Thursday, May 26, 2016

Issues I have with Spotify

*If any of these things are paid features, well whatever. I can't pay for streaming AND buy actual music, so I choose to buy music. That said -

I see no way to embed playlists, thus making me litter my blog with ugly text links (that don't even link on blogger for some reason, but that's an issue I have with Blogger). According to their help page, there should be a "copy embed code" option when you right click on the playlist. BUT THERE ISN'T.

No way to reorder songs in a playlist. Seriously??

No way to change your username. These are really BASIC things, folks.

Mistitled songs. I ran into several of these while making my playlists.

Some artists, like Garth Brooks, Prince, and Taylor Swift don't have their music on Spotify. Okay, I get it. But what's up with missing material from artists who are on there? An entire MCR album is missing. Two of my favorite Paramore songs. One of my favorite Pam Tillis songs, which was a top 10 hit. This is not obscure music, dammit.

Okay, I just had to vent about that. I'm sort of addicted to making playlists right now, but they could make it a lot less frustrating.

TBT

Nothing says summer like 90s country. It just feels so good.



And here's my summer country playlist (there's also a rock/pop one), 100% bro-country free! Sorry about the Jason Aldean, but come on, Night Train is just a good song.
https://play.spotify.com/user/12177235955/playlist/7vSMwxxhFlq2vhwBnah9XT

Monday, May 16, 2016

Music Monday

Really freaking random spring playlist. This kind of encapsulates my odd assortment of music tastes. Only a few songs are really spring-themed, others say spring to me for whatever reason, like I just like to listen to them in the spring. idk. The idea was inspired by "In Bloom," so there's that.

https://play.spotify.com/user/12177235955/playlist/4lPJRRBa704WuQ3tsJCyZj

I feel like you should be able to embed from Spotify? But I don't see how to. Maybe you have to pay for that. I buy actual music instead, so enjoy my ugly ass text link.

My summer playlist will be more "on the nose," for the most part. And it will top 50+ songs. Just the ZBB stuff alone...

Friday, May 13, 2016

Favorite Song Friday

I can't in good conscience call this "feel good Friday," since my favorite songs seem to be about heartbreak, dying of cancer*, and... drugs? Idk what Crimson and Clover is about, honestly. But it sounds like drugs.

*I'm really fun at parties.

Favorite classic rock song: This was the toughest call. I love classic rock, and this just beat out "Strange Magic."



Favorite modern rock song: Yes, the most obvious MCR song I could pick. But this song is Queenlike in pure epicness, and I never get tired of it.



Favorite 90s country song: Surprisingly, not a tough call. This is what country will always be to me, and it's another song I never, ever get tired of hearing.



Favorite modern country song (last 10-ish years): The song that got me back into country, and made me an unabashed Miranda fangirl.



Sooo there's some mainstream music through the years that doesn't suck, even if most of it was depressing! Happy Friday!



Thursday, May 12, 2016

TBT ~ Let's compare! 90s country vs Cole Swindell

Cole Swindell's "You Should Be Here" is this year's "See You Again."* A song inspired by the death of a real person that should resonate emotionally, but instead comes off bland and lacking despite whatever good intentions it might have. I'm not saying this to be a cynical bitch. I want songs like that to make me feel something. I'm begging you, elicit an emotion! But while these songs might not be doing anything for me, I guess they are for somebody, A lot of somebodies, actually, cause these are huge hits. Somebodies who like their grief on the shallow side. Grief Lite, you might say.

*a song so "memorable," I forgot the title and had to google it.

Cole Swindell and Charlie Puth are a perfect comparison, like comparing a loaf of Wonder bread with another loaf of Wonder bread. The fact that boring ass people like this can become famous makes the loss of Prince, Merle Haggard and David Bowie even more tragic. WHAT HAPPENED TO US?? I guess if you want a hit, make a damn generic death (or wedding) song that will somehow resonate with everyone despite actually resonating with no one. It's a phenomenon. I don't understand it. But was it always this way?

No. No, it wasn't. Okay, pop music has generally been on the shallow side. Every once in a while you'll get something with real emotional pull, like "Every Breath You Take" or "The Greatest Love of All." And even the latter you could argue is kinda motivational poster-level emotion, but Whitney Houston sings the hell out of that shit. End of story. And the former is a scary ass stalker, but he sells it man. So yeah, maybe "See You Again" is about as deep as pop's gonna go. It's not a song about underwear or ho's not being loyal, so I'll take it.

But that brings us to country. Country music, at its core, is not shallow. Sad country songs tend to be cutting. Genuine slices of life that make you feel, even if it's something you haven't experienced. You empathize. You feel like it could happen to you, because life.

I was originally going to compare "You Should Be Here" straight up with this, one of my favorite sad 90s country songs, a song that I can't listen to without crying. Hell, just thinking about it makes me tear up a little. But I'm going to include a couple others as well.



Everything about this song reduces me to a pile of goo, from the gut-wrenchingly specific lyrics to the pretty, simple melody, to Tim's heartfelt but not overwrought delivery. And that was when I thought the song was just about a marriage ending. Then I saw the video, which clearly indicates the woman died of cancer. SHIT. This is too much for me to handle. Okay, let's move on to another 90s gem.



