SSC: Joe's Thoughts, Week 11

trying to write 1000 words for a fucking blog

For songs covering the length of Saturday, August 5th to Friday, August 11th.

WEEK 11

1) Didn't really take too many notes this week. My bad. I really liked a lot of the song choices, but there was more passive listening in the rental home than studious listening. The music worked really well in that context too. It was quite fun subjecting my grandmom to dance pop and melodious hardcore in the same breath.

2) Goddamn do I enjoy reading what you guys write, though. That aspect of the summer project was put on focus during the 1000 words prompt. Mostly everyone stretched themselves (and for those who didn't, I know by this point that you could, which is just as important). I really appreciated it. Just so you know, this blog is operational every day of the year, and would definitely be open to publishing anything you want to write for it after Labor Day.

3) General thoughts about the thing I do in this space every Saturday regarding "best songs" and "worst songs" and whatnot. I hope no one places too much value on the songs that I arbitrarily choose for those short lists. Sometimes the absolute worst songs that I heard in a week were attached to brilliant write-ups. Sometimes the best songs that I heard during that same week were obvious choices and are the best due to my experiences with the song prior to this summer. Sometimes the song's really fucking average but the choice for that particular prompt with that particular song was genius. And sometimes, I've never heard of the song but it intrigues me enough that I want to hear more. Nothing about these lists say anything about your abilities as a blogger. You are all wonderful and you're all doing fucking amazing, regardless of song choices.

4) That last one—"songs that make me want to explore"—is probably the one to watch, not "best songs." The best songs are just confirming for me what I already know. The new (to me) songs are the ones that make me download an album and spend a full week with it, which is more akin to how I typically digest music anyway, as opposed to this "playlist" thing.

5) Anyways... songs that make me want to explore: "Caravan" by John Wasson (also probably the best song of the week... see how arbitrary and useless this categorizing shit is?); "Science Fiction" by Rufio; "Afro-Harping" by Dorothy Ashby; "Ya Don't Stop" by Dana Barros, Cedric Ceballos, et al. (probably more interested in hip hop in general than hip hop created by basketball players); "Mourning in Amerika" by Rise Against

6) Worst songs of the week: "Self Esteem" by the Offspring (my reaction to hearing this song); "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz (the man was mentioned three separate times in the Eric Hutchinson reviews last week, so it's confirmed: Mraz is Beetlejuice, and just as talented musically); "Zombie" by the Cranberries; "Starships" by Nicki Minaj; "All My Ex's Live in Texas" by George Strait (see! this was bad on purpose! obviously the quality of the song and the brilliance of its choice here are two separate things!); 

7) Best songs of the week: "Moby Dick" by Led Zeppelin (live at Royal Albert Hall is the one); "Troubles Will Be Gone" by the Tallest Man on Earth; "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon; "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry

8) No fucking clue: "YYZ" by Rush (good, but I really dislike Neal Peart, but also I need more space to explain why then this throwaway parenthetical on a Saturday morning); "Dead Inside" by Nita Strauss ft. David Draiman (the line between supporting and objectifying seems way too thin for me to think about it any longer than I have already); "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Real ft. the Mad Stuntman (bad, but also my own Schwimmer-related biases are at play here)

9) I heard a Korean-language version of "Dreams" while I was getting a massage the other day. I don't know what to make of this information, but I will find this version on the internet eventually.