ON (#620)

Hi,

yikes, that Monday laziness hit me once again. (Sorry)

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• FiNCH ASOZiAL : New album context. "Finchi's Love Tape" is amazing, when it comes to mix trash pop beats and his kind of lyrical content.
• Grimes : New album context. "Miss Anthropocene" seems like a concept album to me. Unfortunately I was hoping for an uptempo song or two.
• Talos : Discovery context. "Far Out Dust" turned out to be quite nice alternative pop. One recommendation would be the song "See Me".
• Best Coast : New album context. "Always Tomorrow" starts very strong. (I recommend "Different Light".) But the songs get weaker in its second half. :/
• Dan Deacon : New album context. I was listening to "Mystic Familiar", which features the nice track "Fell Into The Ocean" - but apart from that his music feels just okay.
• Shopping : New album context. If you're looking for female fronted alternative rock, a record like "All Or Nothing" might be just right. I even considered going to a concert, but scheduling conflicts occured.

Most played artists:

• BTS : New album context. So now that we have "MAP OF THE SOUL : 7", there is much to discover - group tracks, team-up tracks and solo tracks. Different vibes and a few stadium anthems. I guess, you will see me writing a bit more about it in the future.
• Eden : New album context. I did not expect much from "No Future" - and that was a good choice.
• Justin Bieber : New album context. "Changes" did not impress me at all. The only song, that made me nod my head a little, is "Confirmation".  

Most played tracks:

• BTS - ON : Tbh it did not click with me after the first view of the music video. But like "Boy With Luv" this track might be a grower. It definitely stands out on the album and it mixes marching band sounds and a soul choir with modern pop music.

News?

█ Greyson Chance is back with a pop tune, that reminds me of Troye Sivan a lot. "Dancing Next To Me" has a little "My My My" vibe. He will have a few concerts in Europe this Spring.
█ Alanis Morissette released another pre-single for her upcoming ninth studio album "Such Beautiful Forks In The Road". The song "Smiling" sounds very much like her and was written for the musical "Jagged Little Pill". No music video has been released so far, though.
█ Justin Bieber's latest album effort got defeated by three German hip-hop releases: Gzuz ("Gzuz"), FiNCH ASOZiAL ("Finchi's Love Tape") and Prinz Pi ("Wahre Legenden"), while Tame Impala ("The Slow Rush") reached number seven.

New in the German charts:

[02] Luciano - Mios mit Bars : The only impressive feature of this track is its success with a runtime, that exceeds 3 minutes.  :-/
[05] Billie Eilish - No Time To Die : Why? Really? That (underwhelming) Bond song? Well, whatever.
[07] Gzuz & Bones MC - Verkackt : Well, a 2-minute track about gangster life fails certainly comes across as new. No, thanks.

ALL ABOUT LUV (#619)

Hi,

sorry for the slight delay (again) ...

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Gengahr : New album context. Tbh I already forgot half of the songs from "Sanctuary". 
• Pish : Promotion context. I had the chance to listen to "School's Out", which was okay.
• 070 Shake : Fan times.
• Madonna : Fan times.

Most played artists:

• MONSTA X : New album context. "ALL ABOUT LUV" is a mixed bag - with good songs and less good ones, too.
• ITCHY : New album context. "Ja Als Ob" reminded me of Die Killerpilze a lot.
• Stray Kids : Concert context. I've listened to "Clé : Levanter".
• Tame Impala : New album context. "The Slow Rush" could not impress me that much.

Most played tracks:

• Giant Rooks - Watershed : I think this is one of their best songs. I like the epic construction with the strings in the background.

News?

█ BTS are in full promotion mode for their next album. They will perform a new song on Jimmy Fallon's show and they are set to have a Carpool Karaoke date with James Corden.
█ Green Day almost reached the top of the German album charts ("Father Of All...") - but the Amigos did beat them ("50 Jahre: Unsere Schlager von damals").

New in the German charts:

[01] The Weeknd - Blinding Lights : Yay!
[01] Samra - Weiss : Meh, Idc.

Life Is A Game Of Changing (#618)

Hi,

my list of favorite tracks of 2020 has grown a bit. And it's just February. :)

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Tyler, The Creator : Curiosity context. I re-visited "IGOR", and somehow it felt better than the first listening session.
• La Roux : New album context. Sorry, but "Supervision" left me disappointed.
• GFRIEND : New release context. Their new EP "回: LABYRINTH" started with a banger, but the following tracks could not get to that level.
• LOONA : New release context. Their latest EP "[#]" was okay.

