Author: Erin Erter

hello. it has been a while since i’ve done one of these, so i’d like to refresh everyone with a new edition to the series. i am slightly running out of ideas, so i’ll be using this post as an easy way to get back on track. anyways, here are the songs currently in my rotation !!

thy mission – the garden

the attitude that the garden present in their music is absolutely addicting. i had this song liked for a while, but i never really listened to it as much as i have recently. i love the lyrics, and i especially love the way they are sung. this song reminds me of the ideal group of friends i imagined i’d have by now. it overall reminds me of being a teenager, and more specifically, being a dumb teenager.

call the dogs out – the garden

another one from the garden. i liked the attitude in the last song, but in this song, i 100% love it. there are some days when i’m just annoyed by everyone and everything, and this song is the perfect additive for those days. whenever i get in those moods, it’s best to just amplify them and allow myself to be annoyed for a day. i don’t know why, but being annoyed is so much more enjoyable when this song is playing.

alone again (naturally) – guilbert o’sullivan

even just hearing the chord progression in the beginning of this song makes me teary-eyed. it didn’t use to affect me much, but after the bad spell of emotions i’ve been having recently, the song absolutely breaks me. i found it because someone said it sounded like what the beatles would of sounded like if they were still together in the 70s (to whoever said that: you weren’t kidding). the lyrics are so desperately sad, but the way it’s sung almost passes the emotions over as any ordinary event. i guess that’s where the title comes in. alone again, naturally. 

the only living boy in new york – simon and garkfunkel

i love simon and garfunkel. this song is so homey to me, and i genuinely love it so much. it’s so light and almost melancholic. however, i don’t think the lyrics reflect those two descriptions in the slightest. or maybe they do. this is definitely my favorite song by them, and i love listening to it during rainy car rides on the interstate- much like the ending scene of good will hunting with elliott smith’s miss misery playing.

swamp – the talking heads

i’ve also had this song liked for a while, but i never listened to it much until i decided to clean my entire room at home while listening to the talking heads on shuffle. this song came on, and something about it drew me in. it doesn’t sound like a talking heads song i would even like, but i do- increasingly so with every listen. i think it’s the chorus. the melodies in the chorus are so addicting, and leave it up to the talking heads to create some of the most catchy rhythms and melodies. 

my sweet lord – george harrison

before you say anything, this song is not about any religion in particular. however, at the end george does sing the hare krishna mantra of the hindu organization he follows, which i think is really cool. i absolutely adore george harrison, and i don’t care that this song is his most popular, it’s 100% my favorite. for some reason, it reminds me of looking out of the window of my moms car at the passing forest scenery. the guitar riff is instantly recognizable, and even the mantra at the end of the song becomes this sort of catchy riff. 

so yeah !! that’s some of the songs that i’ve really been into recently. thanks for reading !

hello hello hi hi hi how are you guys i am doing good yes yes yes. okay, so, genuinely have been running out of ideas lately. i haven’t done a lot of non-list themed blogs… and i’m not going to start now. we’re doing another list blog !!! (woo) and this time i am going to be talking about some of my dream guitars. as of now, i currently have four guitars: two electric and two acoustic. as much as i love them, there is only one that i would consider to be a “dream guitar”, and it’s broken</3. so, with that being said, here are the guitars that i do in fact consider to be my dream guitars.

the kurt cobain jag-stang

oh how i would love my own bright red kurt cobain jag-stang. i am absolutely partial to fender guitars, and both of my electrics are made by fender. i’m also extremely partial to telecasters, but there is something about the jag-stang that has me in a chokehold. maybe it’s the bright red color, i don’t know- but i find myself thinking about this guitar all the time. seeing it in person has been a truly euphoric experience for me, as its beauty cannot be defined just by photos. also, the most important part: it sounds kickass. 

the jimmy page mirror telecaster

now, i’m not a huge zeppelin fan, but i cannot deny how rad this guitar is. there’s something so,,, psychedelic about it to me. and if you know me, you know i absolutely love everything psychedelic (hehe). i haven’t heard a lot of demos from this guitar, but just from the price and the fact that it’s fender, i have no doubts in my mind that is plays beautifully. i would absolutely kill for this guitar, and i’d definitely want to see it being played in a dimly lit setting with different colored lights: that would be awesome.

