Max's Music Mondays with MER & Vayda
INCREDIBLE music in here, please check it out!!!!!!!!!! <3
Welcome to Max’s Music Mondays. My ~music discovery newsletter~ where I get too excited about songs I love. I hope you love them too. If you do, you can follow along on spotify and please be sure to absolute smash that dang subscribe button! tysm :) Your paid subscriptions go towards supporting the artists you read about here too!! That’s right(!!), the artists who made This Weeks Songs are getting paid!! <3
Hello and happy half of May. I hope everyone had a good Mother’s Day? Anyways, it’s been a while since I updated everyone on my YouTube obsessions which is why all of you are here, I know. I think last time we talked about this I was stuck on pilot youtube, watching CitationMax. Looks like he’s still posting a few times a month and I will absolutely be checking back in now that I’ve mentioned it.
But now I’ve moved on to two new categories and mostly two specific people. There’s the running vlogs and the crossword solves. If you know me you know I love to run. And I’ve found it so useful to learn more from other runners. There’s a huge variety on YouTube, from amateurs to pros, and I’ve gotten into a few accounts here and there, but lately Ben Parkes has been my go to. He straddles that line of pro/am carefully, basically coming across as the people’s pro. He’s reviewing every shoe, every accessory, and running fast marathons, but it’s all really casual and friendly and helpful. But he sucked me in deep enough that I found myself tearing up as he ran the London Marathon a few weeks back. Happy for and proud of a complete stranger. It’s a similar vibe (less tears) over in crossword land. I am officially NYT Crossword-pilled, and cannot stop solving these mf’ers and thank god for Chris Remo who has become my teacher, whether he knows it or not. One day I figured “huh I bet there’s a better strategy for tackling these harder puzzles” and found his channel. And turns out I was right, Chris posts a casual solve of every day’s puzzle so you can follow along. It’s really exciting to watch someone else’s mind process and dance around a puzzle. But now I get this huge wind of joy when I have already solved or broken through a difficult theme, and get to watch as I know any second now Chris will figure it out too. Relishing in his delight as he gets it. Anyways, I share all this, I guess because I just love that this is possible? To find people in the worlds of your hobbies and feel this genuine connection and excitement for them. They’re role models in a sense, and it rocks to find this in random internet strangers. IDK!! Anyways, if you have any good running, crossword, or truly anything else youtubers I am so interested. Let me know.
Until then we’ve got 3(!) bangers for you this week. That’s right. 2 artists, 3 songs, can you even believe it?? Enjoy <3
MER - When I’m Alone
The acoustic guitar settling in nicely, one holding the left with warmth, the other with a little sparkle on those high notes. Balancing perfectly, a warm hug to welcome us in. Turn it up loud enough and you’ll hear some rustling around too, moments of life laying a foundation, giving humanity to the gaps too. MER and super producer Ben Coleman went wild on this one… MER steps into the song beautifully, her voice so full and powerful. Fitting so naturally alongside the guitars. There’s a couple layers here, ever-so-slightly pulling away from each other and offering so much texture. The kind of arrangement that pulls me deep, instantly. The writing lands just as hard as the performance, I don’t have a frame of reference / for what to expect / when I’m alone. The thought stretching out over a few lines, and I’m savoring every moment of it.
And let me tell you what else I’m savoring… CLARINET HIVE STAND TF UP. Sneaking in there at 0:22, acting almost as another vocal layer. Slowly inching forward and playing around the edges. And thank god it does, I am begging everyone to put more clarinets in their songs. I am begging everyone to put more clarinets in your bands. I s2g it has only ever helped (do not fact check me). As this first verse ends, the song continues to evolve and swell, a more tinny guitar layered on top, that fuzzy harmonica(?!?) erupting dead center and sucking the expanding sound back within itself. A constant for this one, the song forever growing and changing, inviting more and more friends and instruments to the scene, each adding something special, something essential.
As the second verse begins, we add a few background singers, giving it an even more epic feel. It’s easy to forget that at it’s core the song is still just vocals and guitar when it carries this huge impact from beat to beat. More stellar writing, as the sting of saw myself as someone who knows what to do lingers in the air, the clarinet finds a chance to shine again. Sharing the stage with laughs and conversation. It feels so alive and so collaborative and like we’re a part of the magic being made. Just as we drift out of focus, MER lands a heavy blow to pull us right back in. THATS WHEN I’LL THINK ABOUT THE LAST TIME I LET YOU DOWN with the bass hitting hard enough to send that into caps lock. A powerful background layer pushing things harder too. It all blossoms in this my oOOOooOwn moment. A moment I’m really freaking out about. More clarinet, more guitar cutting through, background vocals like waves, a cheeky banjo brightening everything, that clap that feels like it’s coming from behind my headphones?? Like my own claps fed straight into the mix?? Magic!! Not to mention MER’s voice sounding so damn good. Magic!!!! Moving effortlessly and pulling every bit of emotion out of these words. One last run with the clarinet at her side. What a moment. Now you see why I was freaking out. And somehow there’s still a whole other half of this one.
