This post was meant to be posted all the way back in June of this year. OOPS, I did it again. (Shame on me for the Brittney reference but oh well.) Though this is probably for the best as I went back and looked at the draft and realized I had gotten badly side tracked with a story that should have been (and now will be) another blog topic all together.
I'm sitting here on a Saturday evening in which a few funny things have occurred that reminded me of a few other things. Have at least a half a dozen if not a dozen things that I need to get done and figured that my blog has been long neglected enough that I should update it with SOMETHING.
(especially since at least one of my Twitch channel and discord chat server mods have said they are going to at least half-ass hold me accountable for updating this thing as I get the Twitch channel up and running. We shall see on that one.)
Back in June, there was a slight re-write of a past blog here that involves a Spotify playlist that I made based on an old ITunes playlist of mine from circa 2013. It is referred to as my "Sunday Morning Playlist" and there is an explanation in that blog about the what and why of that title.
The really short version (though reading the blog is highly recommended for the backstory) is that if a "Sunday Morning Playlist" is about memories and 'regrets' of sorts (again read the blog) then a "Saturday Night Playlist" is about how you got there. Though for me, it is more of a "Late Night Playlist" because let's be honest and admit that those things were just as likely to have happened on a Friday as a Saturday. If we are being THAT honest then we might have to say on any night of the week.
That said... here are the beginnings of my "Late Night Playlist" aka my "Saturday Night Playlist". The list is not complete but most of the reason for that involves finding some of the tracks on Spotify that I wish to have on there. (A few are flat out not there.) In fact, I will be adding some things to it (and the Sunday Morning Playlist too honestly) between now and the time that this blog is published.
Though I wanted to comment on some of the original tracks that I have on the list.
- Midnight City by M83 - This song is going to lead the playlist and nothing changes that. I first heard the song about a year or so after it released in 2013. (I am pretty sure I started this list in 2015 actually.) For me, it is the perfect reminder of several late nights I had with friends back in the late nights both riding around town and doing other things. There's a lot about this playlist for me that is going to be influenced by late night themes but not all of it. The vibe is also there that we were not only "waiting in a car" but "waiting for the right time".
- First by Cold War Kids - According to the band's Wikipedia entry, Matt Maust mentions having come up with the phrase "Cold War Kids" around 1997 while traveling in Eastern Europe with his brother. He mentions thinking that he "was a cold war kid" because he was born in 1979. In that case, I am definitely one too as I was born in 1975. It has been on my things to do list to check this band out a bit more than I have but I've not gotten around to it. As for the song, there's so much in the lyrics here that remind me of people whose paths I have crossed over the yeas. And who am I kidding, I see myself from a couple of certain time periods and situations in there as well.
- Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf) by AWOLNATION - The Dr. Who reference with the "Bad Wolf" thing aside, I stumbled across this song right around the time that my health issues started getting worse before they knew what was going on with me exactly. (Honestly, not sure they still entirely know ALL the things going on but I digress.) There was an element at the time that hit me regarding various people I had been doing film and video work with in the "metro Atlanta" area. Most of the "so-called friends" from that period barely give me the time of day anymore. To be honest, much of that is for the better. Nevertheless, it burnt a little bit that when I sent out an email to explain to various "so-called friends" what was going on that I barely heard back from most of them. Just prior to all this getting worse, there were a couple who had the audacity to say I would be better off dead than remaining involved with the "Atlanta film community". So the section of the song "(You're all still here) / Motherfucker I'll be back from the dead soon / I'll be watching from the center of the hollow moon" really was a good way of summing up my feelings at the time toward these "fake friends". And the next lines after that "Oh my God I think I might've made a mistake / Waiting patiently was waiting taking up space" also felt appropriate because of all the times people kept saying that 'we had to wait' for this or that thing to happen. I've a whole vent (or 2 or 3) about the idea of people waiting on the sidelines (metaphorically) instead of being active and getting stuff done. Again... this song sums it up.
