Disclaimer: there might be some overlap with other lists in this blog.
Songs in history I wish I'd written
In order for me to wish I'd written it, I must imagine myself on stage singing my heart out to an adoring audience. I must find myself in a transformed state. The song changes my mood from numb and indifferent to totally inspired. It's a song that I am incapable of writing. That is the criteria of this category.
1. T'Pau: Heart n' Soul
2. Simple Minds: Alive and Kicking
Swallow that horizon
Hunger beyond hunger
T'il the cloudy blue Pacific took the air
In my lungs
If you read this blog at all, you owe it to me to discover some of Neko's albums.
4. Whitney Houston: The Greatest Love of All
5. SWV: I'm So Into You
6. Dion: The Wanderer
Dion. Oh Dion. The voice, the song. Who at some point has not fantasized about total freedom, no attachments and just being a complete asshole. Me. I will raise my hand to that.
7. Bruce Springsteen: Backstreets
Where dancers scrape the tears up off the streets
dressed down in rags
Running into the darkness, some hurt bad some really dying
At night sometimes it seems you could see that whole damn city crying
Ugh, this list could just go on and on. I give up.
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So this year I started to watch sports. Not just the big games, but all the in between games, trying to understand the rules of American Football. I watched the college games, the NFL games, ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary series (which is really good), and if they had been televised, I would have watched the high school games. What I discovered is that the rules of football are hard. Sure, you have the basics, but there are so many mini rules, so many plays possible, that unless you started learning when you were a kid, it's almost a full time job trying to understand this shit.
You know what else I discovered? Ads targeting men are so much better than the ones targeting women. Men get budweiser commercials. Women get those damn Dove Sketches. I know for a fact (because it's been scientifically proven) that I find myself about 5% more attractive than what I am in reality. If you want to see how stereotypes are reinforced, look no further than the line that divides ads for men and ads for women. Ads for men are funny and entertaining. Women's ads are serious and boring. That's an oversimplification obviously.
You know which ads I really like? The ones that show the history of the company. I know a lot of companies shy away from looking back at the past because they think it will give people the impression that they're not forward looking, but I wholeheartedly disagree. I love to see the role that a company played in advancing the world. Nostalgia creates instant emotional connection. It's a drug. Even if it was before your time, everyone loves to think of times when things seemed simpler (even if they weren't). Nostalgia, as they say, is masturbation of the mind. The past is "cool," it's hip. You can create an emotional tie to your brand by using it wisely.
Christmas this year made me feel gross. I couldn't see another commercial of people dancing and singing about the lowlow prices of useless crap at department store X without wanting to take a shower. The advertising around christmas/holiday gift giving is the worst peer pressure I've ever experienced, i.e. you're only as good as the presents you give. I think we need some collective Christmas sorbet and cleanse the BS that this holiday has become. I'm not saying we should be all lovey dovey and say Christmas is about being with the ones you love, but recognize that the holidays are a time when the world out there gives everyone permission to take some time off from life. Like all together. Without someone at work covering your projects and hating you for it. This might be the closest thing to time standing still we're ever gonna have, and it's really the greatest gift of all.
And with that, happy New Year.
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