I went back to grad school this year. Doctorate this time; Miss D would be proud (see Pomp and Circumstance, Part 2). It’s not a secret, but I’ve been much more selective in who I make announcements to so a good chunk of my family doesn’t know (because they don’t care to ask). The people who do know have been very supportive, and it’s looking like I already have a committee formed for my dissertation, which is pretty impressive given I’m just in the middle of year one. In fairness though, I started prepping for this years ago, so if I don’t know what I want (WHAT I REALLY, REALLY WANT1) by this point, I shouldn’t have signed up. But I do, and I finally have people who see the value in what I’ve been saying all along, and it. Feels. GLORIOUS.
We’ll see how I feel in the middle of Year 3.
As with the past few years, the playlists are still muddled – I think this year’s is the shortest I’ve ever had, given that I’ve been trying to embrace the quiet a bit more and have been listening more to ambient sound to better focus. I think it’s working, but I miss some of the impromptu rabbit holes I go down when a perfectly timed lyric breaks my thoughts. As with all things, it’ll just take some time to find the right balance
1. World in My Eyes (DJ Cicada Remix)* – Depeche Mode
This one finished out a playlist a few years back (see Playlist for 2018) but had SUCH A STRONG VIBE this year that it’s one of those few lyrical pieces that kept coming up on repeat. Because I can see it now. I am starting to see how all my pieces fit together, and if I do my job right, in a few years you will too.
2. An Honest Mistake – The Bravery
This one isn’t about me, but someone me-adjacent. (Don’t look at me that way). Also, listen to that beat and tell me it doesn’t replay in your head for a year.
3. State of My Head – Shinedown
Another powerhouse of moving forward. Its opening line, “It’s been a long, bumpy ride getting back in the saddle,” catches and acknowledges the challenges of the past few years – not just of the pandemic, but the storm before it.
Didn’t get everything that I wanted
But I got what I need, yeah, yeah
I see that light in the morning
Shining down on me
So, take me up high, take me down low
Where it all ends nobody knows
But until then let’s have some fun
Yeah, run, run, run, run, run
5. Move – Santana feat. Rob Thomas & American Authors
It’s not enough to hustle at this stage of the game. You need some swagger to make it stand out. Santana makes a nice backdrop for that.
6. O Mio Babbino Caro (from Gianni Schicchi) – Joshua Bell
This is one of my favorite classical pieces of all time, and Joshua Bell plays one of the most astounding renditions of it I’ve ever heard. This music floats, and reflects a thread of yearning through this playlist but in a softer, quieter way. In the opera, the song is a pleading of the character Lauretta to her father Gianni Schicci to help her marry her love, Rinuccio. Because no one can resist a song so sweet and pure, the rest of the opera is the wild ride he takes to help her (which includes impersonating the dead and forging wills to steal said dead man’s fortune).
7. Can’t Stop Me Now – Oh the Larceny
This one’s my grad school anthem. I’m just doin’ what I do.
Yes, there are a lot of mildly angry power songs in here. I’m not apologizing. I’m growing.
9. Stolen Dance – Milky Chance
Milky Chance is that bonfire on the beach drinking with your friends at the end of a long ass year vibe. Picture it. The sky is dark, there’s a chill in the air and the smell of rain in the breeze. Fall’s not here yet, but is palpably close. For the moment, though, that’s all in the future; the present is a fire and sand and good company together again, if only for an evening. “Stolen Dance” is early September caught in a simple strum.
Thad had a little girl this year, and this song is just so encapsulating of that joy and whirlwind of new life, plus “Hey you with the pretty face, WELCOME TO THE HUMAN RACE!”
Onward!
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