What's on My Speakers: SOUND TRIP—May 2025
It’s never too late to start healing—so here I am going beyond the typical confines of What’s on My Speakers.
What’s on My Speakers is what’s coming through my speakers when I’m cooking, resting, writing, working, and just existing in general. Music and sound are a huge part of my life, and they deserve more attention than I usually give them. SOUND TRIP is a continuing series of playlists I make.
Inspired by Nicksy Once Monthly, I’m starting a (hopefully) continuing series of playlists of what I listen to monthly.
I used to write about music daily when I was the editor-in-chief of AmplifyPH. Now, anything to do with writing about music has me in shambles. I don’t think I properly processed the grief that came with leaving the AmplifyPH team and closing up shop. But it’s never too late to start healing—so here I am going beyond the typical confines of What’s on My Speakers. SOUND TRIP is actually a recycled name—before AmplifyPH, I hosted a radio show on SariSariSounds with that name.
What Happened Last May 2025?
I suppose, for the audience of this newsletter, the most significant thing that happened was I woke the fuck up. That is, I stopped being a quiet little mouse on Substack and typed out actual replies instead of hitting the little hearts and moving on to another post to read.
Rain and Old Records
In Nevada, May means the end of spring and the beginning of summer. We had a few days of constant rain—nothing surprising, and definitely nothing like monsoon season in Manila—so old records came out to keep me company as I enjoyed hearing the tip-tapping of the rain on my window.
I can’t help it—rain just reminds me of hanging out by myself in my old childhood home, and whenever I miss Cubao, I listen to old songs by The Beach Boys, Dave Clark Five, Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, etc.
Self-Care and New Song Discoveries
I’ve also been creating playlists to support my self-care rituals—specifically my daily walks and my morning and nighttime skincare routines. Some of the songs from those playlists appear in this month’s SOUND TRIP. Discovered some new artists as I created these playlists, just from letting Spotify play without putting on a playlist or album: Blü Eyes, Ellee Duke, Lauren Spencer Smith, Natalie Jane, etc.
New Tracks from Old Favorites
Some of my old standbys also released new music recently, from Six the Northstar (as Mox Lotus with Curtismith) in March to Aesop Rock in April. I experienced FOMO when I saw photos and videos from the Mox Lotus album launch—there’s something about going to gigs in Manila that I miss. Probably just miss the interconnected feeling I get from walking into a gig place. I don’t really know anyone here in Vegas, music scene or otherwise, so that feeling will forever be a distant memory.
RM was featured in a new Tablo track, too! And Katseye’s comeback was… okay(?!?). I really wanted to like “Gnarly,” but there’s something about it that just doesn’t fit into Western pop. My husband said it sounds better if you forget that it’s in English, so I tried putting it in a playlist with other Kpop songs. You know what? He’s right. It’s a good Kpop song.
Trying to Understand Young White Girls
Some of my new song discoveries are from young white girls—exactly what I’m not. I don’t think I’m being a racist by admitting that it takes a lot for me to understand their perspective on life. This struggle, specifically when the music they make isn’t pop and made for the radio, really shows in how long it takes me to digest their songs. I’ve really been enjoying listening to Sophie Powers, although I’m a little disappointed that she’s less Poppy and more spoken word artist. Discovering her led me to another deep dive into Poppy’s music, though, so at least I have that to thank her for.
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