*sniffle* This hits me on a personal level, but even if it didn't, the emotion is palpable. Reba kills this song, but the beautiful and undeniably real lyrics come in a close second to her delivery. And finally, the incomparable Patty Loveless.



What do all of these songs have in common, besides haunting vocals and my lack of ability to get through them without tearing up? They tell stories. They offer details of these people's lives that flesh them out, make them into real people you feel sad are gone. And I just... don't get that from "You Should Be Here." I feel like they held back, and it's really to the song's detriment. He sings, "it's one of them moments that has your name written all over it" without going into any specifics about said moment. The weather's nice and the bros are over drinking some beers. Okay? Is that really unique and special? It's like they're trying to appeal to everyone - "hey, I drank a beer outside with my dad once too! OMG it's like he's singing about me!" - without offering the little details that will actually cut you down, if you think about them. But it's mainstream country, who's thinkin'??

Bottom line: while I empathize with Cole losing his father, I did too, the song doesn't make me cry. AND IT SHOULD. It's not a bad song. But the fact that I even entertained the thought, "would this be better with Wiz Khalifa on it?" indicates it's not the anthem it wants to be.

Monday, May 09, 2016

A brief rant about rampant willful ignorance

Willful ignorance is like kudzu. It grows willy-nilly over everything, obscuring whatever was once there into vague shapes of their former selves.

I rarely talk about current "events" on here, and boy do I use the word "event" lightly, but this one thing seems like a perfect microcosm of everything that's gone wrong with modern discourse. I blame the vultures that are 24/7 "news" outlets for this and many other things, including the Trump beast. I somewhat blame social media as well, but unlike the so-called news, it can at least be used as a voice of reason too. Social media is today's free press, for better or worse.

So WTF am I talking about? Well, let's start with one of my favorite things in the whole wide world, the 2004 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. Nothing takes me to my happy place more effectively than thinking about that glorious October. My favorite story from that favorite year was, of course, Curt Schilling and his bloody sock. I may have idolized this man and his grit a bit excessively, including bowing down to the bloody sock "we're not worthy" style at Cooperstown, but IT WAS THE STUFF OF LEGENDS. It still is. The man did have grit, and he put his money where his mouth was, and I loved him for that.

Unfortunately, he also puts his mouth where his ass is. And thus, my introduction to BATHROOM PANIC 2016. Or maybe we'll call it Bathroom 6. Y'know, like the motel. Cause that's what we name shitstorms after. I'm not here to judge him or anyone for their political or any other beliefs, but I will judge you if you post something knowingly stupid and bigoted with the intent to fearmonger.

Now, this bathroom thing is incredibly stupid, and this is what I mean by a microcosm of what's gone wrong. This is the kind of dumb, petty issue that gets blown up into this huge thing, fueled by "news" networks and social media, because we have no effin clue how to tackle the real problems like say, homeless veterans or police brutality or working families who can no longer get by. So this dumbass shit becomes a HYPERFOCUS, because hey, maybe we can micromanage who uses a damn bathroom, even if we can't solve starving children or people dying of curable diseases. I CLAIM THIS BATHROOM STALL FOR ME, BITCHES. FOR GREAT JUSTICE.

So imma burst this bubble real damn fast. Transgender people are not a new thing. It's something that's talked about more, because everything is talked about more on the internet, including the color of a damn dress and the miracle way to slice a pineapple (really - https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/internet-freaking-over-crazy-way-135943958.html - but that page crashed my Chrome so I don't recommend going to it. Sorry, pineapple lovers.) That means men who were born women and women who were born men have been sharing public bathrooms for a long time already. So... where are the reports of all these vicious attacks that must have been going on for years? I've never heard of a single one. It must be a cover up!

Or maybe, it's not an issue at all. Maybe everyone just wants to pee in peace. The people making this an issue are afraid, but not of being attacked while doing their business. They're afraid of change, and people who are different. And that's the real issue, and the one that should be talked about without getting into all these damn distractions. I mean, you have to try really damn hard to make this an issue.

Finally - I'm not here to tell people what they should think, or believe. No one should. But when you think your own thoughts and beliefs should actively impede others' rights, especially when it doesn't even affect your own life, that's when we have a problem. You don't have to accept another person's lifestyle, and no one can force you to, but you do have to share the planet with them. So just try to be decent however you can.

Friday, May 06, 2016

Feel Good Friday ~ Kids alright, alright as they'll ever be

This might be my favorite Green Day song.

Worthless Yahoo Headline of the Day

Or, thing I care least about in the whole wide world: "Taylor Swift's Squad Allegedly Unfollowed Demi Lovato for Posting a Selfie With Hailey Baldwin"

Seriously, tell me all about your toenail fungus. I'm all ears. Can't be any worse. I think my favorite part is the "allegedly," as though a crime may have taken place. Law & Order: Stupid Celebrity Tweets *chung chung*