Most played artists:

• Pet Shop Boys : Fan times. I revisited their 2019 EP "Agenda" and some songs grew on me.
• Blond : New album context. "Martini Sprite" features very clever German pop music.
• Tarek K.I.Z : New album context. "Golem" did not convince me during the first listening session, but maybe I'll give it another try.
• Mighty Oaks : New album context. "All Things Go" did nothing for me.

Most played tracks:

• Pet Shop Boys - On Social Media : What a bop! Why didn't I listen to it more often in 2019? 
• DMA'S - Life Is A Game Of Changing : My love for this band keeps on growing. Can this catchy vibe be topped? (Can't wait for their next album.)

News?

█ Justin Bieber's new song "Intentions" features Quavo and comes with a meaningful music video. But apart from those aspects, his new music still sounds disappointing to me.
█ The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" became his first UK number one! It even might stay there for another week. Yay.
█ Capital Bra did it again. :-/ "Baby" marks his 20th number 1 song in Germany. Idk what to think of this kind of charts system. At least, other countries seem to have better systems.
█ Tarek K.I.Z has now a number 1 album in Germany.

New in the German charts:

[01] Joker Bra & VIZE - Baby : No, thanks.
[03] Samra - Mon Ami : And again - no, thanks.
[09] Topic - Breaking Me (feat. A7S) : A quite effective and very short electro pop tune. Interesting.

Watershed (#617)

Hi,

okay, here we go. It's February!

Last week in covers:

Noteworthy:

• Louis Tomlinson : New album context. "Walls" should please fans, but I'm sure that I won't listen to it again soon.
• Dave : Nomination context. His album "Psychodrama" is nominated at the 2020 BRIT Awards. I found out that this is not my cup of tea.
• Oehl : New album context. Listening to "Über Nacht" felt easy.
• Tesla Boy : Curiosity context. "Remedy" features some very nice songs.
• The Paper Kites : Curiosity context. I was quite happy with "On The Corner Where You Live". I guess I'll listen to it again.

Most played artists:

• Balbina : Curiosity context. A friend discovered "Punkt." - the latest album by this singer. I found just a few interesting tracks on it.
• Gabrielle Aplin : New album context. "Dear Happy" surprised me with uptempo pop tunes, but most of it did not convince me.
• Georgia : Curiosity context. Listening to "Seeking Thrills" one more time was fun.
• Sløtface : New album context. "Sorry For The Late Reply" is okay.

Most played tracks:

• Dua Lipa - Physical : WHAT. A. BOP. Oh man, now I am really hyped about her second album, which comes out in a few weeks.

News?

█ Justin Bieber is making progress on his comeback. He was a guest on Ellen's show and announced his upcoming album "Changes" - to be released on February 14. Also a second pre-single is now out. "Get Me" comes with Kehlani as feature guest... and is underwhelming. :-/
█ Tame Impala's new music video for the very nice song "Lost In Yesterday" might seem a bit confusing, but it's exactly what I would expect. A great clip.
█ Dua Lipa's new pre-single "Physical" is... everything. What a gorgeous bop. And the video looks so good! I hope her album will have some more great tracks.
█ Wiz Khalifa helms a soundtrack song for the new "Sonic The Hedgehog" film. And "Speed Me Up" has a fun music video now - featuring all guest: Ty Dolla $ign, Sueco The Child and Lil Yachty.
█ Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed at the Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show. It was nice to watch, but not that special.
█ A band called Mono Inc. is now at the top of the German album charts ("The Book Of Fire"), followed by Vanessa Mai ("Für Immer") and the Pet Shop Boys ("Hot Spot").

New in the German charts:

[03] Gzuz - Donuts : Hm, I'm sure this artist could do so much better. :(
[04] Samra & Elif - Zu Ende : Well, there is some more relatibility than in other songs, but also a few cheesy lyrics. Hm, OK.
[06] ENO & Nimo - Kommunikation : No, thanks. That annoying chorus alone... ugh :(
[08] Ali Gatie - What If I Told You That I Love You : Yuck, that's just another cheap la-la-la trap song.