1966 rickenbacker

now this one is a love purely based on looks, or, maybe the fact that george harrison played a rickenbacker. i first found this guitar on a beatles cover video, and i instantly fell in love and spent the rest of the day looking at the different models and specs of the guitar. i have heard a couple demos, and while i do think i enjoy the sound, i enjoy the design of it much more. however, from my understanding, these guitars are exceptionally hard to get in good condition nowadays. so, that dream might be over</3.

so, those are my top three dream guitars !! i probably have more that i really like, but these are the first ones that came to my mind and also the ones i’d think would be hardest to get. (availability, money, orientation, etc.) thanks for reading and i hope you guys have a good spring break !!!

with the announcement of an upcoming bob dylan movie, i’ve decided to look back at some of my favorite music docs !! as everyone knows, i love music, but i also love anything that could be related to music. reviews, documentaries, books: i love them all. but one of my favorite forms of media relating to music is music documentaries !! today i’ll be showing off some of my favorite ones and giving a little summary of them:) enjoy !!

walk the line

walk the line is a movie about johnny cash’s rise to stardom, and the effects that had on him and his family. joaquin phoenix plays johnny cash, and actually sings and plays all the instruments himself- something that is rare in music biopics. phoenix completely demolished this role in the best possible ways. in this movie, we see cash start his music journey and quickly rise to the spotlight. he then meets the love of his life, june carter. however, he still has a family back home, including a wife. like many artists of his time, cash had many serious decisions to make about his new life in regards to his music. 10/10 movie, absolutely loved it. 

bohemian rhapsody

i wish i could put into words what this movie made me feel the first time i saw it. not only was the casting perfect- a task that isn’t easy to accomplish perfectly- but the acting was just as perfect, if not more. this movie took me through so many emotions, and i’d feel them all again at a moment’s notice. in this movie, the focus is on queen frontman: freddie mercury. this too like walk the line goes through the beginning of the band to their rise to stardom, but there is a particular focus on freddie himself. we find out about his personal issues, such as his struggle with his sexuality and his own relationship- one that he cherished, and even wrote a song for. we see everything: from the band’s formation to their monumental live aid performance. of course, we also see the worsening state of freddie himself, and eventually his death. 100/10 movie, cannot recommend it enough.

love & mercy

maybe this is just because of my slight obsession with paul dano, but i’ve always thought that this movie was truly beautiful. a lot like bohemian rhapsody, love & mercy depicts the rise of the beach boys, and more importantly: the slow deterioration of their frontman, brian wilson. this movie goes back and forth between two time periods: brian during the beach boys, and brian after the beach boys. during the beach boys, we get to see brian’s brilliant mind at work. however, we also get to see his issues and struggles that at the time, no one knew about. after the beach boys, we see brian under the toxic influence of his full-time therapist. later in his life, he meets a woman, and she slowly tries to help him escape from the people completely controlling his life. it ends on a good note, but i don’t want to spoil it !! (i know, i’ve spoiled all the rest of them, so why spoil this one?) well, it’s because i honestly don’t think people really know about what happened to brian wilson; i believe most people are aware of freddie mercury’s death and johnny cash’s infidelity. definitely recommend this one, it really moved me. 

