So this playlist is the heart and soul of my project and what I believe to to be a great digital representation of myself (Watson 3). This collection of music is an Archive of feelings that was constructed with the thought of how my I perceive myself ( Watson, Cvetkovich) The music you will see here will may or may not be familiar but I encourage to have an open mind and take all of my thoughts as a representation of who I am as a person. Some of these songs have a large impact on my life yet can be describes in only a few sentences. They lessons you can learn from songs are priceless ans simple, yet you might not realize them until you pay attention to the song and yourself. Some of the songs in my playlist may not have any life-changing effect on me but just the rhythms bring up feelings of joy and happiness. I will use many feelings from the “Feelings Inventory” from The Center For Nonviolent Communication that was passed out in class and many of the techniques found in “Studying the Digital Self” by Julia Watson. In a previous post on our class blog, I talked about a song called “1996” by The Wombats. I also mentioned this short playlist that I created with thought and meaning towards how I want to portray myself to others. I will go through my favorite and songs i can relate to the most of the 16 song playlist in order to describe myself to the world. Julia Watson states in her article that we all must interpret digital archives to see how the author “document[s] a person’s life, habits, and desires. This digital archive is meant to “store fragments of a “life” (Watson). This life is my personal life. The following songs are meant to show and describe my brand that I portray to the world.
1.”Float” by Pacific Air
I recently discovered this song by Pacific Air. It’s relaxed, synth-like beat really describes me. I am a very relaxed person and am always ready to just have a chill night. Also the whistling in the song makes me feel joyful. I really enjoy whistling because it is just another relaxation technique that I use on a daily basis.
I can extremely relate to the lyrics
“I don’t want to be young
But I don’t want to die
I can whisper in the wind
We can smoke out every night”
This set of words really describes my stage in my life that I am right now. I am in my 20’s which is stereotyped to be a time in my life where I do stupid things, stay out late, and feel invincible. To me that isn’t how I feel. This song captivates that I am past that stage in my life yet I still am young. I just want to be able to hang out with my friends without the culture of getting wasted every night. Although I cannot directly relate to the last line “we can smoke out every night”, I am able to say that the relaxation of smoking would be equivalent to a feeling I could achieve without drugs by just becoming one with myself.
2. “Beware The Dog” by The Griswolds
I heard this song while searching for new music ( See my Finding New Music post for more details) and it immediately made me want to dance. The beginning guitar rift is one that is upbeat and happy. If you really listen to the lyrics, it is a story of a girl that started doing drugs and the guy left her because she was crazy. The lyrics are anything but happy but I like this song for the symbolism. For me it symbolizes a ended friendship due to a addiction that the other party started and drags me around. This happened to me when a friend was so caught up in a relationship I was outcast because of the significant other. The live “We used to go Where no one dared to go” is a great example of how I live my life. I want to always push the envelope but when other people get caught up in toxic environments ,and they do not realize, you cannot go out and have the fun you used to.
3. “Warrior” by Kimbra
I wanted this song in my playlist because I feel that I am a strong individual and that I never let things drag me down. I am always happy and never seem to let the small things bother me. This song is also a representation of the personal time in my life where a friend has gone off the deep end. This song talks about being a warrior and to stay strong for those who need you. They other person that has strayed off track is “pushing you down” but all you have to do is think of them and fight off the urge to let them bring you down.
4. “Pressure” by Youngblood Hawke
“Pressure” by Youngblood Hawke is a reletively new song. It came out in early 2014 and has been one of my “repeat” songs ever since. This song represents me because in my life because I have a lot going on in my life. Between school, work, research, and being a leader of a club sport there is a lot of responsibilities that I have. Everyone should be able to relate to this song though. The lyric”Collect your tears, shoot ’em down Even giants hit the ground Hit the ground” is so powerful to me. They are saying to just collect your thoughts and fears, discard them and if you fail that is OK because everyone does. With it’s happy-go-lucky indie pop feel with a slight club-like tone this song should make you want to get up and dance while not thinking about your worries. Also the chorus
“Felt the pressure, seen the breaks
Let the fortune teller take it all, all
Pressure!
Heard the echoes of mistakes
Call our name until we shake it off, off
Pressure!”
It tells me that everyone is under pressure and it is OK to make mistakes now and then. We should all just shake off the mistakes. This has a really calming effect on me since it is how I live my life. I do not dwell on the past that often, since there is nothing I can do about it besides prepare for the future.
5. “Mother” By Said the Whale
This is new song by the Vancouver band “Said the Whale” is a up-tempo, heavy bass guitar song from the new album “Hawaiii”. Yes that is Hawaiii with 3 i’s. I find this song to be a little heavier than the rest of the playlist but it is the lyrics that really resonate with my personality. The song begins with “I try to always be a gentleman
I try to always be a better friend” which is how I live my life. I do not like to make others upset and I do not believe chivalry is dead. Later in the song the lead vocalist Tyler Bancroft sings ” Try to always do what people like And try to be a man that someone might look up to in a minute when they’re feeling down” which is also how I like to live. I do not have many people that really despise me (that I know of) and I really enjoy being the person that people come to in their time of need. Although I feel the description of me as a gentleman, liked by others, role model, and a good friend the song’s purpose is not to keep on that track all of the time. It really wants to you to find yourself and says you cannot be there for others without being at one with yourself. Therefore do not tell your mother about what bad thing you must do in order to find your limits of what is you.
I have gone through the first five songs on this 17 song playlist. I could go in depth with every song and how it relates to me but from these 5 songs one should gain a greater insight into my personality. I feel I am a nice, kind-hearted, happy,-go-lucky, optimistic and sympathetic person. The rest of the playlist is a great way for me to show the world how I want to be seen. Some people label the music I listen to as “hipster” but I believe it is a new age of pop music and a great way to express oneself.
Archive of Music 