Miscellaneous Musings on Music
MAY EDITION: Musings on a playlist inspired by art, opportunity, motivation, and time.
Hi internet. Do you like music? You do? Me too!
Every month I create a playlist of pump-up songs that spans genres and decades. I listen to this playlist, in the same order, every day until ding-dong! A new month arrives.
This daily ritual elevates my mood. Casts a spell. Every day I hear the same songs and every day I hear something new. Each song imprints on my soul and serenades me with exactly what I need to keep moving and grooving.
On the first of the month, I think….HMMMMM. What needs uplifting in my life? I consider my goals and get clear about the energy, movement, and support I need. Then, I ask the world wide web for songs that embody the inspirational vibes I seek. I research, then audition songs, thinking…..HMMMMM. How does the song make me feel? Do these lyrics speak to my soul? I tweak the playlist for a week or two until it’s the perfect soundtrack to my life.
Below are my miscellaneous musings about the vibes I selected for my May playlist. My inspirational themes were…
songs about art…
songs about opportunity…
songs about motivation…
songs about making the most of time…
May Vibes Playlist
Wicked Dickie, Buju Banton & Nadine Sutherland. 1993.
Venus De Milo, Miles Davis. 1949.
Venus de Milo, Prince and The Revolution. 1986.
Chasing the Sun, Lissie. 2022.
A Deeper Love, Aretha Franklin. 1994.
Space Oddity, David Bowie. 1969.
Shake it Out, Florence + The Machine. 2011.
Them Heavy People, Kate Bush. 1978.
Opportunity, The Jewels. 1968.
Field of Opportunity, Neil Young. 1978.
Time of the Season, The Zombies. 1968.
Deadlines and Commitments, The Killers. 2012.
Break My Stride, Matthew Wilder. 1983.
Mr. McAdams, Lil Dicky. 2023.
LEVII’S JEANS, Beyoncé and Post Malone. 2024.
Challengers: Match Point, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. 2024.
Wicked Dickie, Buju Banton & Nadine Sutherland. 1993.
Ooh aah, ooh aah Ooh ooh, ooh aah, ooh aah Ooh ooh, ooh aah, ooh aah Lord have his mercy
Just call me the selector! This old school dancehall bouncy beat gets the playlist started with instant vibes.
Isn’t moving your body to music the best? I love taking dance classes and have the profound fortune of learning dancehall, Caribbean social dance, from Nina Flagg. Nina is a supremely talented dancer, choreographer, and educator. Every Sunday at Crenshaw Yoga And Dance you get a transformative experience steeped in Jamaican roots and choreography in the name of dancehall. The two hour class begins by breaking into the space with freestyle movement. Nina magically unleashes attitude and energy from your body as you vibe the fuck out with yourself and each other to dancehall classics like this.
Venus De Milo, Miles Davis. 1949.
When I googled songs about art, this number by Miles Davis popped up. Outside of Ryan Gosling and John Legend, I haven’t listened to much jazz so I was jazzed to explore the Birth of Cool.
Venus De Milo starts with a blast that causes my shoulders to bop. The trumpet shoots from the hip with a confidence and a swing.
I totally dig how songs tell stories, even without lyrics. Isn’t music great?
Venus de Milo, Prince and The Revolution. 1986.
To my delight, Prince and The Revolution appeared in my Apple Music search results for the aforementioned Venus De Milo (where my Apple Music peeps at?!).
Two works of art, named for the same work of art. Ain’t life grand?
This song is a whole MOOD. It starts way down low on the piano. Very heavy. And sad. But then, it gets light…and sweet…and romantic…then sexyyyy. By the end, I’m swept off my damn feet.
Along with Kiss, this instrumental track is from the score of Under the Cherry Moon, a movie that is not Purple Rain, in which Prince starred and directed.
Chasing the Sun, Lissie. 2022.
Somewhere, out over the ocean Planets in motion and I can see Ah, something I've only imagined Some kind of magic is coming for me
Songs about the sun are classically optimistic and this bop is no different! Inspired by summer sunsets in Iowa, Chasing the Sun paints a magic hour sky any time of day.
A Deeper Love, Aretha Franklin. 1994.
May’s playlist demanded something from the Queen of Soul. I needed an anthem. A power ballad. Sing it with me now!
