Rhythm of A Life: music

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Hello! This Music Monday is a two for one. In one of my 100 Happy Days posts, I shared that my parents got me tickets to see Justin Timberlake for my birthday (best parents ever, am I right?). That concert came and went in December, and I realized that I never told you anything about it! I'm going to give you a run down of the setlist and my thoughts/experience (hint: it was perfect).

The first thing about this concert that made it different from anything I've every been to is that he didn't have an opening act. The show started at 8, and it started with him. The show lasted about 3 hours total with a 10 minute intermission in the middle and a 2 song encore at the end. Here is what the set list looked like.

Pusher Love Girl
Gimme What I Don't Know (I Want)
Rock Your Body
Don't Hold the Wall
FutureSex/LoveSound
Like I Love You
My Love
TKO
Summer Love
LoveStoned
Until the End of Time
Holy Grail
Cry Me a River
Only When I Walk Away
Friends in Low Places w/ Garth Brooks
Drink You Away
Tunnel Vision
Señorita
Let the Groove Get In
Heartbreak Hotel
Not a Bad Thing
Human Nature
What Goes Around Comes Around
Take Back the Night
Jungle Boogie
Murder
Poison
Suit & Tie
Sexy Back
Mirrors

So obviously, he covered all the bases, and I'm sure no one left feeling like he missed something. He also really worked hard to entertain the entire crowd and pay attention to every section. As you can see from the TKO picture below, our seats were pretty close to the back. Our section was right beside the VIP section on the floor, so I had my hopes high that he would make an appearance in the back. I wasn't disappointed. During Let the Groove Get In, a section of his stage lifted up and rolled all the way to the back. At one point, he was actually 6 feet directly above me. I freaked out, and the people next to us had to ask if I was okay if that gives you any idea of how I act at a show. Anyways, he spent 6 songs in the back which is more than I've ever seen an artist spend, so I appreciated that a lot. Since we were in Nashville, Garth Brooks made a surprise appearance. I'm not a giant country fan, so I was a little lost but everyone else was loving it. My favorite part of the show was Mirrors. There was a part where he set the microphone down and let the audience sing with his band. It was absolutely gorgeous. My favorite part of any show is feeling so in sync with this giant group of people around you because you are all there for the same reason. All in all, his tickets are pricey, but I think they are more than worth it. He's one of the best entertainers that is around currently, so getting a chance to see him is one for the bucket list. I've got a few pictures to share below. I'm planning on doing the same kind of two-for-one idea next week to give you a run down on the Sam Smith show I went to. Hope you'll be back for that!

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Hello! We're already 12 days into 2015, but I've just now had a minute to sit down and think about my favorite songs of 2014. Last year when I shared my favorite songs, I cut it down to 10. Honestly, this year I just didn't want to try to cut it down. 2014 was an incredible year for music overall, and the older I get the more I truly love the songs that I like. The more music I listen to the easier it is to recognize songs that I'm going to love. I listened to most of the songs on this list on repeat for weeks or in constant rotation for months on end. iTunes has a function allowing you to view the date you added a song to it, so that is how I chose the songs for this year. Some of them came out before 2014, but I didn't find them until then. Anyways, there are 50 songs below that I just loved last year in a Spotify playlist.

The albums I loved most this year seemed to be few and far between. The albums I loved last year continued to be in constant rotation, so I didn't find myself searching for new music as much. I'm a person who still buys physical CDs which seems to be pretty rare in today's world. In an article that Taylor Swift wrote for the Wall Street Journal earlier this year (read here), she spoke about how young people today haven't stopped buying albums, we just only buy the one's that prove their value to us in some way. I couldn't agree more. I've spent plenty of money on albums over the years, and I've come to regret a few of those purchases. If I'm buying an entire album, I want to feel some emotional connection to it as a whole. That may sound stupid, but viewing it this way has led me to make better musical decisions overall. The albums that you feel a connection to are the ones that you'll still love years later. Again with this list, they didn't all come out last year, but I personally loved them in 2014.