control

this is another movie i’m going to refrain from spoiling, as i don’t think many people know about the life of ian curtis: one that is very sad and cruel. this movie DESTROYED me, and not in a good way. well, kind of in a good way. it’s incredibly sad, and definitely portrayed his life in an accurate, but unfair and depressing way. this movie is much like the last ones, in which it shows us the rise of one of the most influential post-punk bands, joy division. we see more of the life of ian curtis in this one: the frontman of the band. we learn about his life before joy division, during joy divison, and well, at the end of joy division. we learn about his infidelity and his epilepsy diagnosis. we see him struggle with both of these problems until it finally ends towards the end of the movie.. but not in the way you think</3. 10/10, will make you sob.

the devil and daniel johnston

this movie is more in the documentary style, but trust me, it is done just as well. also won’t be spoiling this one, as daniel johnston is criminally underrated and i think people need to give this movie a chance. we see the ups and downs of the life of daniel johnston: one that is equally as sad as ian curtis, but much more compelling to learn about. daniel johnston suffered from a variety of things in his life, but he was still able to create beautiful outsider music that is praised by even the likes of kurt cobain, lead singer of the late band nirvana. a very long and interesting story, and every second of this movie was worth it. 10/10 !! definitely check it out. 

heaven adores you

you should have expected this one. yes, the elliott smith documentary. i have watched this movie over and over and over and OVER. i wouldn’t even care if it was absolutely horrible, i’d still be horribly addicted to it. thankfully, it isn’t absolutely horrible, it’s actually very good and it is one of my all time favorite movies. (wonder why…) it follows the life of indie rock musician, elliott smith. it goes through his life- as early as birth- to his depressing death in 2003. we see his rise to somewhat fame, and his plight with drug usage. i may be biased, and by may be, i mean that i am.. but i do believe this documentary is well done and very beautiful. if you love elliott smith, watch it. hell, if you love ME, you would watch it. 1,000,000/10, forever and always.

so those were some of my fave music documentaries/biopics !! i’m sure when the bob dylan one comes out, it’ll make its way to this list. (most likely in my top 3 too) hope you enjoyed this, i know i did !! cya next week !!!

hello all !! so, fun news: i am most likely going to be seeing depeche mode for my birthday in october !! i’ve been a fan of this band for a while, and i’m honestly so excited because my mom is also a very big fan of them. i haven’t been to a concert since 2019, so i’m long overdue. and to be honest, i’ve been craving it. so, in honor of the very exciting news, i thought i’d rank my top 3 depeche mode songs, and tell you a little bit about why i love them !! they’re not in any particular order, they’re just three of my favorites !! i hope you enjoy:))

1. stories of old – some great reward

i absolutely love the backing track of this song, especially the melody that comes right after the chorus lines. the lyrics are also seriously addicting; i always find myself going crazy over the way they are sung, but that’s typical of a depeche mode song. my verses might be my second favorite part of the song, as the melody and twists they take totally have me at their will. i love love love this song and its stayed one of my favorites by them for a very long time. i really hope they play this one at the show !!

2. lie to me – some great reward

i honestly just recently found this song, but it has quickly found itself to the top of the list. a lot of similar themes with this one and the last one; i love the melodies and the lyrics. if the lyrics in the last song had me at their will, the lyrics in this song completely control me. i absolutely ADORE martin gore’s songwriting, and he’s one of my biggest inspirations for writing in general. a favorite line from this song is: belief is the way, the way of the innocent. and when i say innocent, i should say naive. so lie to me, but do it with sincerity. i absolutely go wild every time i hear these lines. i also love the main melody in this song, and it gets stuck in my head all the time. if they play this one at the show, i will go ballistic. 