(Pride) A deeper love (Pride) A deeper love (Pride) A deeper love woah-woah-woah-woah It’s the (Pride) power that gives you The (Pride) strength to survive
⬆️ ⬆️ ⬆️ FACTS. Shame and hate drain the battery. Pride and love are needed to maintain a good charge in life.
This Aretha cover of a C&C Music Factory song was released on the soundtrack of Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, going on to hit number one on the dance charts.
Space Oddity, David Bowie. 1969.
Commencing countdown engines on.
Writing is a lot like space travel. Stepping through the door. Floating far above the world. Plunkin’ away at a tin can. Trying to eat protein instead of chai lattes and scones.
I remember hearing this song for the first time in early childhood and knowing instantly it was cool. I never really concerned myself with the particulars of the plot until..now. Poor Major Tom.
I found so many things from the Wikipedia page about this song interesting, that I’m just gonna copy and paste them here ⤵️.
Authors (Bowie biographers) David Buckley and Peter Doggett comment on the unusual vocabulary in the lyrics, such as "Ground Control" rather than "Mission Control", "space ship" rather than "rocket", "engines on" rather than "ignition", and the "unmilitary combination" of rank and first name for the character.[21][22]
"Space Oddity" is one of the most complex songs Bowie had written up to that point. He storyboarded each section, all leading into the next until completion.[10] According to O'Leary, in a little over five minutes, the song includes "a faded-in intro, a 12-bar solo verse, a 'liftoff' sequence, a duet verse, a bridge, a two-bar acoustic guitar break, a six-bar guitar solo, a third verse, another bridge, break and solo, and a 'Day in the Life'-style outro to the fade".[10] Bowie stated in 2002 he was "keen on ... writing in such a way that it would lead me into leading some kind of rock musical".[10]
Shake it Out, Florence + The Machine. 2011.
This gothic gospel pop banger goes for the jugular from the jump.
Regrets collect like old friends Here to relive your darkest moments
Regret is the WORST. But damn, it comes so easy! It’s so natural to punish yourself. For things you’ve done. For things you haven’t done. I’m partial to the latter. Thankfully, the chorus of Shake it Out demands sweet release, leaving us no option but to rock out, effectively exorcising that pesky devil named regret.
Did everyone know we were shaking it out? Not off? You did? Just me? Cool cool cool.
Them Heavy People, Kate Bush. 1978.
Thanks to Netflix, which greenlit Stranger Things, which hired music producer Nora Felder, who was tasked by the Duffer Brothers with finding the perfect song from the eighties to capture ‘the wide-ranging emotional experiences Max was undergoing’ in Season 4, we are in a Kate Bush renaissance! From running up the hill to rolling the ball…
Them heavy people hit me in the soft spot Them heavy people help me Rolling the ball (Rolling), rolling the ball (Rolling), rolling the ball to me (Rolling).
I ship this outlook on life. Getting hit by heavy shit is hard, but ultimately helps us live and learn. I very much enjoy Bush’s fantastical way of weaving words and this epic music video.
Opportunity, The Jewels. 1968.
Opportunity, woah, opportunity Somebody help him Opportunity, woah, opportunity Comes once in a life
The word opportunity is sung twenty-seven times in this cautionary tale about not letting opportunity pass you by. To this DMV’ers delight, The Jewels were a girl group who met at Roosevelt High School in Washington, DC!
Field of Opportunity, Neil Young. 1978.
In the field of opportunity It's plowin' time again There ain't no way of telling Where these seeds will rise or when
This metaphor tracks for me. You gotta turn over some inner soil for new opportunities to grow. Get to plowin’, people!
Spotify-ers rejoice! Learn why Neil Young recently ended his two year boycott of the streaming platform, straight from the Crazy Horse’s mouth.
Time of the Season, The Zombies. 1968.
This iconic hit has been serving sweet sweet vibes any time, every season, for over fifty-five years.
FUN FACTS:
Songwriter and keyboardist Rod Argent heard the rhythmic clap and iconic ‘ahhh’ in his mind after hearing the completed track, overlaying it after the fact.
The song never charted in the UK but hit #2 in the US a year after it came out. By then, The Zombies had already broken up.
All that talk about your rich daddy is inspired by another seasonal classic, George Gershwin’s Summertime.
SUMMERTIME (listen here) Summertime, and the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin' So hush little baby, don't you cry TIME OF THE SEASON What's your name? (What's your name) Who's your daddy? (Who's your daddy) (He rich) Is he rich like me? Has he taken (has he taken) Any time (any time) (To show) to show you what you need to live?
