to; instead it combines beautiful melodic lines and vulnerable lyrics with grunting and heavy guitar work. I’m unsure whether other people experience this as well while listening to this music, so please give the playlist a listen and report your thoughts and feelings back to me.
System of a Down – Spiders
System of a Down – Innervision
Tool – Sober
Deftones – Passenger
