Melissa Kacar

Joni Mitchell wrote "California" all over the world, each verse was written in a different country and vividly depicts both the physical and emotional place she was at in those moments. From France, to Spain, to Greece, she writes a travelogue of her time in each country, but continuously wishes she were home in California instead. "Sitting in a park in Paris, France, reading the news and it sure looks bad," Joni sings in the opening lines of the song. "They won't give peace a chance, that was just a dream some of us had". She wrote this song in a very conversational, stream-of-consciousness style. Her talent for storytelling is like no other, her writing is so vivid and detailed that allows the listener to be transported right to the setting of the song. "California" was written sometime in the summer of 1970, while she was traveling through Europe. Throughout that journey, she ended up writing much of  Blue , which was released the followi...

♥  "the coffee's out at the Beachwood Cafe"  ♥ On my recent trip to Los Angeles back in July, one of the most anticipated destinations was finally getting to visit the iconic Beachwood Cafe! This cute restaurant is located in historic Beachwood Canyon, which is the neighborhood right below The Hollywood Sign. It is also referenced in Harry Styles ' song "Falling", which is a beautiful ballad that truly feels like the heart of Fine Line to me. He sings, "and the coffee's out at the Beachwood Cafe, and it kills me 'cause I know we've run out of thing we can say".  I love visiting places that represent a piece of music history, or places that inspired some of my favorite songs, even if it's just in a small way like this! It's one of my favorite topics to research anytime I'm travelling. Of course, the amount of music and art that was made in and inspired by the city of Los Angeles is literally endless, it's impossible to ...

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...

Harry Styles embarked on the creation of  Fine Line   with a new state of mind, wanting to push himself a little further than he ever has before. It is deeply honest and reflective; he fully embraced his creative freedom and lets it fully shine through in the music. It's fun, fresh and modern, while also incorporating elements of the rockstars that came before him. In an interview with  NPR , he talked about the way his mindset changed going into the creation of his sophomore album, especially following the positive reception of his debut solo album released two and a half years prior.  He said, "I think I had a lot of fear — whether it was conscious or subconsciously — just about getting it wrong. When I listen back to the first album now, although I still love it so much, I feel like I was almost bowling with the bumpers up a little bit. I can hear places where I was playing it safe." With  Fine Line , he fully leaned into some of the weirder psychedelic in...