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 |    My primary Writing.com blog. |
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Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics). Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:  "The Soundtrackers Group"  "Blogging Circle of Friends " "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" "JAFBG" "Take up Your Cross" Thanks for stopping by!  |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 29 "Is It Over Now?" by Taylor Swift It's only fitting that I end this year's "The Soundtrack of Your Life" with a Taylor Swift song. After the year she's had and all the record's she's broken, it's only fair that she extend her record-setting run of being featured on (now) six consecutive "The Soundtrack of Your Life" playlists of mine. Talk about real achievements...  I had a really hard time choosing just one song to feature this year. She released her album Midnights in late 2022 which has a ton of songs that I really love. I featured "Anti-Hero" on last year's playlist but have really come to appreciate some of the other songs on that album even more, including "Maroon," "Midnight Rain," and "Bejewled," plus "Paris" off the 3am Edition extended album release. But the album was at least represented on a previously playlist.But then I started thinking back to the Taylor Swift concert my wife and I attended over the summer, and how many phenomenal songs we were reminded of. "Long Live," "My Tears Ricochet," and "Dress" (the last of which was one of the songs from the acoustic set of our show) were all songs that I started listening to again in earnest since the concert, and all of which eventually ended up on my Spotify year-end playlist. But ultimately I decided not to go with any of those because... ... the real highlight of Taylor Swift's year, for me, was the release of 1989 (Taylor's Version), which was the self-produced re-release album that I was most looking forward to. Not only is it my favorite album of hers (although Lover and Reputation are very close), but the "From The Vault" bonus tracks are all amazing. This is the one that's been my favorite so far ("Now That We Don't Talk" is a close second), and I've been listening to it on repeat for a while now. The fact that it's near the top of my Spotify "most listened to songs of 2023" and it wasn't even released until the very end of October 2023 should give you an indication of just how much I've been listening to it over the past few months.  The final reason why I chose it is because the song title ("Is It Over Now?") is a perfect encapsulation of my feelings about this year's "The Soundtrack of Your Life" . I have mixed feelings about it being over. On the one hand, I'm sad that it's now over and done for another year, and we have the longest possible wait until it reopens again in February 2025. As usual, I didn't get to fit nearly all the songs I wanted to (I left off all the Contemporary Christian and worship music I've been listening to all year, even though it was the genre I listened to most!), and it felt like I was more rushed than usual this year. Which is why I'm also kind of glad it's over; I really had to power through over the past few days and get caught up on a lot of entries because I was stuck at six entries for about three weeks.Still, I really love this activity and I'm looking forward to getting caught up on everyone else's playlists and starting to put together my own for next year! (552 words) |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 28 "bad idea right?" by Olivia Rodrigo I really like Olivia Rodrigo's music. At first when she was a Disney kid I didn't think much of her, but the way she really struck out on her own with her first album Sour was revelatory... and now her second album Guts is proving that it's not just a one-off. She's managing to bring an older, adult perspective (ironic, considering she's only 21) to pop music and I love the fact that the subject matter of her songs and lyrics don't hold anything back. Lyrics from this song like, "I only see him as a friend / (biggest lie I've ever said)" and "I only see him as a friend / I tripped and fell into his bed" are great turns of phrase that I think a lot of people can really relate to. If she's only 21 and already releasing music that's this catchy and this sophisticated, I'm really excited to see where her career goes from here. |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 27 "Homemade Dynamite" by Lorde I'm not a big fan of Lorde in general (I know some people absolutely adore her), but I have to admit that this song is really catchy. I discovered it playing on the radio of a friend's car on the way to Disneyland and found it really catchy. I had nothing else to do but listen to it because she was trying to surprise him so she made him wear a blindfold and earplugs then snuck me into the car so I could let them in... so I was in the back of the car and we couldn't talk or anything (lest we spoil the surprise) so she cranked up the radio and this was the song that was playing. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to pass the time until we got to the park and could reveal where we'd brought him.  |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 26 "These Days (AJR Remix)" by Rudimental feat. Jess Glynne, Macklemore, and Dan Caplen I think this song wins the award for the most collaborators of anything on my playlist this year. Rudimental recorded the track with Jess Glynne, Macklemore, and Dan Caplen... and then just for a little extra oomph, AJR remixed this version.  I really love this song, though. Macklemore is a great rapper and mixing it with Rudimental's lyrics and the vocals of the others all just kind of works together. It's a nostalgic, feel-good song that I found myself listening to more than once when I needed a little pick-me-up. |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 25 "Best Friend Song" by Rozzi This is the third year in a row that I've featured Rozzi on my "The Soundtrack of Your Life" playlist. She actually might be the most consistently featured artist that I've used, other than Taylor Swift, who's had at least one song appear on my playlist every year for the past five years.  There's something about Rozzi's voice that just really resonates with me. I think it's really unique and she manages to pair it with really interesting lyrics and simple beats that make it stand out. I don't really know what makes the particular version of the song in the video the "Lemon Ice Mix" (it sounds an awful lot like the original to me), but this is a pretty simple and fun song to listen to... even though I can't listen to it in the car with the kids because I don't want them asking me what "giving someone mushrooms" means. |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 24 "Waves" by Pace Randolph feat. The Choir Imperfect I'd never heard of Pace Randolph (or The Choir Imperfect) before, but this was another Spotify recommendation find that I really enjoyed and listened to a lot over the past year. I really dig the combination of vocals and a bit of both country and electronic vibes. It's a unique-sounding song that is a really good mix of the two major genres I've probably been listening to the most over this past year: electro-pop and country. |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 23 "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" by AC/DC I hadn't heard this song in years until it was featured on the second season of The Bear (which is an absolutely phenomenal show, by the way. The episode "Forks" might be one of my favorite episodes of television ever). AC/DC is one of those bands that I absolutely love, but I always forget about their deeper catalog beyond the huge hits that everyone knows ("Thunderstruck," "Back in Black," "Highway to Hell," etc.). And then, inevitably, a song will be featured somewhere and I'll go, "Oh! I love this song!" and completely rediscover it all over again. It's hard to believe that AC/DC is still going strong. Other than a hiatus from 2016-2018 following the retirement of one of their band members, AC/DC has literally been in existence for more than fifty years at this point and are still performing. That's wild! |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 22 "I'm A Star (Dance Version)" by Devin Lewis feat. Solea Pfeiffer The first time I'd ever heard Solea Pfeiffer's name was when she played the role of Eliza Hamilton in the U.S. Tour of the Broadway musical Hamilton. We managed to get tickets to one of the Los Angeles shows and, in preparation, had been listening to the Broadway cast recording (where the role was most notably performed by the phenomenal Phillipa Soo), and I remember thinking how impressed I was by the fact that she was almost as good. Some of the traveling cast weren't anywhere close to the magic of the most notable performers, but Solea was amazing. This is also my second blog post of this year's "The Soundtrack of Your Life" where I'm featuring someone that made an appearance in Hadestown, a musical that I really, really want to see. I previously mentioned in "Whisper" that Betty Who played the role of Persephone in some Broadway productions of the musical, and Solea Pfeiffer did the same with the role of Eurydice. I would pay so much money to see a Broadway musical with both of those artists in it.  I really like this song as a productivity listen, when I need something up-tempo to keep focused and plugging along on a task. |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 21 "Don't" by Wild Rivers Wild Rivers is a bit of a strange band for me because I really like a lot of their songs, but I don't think they have a consistent sound. In looking back on my most-listened to songs of 2023, the band actually shows up a handful of times, but it wasn't intentional on my part. Each time they were added based on Spotify recommendations (where the service provides a curated playlist of new music) and I'd hear the song and go, "Okay, I'll definitely listen to that again," and will add it to my regular playlist. Then, at the end of the year, I had a moment where I was like, "Wait, that song AND that song AND that song are all the same band?" It was a strange experience for sure, but I really love this song and it's my most listened-to song by the band from last year. |
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Not many of those around here. Who's your favourite team/driver? My favourite, Valtteri Bottas, doesn't have a seat for the 2025 season. I'll be hoping for Hamilton, Piastri and Tsunoda to be successful this season, though I also like Alonso and Leclerc.
