COVID-19: Releases to Lean On & Get Us Through
If you are like me music is a constant in your life, and you still need to rely on it to provide some sense of structure in such an uncertain time. Which is why you can rely on me to keep you up-to-date on all the album drops, single releases, and music video premieres during this quarantine period.
Starting from the beginning of quarantine Caitlyn Smith released her sophomore full length album Supernova on March 13th. Caitlyn has said one of her favorite places to be is in her feelings, and with COVID-19 quarantine entering week 4 there’s more time than ever to sit in and reflect on all the different emotions this surreal situation throws at us. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard from Caitlyn and other artists is to allow yourself to feel all the feelings, the dark one’s and the grateful one’s. All your emotions are valid, the stir crazy, the loneliness, and the hopelessness. Take comfort in the fact that people around the globe are experiencing some of the same emotions. Which is where the concept for Caitlyn’s weekly quarantine live stream Lonely Together a Virtual Conversation Series came from. The final track on Supernova “Lonely Together” takes on a whole new meaning not only for Caitlyn, but for anyone who listens to the song. Doesn’t everyone cry, cry at the stars? Doesn’t everyone try way too goddamn hard?/You got a heart like mine/You make me feel like I’m not going insane/let’s be lonely together. Thank you Caitlyn for bringing us all together, talking songwriting with fellow songwriters, diving into our feelings, and even streaming a live songwriting session with Tenille Townes!
Remember a world where we wanted to be alone? Where we all had our homebody moments and sometimes just didn’t want to go to the club? Well, Kelsea Ballerini expressed this sentiment on her song Club off her new self titled album Kelsea released on March 20th. Little did we know that a video of more than 10 girlfriends partying in the house would make us long for the days when we had the choice whether or not we went out on a Saturday night. Yeah I like my friends, yeah I like tequila/I like puttin’ on a dress and dancin’ with my feelings/but sorry I don’t wanna go to the club.
I know for me last Friday night watching DJ Martial, DJ and producer at Set Artist Management (@setmgmt) do an Instagram live DJ set on STK Steakhouse (@eatstk) Instagram made me crave for my regular weekend nights out in NYC clubs. STK is still open for take out and delivery orders, so while we wait for NYC nightlife to get back on its feet, you can stream your favorite DJs and enjoy a sizzling steak from home! Set Management’s DJs put together a few Stir Crazy mixes available on Spotify also for your stay at home playlist needs. Check out all the volumes, including DJ Jonny Laz's Vol. 9 whose opening of the idiot spring breakers comments on the coronavirus flipped over Green Day’s American Idiot is just too clever even for me!
DJ Martial began and ended his set with a current chart topper Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa, a song off her new album Future Nostalgia that peaked #2 on the Billboard charts on March 21st. Dua released another song and video the night before the full album came out on March 27th. The newest song Break My Heart is another dance tune about the fear of falling for the one that could really hurt you. Sometimes it’s scary to feel like you’re out of control when you are falling for someone, you question whether it would be better to protect your heart from the potential heartbreak - I would’ve stayed at home, cause I was doin’ better alone/I should’ve stayed at home, cause now there ain’t no letting you go/Am I falling in love with the one who can break my heart? It’s the opposite sentiment of Don’t Start Now, a warning to the wrong one not to come out if that person doesn’t want to see you moved on- if you don’t want to see me dancing with somebody/don’t show up, don’t come out/don’t start caring about me now. Staying home to save lives is our first motivation, but whether you are also staying home to avoid falling for someone or avoid seeing someone fall for someone else Dua Lipa has the full soundtrack for you in this new album.
The halt in nightlife and not going out to eat at a restaurant anymore has put a fork in many people’s dating lives. Ingrid Andress reminisces about the first date or meeting someone at a bar, the newness of the stranger sitting across the table in the song and music video for The Stranger from her new album Lady Like, released on March 27th. Very fitting opening line I can’t remember the last time we sat at a table, just the two of us/You play the stranger I’ll play the girl at the bar/Sometimes I wish I didn’t know you at all/So we can do it all over/Fall all over each other again. The other 7 songs on this beautiful debut album take you on a ride of all the raw emotion of lust and heartbreak so uniquely told by this fierce and stylish songwriter.
While Ingrid fantasizes about not knowing the object of her affection, Alexander 23 is actually singing about that very idea in his upcoming release IDK You Yet out April 9th. How can you miss someone you never met cause I need you now but idk you yet. Leave it to Alexander to release very timely lyrics for post COVID life, “lately its been hard”. That it has been; hard being apart from those we love and hard to wrap our heads around all the time we are missing out on; that temporarily lost possibility of meeting that special someone.
Once you meet that perfect stranger Lennon Stella and JP Saxe released a song which expresses how fulfilling that one love can be. They call out toxic love in their song Golf on TV off of Lennon’s upcoming album Three. Two. One. out on April 24th. Some people want to switch it up like just one love could never be enough/Some people watch golf on tv and neither of those things make sense to me. Lennon and JP are describing their relationships and providing a good example of what love is. In their song love is expressed through actions and mainly being there.
Andy Grammer has released a song about a different kind of love, the act of love that is in absence. Which is a new way to look at acts of love, the way we all need to look at it during this COVID pandemic. Right now the best thing we can do for the first responders, for our loved loves, for our neighbors, is to stay apart and stay home. Andy Grammer’s new song Good Example featuring R3HAB is a personal song for his daughter (s) (he has another girl on the way) describing the heartbreak of being away from them, but knowing by him chasing his dreams he is leading by example that when they grow up they can go out and chase any dream."You know my heart breaks every night that I’m without you". I can relate this sentiment to today’s world of self quarantining- just to keep others safe and save lives. Right now our hearts are breaking for those fighting through the virus, fighting the virus on the frontlines, for everyone who can’t even provide a comforting hug to those they want to embrace the most. We just have to know the greatest act of love right now is the distance between us.
I want to leave you with the words of Thomas Rhett, Reba Mcentire, Chris Tomlin, Hillary Scott, and Keith Urban from their recent collaboration Be A Light.
In a time full of doubt just believe
In a time full of war be peace
In a place that needs change make a difference
In a time full of noise just listen
In a world full of hate be a light
The world is at war with COVID-19 right now. There is so much uncertainty about when we will reach the other side. As a community we need to do our part by social distancing, but not disconnecting. We are stronger mentally together, but physically apart. As much as we lean on music for comfort and understanding, the situation at hand is still very serious. Yeah, you only get one go around/cause the finish line is 6 feet in the ground/in a race you can’t win, slow it down. We can’t win this race without each other. I want to take these final sentences to remember just a fraction of the people we’ve lost to this fight. Starting with one of my fellow concert goers Ron Louie, a huge Americana and country music fan who knew everyone in the concert circuit. Ron, you will be greatly missed at every show. RIP 90’s country legend Joe Diffie and Fountains of Wayne co-founder, Grammy winning songwriter Adam Schlesinger. In the words of the late great Bill Withers, who also recently died of heart complications at 81, during times of despair and sorrow, lean on me because we all need somebody to lean on. Coronavirus is a new beast, making us need each other more than ever, but also needing us to stay apart. This isolation is not in our nature on a physical or emotional level. So find whatever can be that light for you during this time. Whether it is a song you can relate to your feelings about what you're going through now, or memories of our other life pre-COVID. Lean on that support, stay connected, stay home, and let the music heal us and get us through.
With love,
Rockin Rox