The next verse is a doozy. When I said the piece I could no longer keep / that’s when everything changed / and I went to sleep. / I woke up alone. The background vocals pushing harder and harder still, making the immensity of this moment palpable. That devastating thought held close, waking up alone. The truth of that new reality and the emotions that follow, finding their footing as the song gets ready to erupt. And yes, that’s when everything changed. My heart races as I hear it, the claps starting to pile up, the drums finally breaking their silence and cannonballing in right on time. The whole band going full steam, that kick drum ROCKING, the vocals, the guitars, everything truly, all hitting in sync. And it is powerful and it is earned and it is genuine as MER asks the toughest questions imaginable, grappling with some of life’s hardest challenges. These massive waves of music accompanying her, the undertow a moment to breathe and face the facts, before another wave powers through. The electric guitars dance when they can, the background vocals truly blowing this thing up into something massive and whole. The storm blows through, and what’s left in the wreckage is still so beautiful. MER left raw, and ready to move on. I’m so grateful for the laughs and camaraderie underneath here, proving to me and to MER that they aren’t alone and that the toughest moments help us all learn and help us continue to live.
Holy shit what a damn song. PLEASE listen 1000 times.
Vayda - ulovemequestionmarkwinkyface & primma donna
Yes yes yes the ever-so-rare DOUBLE PICK. One from Vayda just wasn’t enough for me. Honestly I could’ve done three or four off her new album and I think you’ll see why pretty quick. One of those artists who just has a sound and pulls it off so well in any setting. Great writing, and an amazing/signature voice that just works. Plain and simple.
ulovemequestionmarkwinkyface is an obvious pick for title alone. Those bells rolling high and low while Vayda adds quiet adlibs. The drums are sick that kick popping, the snare laying flat in a way lets the groove rise and fall. Using the little “oh!” as a perc sound is brilliant and gives the song a new dimension. When Vayda steps to the mic it’s undeniable. A few demands to start, she moves with such an urgency all the lines start to blur together. Her voice is so gentle and soft, it’s a joy to hear the power in her words. Say he wanna see me real happy / but I’m only happy on pay day. The confidence!! The clear knowledge of who she is and who this guy isn’t. It absolutely rocks :) Then there at 0:36 the 808 comes knocking. With a smile on my face the song explodes and starts to hit even harder. Like adding a little more salt to the dish, suddenly everything becomes even more itself and it all feels more effective. The heft and thickness of that 808 means everything else suddenly cuts through harder and the contrast lets them all shine. A clean 1:00 song, I wish this one would keep going forever. But in the meantime I’ll just keep repeating it.
Then once I’ve finally had enough of it (which isn’t really true, I just know I need to move on and keep writing) I flip to primma donna. Which at 1:15 long also begs for a repeat or two. The album opener for Vayda’s breeze which came out in March, it is a tone-setter for sure.
BLASTING out of the gate with that kick. Moving at a million miles a minute, the Jersey Club style groove is just so satisfying. The kick with so much momentum, it’s hard for the snaps to keep up. Meanwhile, there’s a gorgeous string sample, the bow slowly progressing, the slow and steady progress a perfect compliment for that dang kick. Underneath it all, that Vayda primma donna chant is intoxicating. This first 11 seconds was enough to sell me and I’d be shocked if it wasn’t for you too. It’s a perfect invitation to an album, a demand to get on board immediately or get out of the way because this thing isn’t stopping for anyone. When Vayda does jump in, once again it’s urgent as hell. But she doesn’t feel rushed or out of control, just laying down line after line as needed. Then at 0:22 the snare drops too, piggy backing off the kick and giving each beat that much more umph, pushing the limits of the track constantly in a perfect way. Another 11 seconds and it drops out, suddenly this gnarly beat now feels chill? The song races by, fast and furious. The Last time that I fucking checked lines are so sick, Vayda just saying what she needs to say and it is WORKING for me. So much fun so much passion, it just all rocks. If you enjoy, please check the album - 9 songs, 14 minutes, and all explorations into different sounds and feels entirely. But no matter which she goes with, Vayda sounds one of one and I am obsessed.
Follow Vayda on IG / Spotify
Crazy week for me, having to deal with new releases from Medium Build, Remi Wolf, Miya Folick, Christine and the Queens, Softee, Nick Dorian, Wilby, Jean Dawson, binki, LP Giobbi, and so much more. Luckily I am committed to listening to every good song and sharing them endlessly so I will be up to the task. But no one is allowed to release anything this week. That’s the only rule.
So grateful for everyone here - as always, 50% of the earnings on this newsletter go straight to the artists I wrote about above. Supporting them for the amazing music they’ve already made. If you see the vision and want to be a part of it, I’d sincerely appreciate your subscription too - free or paid <3
See you next week. With love,
Max