1989 - Taylor Swift; I consider her the soundtrack of my life so far. She can do no wrong. Add every song on this album to the list above. I highly suggest you read that article linked above because this woman very obviously understands the industry. That is why she dominates it and does it so well.
X - Ed Sheeran; While I don't know that I actually like this album better than + as a whole, I do know that I love some of the individual songs on this album more than most every other song I've ever heard. I'll be hearing Thinking Out Loud, Tenerife Sea, and a few others and for many years to come (full review here).
Vessel - Twenty One Pilots; Mark 2014 as the year I finally discovered Twenty One Pilots. My biggest regret from Music Midtown was not spending more time at their show because I had no idea how incredible they were then. Don't let the masks fool you into thinking you won't love them like they fooled me.
In the Lonely Hour - Sam Smith; Remember that thing I said about emotional connection, this album right here nails that. Plus, that voice is to die for (full review here).
The 20/20 Experience Part 1 and 2 - Justin Timberlake; I realize that neither of these albums came out in 2014, but my appreciation for them grew so much this year. I never spent the time I should have listening to these albums top to bottom. In preparation for his show in December, I took that time, and holy crap I had been missing a lot.

I also still loved all of the albums I included in last year's album favorites which you can see here. I realize now that I have overwhelmed you with music, but I just had to share.

What were your favorite songs and albums in 2014?

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Hello! September is going to be an incredible concert month for me, so I thought I would share some things that I am really looking forward to hearing live! I've tickets to see Ed Sheeran this weekend, and I'm going to my very first music festival (Music Midtown) the weekend after that. The lineup is amazing, and I'm pumped to get my first taste of the festival scene. You'll be getting full posts about both of those, so be looking for those this month. Below, you'll find the lineup and some songs that I am really excited about hearing.

Sing - Ed Sheeran; I love the live version of this because I absolutely can't wait to be singing the chorus of this at the show. The way he gets the crowd involved is one of my very favorite things about seeing him perform live.
You Need Me, I Don't Need You - Ed Sheeran; I have already heard this song performed live 4 separate times. Let me tell you, it never gets old. He does a full on 11 minute version of this song, and I know every word of it. I lose my voice screaming them all every time.
Feel the Love - Rudimental; I'm excited that Ed chose these guys to open for him.
Your Body is a Wonderland - John Mayer; In this post, I let it slip that this may be (it definitely is) my favorite song of all time. I was lucky enough to see John on the tour supporting his Battle Studies album back in 2010, but he didn't sing this song. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will make this setlist. I've already warned my friends that the chances of me crying are high.
Black Widow - Iggy Azalea; I chose this one mostly because I'm already a little over "Fancy." Truly, the hook of this song is killer, and I can't wait to scream it at the top of my lungs.
Of The Night - Bastille; So, I've already heard this one…but I'm going to cheat since it inspired the title of this blog. This holds such a special place in my heart, and this one has some crowd involvement as well.
Till I Collapse - Eminem; "Lose Yourself" would be the obvious answer here, and I've got a lot of love for that song. When I was in high school, I was always tasked with making the warm up CDs for the varsity teams that I was on, and "Till I Collapse" made its way on to a few of them. Eminem is just going to be an epic show anyways, and he made his way through parts of 30 songs at Lollapalooza this year. I'm sure we will all get a taste of the song we came to hear.
Team - Lorde; By far, this is the song by Lorde that I connect the most to. I'm also really looking forward to witnessing those gremlin dance moves in person.
So Good - B.o.B.; I don't think this song got the radio play that it deserved. It has that really breezy summer feeling to it, and it was love at first listen. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for "Arena."
Slumber - NeedtoBreathe; I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will have the time to see them and that they will sing this. It's been a consistent musical love of mine since senior year of high school.

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