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My Top 5 Bands and Favorite Songs

As I’ve written in previous articles, I’m a huge fan of music.  If I could, I’d listen to it 24/7, which I almost do all the time already.  I want to talk about my top 5 favorite bands and a couple of my favorite songs by them.

The first band I want to talk about is The Neighbourhood.  When I was in 8th grade, “I Love You” by The Neighbourhood was the first album I listened to from top to bottom thoroughly.  So, to say I’ve been a fan for a while is an understatement.

Image courtesy of Red Bull

There are many songs I like from The Neighbourhood that I’d like to include, but I’ll just stick to a couple.  First, we have my personal favorite by them, which is “Stargazing.” I fell in love with this song over the past summer, but have recently come back to it and have been listening to it constantly. The song is an alternative/indie song that talks about a relationship between two lovers who are starting a new chapter in their relationship. Lyrics like “It started with a spark now we’re on fire” signify the relationship started off great and is only going to get better. One other song I love by The Neighbourhood is “Staying Up.”  This comes off their album “I Love You”, so I’ve been a fan of it for years. It’s a completely different vibe from “Stargazing,” but still very unique with multiple sound effects in the background of the music. The song is about insomnia and personal struggles in life, so it is a very different song from the previous.

The next band I want to talk about is Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP), an alternative rock band from LA. RHCP has also been a personal favorite of mine since middle school.

Image courtesy of Rolling Stone

One song I want to talk about is “Tear”. Coming off the album, “By the Way”, with many popular and fan-favorite songs on there, “Tear” seems to be on the lesser side of streams compared to other songs on this album like “By the Way,” “Can’t Stop,” and “The Zephyr Song.” However, “Tear” is a more slow-paced song, starting off with a more calm vibe as the song builds up over the time. The song talks about finding beauty and purpose in life. One other song I love by RHCP is “Meet Me at the Corner,” which I find extremely catchy. Coming from the album “I’m With You”, this song and album overall are lesser-played compared to other RHCP songs and albums. The song seems to be about someone who messed up in their relationship and wants it back. Both songs are great, and I definitely recommend them.

A third band I love is Boy Pablo. Boy Pablo is an indie pop band from Norway.  I’ve been a fan of them since high school, and still listen to them all the time, so I had to include them here.

Image courtesy of YouTube

The first song I’m a huge fan of by them is “tkm.” “tkm” comes from the album “Soy Pablo” and is a beautiful love song that has an incredible instrumental ending that I could listen to every day. The song is very calming, with deep lyrics and beautiful instruments, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who would be interested in a chill indie song. The next song I love by them, and more recently, is “wachito rico,” from their newest albumWachito Rico”. This song is a completely different vibe from “tkm,” being a more upbeat, dancey indie song that someone could jam out to.  I would recommend anyone to listen to Boy Pablo because they are one of my long-term favorites!

The fourth band I want to talk about is Beach House. Beach House is a dream-pop indie band from Baltimore consisting of members Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally.  I’ve been a fan of them since high school as well when I came across their most popular song which many have probably heard of, which is “Space Song”.

Image courtesy of Ticketmaster

One song I absolutely love from Beach House is “PPP,” from the album “Depression Cherry” (which by the way, the vinyl cover for this record is velvet!). “PPP” is a song about a couple getting married, where one of the two is having doubts about it.  The instrumental in this song is beautiful, which happens at around 3:38 into the 6 minute and 8-second song. Even though it is sort of lengthy, I’d still recommend it to someone who might be interested in this genre of music. Another song I love by Beach House is “Drunk in LA,” on the album “7”.  I can’t even explain why I love this song except for just how it is overall. Legrand’s vocals, in every Beach House song, to be fair, but especially this one just sounds beautiful with the instrumentals. Again, if this music might interest you, I’d recommend checking out these songs or Beach House in general.

The last band I love, and probably my favorite band out there is MGMT. MGMT is an alternative/indie band with members Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser, from Middletown, CT. I knew a few songs from when I was younger by them, such as “Kids” and “Time to Pretend,” probably their two most popular songs.

Image courtesy of Billboard

The first song I want to talk about by MGMT is “TSLAMP,” my personal favorite from the album “Little Dark Age”. The song has a very funky beat and talks about the current world we live in and how we spend our lives on our phones, scrolling through social media, and interacting with each other through these screens. It is a very real song, but also extremely catchy, and I just love it. Another song I love by MGMT is “Flash Delirium” off the album “Congratulations”. Along with “TSLAMP,” this song is also very funky and different from other bands you might know in this genre. Similarly, “Flash Delirium” is also about social networking and the bands feeling towards it. If you’re into funky indie music with some meaningful lyrics, you might want to check out MGMT.

I hope I mentioned some songs you either love already or might add to your playlists in the future! Happy listening.