He's Back: Johnny Rain (Playlist)
JOHNNY RAIN
My first year of highschool was a whirlwind of experiences and discoveries. Most of them were from finally feeling emotions like like, love, and lust. Highschool throws you into the deep end of relationships pretty quickly. Its almost as if you from one year to the next, you SHOULD know what romantic feelings should feel like. In that year alone i think i might've overwhelmed myself emotionally in terms of these kinds of feelings. Its funny though because right before entering highschool, i discovered JOHNNY RAIN. I was a huge The Weeknd fan at the time and became enveloped in alternative r&b. The weeknd was one of the first with the sound at the time and i had a craving for more. In turn, i was constantly searching for similar music & stumbled upon JOHNNY RAIN on youtube. He was this mysterious guy who i couldn't find anywhere except on youtube. When i tell you i was OBSESSED with his music, i mean it. I remember hearing him for the first time and literally running to my brother telling him "listen to this, this guys the next big thing, trust me on it." His music was so different, and so beautifully raw. Incredibly raw. His music actually, made me feel and understand love/heartbreak on a different level. Yes, even at such a young age. This is what i mean when i tell you, his music is something special. Its transparent and you can feel every single emotion and word he says. Most of his songs are around 5-7 minutes but they don't even feel that long because of how well they're layered. His music is almost effortless to listen to, while still keeping you engaged in a way i can't even really describe. Aside from being raw on an emotional level, his music is also pretty raw sexually. It's weird, and it may be TMI, but his songs "Cold Water", "Porn In My Rearview", and "P.U.S.S.Y", and "Head" (yes, very suggestive titles) were the first songs EVER to get me in a lovemaking headspace. I say lovemaking and not sex because if you listen to these songs, they're pretty damn vulgar but not in an off-putting way. They just straight up seem like songs this guy wrote about sex with someone he really had feelings for. Its so smooth, but so ... real. I think to be able to make EXTREMELY sexually FORWARD songs like he does, without sounding gross, tacky, or unsophisticated, is talent. Aside from those types of songs, he also was able to make one of my favorite crying songs. "The Gray Room", 'Nightmares" and "Mary's Song" were honestly songs i would put on to cry to. Thats all. If i wanted to FEEL, these were the songs i actively turned to. Anytime i listen to these now, i just have vivid memories of my younger self crying. I'm able to appreciate these songs on a much deeper level now that i've experienced a lot more in life than my 12/13 year old self. But the fact that he was capable of pulling out emotions inside of me that i didn't even fully comprehend at the time, makes him an incredible artist. His choice of words is alluring, and hes aware of what sounds to pair with his voice.
To my dismay, JOHNNY RAIN nearly went on a 2 year hiatus around 2015. I seriously scoured the internet these past two years for new music form him. He keeps his social media presence at THE BARE MINIMUM, so none of that was aiding in finding out where he went or what he was doing. I thought he fell of the face of the earth and gave up music because there were really NO traces of him. Zero tweets, zero instagram posts, zero further youtube uploads. However, he finally resurfaced with 2 new songs: "Seventeen" & "Peach".
Let me just say... OH MY GOD I REMEMBER WHY I WAS IN LOVE WITH THIS ARTIST. THESE TWO SONGS ARE SO INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL. I WANT TO LISTEN TO THESE SONGS NON-STOP. If you still aren't convinced enough to give him a listen, the best comparison to other artists i can give are Frank Ocean and The Weeknd. Yes, I said it. His sound is a mix of both artists, as well as his own apparent style. His two new songs make me feel like im in love (which i am hahaha). They also make me feel like its summertime, on the beach, with my bf. Which, is exactly what i wanna feel. "Peach" especially, has such a summer vibe to it. For some reason it reminds me a lot of how i felt last summer. "Seventeen" isn't as upbeat as "Peach" but its so lovely. Its the song you listen to and think "yup, this is what my first love felt like." I think thats what he was honestly going for given, its titled "Seventeen" in reference to being 17 years old. With that being said, while the song is beautiful, it also incites some emotional nostalgia for me because when i was 17 i was GOING THROUGH IT.
Anyways, ive made a playlist of the songs i mentioned in this post in case you want to listen (which i suggest you do), as well as my all time favorite song by him ("Oakland Ting/ 808 and Patron") Just listen to it, im not gonna explain why its my favorite haha. I'll also have his two new songs linked below <3
I know this post was lengthy. It honestly ended up being a lot longer than i expected but i just wanna close this off by letting yall know i wrote this because i feel like this artist deserves so much. Ive been a day one fan and i want you guys to be able to feel what i feel from his music, but in your own way.
click here to listen to johnny rains new songs "Peach" and "Seventeen"