New songs for March 30th 2026

 here they are:


"Beautiful" by Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes):  In the early days of the new millennium, this song became famous from Christina Aguilera's rendition of it. This version of the song (which is technically the original version, even though it got released much later) is pretty much the same as Christina's version, but with Linda Perry's vocals. Some might know Linda as the "What's Up?" singer (or more accurately, the "HEEY-YEEHH-YEH-EEEY, I SAID HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" singer, since the phrase "What's Up?" is not said in the song itself), but after her brief glory days in 4 Non Blondes, she went quietly behind the scenes and started composing songs for major pop stars like Christina Aguilera, Pink, Gwen Stefani, and many others. Although I'm not too big on pop music, I still know what a major impact "Beautiful" had on post-millennial pop culture. The song's vulnerable tone and honest, soul-baring lyrics made waves and made it more than a pop song, skyrocketing it to personal anthem status. It's very moving to hear the song as it was originally meant to be!

"I Played the Fool" by Michael Stipe (featuring Andrew Watt):  Once again, pop and rock cross paths here, and once again, the results are beautiful! Michael Stipe was the lead singer of legendary alt-rock group, R.E.M., and Andrew Watt was the producer of pop stars like Justin Bieber. When their two worlds collide, the result is beautiful! The song has enough prominent guitar hooks to loosely be considered rock (and it also helps that blink-182's Travis Barker contributed to this song), but enough heart and harmony to transcend that status. It almost reminds me of the Three Dog Night rendition of Harry Nilsson's "One (Is the Loneliest Number)." The rhythm of the song is similar, as is its guitar/piano interplay, but the song's vulnerable and somewhat self-deprecating lyrics also resonate with me. 

"Whip the Wind" by Son Little:  Son Little is a unique musician with a slinky, enchanting way of doing "retro" styled R & B music. His latest song, "Whip the Wind," is an ultra-chill slice of neo-soul that sounds very breezy, fitting to its title. The song's lyrics tell a brief yet compelling story of a man who wants romance but can't get it from his partner. Its use of acoustic guitar and synth as its main instruments gives it a distinct flavor, and I can't help but wonder if Son Little was influenced by Prince when he wrote the lyrics to this song. "U" and "yr" replace "you" and "your," respectively, and it's also written entirely in lowercase. Then again, maybe that's not a Prince influence as much as it is a "text-speak" influence.