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28 songs for the month of February. The soundtrack of my life in 2022. |
I'm making a solid attempt at the Soundtrack of Your Life challenge  for February. I'll be honest that with my schedule, a daily writing challenge is quite difficult. But I love music so this challenge is right up my street.Buckle up and be prepared for possible musical whiplash. Hopefully you'll discover something new. ![Merit Badge in Music
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"This Flight Tonight" by Joni Mitchell "Look out the left," the captain said "The lights down there, that's where we'll land." I saw a falling star burn up Above the Las Vegas sands It wasn't the one that you gave to me That night down south between the trailers Not the early one That you can wish upon, Not the northern one That guides in the sailors Oh star bright, star bright You've got the lovin' that I like, all right Turn this crazy bird around I shouldn't have got on this flight tonight You got the touch so gentle and sweet But you've got that look so critical Now I can't talk to you baby I get so weak Sometimes I think love is just mythical Up there's a heaven Down there's a town Blackness everywhere and little lights shine Oh, blackness, blackness dragging me down Come on light the candle in this poor heart of mine Oh star bright, star bright You've got the lovin' that I like, all right Turn this crazy bird around I shouldn't hove got on this flight tonight I'm drinking sweet champagne Got the headphones up high Can't numb you out Can't drum you out of my mind They're playing, "Goodbye baby, Baby Goodbye, Ooh, ooh, love is blind" Up go the flaps, down go the wheels I hope you got your heat turned on baby I hope they finally fixed your automobile I hope it's better when we meet again baby Star bright, star bright You got the lovin' that I like, all right Turn this crazy bird around I shouldn't have got on this flight tonight I couldn't very well make a playlist without including the incomparable Joni Mitchell, could I? Her musicality and vocal agility combined with her vivid lyrics have created many a masterpiece. Blue is definitely her best album, in my opinion. (Feel free to disagree, but please provide evidence.) This one is a little more musically upbeat than some of the other songs on the album. The album is named "Blue", after all, after the title song which is about her struggle with depression. Is there a creative genius that doesn't struggle with depression? I don't think I know any. Maybe there's something to the "tortured artist" archetype. Joni is well known for using alternate guitar tunings in her songs, and I think this is one of those songs that has unique tuning. It almost makes the guitar sound like an entirely different instrument, and the distinctive sound suits her style and her voice so well. There's something about the rhythm of the guitar against the rhythm of the lyrics / melody that I can't get enough of. But my favorite part is that musical interlude when she sings the "Goodbye baby, baby goodbye..." line. It's so pleasantly unexpected. Just like Joni. Although I don't really know the story behind it, I like to imagine she wrote this song looking out the window on an overnight plane as she leaves a seemingly tumultuous relationship, still having some regrets about leaving. Did she end up turning around and going back to her lover? I kind of hope not, since it doesn't sound like a healthy relationship. I haven't flown anywhere in almost 3 years, due to the state of the world and the state of my finances, but you can bet I'll be listening to this song on repeat when I do. Sit back and enjoy the ride! Anni |
| For Day 2, something a little bit alternative. "Shake Me Down" by Cage the Elephant Shake me down Not a lot of people left around Who knows now Softly laying on the ground Not a lot of people left around In my life, I've seen People walk into the sea Just to find memories Plagued by constant misery Their eyes cast down Fixed upon the ground Their eyes cast down I'll keep my eyes fixed on the sun Shake me down Cut my hair on a silver cloud Broken sound Softly laying on the ground Not a lot of people left around In my past, bittersweet There's no love between the sheets Taste the blood, broken dreams Lonely times indeed With eyes cast down Fixed upon the ground Eyes cast down I'll keep my eyes fixed on the sun Turn back, now it's time for me to let go Way down, had to find a place to lay low Lampshade turned around into a light post Walk around the corner Never saw it coming, still I try to make a move It almost stopped me from belief I don't wanna know the future But I'm like Rolling Thunder Even on a cloudy day (x 7) I'll keep my eyes fixed on the I'll keep my eyes fixed on the I'll keep my eyes fixed on the sun Shake me down Not a lot of