The Carpenters - Top of the World

By Shereen Masoud-Jointe, Senior Account Executive (Europe)

As all good things must, our seven-month long jam sesh we lovingly refer to as HA JAMZ has come to an end. We’ve seen a lot of ups and downs during this time — as CEO Lou Hoffman has said, it’s been a “weird year” (to put it mildly). But through it all, we’ve had the JAMZ.

Thank you for following along! I hope it’s brought a little sparkle to your days — and who knows, maybe our global selections have broadened your musical palette.

As a final treat, please enjoy these last two tracks carefully selected by Hoffmanites, as well as an extra bonus from yours truly.

 

144.   Top of the World — The Carpenters

145.   PUMA — Tomorrow x Together

146.   BONUS: Onederful — Armani White

 

HA-SJ Account Executive Alex Diaz recounts fond childhood memories with her grandma listening to “Top of the World” by The Carpenters:

This is one of those songs that brings me so much joy and takes me right back to my grandparents’ house as a kid. Growing up, my brother Zack and I were very close to our grandparents, especially grandma. She took care of us almost every day after school, and as most grandparents do, she spoiled us rotten! Top of the World, Beat Me to the Punch by Mary Wells and Volver Volver by Vicente Fernandez are just a few of the many songs that remind me of her and can instantly transport me back to being six years old and spinning around her kitchen.

Top of the World was one of her favorites and Zack and I clung to this song as kids. It was definitely one of our most requested songs by a long shot. This song was one of the many that would make her say “aww” within the first few notes, and she would start singing along. She used to say that this song represented how she felt about being a grandma to us and how her love for us put her on the top of the world.

In 2012, right before my junior year of high school, my grandma passed away pretty unexpectedly at the young age of 66, and to say that my brother and I took it hard would be an understatement. Top of the World is just one of those songs that put a little extra pep in my step and make me grateful for all the time I did have with her. I love how this song reminds me of her and the way she would squeeze us as she’d sing, “it’s the love that I’ve found ever since you’ve been around, your love’s put me at the top of the world.” This is now one of the songs that makes me say “aww” when I hear it.

Of course, you can always return to our Spotify playlist if you ever need a boost!

Farida Khanum - ghazal

By Shereen Masoud-Jointe, Senior Account Executive (Europe)

As I’m sure you’ve come to expect (and hopefully enjoy), this week’s HA Jamz lineup is as multicultural as it is eclectic:

 

133.   Eight — IU, Suga

134.   風雲變色 (The Sky has Changed) — 5566, K One

135.   The Phoenix — Fall Out Boy

136.   Come Fly With Me — Michael Bublé

137.   Heart of Glass — Miley Cyrus

138.   Chicken Attack — The Gregory Brothers

139.   This Christmas — Donny Hathaway

140.   Chen Qing Ling — Hai Lin

141.   It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas — Perry Como, The Fontaine Sisters, Mitchell Ayres & his orchestra

142.   It’s My Life — Bon Jovi

143.   Aaj Jane Ki Zid Na Karo — Farida Khanum

 

HA-SJ Intern Avni Gupta shared a touching story about the song she chose, which has traveled with her family through time and distance:

This is a “ghazal” (a short poem consisting of rhyming couplets) originally written by the Pakistani poet, Fayyaz Hashmi, but was popularized by the famous ghazal singer, Farida Khanum. There are several versions sung by different people, but my favorite is this Coke Studio version, which was recomposed in 2015.

 This song is extremely special to me — it has been passed over generations and countries in my family and invokes a lot of memories. Although this is meant to be for a romantic partner, in my life, this has been dedicated to family, friends, and all the beloved. I have heard stories of my grandmother singing the song for my grandfather the night before he would leave for month-long work trips and they would barely get to talk during that time, so these would be their last words to each other. My uncle dedicated this song to my parents when we were moving to the U.S., and it really struck a chord because we’d lived in the same house all our lives and that would change forever. More recently, my mom used to sing this for me every time I would leave for college after spending a break at home. So, if there’s any time when you want to hold onto a moment in your life, this song is perfect.

 The lyrics are powerful, the melody is soothing and the emotion is nostalgic. I hope you enjoy listening to this!

As always, you can follow along on our Spotify playlist.

Ed Sheeran - Galway Girl

By Shereen Masoud-Jointe, Senior Account Executive (Europe)

241 days into this musical experiment, and we’re still bringing as much energy to jamming as Day 1 — proof that music really does feed the spirit.

 

127.   Sincerity is Scary — the 1975

128.   Galway Girl — Ed Sheeran

129.   Happy Birthday — Tiger Hu

130.   (一步成诗) Poem — 王诗安 (Diana Wang)

131.   Good as Hell — Lizzo

132.   Murasaki Blue — The Dorques (listen to this Hoffmanite original on YouTube)

 

HA-SJ Account Manager Melissa Lewelling described her frankly unbridled, unbeatable passion for Ed Sheeran and his “Galway Girl”:

So I’ve been waiting to share this song for months because it immediately came to mind as the one I wanted to circulate. No debate. No question. Immediately knew, because (I’m convinced) it’s my heart song 😊 — and yes, that is a reference to the animated movie, Happy Feet.

While I love a wide variety of music and have many “favorite” songs … this is not a favorite song. It is THE song for me. My go to, in every season. Couple of reasons:

All of that aside, I also have a great grandmother who was Irish and I always think of her when I hear this song. Although I never knew her, I feel a strong emotional connection to my Welsh and Irish roots.

As always, you can follow along on our Spotify playlist.

Lauv - Mean It

By Shereen Masoud-Jointe, Senior Account Executive (Europe)

It’s been a while since we last convened on the blog over our mutual love of jamz, but that just means that we have even more to listen to this week. It has become apparent from these selections that we have a few Lauv fans in our midst.

 

119.   Memories — Maroon 5

120.   The Lion Sleeps Tonight — The Tokens

121.   Rather Be — Clean Bandit, Jess Glynne

122.   Symphony No.9 in E Minor — Antonín Dvořák, New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert

123.   I Will Never Forget You — Sakurako Ohara

124.   Never Not — Lauv

125.   Mean It — Lauv

126.   Galactic Repairman — Dear Jane

127.   Fireflies — Owl City

 

HA-Singapore Digital Manager Vanessa Lee told us why she personally has a penchant for the Latvian-American singer, songwriter and record producer, having chosen the track “Mean It.”

While you might look at the lyrics and think, “Van, isn’t this a sad love song?”, the beauty of music is its ability to take you back to a certain place and time. Memories of my Europe trip back in 2019 play on repeat as I listen to this song, going back to the time I explored the streets of Budapest, Copenhagen, Krakow, Warsaw and more.

Because I loved the song so much and it was the ‘theme song’ for the whole of my Europe trip, I used it to create my first ever travel video.

As we all long for the day when we can start travelling and have our next great adventure again, I hope this brings back a little nostalgia for you. Let’s all hang in there!

As always, you can follow along on our Spotify playlist.

Christopher Tin - Sogno di Volare

By Shereen Masoud-Jointe, Senior Account Executive (Europe)

This week’s song choices include a delightful mix of languages from around the globe.

 

115.   阿珍爱上了阿强 (Jane Falls in Love with John) — 五条人 (Wu Tiao Ren)

116.   Mickey — 大波浪 (The Big Wave)

117.   Sogno di Volare (Dream of Flight) — Christopher Tin

118.   There Will Be Time — Mumford & Sons, Baaba Mal

 

HA-Indonesia Account Director Niko Radityo Suwito shared a unique Italian song with a multilayered backstory that intersects with his love of video games:

I am a gamer by heart, and I found this song when I played the game Civilization VI. The game itself is a very good one: The objective of the game is to lead a group of people forward through the stone ages, the birth of agriculture and through the dawn of space flight. It’s a symbolic and interactive representation of humankind’s evolution over the ages — how we thrive, adapt and invent.

There are several fun facts about this song:

1. It’s composed by an Asian composer, with the lyrics written in a European language, and is featured as the theme song of an American video game. This is a perfect representation of multi-cultural, cross-continental collaboration.

2. The lyrics have an adaptation of a famous quote by Leonardo Da Vinci: “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

3. The composer, Christopher Tin, previously wrote a song entirely in the Kiswahili language, titled “Baba Yetu.”

Why I think the song is great:

1. It sounds really majestic. Typically, video game music tends to sound plasticky, electronic, and artificial. This song is not like the others, as it was recorded by the Philharmonic Orchestra using a full range of instruments.

2. It has a profound theme: that humankind will never be the same after the invention of flight. This can also be applicable to any technological marvels that we have right now: smartphones, the internet, AI and many others.

3. I think this is the perfect song for a world impacted by COVID-19. It reminds us why humankind will not give up easily, and that by harnessing science & knowledge, we’ve survived many trials. It inspires us to keep dreaming big, and to look optimistically forward.

As always, you can follow along on our Spotify playlist.

Smash Mouth - All Star

By Shereen Masoud-Jointe, Senior Account Executive (Europe)

What are the awkward middle school years if not for a little boundary-pushing? A few of the new songs on our list are all about that.

 

111.   Holy — Justin Bieber feat. Chance The Rapper

112.   All Star — Smash Mouth

113.   Lose Yourself — Eminem

114.   Abscondence — Stefanie Sun

 

HA-SJ Senior Account Executive Kayla Harper remembers feeling like an all-star singing along to Smash Mouth as a young ’un:

I’m a big fan of the ’90s and early 2000’s, because for me this was the time that I started listening to mainstream music — yes that would put me at about the ripe old age of 10.

For background, I grew up in a semi-religious home (like in the way that we said prayers before bed, but didn’t go to church on Sundays), and attended a private Christian school from kindergarten to eighth grade.

And while my family loved music (my dad being a musician after all), I only really listened to Christian and radio Disney music through elementary and middle school, along with my dad’s music of the Beatles and Fleetwood Mac and other ’60s and ’70s bands because they were much more wholesome than “this new age s***” that was playing on the airwaves in my youth.

However, at the end of each school year, my private Christian school would celebrate the coming summer by going on a field trip to a rented-out roller skating rink. It was there that I heard this song for the first time (a couple years after it was released), and so did my friends.

We joined the rest of the world and learned all the words. During summer pool parties and sleepovers and in the years to come, we’d sing along, making sure to yell, “She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an ‘L’ on her forehead…” because that was like the most rebellious thing we’ve ever said at the time, and just enjoy life in all its glory.

My parents were fine with it.

So now, as an adult, I freakin’ LOVE blasting this song and singing along. It always puts me in a good mood.

As always, you can follow along on our Spotify playlist.