Nina's Six Songs of September
Music is something that is essential to me. It plays an immense part in my daily activities. In fact, I have organized playlists for different emotions and occasions!
Visions of Gideon truly is a beautiful song and sounds like it belongs in a heartwrenching love story. And that's exactly where it is. This breathtaking ballad is showcased in the 2017 coming-of-age romance drama, Call Me By Your Name along with some other splendorous songs written by Sufjan Stevens. The soundtrack, Call Me By Your Name tells the story between Elio and Oliver throughout the film. In fact, Mystery of Love, a song on the soundtrack, opens with "the first time you kissed me" and Visions of Gideon ends with "And I have you kissed you for the last time." The bond between these two songs reflects the journey of Elio and Oliver's relationship.
5. Lilac by IU
This month, six songs have been stuck in my head, I've been addicted to, or have come up on my playlist often.
1. Dry Flower by 優里 (Yuuri)
The first song is Dry Flower. It is written and released by 優里 (Yuuri) in October of 2020. It's your typical breakup song where you're trying to move on, thinking about how the other person is doing and how much lighter your heart feels now that they're gone.
This song was extremely popular in Japan when it was first released and you would hear it absolutely everywhere! Even when I went back home this summer, it was still pretty popular and most people really like it! It just never gets old!
Dry Flower has a special place in my heart not just because I really like the song and it was constantly played when I was with my cousins, but because I promised my family members that I would memorize all the words! For some odd reason, I decided that this was a special promise that we would keep. I think about it from time to time and remind myself to listen to it.
2. Butter by BTS
I just had to include at least one BTS song and I made it one of their biggest hits that past summer, Butter. BTS member, Jimin explains to Variety the meaning behind Butter and says, "If you hear the title ‘Butter,’ you know immediately that we tried to prepare a song that’s easy listening, instead of [something with] a really heavy or profound message...This is a little embarrassing, but it’s something smooth like butter, that really melts into and grabs hold of you. It’s a very cute song, sort of a confession." All in all, Butter is a super adorable song that really gets you going!
One of my favorite parts of the song is how they incorporate and credit Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” in their opening lyrics (“Smooth like butter / like a criminal undercover”) as well as Usher’s “U Got It Bad” (“Don't need no Usher / To remind me you got it bad”). I think that it was super creative and definitely did not disappoint. I highly recommend this song for karaoke night (from personal experience)!
3. Visions of Gideon by Sufjan Stevens
(Beware of movie spoilers!)
Visions of Gideon specifically reflect Elio and Oliver's Jewish commitment. Gideon, a military leader, judge, and prophet, received visions from Yahweh, the god for Israelites, before battle and that his victory was set in stone. Like Gideon, Elio followed his desire or visions for Oliver. However, when Oliver left, Elio's memories are the only visions that he had of what could have been between him and Oliver.
I personally haven't seen the full movie, but after listening to this song as well as Mystery of Love, it only seems natural to do so! I definitely recommend listening to the soundtrack as well!
4. Hope World by j-hope (BTS)
BTS is full of talented members and many of them have actually dropped mixtapes! Hope World is a mixtape written by j-hope, one of the members of BTS. His role in the group is as a rapper. Not only this, but he is also one of the best dancers in the group! J-hope is a very upbeat and exciting figure and is often seen as the sunshine of the group! His main message to fans is right in his name: Hope; have hope in your life.
Hope World is j-hope's debut mixtape and the first title track is Hope World. J-hope tells The Riff that it describes him for who he is. It is the perfect concept to show J-hope's faith in himself and having his own story. Way to go J-hope!
Hope World is a great pump-up song for when you're at an exhilarating sports game, a fun party or car ride with friends, or even if you just need a quick pick-me-up! I absolutely love this song and it was stuck in my head for ages for a decent amount of time.
If you're looking for a chill but somewhat upbeat song, Lilac is for you. Actress and singer IU has such a beautiful voice and this specific song was stuck in my head for a week!
IU wrote this song to bid farewell to young love as lilacs represent memories of youth. However, it's not sad, and the love that she let go of is not terrible. She looks back at it fondly.
Not only does the song have an interesting background and meaning behind it, but it also has a stunning music video. In fact, IU is absolutely stunning and ties the whole thing together. The song is very refreshing and gives a city pop vibe. I highly recommend taking a listen.
6. Whisper by Jiwoo
Last but certainly not least, another beautiful song. Whisper is so gentle and gorgeous that I just had to include it! This song is featured in a Korean Drama called Nevertheless that came out a couple of months ago. Just as good as the song, the show tells the tale of a passionate love and hate relationship between Park Jae-eon and Yu Nabi.
One of the things I appreciate the most about Whisper is the soft vocals and steady instrumentals. In the drama, it is played during tender moments between the characters, capturing the scene perfectly. It makes me feel like I'm in a magical wonderland.
Whisper is definitely one of my favorites right now and so whenever it comes up on my playlist, I sit back, close my eyes, and relax. As for Nevertheless, it is targeted for young adult to adult audiences but I recommend 100%!
Now that you've gotten a sneak peek of some of the songs from my playlist, take a listen to some of them! From upbeat to chill to elegant, even this small portion of songs offers many options! What song are you interested in from this list? Which songs did you end up listening to?
I love the analysis of the songs!
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