2Q 2016: A Musical Retrospective

It's been a minute...to put it mildly. 

For those of you don't know me personally (or follow me on Twitter), my dayjob role has expanded to include now becoming a Buyer at a prominent beauty and hair retailer here in New York City. It's no excuse but it has certainly added to the reason there's been radio silence here at Melismatic.

So what have I been up to (read: listening to) since March? Let's fill in the gap...

FIRST THINGS FIRST -- PRIDE

Following the recent events in Orlando and of course the terrible incident that resulted in the murder of Christina Grimmie, gun control is a hot-button topic. It's necessary that I don't make things too political for a lot of reasons (mainly because we'd be here all day) -- the point is you don't have to be gay to speak up on behalf of the souls unfairly taken from this Earth that weekend in Florida. As a proud ally to the LGBT community -- for crying out loud, look at the music I listen to -- we can never forget. Happy Pride Weekend, World.

CARLY RAE JEPSEN

CRJ set the bar super high at her Gimmie Love tour at Terminal 5 a few months back. So high I've yet to attend a real show since (see opening notes: girlfriend's been busy). Highlights of the show included: literally everyone singing along and dancing along during basically the entire show (it sounds silly but trust and believe, fandom was alive that night) and Dev Hynes making a surprise appearance on guitar for "All That".

PRINCE

Its still shocking to me he's gone. 2016, stop taking our legends.

BEST ALBUMS OF 2016

Q2 has offered some great albums front-to-back, some of which were only just released. I'm talking BROODS' Concious, Tegan & Sara's Love You To Death, and yes, Ariana Grande's Dangerous Woman (save the title track, to be quite honest). 

MOST REPLAYED JAMS

In no real order:

BROODS - "Conscious"

Adele - "All I Ask"

Ferras - "Closer"

Sleigh Bells - "Rule Number One"

Nick Jonas - "The Difference"

Betty Who - "I Love You Always Forever"

Tegan & Sara - "U-Turn"

MUNA - "Loundspeaker"

Maren Morris - "80s Mercedes"

ZAYN - "Like I Would"

Clare Macguire - "Elizabeth Taylor"

Hanna & Andrea - "Always On My Mind"

Clean Bandit - "Tears (feat. Louisa Johnson)"

Flume - "Say It (feat. Tove Lo)"

Fifth Harmony - "That's My Girl"

Fleur East - "Breakfast"

Bright Light Bright Light - "All In The Name (feat. Elton John)"

M.O - "Who Do You Think Of?"

Willa - "Swan"

Ariana Grande - "Into You"

Yuna - "Best Love"

Anne-Marie - "Alarm"

Kygo - "Happy Birthday (feat. John Legend)"

Meghan Trainor - "Me Too"

Terror Jr - "3 Strikes"

MNEK - "At Night (I Think About You)"

Panama Wedding - "Easy Lover (feat. Great Good Fine OK)"

R3hab - "Wave (feat. AMBER & LUNA of f(x)"

Alicia Keys - "In Common"

KAYTRANDA - "Got It Good (feat. Craig David)"

Sara Hartman - "Monster Lead Me Home"

Lucas Nord - "Don't Need Your Love"

PHASES - "Tell Me"

KONGOS - "Take It From Me"

MAX - "Basement Party"

All Saints - "One Strike"

Bad W0lfy - "Used 2 This"

Jason DeRulo - "If It Ain't Love"

Galantis - "No Money"

Pet Shop Boys - "The Pop Kids"

Gwen Stefani - "You're My Favorite"

Kiiara - "Gold"

Alex Newell - "Basically Over You (B.O.Y.)"

TP4Y - "Million Bucks"

Blonde - "Nothing Like This (feat. Craig David)"

The 1975 - "Love Me"

Cardiknox - "Bloodlust"

The Knocks - "Comfortable (feat. X Ambassadors)"

4MINUTE'S FOUR MINUTES 7 YEARS ARE UP

...and it's a legit travesty since they were really finding their niche. "Crazy" was one of the best KPOP jams of recent years and Name Is 4minute was one of the most solid releases in the genre. I was even just starting to warm up to the Skrillex-produced "Hate", now officially their last single. :(

IN KPOP LAND

While we're talking KPOP...

• Still currently waiting on my Summer-16 KPOP (girl group) smash. For right now, it's AOA's "Good Luck".
  
  
• On that note, the Girl Group game in Korea is sadly lacking beyond the power that is TWICE. Minzy officially left 2NE1 (and YG) throwing the future of the baddest KPOP girl group into even more uncertainty and miss A is basically all but confirmed to be kaput. Fingers crossed Brown Eyed Girls or Wonder Girls come back to save the game.
  
  
• My two KPOP husbands are both currently serving in the Korean Police for their obligatory military service in...wait for it...the same group. Cue the tears because there's so many freakin' pictures of them together. Be still, my beating heart. #WaitingforDonghae #WaitingforChangmin
  
  
  
• SM Entertainment has given up on group releases (apparently) to various degrees of success. Two members of Girls' Generation offered solo bows (Taeyeon showing her big voice and Tiffany trying Carly Rae-esque dance). Ryeowook of Super Junior put out an EP...and it was tepid at best. Yesung did, too, and though his vocals are superb, I'm not much for KPOP balladry. The showstopper? LUNA of f(x), complete with a smasher single called "Free Somebody", co-written by non-other than Queen JoJo. The kicker? It's basically flopping hardcore in Korea because...shrug. I give up with ya'll. I really do.
  
  
• JYJ heartthrob Yoochun, currently serving in the military, was hit by a slew of sexual assault charges that may or may not be bribery with ties to the mafia. I'm not making this up. I'm choosing to remain impartial until all the details come to light but...always keep the faith, Chun.
  
  
• Returning to Super Junior, for a brief shining second there was word the USA might get a Super Camp fan event with the smattering of members not currently tied up in the military. Not long after we all got our hopes up, Kangin was charged with a second DUI and was put on "reflection" duty and Super Camp in the USA was cancelled. With Ryeowook and Kyuhyun being shuttled off into the Army in the not to distant future, it's back to #WaitingForDonghae and hoping he convinces the others to come to NYC. In fact, he recently took the time to write letters to fans in four different languages, including English. My husband is so sweet...