“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
― Bob Marley
Music is, without a doubt, a balm for my soul. It sweeps me up and can impact my mood for the entire day. There are songs or artists that I turn to when I need to get my head on straight, when I’m doubting myself, when I want to celebrate life, when I’m so angry I can barely see straight…you get the picture. Certain songs can make me smile, no matter my mood when it comes on. Amanda Palmer’s “Ukulele Anthem” is one of these, Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried”, Fun’s “Some Nights”…I always sing along (and occasionally dance) when I listen to them. Right now, “Ukulele Anthem” is buzzing around begging me to get it stuck in someone else’s head. I’m sure I’ll oblige it sooner rather than later. (My nephew is due a phone call…I’ll get hung up on when I sing it to him, but it will be worth it!)
Lately, I’ve been talking with people about music, asking for recommendations mostly. There are a lot of new artists I’ve discovered, established artists I’m really delving into for the first time, exploring genres that never appealed to me before, and relying on old favorites to recall a certain mood or feeling…or just because. I don’t know what I would do without Spotify giving me the freedom to explore a bit. (Although, oddly enough, I rarely use their discovery feature recommendations. It isn’t that they aren’t good. They’ve been pretty decent when I have clicked on a recommendation. I don’t know.)
Discovering music through recommendations by people is one of my favorite ways to do it. It keeps me listening when I might have switched to something else, because I know that there’s a reason so-and-so likes this song. Sometimes, I find a new favorite. Sometimes, not. How do you find new artists to listen to? Send me some of the songs you love to listen to. Maybe they’ll find a place on my next playlist.
Current Playlist (a.k.a. musical obsessions)
- Ukulele Anthem – Amanda Palmer
- London Calling – The Clash
- Drunken Lullabies – Flogging Molly
- Should I Stay or Should I Go – The Clash
- One Day Like This – Elbow
- Makin’ Whoopee – Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman
- I Want You, But I Don’t Need You – Amanda Palmer
- Some Nights – Fun
- Day For The Dead – Zac Brown Band
- Lola – The Kinks
- Speed of Darkness – Flogging Molly
- Tessellate – Alt-J (Actually just this whole album)
- You & Me – Caroline’s Spine
- Bother – Stone Sour
- Cocaine Blues – Johnny Cash
- At Last – Etta James
- I Will Wait – Mumford & Sons
- Weather To Fly – Elbow
- Demons – Imagine Dragons
- Everybody Talks – Neon Trees
- Shake It Out – Florence + The Machine
- Strong – London Grammar
- Piano Concertos – Mozart
Actually, I just switched to Chopin’s Mazurkas…
‘Til next time,
Jessica
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