3. a question of time – black celebration

while the other two songs prouded themselves in being my favorites lyric-wise, this one is the exact opposite. well, kind of. i do really love the lyrics- they’re EXTREMELY well written- but they honestly really get to me and disturb me. and honestly, i think that’s exactly what they wanted to do. the melody that plays after the chorus is a fave, and was the first component of the song that drew me to it. i first heard this song on my vinyl copy of one of their live shows, and it sounded amazing live. despite this being such a disturbing and unnerving song, i can’t not dance to it. now, if they played this song, i would go especially ballistic, but i wouldn’t be surprised. from what i know, it’s a fairly popular song. that doesn’t take away from how much i love it though. i especially hope they play this one !! 

short but really fun blog !! gave me an excuse to talk about seeing them live lmao. well, if you know any of these songs, let me know !! and please do give the band a listen !! i believe because they are so widely liked, anyone can get into the type of music they make !! i enjoyed writing this, i hope you enjoyed reading it. cya next week:)

“the surgeon at 2 a.m.” is one of, if not my favorite poem by the poet sylvia plath. the moment i read it, i was hooked. i spent the later half of that night reading it over and over again, and even geeking out about the poem to my mother. so, i thought it would be fun to geek out about it to you guys as well!! here are my favorite lines from plath’s “the surgeon at 2 a.m.”

*this is not a literary analysis

The white light is artificial, and hygienic as heaven.
The microbes cannot survive it.
They are departing in their transparent garments, turned aside
From the scalpels and the rubber hands.
The scalded sheet is a snowfield, frozen and peaceful.
The body under it is in my hands.
As usual there is no face. A lump of Chinese white
With seven holes thumbed in. The soul is another light.
I have not seen it; it does not fly up.
Tonight it has receded like a ship’s light.

It is a garden I have to do with —- tubers and fruit
Oozing their jammy substances,
A mat of roots. My assistants hook them back.
Stenches and colors assail me.
This is the lung-tree.
These orchids are splendid. They spot and coil like snakes.
The heart is a red bell-bloom, in distress.
I am so small
In comparison to these organs!
I worm and hack in a purple wilderness.

The blood is a sunset. I admire it.
I am up to my elbows in it, red and squeaking.
Still is seeps me up, it is not exhausted.
So magical! A hot spring
I must seal off and let fill
The intricate, blue piping under this pale marble.
How I admire the Romans —-
Aqueducts, the Baths of Caracella, the eagle nose!
The body is a Roman thing.
It has shut its mouth on the stone pill of repose.

It is a statue the orderlies are wheeling off.
I have perfected it.
I am left with and arm or a leg,
A set of teeth, or stones
To rattle in a bottle and take home,
And tissues in slices—a pathological salami.
Tonight the parts are entombed in an icebox.
Tomorrow they will swim
In vinegar like saints’ relics.
Tomorrow the patient will have a clean, pink plastic limb.

Over one bed in the ward, a small blue light
Announces a new soul. The bed is blue.
Tonight, for this person, blue is a beautiful color.
The angels of morphia have borne him up.
He floats an inch from the ceiling,
Smelling the dawn drafts.
I walk among sleepers in gauze sarcophagi.
The red night lights are flat moons. They are dull with blood.
I am the sun, in my white coat,
Grey faces, shuttered by drugs, follow me like flowers.

it is a garden i have to deal with- tubers and fruit                oozing their jammy substances,                                                    a mat of roots. my assistants hook them back.

i absolutely love how this poem looks at organs; a garden. almost like a map of things, strategically placed inside every human being. 

this is the lung-tree                                                                            these orchids are splendid. they spot and coil like snakes.  the heart is a red-bloom, in distress.                                           i am so small                                                                                        in comparison to these organs!                                                     i worm and hack in a purple wilderness.

something so unnerving, yet presented as though it is a ‘purple wilderness’, full of red-bloom hearts and lung-trees, orchids and feats of great patience and time. 

the intricate, blue piping under this pale marble                  how i admire the romans-                                                            aqueducts, the baths of caracella, the eagle nose!                  the body is a roman thing.                                                              it has shut its mouth on the stone pill of repose.

probably my favorite set of lines in the poem. the body is a roman thing. that line persists through everything for me. i can feel my hands over the “marble” surface of skin, comparing it to the roman architecture of aqueducts. the stone pill of repose almost feels roman itself, and i can feel the cold stone statue of sleep on my face every time i read it.

tonight, for this person, blue is a beautiful color.
the angels of morphia have borne him up.
he floats an inch from the ceiling,
smelling the dawn drafts.
i walk among sleepers in gauze sarcophagi.
the red night lights are flat moons.                                       they are dull with blood.
i am the sun, in my white coat,
grey faces, shuttered by drugs, follow me like flowers.

almost this entire stanza staggers me. the portrayal of death is unlike no other; grey faces, shuttered by drugs, follow me like flowers. i can see languid movements instilled by death in my face, of course in the form of flowers. the garden theme starts out blooming, beating, and utterly alive. then, by the time we get to the end, the garden is dying. in a drug-like haze, this blooming, beating vessel is now slowly following someone else’s motions: the sun in their white coat. 

this poem is honestly so beautiful and utterly haunting. i will never get tired of it. i hope you enjoyed my short little commentary. see you next week:)

hello there !! so recently, i finally started watching the series breaking bad. i know, i’m incredibly late to it. but the only reason i started watching it in the first place was so i could watch better call saul without having any questions. well, i ended up enjoying breaking bad so much that i decided to devote my time to exclusively watching it, well, and the last of us. as i was binge watching this show, very strong opinions started to form. then, i realized that those opinions were not popular. in the slightest. so, you know what you do with unpopular opinions? you tell everyone so people can get mad at you. that’s what i’m doing.

**i have not finished the series yet, so my opinions are based on my current knowledge**

1. skyler did nothing wrong.

everyone hates skyler, and for what?? she’s a loving wife who has one teenager with cerebral palsy, and is pregnant with another child on the way. her husband is always disconnected from her and the family and then they find out he has cancer. she tries her hardest to figure out what’s going on with him, and then he completely disappears. AND THEN, he’s found naked in a supermarket, and it is revealed that he has a second phone that he is hiding from her. and we hate skyler here? all she’s doing is trying to keep her family together, and trying to keep her husband ALIVE. so what if walter said he doesn’t want treatment? it is his body, and it is his choice, but it’s an incredibly selfish one because he later finds out that he is in remission. imagine if he 100% declined treatment despite skyler’s worries. he would of gotten worse, died, and left skyler with two children and barely any money (because he isn’t even that good at what he does; selling what he cooks). fact of the matter is, skyler is a good mother and a good wife, and she doesn’t deserve all the hate she gets. i believe it all stems from misogynistic roots. 

2. walter white sucks

yeah he does. he’s a horrible father/husband, and he’s an even worse friend. he leaves his family for weeks at a time, and lies about it all together. he also lies to everyone else about anything he possibly can. he lies about going “missing”, he lies about getting the money for treatment, he lies about his second phone, and he even lies to jesse about the methylamine “spoiling.” he treats jesse horribly and basically forces him to give up plans with his girlfriend to go out hundreds of miles into the desert to… cook… with him. he cares for no one but himself, and you can’t convince me otherwise. i know he’s only doing this to provide money for his family, but he’s completely tearing the family apart while doing so. AND HE’S IN REMISSION.

3. hank also really sucks

i feel bad for him at some parts, but mostly i hate him. his character is so hateable, but also i do really feel bad for him. i think it’s towards the middle of the series where my hatred for his character turns into empathy. but don’t mistake empathy for forgiveness, i feel bad for him and i wish he didn’t go through what he did, but i still hate him. 

honestly i lost all passion for this blog so i’m going to end it here. cya.

so i’ve come to realize how often i write about music, and i’ve decided to change things up this week. i’ve played a lot of different games throughout my entire life, but some are so near to me that i have to put my opinion of them out there. these are games that maybe i’ve played once and fell in love with, or ones that slowly grew on me after months and months of replaying them. nevertheless, every game on this list i have a significant connection with, and i’m going to tell you exactly why. so, without further ado, here are my favorite video games.

fallout 4

so this is almost close to being the most hated fallout game in the series, but it holds its place as my favorite video game ever despite. my stepdad got the game when it first came out in 2015, but told me i was too young to play it at the time. i was so fascinated when i watched him play it, and as soon as i was able to, i picked up the game myself. when i first beat the game, i immediately started a new save file and began to play it again. the storyline was so addicting and fun to follow, and i grew such close connections with all of the characters. it’s an open-world game in which there are many random encounters, and that makes it such an enjoyable experience for me. so far, i’ve played this game as least once a year since i first picked it up, which was around when i was 12 or 13 years old. as i type this, i am currently playing the game. after so many years of playing it and exploring it, i still have not seen all of what the game has to offer. no matter though, it will hold such a strong place in my heart.

the legend of zelda: ocarina of time

so, this is my other favorite game of all time. i was first introduced to it when i was very young, and i quickly fell in love. there are so many little details in this game that i could fantasize over and over about, but the atmosphere is what i’m going to focus on. this atmosphere in this game is top tier. the music first off has always had it’s own place in my head. years and years after initially playing it, i could still remember the music that went with each area crystal clear. i swore it was like i could recite them without even trying. the storyline and scenery change that happens after you age up is so well done and disturbing, it still freaks me out to this day. if i could, i would play this game over and over, but sadly because of it’s age, it’s very hard to play it efficiently when i only have it on my old nintendo ds. oh well, honestly such a great game nevertheless. 

ghost of tsushima

i got this game when it first game out, and it completely broke me. i remember playing it intensively throughout the week, letting everyone in the house know my initial reactions to certain scenes. the graphics is where this game truly shines. there are so many beautiful open-world scenes, and the shading and lighting really help those areas reach their fullest potential. the storyline is fun and interesting, heartbreaking and not fair, but it is so fulfilling in the end. also, the best part, you can pet foxes. yeah you heard me. you. can. pet. FOXES.

the sims 3 

so, i love every sims game in the series. i never played the first one that much, but i’ve been playing all the rest since i was super young. when i was around 5, all i would play is the simpsons hit and run and the sims 2. then, when i was in my older elementary years, i played the sims 3 every single night. then finally, when the sims 4 was announced, i preordered a limited edition version of the game and that’s the one i’ve been playing ever since. however, the sims 3 will forever hold its place as my favorite. i love the open-world feeling to this game that was completely lost in the sims 4. this game is infinitely better than all the rest in the series and i long for the day that i can play it again. wait, actually, i can play it right now on my laptop. i’m going to go do that, cya. 

the legend of zelda: breath of the wild

this isn’t my next favorite zelda game in any way, shape, or form. but, there’s something about it that ranks as one of my “favorites” rather than just one of my favorite zelda games. the graphics are beautiful, and the storyline is almost up there with it. i love most of the mechanics, but some i do find a little unnecessary. still, i love this game a lot. i definitely recommend it for any new zelda fans, but still do remember to check out the originals first:)

what a fun little blog !! i definitely enjoyed it, let me know if you did too:) gooooodbye, cya next week.

hello !! here’s come cool news: i’m going to be writing for a music magazine soon !! my dream is to be a music journalist so getting to this point at such a young age is honestly so exciting:) it’s just going to be a little side thing, unpaid of course, but i thought you all should know !! anyways, i was shuffling my spotify when i realized that i listen to a lot of artists that focus on an acoustic atmosphere. i love acoustic music, but i never realized how much of it has recently taken over my liked songs until now. so i thought i’d be awesome and cool and tell you some of my favorites and give you some song recommendations !! enjoy:)

elliott smith

so, i had to get him out of the way first. the majority of his discography is acoustic, so if you’re looking for consistency, here he is. not only is it mainly acoustics, it’s really good acoustics. his ability to write riffs and melodies on guitar is unmatched, and it all pairs perfectly well with his lyrics, which are almost acoustic themselves, if that makes any sense. if you’re looking for really soft, almost simon and garfunkel-like vocals, and beautiful well-mixed melodies, then elliott is the artist for you !! songs i would recommend for first getting into him are: angeles, tomorrow tomorrow, junk bond trader, needle in the hay, no name #3, twilight and georgia, georgia !! that’s a song from each album !!