- Zombie by Bad Wolves - Alright. I loved the Cranberries back in the 90s and into the early 00s. Had this version not come out, I would have probably included the original version. It gutted me learning of Dolores O'Riordan's death. Hearing this song as a tribute was a bit cathartic. As I understand it, Dolores had been intending to do some vocals on the cover when she died. This version came out great either way. About the song itself, it is one of my favorites of their songs though not my favorite. (I might go back and add the favorite to the list but not sure.) Aside from the actual meaning of the song, it is a protest song relating to stuff in Ireland from decades ago, there is the slang meaning of the word "Zombie" as "A person who accepts the status quo because of fear and/or lack of conviction." which is a great way of looking at the perspective of some people both then and now about various things.
- Centuries by Fall Out Boy - To my knowledge, this is the only song by Fall Out Boy that I like. I will also admit that it is largely here due to the "David vs. Goliath" narrative that is played up in the video as well as the technical contribution of Suzanne Vega to the writing of the track. Aside from that, the opening lines of the song "Some legends are told / Some turn to dust or to gold" is a great comment about storytelling to me and about how stories are told.
- Sunglasses at Night by Corey Hart - This song is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. Good if somewhat cheesy 80s fun here. It is also included in my 80s Music Memories playlist. It is included here though for a few different reasons. 1) Corey Hart is said to have described this song as "a tour of [his] creative subconscious" which totally intrigues me and I totally get as a creative person myself. 2) I'd long had this idea for a script that I was working on and this song always seemed fitting as a end song for the film. and 3) Last but not least, I use to wear those transition lenses glasses when I was younger. You know the ones that darkened in sunlight. Well mine were tinted enough that they looked a little dark even at night under the right lighting. I miss those kinds of lenses on my current glasses but it would have been way too pricey to add them on my current glasses prescription.
- The Sound of Silence by Disturbed - Opting for a cover over the original again here but for different reasons. At best, I have a love / hate relationship with Simon and Garfunkel and their song catalog. To this day, I can't put my finger on why I have the feelings that I do but they are there. As I mentioned to someone the other evening, there are artists who I like some of their songs but only when the songs were covered by other artists. Normally, Simon and Garfunkel is one of those artists. That said, I love this song even when it was the original recording. The lyrics are much like some of the thoughts in my head during my college years at West Georgia and definitely several nights since then. The song is a warning against 'social isolationism' which was relevant to me. Honestly, it is still relevant to a scary extent (a topic for another time perhaps). Additionally, the band covering is Distrubed whose music is a much different genre than the original artists. They have done some other interesting covers over the years but this one
- Twilight Zone by Golden Earring - The Twilight Zone is one of my favorite TV series of all times if not my all time favorite. (The fact that I have not watched the new updated version is not lost on me. I plan to check out CBS All Access over the holidays this year just to watch the first two seasons.) This song just as much evokes some of the sentiment of classic film noir (a favorite genre of mine) as it does the 60s iteration of the series. It is great for late night car rides as well. Trust me on that, speaking from personal experience (okay the Waffle House coffee helped too).
- Domino (pt 1 and 2) by Genesis - It is divided into two parts, "In the Glow of the Night" and "The Last Domino." Both parts haunt me. According to Tony Banks, the lyricist for the song, it is about the 1982 Lebanon War. I didn't know that the first time I heard the song and it hit me completely different and knowing what the song is about hasn't changed that. There is a much longer explanation for this that involves some people whose names would have to be changed. The short explanation for the inclusion for this song is that, for me at least, this song about is about finding yourself in situations and even relationships that you subconsciously know you are going to 'leave a mark' and the things that wind up reminding you of those marks.
Like I said, I intend to add several more songs to this list. And as I said said, I will likely have added more to the list by time this blog publishes. (It is sat to publish on the Saturday after I am finishing up writing it.)
Till next time. Cheers.
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