people left around Just from the first stanza alone, you can probably tell why this song kind of embodies this last year. Not a lot of people left around. It's been a very rough few years for almost everyone. People have lost jobs, homes, their savings, their health, loved ones, in some cases their own lives. It's become a kind of global inside joke that 2020 and 2021 have been the worst years that have ever happened, to the point of absurdity. I mean, Firenados in California? Only in 2021. It honestly does feel like the end-times are here.This song reminds me not to keep my eyes cast down. Especially when things seem the bleakest. The sun is still there, even when you can't see it. Of course, there is a point where optimism and positivity can reach a toxic level, especially when it's forced. No one wants to be told to just look on the bright side when they are suffering. But I don't think this goes that far. I really enjoy the picked guitar line at the start and the dynamic range between the verses and the chorus. The video tells a visual story of a man's life as it flashes before his eyes at the end of his life. It adds even more depth to the song. Hope you all enjoy! Anni |
| I thought I'd start off Day 1 with the song I have quoted in the bio block of my portfolio. "The Silence" by Bastille Tell me a piece of your history That you're proud to call your own Speak in words you picked up As you walked through life alone We used to swim in your stories And be pulled down by their tide Choking on the words And drowning with no air in sight Now you've hit a wall and it's not your fault My dear, my dear, my dear Now you've hit a wall and you've hit it hard My dear, my dear, oh dear It is not enough to be dumbstruck Can you fill the silence? You must have the words in that head of yours And oh, oh, can you feel the silence? I can't take it anymore Cause it is not enough to be dumbstruck Can you fill the silence? Tell me a piece of your history That you've never said out loud Pull the rug beneath my feet And shake me to the ground Wrap me around your fingers Break the silence open wide Before it seeps into my ears And fills me up from the inside Now you've hit a wall and you're lost for words My dear, my dear, my dear Now you've hit a wall and you've hit it hard My dear, my dear, oh dear It is not enough to be dumbstruck Can you fill this silence? You must have the words in that head of yours And oh, oh, can you feel the silence? I can't take it anymore, Cause it is not enough to be dumbstruck Can you fill the silence? If you give it a name, then it's already won What you good for? What you good for? (x3) Cause it is not enough to be dumbstruck Can you fill this silence? You must have the words in that head of yours And oh, oh, can you feel the silence? I can't take it anymore Cause it is not enough to be dumbstruck I haven't heard another song that better captures the feeling of writer's block. A feeling that I suspect most people reading this have felt before. Especially the lines: "If you give it a name, then it's already won / What you good for?". It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more you convince yourself you're blocked, the harder you try to produce something anyway, the longer you stare at the blank page, the worse it gets. You start thinking you'll never create anything again. You've lost any talent you might have had, or perhaps you never had it at all. And if you're an artist who can't create your art, what are you good for? I spent about six years "dumbstruck" and only recently started writing again. I made the resolution that I needed to get back into writing a year ago, for my mental health, and found this site. Six years of silence may not sound like a long time, but it's long enough to feel permanent. Unfortunately, you can't force inspiration. It comes when you're not looking for it. It comes when you're walking down the street past a weird looking car and you wonder who the owner could be. It comes from a random song lyric you hear on the radio in the middle of the produce aisle. Sometimes it comes from heartbreak. Or, sometimes it leaves from heartbreak. It comes when you see new places and experience new things. It comes from consuming the works of others. While I haven't completely gotten past it, I've found that when you're in that state you have to forget about the product and just focus on the process. Don't do it for an audience. In fact, you don't have to show anyone at all. Keep creating embarrassingly subpar works. Write LOTS of terrible, pointless, cliché, badly rhyming poems. Write stories with poorly developed characters and obvious plot holes. Write things that have been done before. As long as you're writing, you're improving. It takes so many awful works to create even ONE good one. Anni |
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