The month of October!
Out of all the months in the year, October is the best-ever month. Bay Area weather is near-perfect, Halloween at the end, holiday gifts and decorations hitting the shelves, the start of the NHL and NBA seasons, playoff baseball and the WNBA Playoffs, pumpkin spice everything, and the national holiday that is my birthday!!!!
(PS: I’m very aware that song has nothing to do with the month of October but I still like to play it at the start of the best-ever month!)
Lounge/”Naked” Music!
After a Saturday night party, we chill on Sunday. These are the tunes I listen to when I want to unwind or sleep. For those wondering what “Naked” Music is, it’s basically chill-out music from the late 90s/early-mid 2000s. And it’s free of things like autotune, anger, and artificial lyrics.
90s Dance/House Megamixes! It’s Saturday night, so let’s party.
I touched on this in an old entry, and if you’re wondering why I’d rather rave at home instead of a club these days, it’s because of these hours-long mixes of 90s dance/house/rave music. There’s something to that era of dance music (mid-late 90s) that always hooks me in. It’s probably because when that music was happening, life seemed to be more socio-politically sane. The Gen Xers that were partying to all that were partying–no cell phones, no social media, and no taking selfies of yourself every other minute (because cameras were bulky back then). There was also no pandemic and the fashions from that time were lit. I was born a decade late to experience all that in real time (I was a preteen/teen when those mixes played in the clubs), so if you see rave lights coming from my studio apartment on a Saturday night, that’s just me clumsily raving like an X-er to one of those fun megamixes.
Megan Thee Stallion!
No question: Megan is the current Queen of Rap and if you want to argue, argue with the wall. Us Hotties have been FED this year, from the chart-topping “Hiss” and the, ahem, drama that surrounded it (that kept my winter warm 😆) and the fire visuals of her music videos, to her first arena tour that also sold out (I attended two of those dates, TYVM) and Pepsi commercials and hosting the VMAs… and possibly a sequel album to Megan?! It’s truly the Year of Thee Stallion.
Kylie!!!
Speaking of pop icons, I can write an essay on how much I adore thee Kylie Minogue (and how unfairly slept on she is when “modern pop icons” is the topic), but for now I shall summate her in two words: Pop Perfection. ❤️
Christina Aguilera!
Out of all the modern pop music icons, I feel like Christina is one of the most underappreciated pop icons out there. She gives you voice but can’t crack the Top 100 of a supposed list of Greatest Singers of All-Time. She gives you fashion yet the press labels her “Worst Dressed”. She gives you iconic performance but is snubbed for an act far lesser than hers. She gives you music videos but gets overlooked in favor of others with a videography that is also far lesser than hers. She kissed Madonna but some of you still forget that part. But don’t forget this: Christina remains relevant 25+ years after her start, selling out shows, scoring magazine covers, starting a successful sexual wellness line, doing political PSAs, influencing a new generation of pop girls, and, of course, giving you voice and fashion. (And face!)
Now go listen to her live album on Spotify! The vocals, the emotions…everything is served!
1980s/90s R&B and Rap!
What a time to have been alive for this golden era of R&B and rap. If you remember watching MTV Jams, Yo MTV Raps, or/and BET’s Video Vibrations, you know! The beats were beating, the vocals were vocaling, and the remixes remixed (especially Mariah’s remixes). Almost every hot artist then had either a gold single or platinum album (what streams?), bridges were present, and the top hits were over three minutes, TikTok be damned.
(By the way, I’m very aware that the era also had its problematic figures. *cough*RKelly*cough*Diddy*cough* I’ll replace any of the vids above if I find any bad tea on the artists featured.)
The next week of faves will all be music-themed. In what would’ve been John Coltrane’s birthday, today’s musical fave is: Classic Jazz!
I enjoy jazz music from past to present, but Classic Jazz just DOES it for me. Coltrane, Davis, Holliday, Fitzgerald, Vaughn, Armstrong, Parker, Getz…And if you don’t know the legends like Coltrane or Holliday, then we can’t hang, not sorry! I know metal heads that know who they are, so there’s no excuse! The voice and lyrics of Holliday’s music hits you in the feels, and Miles’ trumpet carries you to another world.
My first ever Bottlerock experience! And it was actually a very good one. Place was packed but not overwhelming, found free all-day parking just a 15-minute walk from the fairgrounds, spent just $10 on two footlong hot dogs (in fairness, I scored a $15 credit to anything at the event and the dogs originally go for $25), and the porta potties were surprisingly clean (!) every time and were stocked with TP.
I only went on Friday (couldn’t attend the entire weekend for various reasons), and it’s only because of two reasons:
Yep, Megan Thee Stallion and thee Stevie Nicks! They both performed at the same time, but on different stages, and I thought I’d only be able to see one or the other. Megan’s set (whom I chose to attend first) was a little shorter than Stevie’s, so once she was done, you best believe I went to the area where Stevie was performing with quickness. I only watched her perform three songs, but it’s better than missing out on a legend. It’s not every day I get to see two queens perform on the same day!
I’m in the process of packing for a road trip that starts tomorrow, so here are more pics from Bottlerock last Friday.
The packed field facing the main stage (where Stevie would perform that evening).
A little whimsy at one of the vendors.
The rock band All-Time Low. First time hearing of them (I’m always the very last to know things/people/bands/trends, etc.) and they were pretty good.
If you forgot the Coppertone, these sunscreen stations got you covered.
Rapper Nelly with Cameron Diaz at the Culinary stage. They were cooking up a Cuban sammich (to honor Cameron’s Cuban roots).
Thought I could get a chair massage for a decent price. I was wrong.
The Silent Disco dancefloor. You have to be a part of it to understand it. That couple you see up front got down.
My $10 lunch, since I can’t bring in outside food. Don’t worry, I only ate a bit of that bread. 😉
Another view of Stevie’s performance.
Would I go back? Maybe. I’ll be lucky if the performers I like appear on Friday like this year. I hear it’s more gnarly and packed on Saturday and Sunday; Bottlerock happens every Memorial Day weekend, and I’m only getting older and grumpier when it comes to traffic and crowds. The costs for a single-day pass alone also has me a little hesitant. Then again, I stood front row for Megan’s show (her ongoing tour charges $400+ and up to stand/sit front row for her), and I also got to see Stevie and Cameron on the same day. For the $230 I paid for Friday admission, it’s not a bad deal.
Next stop: Outloud WeHo. Guess why!
Some of my favorite “girl power” songs in honor of International Women’s Day today!
Shout out to Xtina for revamping “You Don’t Own Me” in her Vegas residency shows! I first heard the original almost 20 years ago; I forgot what led me to it but that classic 1960s pop ballad beat grew on me. I didn’t read into the lyrics until later. This song deserves a comeback!
Lex Writes On 