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 |    My primary Writing.com blog. |
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Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics). Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:  "The Soundtrackers Group"  "Blogging Circle of Friends " "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" "JAFBG" "Take up Your Cross" Thanks for stopping by!  |
 | Day 6 | "About Damn Time" by Lizzo I had briefly heard of Lizzo in late 2020 and early 2021 when her album Cuz I Love You released a "deluxe" and then "super deluxe" version with the songs "Truth Hurts" and "Good As Hell" respectively. The former was the first song I heard from her and I kind of liked it but didn't really think anything of it, but then the latter became a huge self-empowerment anthem and I've been a fan of hers ever since. She just radiates confidence and a sense of humor in her work, and I really enjoy her whole persona and abilities as an artist. "About Damn Time" caught everyone's attention in a major way when it became the song behind a TikTok dance trend shortly after it was released in April of last year. You can find literally hundreds of compilations of different people on social media dancing to the chorus of this song. And if you watch the music video for this song, you'll see her play the flute at around the three-minute mark, which is one of my other favorite things about Lizzo this past year... when she played President James Madison's crystal flute (made in 1813 for his second inauguration) at a concert and some people absolutely lost their minds. Most of those people didn't realize that Lizzo is actually a classically trained flutist and the offer to let her play was made by the head of the Library of Congress herself after previously inviting Lizzo to tour the Library's 1,700-instrument collection of flutes a few days earlier. Although not all of Lizzo's songs appeal to me, I do love her message and I'm always excited to see the music she comes up with next. |
| Day 5 | "Lose You To Love Me" by Selena Gomez While we're on the topic of music documentaries (originally mentioned in "When You're Gone" ), I discovered this song when I was watching the Selena Gomez documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me released on Apple TV+ in November 2022.I'll admit that I've never really been a Selena Gomez fan. For years, she was just "another one of the Disney Channel kids" that were trying to break into more mature roles in film and television while also pursuing a career as a recording artist. I'd be hard-pressed to name more than a couple of her songs prior to 2018, and other than voicing the character of Mavis in the Hotel Transylvania franchise, the same was true of her film and television roles. She just wasn't really on my radar at all... until 2021. In 2021, she was one of the three leads of Only Murders in the Building, a really delightful murder mystery dramedy series on Hulu, where she was part of a trio with Steve Martin and Martin Short. And, honestly, anyone who can hold their own against those two playing off each other has my attention. She was really great in the show (and has proven it's not a one-off by her equally great performance in the second season), and then I watched her documentary at the end of last year. Unlike most music documentaries which follow the artist through a couple of tour dates or recording sessions on their current project, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me follows her for six years as she navigates her fame, her struggles with both physical aliments (lupus) and mental health issues (bipolar disorder). The video for the song she wrote for the documentary is actually a great snapshot at the whole process: The documentary is really great. It's received a lot of praise for its transparency around mental health, and does an incredible job of showing someone who has genuine interests and thoughts and feelings trying to reconcile all that with a job that wants her to just be entertainment for the world. There's a part in the documentary where, after showing her taking a trip to Africa and really becoming passionate about humanitarian work, she's asked a serious of vapid questions about her music and her life... until one interviewer asks her a question about her other interests. You can see Selena visibly brighten and talk about her passion for philanthropy and humanitarian work... and the interviewer abruptly cuts her off after the first sentence and you see her absolutely devastated when she realizes they just wanted a soundbite and didn't actually care about anything she had to say. This song played during the documentary and, more than "My Mind & Me," there's something about thing song that really resonates with me and the message of the film about just struggling to get through your life and find meaning in it. I have a whole newfound respect for Selena Gomez and her journey now, and I'm really excited to see what she does next. |
| Day 4 | "When You're Gone" by Shawn Mendes This is the latest single by Shawn Mendes, released in March 2022. I've really enjoyed a lot of Mendes' work over the years, since his debut album Handwritten in 2015. I think he's a really talented songwriter, and has found a great mix of pop, rock, and folk sounds that really complement his voice. More that that, though, I really like the fact that he's not afraid to tackle really difficult topics in his songs, including his own battles with depression and anxiety. Around the time of his last album release (Wonder, in 2020), a documentary filmmaker followed Shawn around and depicted his everyday life both onstage and offstage, eventually turning the footage into the documentary Shawn Mendes: In Wonder which was released by Netflix in November 2020. I'll admit I'm a sucker for musician documentaries (I've also watched the ones from Taylor Swift, P!nk, and Selena Gomez... and I really want to watch the ones from Lizzo and Shania Twain), and his came off as pretty honest and down-to-earth. Which is kind of the point of putting them out, but hey, hey succeeded.  It'll be interesting to see where he goes from here; he clearly finds music therapeutic and loves to perform, but he canceled Wonder: The World Tour early in 2022 (around the time this song was released) after only playing seven of 64 total dates, citing mental health issues. It's unclear where his career will go from here, but I do hope he puts out another album at some point because I really like his music and I think the messages in it are important to his fans, many of whom are fans because his music speaks to their own battles with anxiety and depression. |
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