Melissa Kacar

Hayley Williams ' "True Believer" is a powerfully  deeply poetic and painfully relevant to the moment in history we are currently living through. She tackles many heavy and personal topics, especially her complicated feelings toward the South, the place she has lived for most of her life, but has also seen transform into something she wishes it wasn't.  Beneath the disillusionment, though, is still a very distinct hope and belief that the people who remain good and believe in the merits of what it means to be an American will prevail. It is such a brutally honest and chilling song, with a message that is more American than the owner of the racist country singer's bar could ever dream of writing. Especially in this period of political history, for her to lay out all of her beliefs and advocate for the future of this country is so powerful, inspiring and serves as a reminder of what it looks like when an artist uses her voice with intention. Hayley vividly paints a ...

My favorite rock star forever!  So much of my love for music, fashion, and pop culture as a whole stems from Hannah Montana , and that spark has only grown into a lifelong passion for all of those things. That fact truly cannot be overstated, as Miley Cyrus ' music has been such a big part of my life since I was six years old. She has lived so many lives as an artist since the show premiered in 2006, it has been so special to witness every single one and have her music continue to be such a constant through all of those years. To celebrate two decades since the show premiered feels like honoring the younger versions of ourselves who first fell in love with this world and all of the magic, music, and fantasy within it. This Hannah‑versary is also a reclamation of what has always belonged to her and is a true full‑circle moment amplified by the recent Disney+ special. No one else could have portrayed this character the way she did. Miley didn't just play a fictional pop star; sh...

Kacey Musgraves ' "Slow Burn" spreads such a hopeful message of renewal and reassurance. It is such a beautiful and comforting song in so many ways. It invites the listener to allow themselves to let go and trust that whatever is meant to be will be, everything you desire will come in due time.  "Born in a hurry, always late, haven't been early since '88", she sings in the opening lines of the song. So much of Golden Hour is rooted in such a personal, autobiographical approach to songwriting, but "Slow Burn" is perhaps the most significant example of it on the album. "I was born 6 weeks early. Under 5 lbs. I came on the day of my baby shower (I always loved a party)," she wrote alongside the song's release on Instagram. "It was the last time I was ever early for anything." "Slow Burn" is a stunning display of Kacey's talent for modern, yet simplistic, country storytelling, which is something she has always...

a million more is a playlist of some of my favorite songs ever - specifically music that, in one way or another, has shaped me as a writer. I wanted this collection to reflect my personal journey over the years I've spent writing on my blog, and to honor the songs that have stayed with me through every version of myself along the way. All of these songs have inspired me and pushed me to grow as both a writer and a listener.  I wanted to share this playlist as a way of celebrating a massive milestone of my blog reaching a million views recently - which is so exciting and surreal! More than half of that number came from the past year alone, and I am so grateful to anyone who has taken the time to read even a single piece of my writing since I started posting in 2017. This space has been such an important creative outlet for me since I was 17, and I'm so proud of the ways it has grown alongside me.  I started out writing beauty reviews, trying to channel some of my favorite infl...

just one more day! is a curated playlist I created to celebrate the first day of spring, featuring songs on my current rotation and the ones I always find myself returning to this time of year.  The title is inspired by the chorus of Djo's "Charlie's Garden" , the unbridled joy that runs through that song and the wistful lyricism feel so perfect for the start of the season. The Crux  as a whole really captures the feelings of spring in the way that every song embodies a bright sense of optimism and renewal that comes with stepping into a new stage of the year. That album is featured prominently throughout the playlist for that reason, and sonically served as a major influence surrounding the rest of the songs I chose.  The motifs of new beginnings and fresh starts are woven throughout the rest of the playlist as well. Spring is a particularly inspiring season for me and every year I tend to gravitate toward music that reflects that energy too. Other artists prominent...

Chemtrails Over The Country Club  is a true gem in Lana Del Rey 's discography and the first of two pandemic-era records she released in 2021 , with  Blue Banisters  following later that year. These sister albums are sandwiched between two of Lana's most beloved and critically acclaimed releases thus far,  Norman Fucking Rockwell!  in 2019 and  Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd   in 2023.  Chemtrails  stands as an underrated chapter for Lana between those two masterpieces, giving a glimpse into the direction she would continue to take with future releases.  It features some of her most diaristic writing yet, and is quintessentially Lana in the most personal way possible. The album strips back any persona or grandiosity that defined parts of her earlier catalog, leaving something understated, dreamy, and deeply intimate. Sonically, it is largely rooted in the traditional sounds of 1960's and 70's Laurel Canyon folk mus...