simon and garfunkel

so, speaking of “simon and garfunkel-like vocals,” here’s simon and garfunkel !! now, i’ve never been a super big fan, but recently i’ve been listening to them a lot more. i wasn’t a fan at first, but their layered vocals and striking acoustics reeled me in and now i can say i am a fan. if you like story-like lyrics, doubled-up vocals, and acoustics that excite and sometimes even surprise, then simon & garfunkel is for you !! my two recommended songs for someone new to them are the boxer and america !!

bob dylan

the reason i am including bob dylan here is because i believe a large part of his discography is purely acoustic, so he gets a spot on the list. his acoustics are often characterized by strong, loud acoustic guitars and very, very loud harmonicas. of course, he still has his plugged moments. but bob’s acoustic work has inspired decades worth of musicians, so i feel wrong not to put him on the list. if you like story-based lyrics, questionable vocals, harmonicas and prominent acoustic guitars, then bob dylan is for you !! some songs i’d recommend if you’re new to him include: changing of the guards, if not for you, subterranean homesick blues, to be alone with you and boots of spanish leather !!

nick drake

nick drake was an artist that i avoided for a while, and for no real reason. i don’t know why i did, but i regret it immensely. nick drake’s story is so heartbreaking to me, and his music is just that- heartbreaking. but in a way, it’s heartbreakingly beautiful, especially when you realize his music was never really recognized until after his death. i feel such a connection with nick drake, and it’s not even because of his music. but besides that, drake’s acoustics are soft and melodic, and his voice mirrors that. if you like soft acoustics with great melodies, unconventional vocals, and beautiful heartbreaking lyrics, then nick drake is for you !! songs i’d recommend for people new to his music include: pink moon, place to be, road, and things behind the sun !!

so that’s it !! those are my favorite acoustic artists that i recommend if you’re interested !! they’re fairly popular so it should be easy to find their music online:) let me know if you listen to any of these artists and if you like them !! cya next week !

as a musician, i’m always gathering inspiration from other’s art. even more so than when i write. within the diversity of my music library, both digital and physical, you almost always have two different kinds of artists. those who are good musicians, and those who are good songwriters. and yes, you can be both a good musician and a good songwriter, but it’s rare to see them executed perfectly together. almost as if they are not two separate skills but one. i have a small collection of artists that i believe break out of this, and one of them is bob dylan: an artist i’ve been listening to more than usual recently. now, what makes bob so different from these other artists that break out of the box? well, bob is recognized more than just a musician. he holds the nobel peace prize in literature, just from his songwriting. so yeah, he isn’t like these other artists. i also believe that his songwriting isn’t completely based on melody like other musicians. while songwriting and poetry are the same in a lot of ways, songwriting has one prominent component that poetry does not, (in the same capacity): melody. i think in a lot of songs, people sacrifice the quality of the writing for more prominent and catchy melodies. and sometimes, you just can’t force your words into the song. so in short, i think a lot of artists base their songs around the music itself, not the writing. if there’s an issue, its the writing that is most likely going to change rather than the composition of the song. but with bob dylan, i feel like his songs are more writing-focused. it’s almost as if he writes the music for the story, not the other way around. and even if that is not the case, i believe he doesn’t try to manipulate his story and writing for the sake of melody. stories are going to be told no matter what. if the pacing of the words don’t work perfectly with the song, then that’s fine. a story is still going to be told. but don’t worry, the writing and the song itself always compliment each other perfectly. i almost feel wrong saying the word “compliment” here, because while yes, his music is beautiful, i feel like it is too rigid for words like those. these songs are so deeply meaningful and so much emotional is packed into every line. in the song “forever young”, bob sings the line “forever young” over and over in the chorus. for some reason, it’s the most emotional thing i’ve ever heard. if anyone else sang those lines, i don’t think i would feel like this. here, there is so many undertones and they all build up to that one line: forever young. so this is not just about his songwriting, but also how he presents these lines. this is not just some empty soul singing some empty lines. this is not just some heartless man singing heartfelt lines. this is a man who is singing what he’s written from his absolute core. every line he belts is full of emotion, so much so that it completely transforms the line. stories flow effortlessly from his mouth with such vivid detail that you can see the cinematic scenes in your head so clearly. all of these little things makes bob dylan’s songwriting so strong and so influential, and i strongly encourage you to look into his writing if you haven’t already. thank you for listening<3

