The Con X: Covers Released Today!

It's Friday! It's also the release day of The Con X: Covers by Tegan and Sara. Ten years ago, twin sisters Tegan and Sara released their album The Con (which is seriously one of my most favorite albums ever) and now they are re-releasing that album but with other bands and artists covering the songs. I didn't realize this was happening until they talked about it at their over the summer and I've been eagerly waiting ever since! They are also touring their album, acoustically, and I'm so jealous of anyone who is able to see them. Unfortunately, they weren't touring close enough to me to see them live again, but if anyone reading this does go to a stop on their tour, I'd love to hear all about it.

Need another reason to buy this album? All proceeds will benefit the Tegan and Sara Foundation which focuses on helping LGBT girls and women.

To make sure this is up to date, go here

Before I leave you, I'll share the track list below. Tell me, what song are you most excited to hear? Do you listen to Tegan or Sara, or do you like any of the cover artists?

1. Ruth B. - "I Was Married"
2. MUNA - "Relief Next to Me"
3. Shura - "The Con"
4. Mykki Blanco - "Knife Going In"
5. PVRIS - "Are You Ten Years Ago"
6. Ryan Adams - "Back In Your Head"
7. City and Colour - "Hop a Plane"
8. Kelly Lee Owens - "Soil, Soil"
9. Bleachers - "Burn Your Life Down"
10. Hayley Williams of Paramore - "Nineteen"
11. Sara Bareilles - "Floorplan"
12. Shamir - "Like O, Like H"
13. Trashique (GRIMES X HANA) - "Dark Come Soon"
14. CHVRCHES – “Call It Off”

Digital Bonus Tracks
15. Cyndi Lauper – “Back in Your Head” (Bonus Track)
16. Bleached - "One Second" (Bonus Track)
17. Vivek Shraya - "I Take All the Blame" (Bonus Track)
18. Tegan and Sara - "Miami Still" (Bonus Track Demo) 

Music: "Youth" by Troye Sivan

For some reason, I couldn't get the actual video so I'm including a lyric video. However, I do suggest you go directly to youtube and look it up.

Anyway, this is "Youth" by Troye Sivan. I think I shared another of his songs awhile ago, but I thought I'd do another one as he's a great performer and if he's coming near you on tour, you should go! I wish I could, but he's not touring near my city. Sigh.

At any rate, in case you don't know, Troye is an out Australian singer who used to be a Youtube Star before sharing his wonderful music!

Years and Years Release New Video for "Desire"

First off, I can't get the Youtube video to show up in this blog post, so I'll have to simply link you to the video. I do hope you check it out though!

Now, what video am I talking about? The UK band Years and Years has released a new video for their song "Desire", this time with some vocals by Tove Lo (who I also love). Years and Years is fronted by Olly Alexander, an openly gay man and his goal for this video was to show desire and romance can be more than just a man and a woman. This is often all that is shown in pop music videos and he wanted to change that. There are a couple "graphic" moments if you will in the video. Nothing crazy, but if that worries you, I wanted to at least make a quick disclaimer! If you have any questions, let me know. Otherwise, give it a watch and leave your thoughts in the comments!

A UK radio website posted the video, so you can go here to watch it. They also included an open letter from Olly that he posted on the band's facebook page. I recommend that you read this before watching the video, as I think it really helps you understand why this video was made and what you can expect, in a sense. I'll end this post with a sample from Olly's letter that I particularly loved. We should all be proud of who we are, no matter what our sexuality or gender.

If you want to follow Years and Years, visit their website or their twitter page.

Taken from the letter:

What do we expect from pop music? From our pop stars? What do we expect from the ones that are gay? I don’t know the answers to these questions but I for one don’t want to see a narrow representation of gender and identity on our screens or in our music. I want diversity. We shouldn’t have to feel scared about putting our sexualities and identities on display in all their beautiful, interlocking, multi-layered multi-coloured glory. I want to be proud. Proud to shove it in people’s faces if I want to.

Musical Choice: Sam Smith's "Writing's On the Wall"

Sam Smith sings the official theme song for the new James Bond film, Spectre. It's called "Writing's On the Wall" and I thought I'd share that music video with you all today! I know I've been doing Musical Mondays, but there isn't really a link-up there anymore so if you know of any other bloggers that share music posts on certain days, let me know! I might try and link there. Otherwise, I'll just post musical posts on random days!!

I love Sam's voice. What are your thoughts about this song? I think he does a great job and I love the higher notes. I can't easily sing along with them, but it sounds really cool. Very dramatic!

Share your thoughts below!