Tag Archives: #KTMP

UMC20: Coming In from All Corners (Jan. 16, 2024)

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International artists? Rock and Roll Hall of Famers? What special occasion could possibly bring all of these incredible talents under the same roof?

For us, it’s just Tuesday.

Where else can you find a weekly indie music playlist that offers as many unique flavors as UMC20? We’ve got everything you need right here, pulled together every Tuesday from all corners of the musical landscape.

This week’s bonus track is our Quinn Spinn conversation with Zhaklina, whose new single, “M.D.B.M.,” is also featured early in this week’s playlist.

Track listing:
Chloe Stroll – Run (PINES Remix)
Zhaklina – M.D.B.M
NOANNE – White Glove
Fie Eike – The Nile
Intellect ft. Dave East – Too Many Losses
My Life Story – Running Out of Heartbeats
Aaron Lee Tasjan – Horror Of It All
Alex Jordan – Saving Grace
The Steel Wheels – Hero
Spencer LaJoye – How Are You
Mary McGuinness – Touchstone
Frontier Ruckus – Clarkston Pasture
Jobi Riccio – Whiplash
Teagan Stewart – New Nashville
Reid Haughton – Man Made Money
The Washboard Union – Neon Needs The Night
The Sleeping Souls – Scared of Living
Ricky Byrd – Rhapsody in Blues (One for Jeff)
The Blues Emergency – Quicksand
Campanula – She Said

WATCH: Aaron Lee Tasjan Examines the ‘Horror Of It All’

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Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

Aaron Lee Tasjan has made a career out of pushing the sonic envelope, but his forthcoming album, Stellar Evolution, promises to be his most innovative offering to date. The record — Tasjan’s fifth studio album — is said to “(connect) the far away universes of slacker indie, hyper pop, and new wave.”

And frankly, if the rest of the record is anything like lead single, “Horror Of It All,” sign us up for more!

The single is a glorious sonic melting pot; one whose new wave sensibilities feel nostalgic and futuristic, all at once. The tension of this glorious hybrid soundscape — which reaches a brilliant apex with an electrifying guitar solo shortly after the 2:20 mark — is representative of “the joy, confusions and humiliations of the queer adolescent experience.”

“When I think of what scares me the most about ‘being myself,’ is that I’ll get rejected for it. This song examines the concepts of both rejection and self-acceptance, through metaphors of childhood playground heartbreak and the dramatic nature of the teenage experience,” Tasjan noted. “The story is being told through the eyes of a young queer person. I wanted to use experiences from childhood in the song, because I feel like those heartaches are the ones that are truly everlasting. In life, we have to deal with and learn from the heartbreaks of our youth. Those lessons stay with us because the pain of the experience can be processed, but the memory of it happening always remains.”

“Horror Of It All” is accompanied by a stellar, Teen Wolf-inspired music video, lending a nod to Tasjan’s love of 80s cinema, as well as to the confusion of — and ultimately, triumph over — our formative teenage years. Watch it below!

LISTEN: Zhaklina Stands Up for Independent Artists with ‘M.D.B.M.’

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Navigating the music industry as an independent artist can be a tricky beast; one which often juxtaposes artistic integrity against success.

Zhaklina is here to let you know that you have a choice to stand up for yourself and your art. With that, we introduce you to her new single, “M.D.B.M. (Money Don’t Buy Me).”

Co-written and produced by Nashville-based producer Pimp Fried Rice, “M.D.B.M.” breaks down conventional opinions on what success is. The self-worth anthem “challenges any industry trying to buy you into being someone you’re not, with Zhaklina delivering vocals as powerful as its message on top of a spacious, moody alt-pop soundscape, reminiscent of contemporaries like CHINCHILLA and DEZI.

Take a stand for artistic integrity. Check out “M.D.B.M.” below!

LISTEN: Laura Mustard Wants You to Feel ‘Good Enough’

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Will 2024 be the year that you learn to love yourself?

Make it so! We have an anthem of self-acceptance for you, hot off the presses from Laura Mustard. The Nashville-based pop-folk songwriter released “Good Enough” to acknowledge her struggles with self-love, as she has worked to reconcile the space between the pressure artists feel to be performative on social media, while having grown up with medical issues that made her resent her reflection.