hello there !! so, i had a really awesome bob dylan blog planned for this week, but it was deleted before i could copy it and save it 🙂 so now i have to write something else completely different. isn’t that fun. anyways, i’m going to try and write this as quickly as i possibly can considering i lost all my progress. so, i like the beatles a little bit i guess, but what i really love is their respective solo music. i definitely do have my favorites (as you’ll see demonstrated here), but i think every member has at least one song i like !! so yeah, let’s get into that !!

paul mccartney

say, say, say – paul mccartney & michael jackson

bluebird – paul mccartney & wings

live and let die – paul mccartney & wings

band on the run – paul mccartney & wings

ninteen hundred & eighty five – paul mccartney & wings

your mother should know – the beatles

okay, so paul is by far my favorite in terms of solo music. his band, “wings” is one of my absolute favorites right now. the band has such a large orchestra in their band, and i feel like that was really revolutionary for a lot of rock in the 70s. paul’s songwriting and voice is top tier, and i have such a preference for it. i also love his solo song with michael jackson, which came out in the 80s (it sounds very 80s). besides music outside of the beatles, i really love the song he sings in the beatles called “your mother should know.” his voice is so comforting and i find that song stuck in my head all the time. 

george harrison

my sweet lord – george harrison

beware of darkness – george harrison

got my mind set on you – george harrison

i’d have you anytime – george harrison

give me love (give me peace on earth) – george harrison

old brown shoe – the beatles

so, i actually quite like george’s solo music, but i don’t know many songs of his (all the songs listed are the only ones i know). i know it’s his top song, but i listen to “my sweet lord” very often. the ending of the song, in which he sings hallelujah in different languages is definitely my favorite part. there’s something so motivating about the ending and it feels so universal. “i’ve got my mind set on you” is honestly just an earworm for me. it’s cheesy 80s music but god does it get stuck in your head. “old brown shoe” is honestly one of my favorite beatles songs, and i only just now realized it was george. i really love the way its sung 🙂 

john lennon

mind games – john lennon

beautiful boy – john lennon

happy xmas (war is over) – john lennon

anna (go to him) – the beatles

so i honestly hate john lennon lmao. i think some of his solo stuff is good, but he was much better in the beatles. i think my favorite solo song of his is his most popular one, “beautiful boy.” but in the beatles, i pretty much don’t dislike a single song he sings. but i really love “anna (go to him).” there’s nothing special about the voice, it’s just a cool song. okay enough with my john lennon hatred.

ringo starr

act naturally – the beatles

yellow submarine – the beatles

man ringo i’m sorry. you’re my absolute favorite member in the band, but i don’t like any of your solo music and you also only sang eleven songs for the band. so, that sucks man. but besides the stuff his sings, i really love ringo’s drumming. he’s one of the best out there and tbh he’s just the coolest. ringo lover forever.

so yeah, sorry for the late blog !! i didn’t anticipate losing my other blog, but oh well. i had a lot of fun with this one (i haven’t had fun with these blogs in so long god) so it was a nice change. anyways, i guess i’ll see you next week 🙂