Dear MS MR

Last week, I wrote about Haim as one of the new icons in the indie scene, but I it seems I can’t get enough of new musical breakthroughs... So today, I want to talk about the amazing MS MR.

When talking about Haim, I mentioned how successful they are but just how not sure I am about liking their sound. This time around I’m writing about a band in which I’m totally in love with.

In the past two – three years more electro-indie bands started to show up. The first band I bumped into were The XX almost four years ago. Now MS MR are here, and they are putting a pretty good fight when it comes to this kind of intriguing sound.

MS MR- which is meant to be pronounced as “Miz Mister” are an American based duo consisted with Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow. Both were graduated from Vassar College in 2010. Lizzy Plapinger is also the co-founder of the New York City/London based independent record label Neon Gold records, and is well known in the indie music world.

Their debut album “Secondhand Rapture” was released in May 2013 including the songs “Fantasy”, “Hurricane”, “Dark Doo Wop” and “Ash Tree Lane”.

When listening to MS MR, the first thing that came to my mind was that their sound is extremely similar to “Florence and the machine” and Lana Del Ray which by now, you all know I very much like.
In general, this kind of sound is something I really love and would want to see much more of. It’s a very intelligent way to play music, something to wrap your mind in, to put you in a good creative mood. The sound is a mix of clever electronical layers, smart beats and wicked lyrics served with a beautiful female mellowed voice. Just what I’m looking for in music in general.

And the best thing is – their video clips. Take for example “Fantasy” video clip. By far, one of the best video clips I've watched this year! Amazing shots, great ideas and an extremely strong massage. Don’t miss out on this experience!

Bottom line, I’m fell head over hills with MS MR. I think the songs “Twenty Seven”, “Fantasy” and “hurricane” are insanely good!

Do yourself a huge favor, stop whatever it is you’re doing, including reading this article, and go listen to those guys. It’ll be, by far, the best new thing for the beginning of your 2014.

2013 OST

2013 is just about to be over, and thinking about my year I can’t just ignore the artists and bands who made it for me.

This is no musical chart or yearly countdown, it’s just my yearly musical map, might even say – my 2013 soundtrack.

Miley Cyrus

It’s been a very busy year for Miley Cyrus, no doubt. She’s been through a lot, and done a lot, and wasn’t wearing a lot at all. I’m not sure whether I like her way or not, to be honest, but I sure respect her success. This year “Wrecking Ball” went completely ballistic. It may be due to her not wearing anything, or because she’s licking a hammer there, but after I listened to this song, reluctantly, for about fifty times I learned to really like it. It’s a great pop song, after all! And you just have to like her. Even if she doesn’t like her clothes…

Lorde

She’s young, beautiful, talented and she amazes me. Might be the best break- through of 2013, and I’m so grateful for the people who discovered her for me. We need more like her! She sounds right, her songs are fresh and interesting, and she brings something so new and so special. It was defiantly a love form a first listen.

Justin Timberlake

2013 started out not so well for Justin. At least this is how I see it. When “suit & tie” – the first single from “the 20/20 experience” came out I was really disappointed. Not just me, by the way, a lot of critics and reviews were a bit on the fence when it came to the choice of this single as a first one. Anyway, everything turned around when “Mirrors” came out and brought the old Justin that we love so much back to us. Or back to me J

Lana Del Rey

Oh. Lana. I’m having a long term relationship with that beauty. I fell in love with Lana back in 2012 with “Summertime Sadness” and those butterflies keeps on dancing in my stomach for over a year now! Lately, Del Rey released her new single “Young and Beautiful “which knocked me down completely and utterly! This has been a great year, for Lana, and for me, with Lana.

Daft Punk

Back in 1997 I discovered Daft punk with “Around the World”. The beat was great and the video clip was even greater. At the beginning of 2013 I heard about the upcoming album of Daft Punk and I started to get excited. And it was so worth it! “Get Lucky” literally blew me away, and it still does every time I listen to it.

Passenger

I never heard of passenger until this year. I really don’t know why. I first got to know “Let Her Go” by Facebook/Twitter shares my friends used, and since then it’s one of my most played songs on my playlist, especially in these winter days. I missed having those soft rock ballads around and now I have my own winter ballad to cuddle with.