Deadlines and Commitments, The Killers. 2012.
Deadlines and commitments Every morning And in the evening They can suck you in Boy, don't I know it This offer would be standing All you've got to do is call Don't be afraid to knock on the door
As an employee, I always meet deadlines and commitments. Guaranteed! Hundo-P.
Self-imposed deadlines on the other hand?! OOF. The inner dialogue that goes down when I blow past a chosen deadline and/or commitment is brutal. This soulful song from the perspective of a super empathetic champion in your corner is a helpful reminder to call on those who lift you up as you do the damn thing.
Break My Stride, Matthew Wilder. 1983.
You know it. You love it. Sing along!
Ain't nothing gonna break my stride (Whoa)
Nobody gonna slow me down
Oh no, I got to keep on moving
Ain't nothing gonna break-a-my stride
I'm running and I won't touch ground
Oh no, I got to keep on moving
Words to live by.
This one hit wonder poured out of Matthew Wilder (who is not in the least bit Jamaican) in thirty minutes, under duress from Clive Davis to produce a hit. Davis did not think this was it, so he released Wilder from his record contract who found success with this tropical delight a year later.
Many on the internet claim Break My Stride is a slightly different version of Men At Work’s Down Under, which Wilder sites as an influence. Now I can’t unhear it!
Mr. McAdams, Lil Dicky. 2023.
Okay, I couldn’t choose just a couplet or two, so here are multiple lyric snippets from this super relatable song that debuted in Season 3, Episode 9 of Dave (on FXX/hulu).
You don't even care about me Tell me why I care about you This ain't the movies, but I think that you're the one Rachel, let me be your Mr. McAdams... I know you've dated Taylor Kitsch (huh) And I know you've seen Ryan Goslings dick (skrrt) Oh, girl, I don't know it all, girl I just wanna take you to a ball, have a ball girl... ...Are you a blonde or brunette? You pull 'em both off like socks in a bed (hey) Notebook even had a little bit of red (true) I don't know why I'm telling you about your hair (no) You would know best, you was there, it's your hair (stupid)... ...Heard you're 5'4", I bet you ain't even know that's my ideal height (ayy) I'm 6" (ay), eh 5'11", I'm 5'10" (oh)
If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching Dave or don’t know about Lil Dicky, think Larry David, forty years younger, and a rapper. His critically acclaimed series Dave is absurd, evocative, and jocular. Watching creators like Lil Dicky take fearless creative swings is INSPIRING, as I too have a propensity for publicly oversharing unfiltered stream-of-consciousness thoughts and philosophies (hi mom! hi dad!).
Like Curb, this LD and FX have left the door open for future seasons of Dave although none are planned at this time while he pursues other opportunities. Here’s to hopin’.
LEVII’S JEANS, Beyoncé and Post Malone. 2024.
Mama Tina said it best. It’s a fool’s errand to pluck just one favorite off of Act II: Cowboy Carter, but LEVII’S JEANS is most def Top 5.
You call me pretty little thing And I love to turn him on Boy, I'll let you be my Levi's jeans So you can hug that ass all day long (ass all day long)
I LOVE BEYONCÉ SO VERY MUCH. But I hate jeans. Anyone else? Ladies?
Jeans are a symptom of the patriarchy. A major culprit of gender inequality. YEAH! I said it.
Men’s Jeans hang in the wind to accommodate the dangling penis, scrotum and testicles. Women’s Jeans, on the other hand, hug that torso, thighs, mons pubis, AND ass all day long.
My whole life I’ve longed for a jean that feels GREAT. Inside and out. I’m not talking about super sonic stretchy jeans. I’m talking denim on denim on denim. But thanks to QUEEN B, I’m reminded I’m a fuckin’ centerfold in everything I wear.
Ten out of ten doctors say listening to LEVII’S JEANS every day, twice a day, does the body good. Guaranteed to make you and that ass feel sexy AF.
Challengers: Match Point, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. 2024.
THE END.
Who won? Who lost? We all take the W or L at one point or another…so just stay at it and play good fucking tennis every time you step onto the court.
This track comes at the grand finale of the sexy sporty film, Challengers. The musical score is a huge character in the narrative. It sets the energetic pace. It pulses. It drips sweat. It rises. It falls. It STOPS abruptly….just like this Substack post.