“It’s been said that ‘in a culture that profits off of our insecurities, loving yourself is a rebellious act.’ I think anyone with insecurities in our culture probably struggles with feeling ‘enough,'” Mustard said. “This was the first song I wrote after I moved to Nashville, and it was exciting to feel this new confidence that came along with finally moving to my dream city for music. I tried to pair that confidence with being really intentional about my thoughts. I’m not perfect; I still have days when the ‘vicious whisper’ gets the best of me, but this song definitely helps and is a good reminder.”

Produced by Wilson Harwood of Elevated Music Studio, “Good Enough” serves as a bright pre-cursor to Mustard’s forthcoming EP, Dirty Minds & Wild Hearts, a six-song collection which details her journey of dating with a chronic illness throughout her chaotic twenties.

”This song was a party to make! We started with upbeat piano chords, and layered in groovy organ and bouncy guitar, reminiscent of a jam band,” Mustard recalls. “Then, the amazing Amelia Ransom came in and added a fiddle solo that sashays all over the final chorus, putting the joy of true self-acceptance into a sound that matches perfectly with the lyrics. It’s honestly one of my favorite moments on the EP, and I’m so glad a song which celebrates ourselves being enough as we are ends in such an enthusiastic way!”

PHOTOS: Native Manor Heavy Hitters at Live Oak

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One of our goals for 2024? Get out on the town — that is, whichever town we happen to occupy at that time — at least once per week!

And so, we kicked off this noble pursuit by heading to Live Oak Nashville this past Wednesday, where our friends at Native Manor hosted their monthly Heavy Hitters songwriter round.

The evening consisted of four rounds of Nashville-based songwriters, encompassing genres like country, pop, soul, and more. This month’s lineup was as follows:

7 p.m.: Dan Harrison, Melissa Erin, Ryan Danvers, John Strandell
8 p.m.: Brian Fuller, Shantaia, Chris Sligh, Hannah Geiser
9 p.m.: Keith Eric, Kenny Dewitt, Tyra Madison
10 p.m.: Max Boyle, Jess Antonette, Bonner Black

We snapped a handful of photos, which you’ll find below. We’ll also be continually rolling out videos from the night on our YouTube channel (click those links above to watch the first couple).

Lastly, we’re excited to join Native Manor for the next Heavy Hitters night on February 7. The location changes every month, so stay tuned to their Native Manor Artist Instagram for updates!

LISTEN: On ‘Hot Blood,’ Hope Vista Holds Nothing Back

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Over a haunting industrial pop backdrop, Hope Vista pulls no punches on her new single.

Titled “Hot Blood,” the single is a representation of Vista’s signature knack for autobiographical songwriting that, even by today’s transparent standards, is refreshingly raw and honest. Vista addresses the theme of carrying trauma as an unwanted personality trait, delivering hypnotic verses supported by an enchanting “phantompop” soundscape hallmarked by heavy synths and a trap beat.

Perhaps what we appreciate most about “Hot Blood” — and Vista’s artistry as a whole — is her ability to transform intrusive thoughts and unsettling events into an art form; one which connects us back to the humanity behind traumatic experiences and, perhaps, will encourage others to share their stories. Have yourself a listen below!

UMC20: The Return Edition!

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It’s been a looooooooong time since we provided you with a 20-track offering of fresh, piping hot FIRE!

So, let us waste no time: we’ve got a lot of songs to feature on UMC20 over the next few weeks, and as always, you’re welcome to give us more. Here are some of our favorites we’ve received since we decided to be a music publication again!

As for today’s bonus track: It’s our final Quinn Spinn episode of 2023, featuring #GoodFriendoftheShow Lauren Gomance of Soul Fit Counseling. We talk about the lessons learned along life’s journey throughout the year.