Ed Sheeran

The “A Team” was one of those songs, that when you listen to for the first time you think you've heard it before… sounds so pleasantly familiar.. I loved it from the beginning. Then came along “Lego House” and many more, and it seems I can’t get enough from the lovely Ed Sheeran.

The Lumineers

Hey Ho! Happy, light, fun and heart-warming. Just the right formula for a winning and long lasting hit. One of the best songs of 2013 by far (even if it originally came out in 2012, but still) kept listening to it all throughout this year and love every single time!

So, that’s it. It’s time to say goodbye to the great 2013. It was a fabulous year for me. It really was. It was one of the most challenging, most inspiring and rewarding year of my life so far, and this music made it even better. All I have to wish for is for 2014 to be exactly like this, only better.

Marry Christmas and a very happy new year for us all!

Indie or Pop?

A few months ago I read an article saying that one of the reason we heard more indie music this year is due to the fact that pop music went bad.

I have to admit it made some sense to me.

Bands and artists like Lana Del Rey, The XX, Arctic monkey etc. where never a real a part of the mainstream musical scenery. Today you see those artist reaching top 10 at Billboard every week.
It’s easy to think of them as mainstream themselves, but the truth is their music is very different from what we used to hear before.

There are two ways to look at this situation. The first is to admit that lately we get exposed to a better, more sophisticated kind of music. The current offerings are more diverse, deep and meaningful. Young teenagers get to listen to different kind of music than what we might have been exposed to ourselves at that age.

But there’s another way to think about this. Have we ever thought what exactly made us look for that kind of music in the first place? The most popular artists we used to know, artists like Madonna, Britney Spears and many more used to rule the hit charts almost solely. Could it be that their delivery was not good enough we had to get up and look for something else?

Maybe this new indie tolerant situation is an end result of us trying to find something else to listen to? Maybe those well-known artists all sounds the same? Or maybe just not good enough?

It’s hard to put the finger on this course of change. I remember being a young teenager and see the same five artists rule the chats with two or more of their singles every single week. Now, those artists are still present in the charts but they have new competitors. Competitors that brings a whole new wave and fresh way to listen to music.

2013 might not have been the greatest year for mainstream music artists and we see it clearly now when all music award events looking exactly the same. But, if this situation will expose us to newer more innovative music, I think we’ll be able to gain a lot from that.

Maybe these days aren’t the last days of pop music. Maybe, we are looking at the end of the distinctive term “Indie”. Maybe Indie music would turn into our new mainstream music.

Thinking about it this way, it’s the best news I’ve heard all year!

Lana My Love

Last summer the radio started playing something different. The melody was rich and slow, the voice was low and deep. After a few times I started to hear the name Lana Del Rey. My searches after Lana Del Rey brought up a beautiful face of a woman that seemed a bit unusual. I wanted to know more about her.

Lana Del Rey was born in 1986 as Elizabeth Woolridge Grant in New York. At 14, she was sent away to boarding school to deal with her alcohol addiction. When listening to Lana Del Rey song lyrics you can spot the difficulty, the struggle that belongs to a troubled girl.

When listening to Lana Del Rey, you feel there’s more to the lyrics than just a fun young love story. Lana Del Rey gave an interview to GQ Magazine in 2012 saying that she thought drinking at 14 was about discovering her dark side. Lana Del Rey’s music and the way she sings, wraps her audience in her darkness. The thing is, I’m a darkness addict. So, Lana Del Rey is working pretty well for me…
I guess that I’m looking for a bit of a gloomy side in everything, mainly in music. When I was 14, I wasn’t an alcohol addict like Lana Del Rey (thank god), but I sure went through some pretty rough things. That was also about the time when music started playing a big role in my life. It’s been over a decade since those days, but whenever my ear identifies that darkness in a tune, it’s still brings me back.


Lana Del Rey is a beautiful singer, singing about love and boys. It would be extremely easy to be mistaken and think of Lana Del Rey as one of those girly music artists. Lana Del Rey is not that bubbly fun girl to listen to in a slumber party, she brings pain and depth to her music, and she’s doing it right.