Andrew Kaplan

How do these songs influence your artistic direction now?

St. Thomas is my favorite song off of the Sonny Rollins album Saxophone Colossus, which has inspired me to pick up Sax after a decade of not playing. I also learned Mia and Sebastian’s theme from La La Land as summer project and am very happy with my interpretation of it. The other songs span the spectrum of wistful indie which was very much a vibe alone during quarantine.

What tracks or trends surprised you at first glance?

Clockwork Eyes is by an artist going by Earth to Eve who is a former Berkeley student living/making music in LA

Nostalgia is a powerful, albeit bittersweet emotion. Tell us about a song that has moved you, a song that has given you strength, or a song that has helped to ground you over the years.

Shoegaze by Alabama shakes when the song goes “I cant have everything, everything” is such a grounding, mature sentiment.

Lucy Eaton

How do these songs influence your artistic direction now?

All of these songs were incredibly integral to my music. I love The 1975, because Matty Healy is so eloquently spoken and I am always trying to embody his constant commitment to writing, and display integrity in my art the way he does. Amy Shark’s sweet-but-moody girl music was a catalyst for me finding my sound, and her song “Adore” makes that feeling of having a crush so tangible. AJR inspired me to think about getting creative with samples and unusual sounds. I’d love to write a hook like “Kiwi” by Harry Styles - it has that raw unforgettable energy of hearing something surprising yet familiar (and it’s sexy to boot). “All Your Favorite Bands”, “Lethal Combination”, and “Belt Loops” all capture an idea I’ve been thinking (and writing) a lot about the last few years: the freedom to be dumb when you’re young.

What tracks or trends surprised you at first glance?

I certainly didn’t know I’d given AJR that much air time, but they are a lot of fun. “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran is a relic from pre-college, but it’s still a beautiful song.

Nostalgia is a powerful, albeit bittersweet emotion. Tell us about a song that has moved you, a song that has given you strength, or a song that has helped to ground you over the years.

“Heavy” by Birdtalker is a song I played a lot back when I was carrying a lot of heavy things on my shoulders. The idea that you will one day be able to “leave what’s heavy behind” is so powerful, and hits deep now that my load is so much lighter. “All Your Favorite Bands” by Dawes and “If The World Was Ending” by JP Saxe are both great for thinking about all the people you still love deeply but don’t talk to anymore.

Emily Zeng

How do these songs influence your artistic direction now?

they do not. i don’t think i write music based on my music taste, although i would love to be able to write more music that aligns with the music i enjoy listening to.

What tracks or trends surprised you at first glance?

dynamite by bts, because it had only been out for 2 weeks when i got this receipt generated. however, it does not surprise me because i have been streaming it nonstop. so STREAM DYNAMITE :) trend wise, it’s a lot of bts and blackbear, but that’s just because i’m huge fans of their music. bear just came out with his new album, and i had just discovered shy martin’s new album as well, so their tracks showed up on my most played.

Nostalgia is a powerful, albeit bittersweet emotion. Tell us about a song that has moved you, a song that has given you strength, or a song that has helped to ground you over the years.

i would say bts’s song boy with luv. it came out last spring and is associated with so many sweet and happy memories of that time in my life. it brings me a lot of nostalgia to listen to now, when the world is in a state of panic and uncertainness. although that time period in my life is gone now, it serves as a good reminder that times change, and we have to learn to move with the times or we get left behind. keep your head up always!

Tyler Bagnol

How do these songs influence your artistic direction now?

Overall, the texture of these songs is light and breezy, driven by harmony. These are all songs that you can sing and shout in the shower, and they’re really uplifting. There is a lot of great guitar work in songs like Can’t Wait, and Burndt Jamb, but what really speaks to me in a song is layering, composition, and spirit. It’s no surprise that Sunday Candy is at the top, because the inspiration that a grandma brings is top-notch, and it really comes through in Chance’s delivery.

What tracks or trends surprised you at first glance?

I noticed that there are no women on this list. I listened to a lot of Adele, Susan Boyle, and Les Miserable in elementary/middle school, so this may have been a subconsciously countercultural movement from more dramatic and emotional vocalists, to lighter artists. These are all songs that I’ve been listening to since middle school, and so it follows that I’ve resonated with positive male role models. Recently, artists like Brittany Howard, Laura Lee of Khruangbin, Tiana Ohara, and Raveena Aurora have been really prominent in my soundscapes, and it’ll be interesting to see how this will be reflected in my receipts. Khruangbin has dominated my last 6 months, and the trio is mainly harmonically driven by the bassist, Laura Lee.

Nostalgia is a powerful, albeit bittersweet emotion. Tell us about a song that has moved you, a song that has given you strength, or a song that has helped to ground you over the years.

Sunday Candy really captures a wonderful gamut of human experience; I believe that intergenerational love has the strongest connections. Singing about love for an elder is almost like proactive nostalgia, it’s tragic to know that they will most likely die before you, and to declare your love through a song is like saving a shared heart in a bottle, a vessel to be unpacked in darker days. Preserving a legacy by singing about it is a truly powerful form of art, and it bridges the gaps of language, and many times, even those affected by dementia are revitalized by music from the past. To capture a life’s love and put it into song is simultaneously incredibly easy, as the sentiments are boundless, and terrifying, as not only is it personally vulnerable, it puts a life’s legacy into your hands and voice. Sunday Candy showed me a perspective of black grandmas, and it really empowered me to sing about my Filipino grandma in a song that I wrote first semester, “purple lady”.