Track listing:
DaChri – Moving Day
ROM COM – Tom Cruisin’
f1oater. – Don’t Know Why
Ren Richards – Myself With You
Quickdraw Kid – Bittersweet Tennessee
Fame & Fiction – Famous
Paul Nestler – That Dance We Do
Jon Worthy – Things Are Looking Up
Lone Tree – Holding On
Marcus Grimaldi – Forbidden Love
Donny Apollo – 811 Freestyle
JASCE – Another Way
Leather Baby – Weapons
Arih SK – Hold It TogetherCooper Carr – Blank Page
Brandon Padier & Black Gold – Still Learning
Andi Jane – Hide the Key
Cass Noelle – Someone to Help You
The Bankshafts – Don’t Mess with Old Smoky
Black Venus – Evil Sky

PHOTOS: Nashville’s Big Bash 2023

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2024 has arrived and, as you may have seen, we celebrated in epic fashion.

Nashville’s Big Bash — featuring headline performances from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lainey Wilson, Elle King, and Thomas Rhett — brought a record number of revelers to the Bicentennial Capitol Mall. Final attendance numbers are estimated at 215,000 people, who celebrated the arrival of the New Year in downtown Nashville.

For those in attendance, the evening kicked off with a tribute to hip hop’s 50th anniversary, featuring performances from Nashville hip hop mainstays Daisha McBride and Tim Gent, with brief DJ sets to book-end the action.

Then, the CBS national broadcast began at 6:30 p.m. The aforementioned headliners delivering the goods onstage all night long, and were supported by cut-ins from New York City’s Times Square, and pre-recorded performances from other popular venues around Nashville. Comedian Rob Schneider — father of Elle King — even made a couple of guest appearances throughout the night.

We hope you had an amazing start to 2024. We certainly did, and we have the photographic evidence below!

Ready for a ‘Blank Page’ in 2024? Cooper Carr Has a Song for You

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Photo credit: Isaac Wetzel

Feeling a tad uncertain as we head into 2024?

The silver lining behind that uncertainty is that you have the choice on where to go from here. Nashville-based troubadour and producer Cooper Carr delivers that empowering message on his debut single, “Blank Page.”

“This song is for the ones who aren’t quite sure what’s next. The ones who change the subject when asked about the future, because you’re afraid what you really hope and dream for is impossible,” Carr said. “The ones who are looking around at other’s seemingly quick success and wondering what the secret formula is. The ones who feel paralyzed by heartbreak. It can be so terrifying to look at the future and just see a blank page — but, it also means there’s endless possibility and opportunity out there.”

Currently, two versions of “Blank Page” are out in the world. The original version is a rollicking, acoustic-based tune that carries us toward our dreams as diligently as the steadfast march of time. The acoustic version is more pensive; the slower-tempo version features an emotive piano and string arrangement, which adds a new level thoughtfulness and depth. Meanwhile, Carr’s distinct tenor rings out to comfort us along the journey.

No matter your flavor, the message of “Blank Page” is clear: time is going to pass by, regardless of the actions we take. In that case, we might as well commit to living a life of purpose.

On “Tom Cruisin’,” ROM COM Depicts a Love Like in the Movies

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We may currently be deep in the throes of winter, but today, we have a song that reminds us of summer’s golden glow.

That song is “Tom Cruisin’,” the debut single from ROM COM. The Nashville-based indie rock outfit — comprised of Aron Rosing, Tyler Murray, and Suzie Buist — proclaim that they are here “to write a soundtrack to your love life,” and with this sun-kissed introduction, we think they might be onto something.

Inspired by the iconic 80s movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “Tom Cruisin'” finds our protagonists soaking in the last fleeting moments of summer love before parting ways. Rosing explains:

“You sneak into the private swim club where you lifeguarded after it’s closed down for the season to throw one last end of summer pool party, and you invite your crush, so you can tell them how you really feel before you both move off to start your post-grad jobs,” Rosing said. “The band you hired shows up in their 1994 Jaguar convertible, and proceeds to perform the soundtrack to the best kiss of your life, as the sun sets over the suburban hills of your hometown.”

On our end, we can’t wait to hear more from this exciting new project, and we won’t have to wait long. ROM COM’s next single, “Mess You Made,” will arrive on Friday, January 12.

While you wait, this will certainly hold you over. Check out “Tom Cruisin'” below!

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