Music

Image by Flickr User blankdots. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Once upon a time, I used to write about music.

I used to write about it a lot. Most of the time it was scribbles in one of the notebooks that now fills a shoebox on top of the bookshelves behind my desk. Most of the time, it was the sort of short thoughts that get scribbled in the margins of books by English Lit students, except not nearly as well thought out.

Then I got a music blog. Most of the time this involved making tedious and embarrassing observations about emo bands and what I was listening to that morning. From time to time this involved reviewing albums and gigs. This was great: I got – legally and legitimately – albums weeks ahead of their release dates and I got to go to gigs for free. I met Michael Stipe and got headbutted by a teenager in a moshpit. I had an incident I jokingly refer to as “my feud with Coldplay.” I spent half of a Death Cab for Cutie show checking my phone to make sure my wife hadn’t gone into labour, all the while trying to enjoy the show and make enough notes for a worthwhile review. I loved it.

I haven’t written about music in ages, and I miss it. I’ve started listening to so much good stuff since I last blogged about music, but I hadn’t a clue what I wanted to say about it. I’m too rusty to make comparisons between Bryan Ferry and Jay Gatsby like Rob Sheffield does in ‘Talking to Girls About Duran Duran’, but I do want to talk about… something. I’m fascinated by how songs can push you up against a wall and either shove their hand down your pants or punch you in the face and run off with your wallet.

So with that in mind, I’ll be blogging about the 30 Day Song Challenge. You’re going to hear one song a day, for the next month, and a little bit of backstory on my relationship to that song. This is going to be embarrassing.

Here’s the list of themes. Brace yourselves.

Day 01 – Your Favorite Song
Day 02 – Your Least Favorite Song
Day 03 – A Song That Makes You Happy
Day 04 – A Song That Makes You Sad
Day 05 – A Song That Reminds You Of Someone
Day 06 – A Song That Reminds You Of Somewhere
Day 07 – A Song That Reminds You Of A Certain Event
Day 08 – A Song That You Know All The Words To
Day 09 – A Song That You Can Dance To
Day 10 – A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep
Day 11 – A Song From Your Favorite Band
Day 12 – A Song From A Band You Hate
Day 13 – A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure
Day 14 – A Song That No One Would Expect You To Love
Day 15 – A Song That Describes You
Day 16 – A Song That You Used To Love But Now Hate
Day 17 – A Song That You Hear Often On The Radio
Day 18 – A Song That You Wish You Heard On The Radio
Day 19 – A Song From Your Favorite Album
Day 20 – A Song That You Listen To When You’re Angry
Day 21 – A Song That You Listen To When You’re Happy
Day 22 – A Song That You Listen To When You’re Sad
Day 23 – A Song That You Want To Play At Your Wedding
Day 24 – A Song That You Want To Play At Your Funeral
Day 25 – A Song That Makes You Laugh
Day 26 – A Song That You Can Play On An Instrument
Day 27 – A Song That You Wish You Could Play
Day 28 – A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty
Day 29 – A Song From Your Childhood
Day 30 – Your Favorite Song At This Time Last Year