Top 10 Songs That Defined My April

It is that time of the month again. Suddenly, here we are at the end of April. This month felt more like January in terms of temperatures, but nonetheless, I discovered some new music to suggest for you! And again, I use that term "new" loosely. "New" does not necessarily mean it came out this year. It simply means that I discovered the song this month.

In my opinion, it does not really matter when you discover an artist and their music. While music certainly can reflect the time period it was created in, there is not a time limit on music. It is never too late to discover a new favorite band, song, or album.

10. "Would?" by Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains was a popular grunge rock band in the 1990s. Their song "Would?" appears on their 1992 album "Dirt." Since the 90s are coming back in many ways, shapes, and forms, why not bring back its music too? Since Nirvana seems to be the grunge band to get the most hype, I like to expand my grunge knowledge every once in a while by listening to bands who were just as good as Nirvana but did not receive as much attention. Alice in Chains is one of those bands, as well as Stone Temple Pilots, and Soundgarden, who I have taken more of a liking to more so than Nirvana, but to each his own.

9. "Swallow My Pride" by Green River

"Swallow My Pride" is a 1988 song by one of the first grunge bands, Green River. The song appears on their album "Rehab Doll." This is a band I had never heard of, but I discovered them and this song through the "Grunge Forever" playlist on Spotify. I also discovered the Alice in Chains song on the same playlist. I'm on a grunge kick this month because I'm always secretly jealous of all the people who got to grow up in Seattle at the height of grunge and go to concerts every weekend.

8. "Good Shoes" by Stone Temple Pilots

While Stone Temple Pilots is also from the grunge era, they are still releasing new music, with this being from just this year. Their second consecutive self-titled album was released just last month on March 16. I discovered this song from a previous song I liked by them — "Interstate Love Song" — which is pretty much their most popular song. Again, I'm still working on expanding my knowledge here.

7. "Upbeat Feelgood" by Foy Vance

"Upbeat Feelgood" appears on Foy Vance's 2016 album, "The Wild Swan," and sounds exactly how you think it would. It is a happy, easy listening song, perfect for summer or to fall asleep to. It truly is a song that is upbeat and makes you feel good. It lives up to its name. I've never heard of Foy Vance prior to this, but I'll make sure to check out some of his other stuff!

6. "Coming Home" by The 88

"Coming Home" appears on The 88's 2005 album "Over and Over." This song appears in one of my favorite TV shows, "How I Met Your Mother." The show has since been taken off of Netflix, so I'm keeping it alive by listening to a playlist of songs from the show. The show really contains some of the best music. I highly recommend listening to the playlist "How I Met Your Mother" by HIMYM on Spotify if you want to discover some new songs, regardless if you like the show or not.

5. "Off She Goes" by Bad Suns

"Off She Goes" is on Bad Suns' 2016 album "Disappear Here." I believe Bad Suns has appeared on one of my lists before, but if they haven't, I highly recommend listening to them. Everything I've heard from them I've loved.

4. "American Teen" by Khalid

The title track off of Khalid's debut album, "American Teen" is another great summer song. I've grown to really like Khalid, and this song is definitely one of my favorites of his, along with "Another Sad Love Song," and "Location."

3. "Us" by James Bay

James Bay is making yet another appearance on one of these lists, but every single he has released for his upcoming album so far has been great. I have loved all of it. I can't wait until the album is released.

1 & 2: "Some" and "Dark Red" by Steve Lacy

I've really grown to love Steve Lacy over the past month, even though I never heard of him up until a few weeks ago. His songs "Some" and "Dark Red" appear on his album "Steve Lacy's Demo," released in 2017. While I love both of these songs, "Dark Red" is the one that has been on repeat for me over the past month. In fact, I'm listening to the song as I'm typing this. That's how much I love it. Now get listening!