Melissa Kacar

If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power is a largely dark and brooding exploration of femininity, identity, body autonomy, and gender exploration beyond the framework of traditional stereotypes and conventions. There are many aspects of Halsey 's life that informed this conceptual project, but perhaps the most pertinent influence is their own path to motherhood. She has been very open about her health and fertility journey throughout her career, especially in bringing awareness to her endometriosis diagnosis and the miscarriages she has experienced. This album became a bold and honest confrontation of all that society and the world at large place on women, as well as the limitations of her own body as someone living with chronic illness. In January 2021, Halsey announced she was pregnant with her first child, and she gave birth just a month before the album was released. So much of this album is rooted in reclaiming autonomy over her body in the wake of illness, pregnancy, and the ...

La La Land represents the importance of believing that the city of stars really is shining just for you, and that no dream is too big or too far away to reach. It serves as a reminder that if you pour yourself into the art you make, other people will inevitably feel that passion and connect with it. There is such a specific integrity in the pursuit of creating something long before anyone else notices it, or even with the chance that no one ever will, and this film honors that act beautifully. It also focuses on the importance of the people that come into your life for a brief period of time to inspire and guide you into the next stage of the person you're becoming - even if they aren't meant to stay forever. Their influence still will always linger though, and the mark they leave becomes a formative part of your own journey. La La Land is a love story, but it's also ultimately a portrait of two people chasing their dreams and learning how to build a life alongside one ano...

"oh yeah?" serves as the title track of Steve Lacy 's third album, which is his first record in four years, and a clear showcase of the personal and artistic growth that's shaped him during that time. As the opener, it immediately sets an existential tone, introducing the listener to the journey the album is about to take them on from that point forward. It features a dreamy, synth pop sound that feels reminiscent of some of his earlier work, but elevated in a way that reflects how much he has evolved since his last release. A distinct sense of renewal is embedded in this song, which is largely centered around hope and new beginnings coming through after a particularly rough patch of life.  "Life's a bitch, and then you live again" is the defining lyric of the otherwise simple and sparsely written song. Much of the rest of the song is intentionally minimal, with the repetition of "Come on" as the chorus serving as the mantra meant to pull your...

return of saturn   is a playlist I curated in honor of my 27th birthday today, which marks the beginning of what astrologically is known as my Saturn return, or the moment Saturn reaches its first full cycle and returns to the exact position it was in when you were born. This transition is said to happen between the ages of 27 and 30. I don't know about all of the specifics or the science behind it, but it's a very interesting phenomenon to read about. Also just to feel this shift happening in life, that innate sense of change and reflection that occurs at this stage is especially pertinent lately. These songs I chose are meant to embrace that change and the evolution that comes with entering a new chapter of life. It's a very personal collection of tracks I've connected with and feel represent that theme, but I also hope anyone who listens can find something meaningful within these songs too. Many of these songs also touch upon this phenomenon, and I wanted to highligh...