Music that suits my personality and helps tell my story
<Song> – <artist><YYYY> – <Why this song fits my personality>; <my commentary on this song> -> link to song
Typical – Mutemath 2007 – “Typical is also like being in the middle or average”; “Amazing song and video that explores how one breaks out of being typical. Also, the video is incredible in that the artists play the song backwards, which makes me wonder what it would be like to live life backwards? -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biIKL3qh0L4
Daughters – John Mayer 2003 – “My two daughters, my wife, and my girl dog Sandy help typify why I love this song as it depicts the important relationships between fathers, mothers and daughters”; “I adore the acoustics, vocals and lyrics in this song and how the melodically mix together into a piece of artwork. I learned to play this song years ago and need to rediscover it” -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZLbUIa7exE
In The Middle – Jimmy Eat World 2001- “When it released and I first heard it, I was 41, just made a major career change, and immediately connected with it in that regard. Though very poppy, the music it was set to was upbeat and hopeful toward the theme”; “Caught in the middle of the ride (middle age crisis), of growing up (coming of age), of success or failure (career cognitive dissonance) -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKsxPW6i3pM
Rocketship – Guster 1997 – “Although this song seems to imply suicide, and I’ve never been suicidal, it’s so touching in many ways and I relate to it because it speaks to not wanting to fit in for fitting in sake, but instead to embark on new journeys on one’s own terms. And I’ve always loved space and astronomy, and those overtones resonated with me”; “Besides the song’s lyrics, its acoustic arrangement with a variety of string instruments is beautiful. I want to learn to play this song” -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbW7Wsylggc
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana 1991 – “I love driving rock, grunge rock, Seattle, and the feeling this song inspired in me during this era. For this song, it’s not about the lyrics (some are essentially meaningless – a joke as per Kurt Cobain), or the complexity of the music (its technically simple) but about the revolutionary and evolutionary vibe at the time”; “No matter what anyone says about this song being overrated, and not one of Nirvana’s best – it put alternative / grunge rock on a lot of people’s radar and had a very material impact on music evolution” -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg
Don’t Go Back To Rockville – REM 1984 – “I can’t imagine any song being more appropriate or seeming to speak to me directly at this time in my life. I was 24, out of college and pretty much jumping jobs with no clear path. The message was no matter what, don’t go back to an old life, make a new one – which I did starting that year in my prep for entering graduate school”; “The funny thing is about this song is that it’s about Mike Mills’ (from Athens GA) girl friend, who is from Rockville, MD and his pleading her to stay in GA – which ironically is where I ended up” -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zgh0y9vTgY
All I Can Do Is Write About It – Lynyrd Skynyrd 1976 – “A man’s free spirit and acceptance of things – and how that is amplified when he is appreciating the magnificence of untouched nature”; “I was 16 when this song was released, very into Southern Rock, backpacking and very independent. It fit me, and remains one of my favorite all time Skynyrd songs. I’ve played this for years” -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH-gnMSzmtI
Simple Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd 1973 – “Coming of age in the 70’s, I remember a friend turning me onto this album and hearing this song, it struck me with its parental wisdom delivered in the softest manner, but by a hard driving, rebellious rock group – What should I aspire to be? I related to contradictions at the time”; “Ronnie and the crew delivered many hits in the 70’s, but none with a message as pure, and enduring as this” -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z3gkq_gWL4
Space Oddity – David Bowie 1969 – “Floating in space in a most peculiar way, is how I feel about life sometimes – and this song and its detached perspectives on that were epic, at a time when men were landing on the moon and the lure of space travel was top of mind”; “I rediscovered this song and learned to play it after watching the movie ‘The Secret Life of Walter Middy’ where the song was paired to a scene where Walter has to make a life changing decision and take a major risk in doing it” -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP6xBFyA_aw
Some of my music on SoundCloud: