I have mixed feelings about an ongoing music project I've been doing. At the beginning of every month, I make a new playlist of music to set the energy. It's a great reason to explore new artists, genres, and different moods every few weeks or so. I love doing it and it's something I look forward to. Then, at the end of the month, I will illustrate my top songs in a little playlist drawing. I enjoy this opportunity to get creative hands-on and not just through making playlists. When I draw, I like to stick to a theme or idea and let that lead the way. It's neat, and I'd like to share where this project has led me so far. I've been doing it since the beginning of 2020 and have listened to a lot of new music since then. At the end of the post, I'll share the 2020 illustrations because I just have never shared them anyplace other than social media before. What's particularly interesting was getting my 2021 Spotify wrapped and seeing how computerized listening data compares to my conscious top music choices for the year. I'd like to share it here because it seems what I listen to most is not my favorite. I can imagine that is the same for others as well and their Spotify wrapped data. I tried to listen to my Spotify wrapped playlist of top 100 most played songs, and, unfortunately, I could not get through it without feeling overwhelming anxiety. Many of these songs comforted me when I was not doing well, so I ended up playing them on repeat, especially in the beginning of the year when I could play music while working. Most of these songs, my own top playlist creations included, put me back to feeling unhappiness and unease when I play them again. I can't get through the wrapped playlist and that deeply saddens me because I really look forward to it all year long. It's pretty common to have memories surface upon hearing a song and it bring back your exact feeling while existing in that memory. I wish most of mine were happy. I've really relied on this creative project to motivate me through the pandemic and through more. Last year, when things were rough for different reasons, creating these playlists and drawings were quite literally the only things I looked forward to doing for months. I'm proud of them. To me, they represent consistency, effort, passion, exploration, creativity, and simple fun when everything else in the world feels complicated. This passion project has enriched my life, and it gives me a reason to keep trying. It's like a musical journal, and I like that. I have always sought ways to translate an auditory, emotional experience like music into a visual experience. That why I started the playlists. Originally, I was inspired when I volunteered to be interviewed at my local radio station where I was a DJ and made playlists/sets regularly. They interviewed different DJs who specialized in various genres to get breadth and depth of musical flavor. It was cool and interesting. I still have a printed copy of my appearance in the little zine they made :') precious. They had me do a a visual playlist, so I took that idea and made it my own (shout out KDVS). Now that 2021 is going to be over with - finally - I wanted to share what I chose for my thematic song of the year. I would encourage anyone to think about their top thematic songs for 2021 or albums or whatever works. Since it's just for fun, so it could be favorite happiest songs, ones that motivated the most, ones that lyrics hit close to home, or something else. My theme song for 2021 is The Sonder Bomb's Crying is Cool. Crying is Cool - The Sonder Bombs
I was planning on choosing top five songs of the year, but it didn't really feel right. Instead, I would like to present my favorite album released in 2021. This album has been the music reel to my entire year. Each song reminds me of a different moment in time. Her entire discography has been consistently in my playlists this year, and I loved it. Each song is personally important and not because of accolades or some musical criteria someone somewhere decided was important. These are my favorites this year, and I love all the songs. Ry Ry My WorldRIP - Mariah the Scientist
And if I told you, "The world is yours" I added a couple bonus albums I felt were also significant. Good music is hard to leave out (links to album on YouTube). If Orange was a Place - Tems Sueños de Dalí - Paloma Mami Something for the Hotties - Megan Thee Stallion Sour - Olivia Rodrigo Below are the 2020 visual playlists I made. I didn't know when I started this project that it would be carry me through a worldwide pandemic, but I'm very glad I started it. With the music I pick, I make an effort to focus on smaller artists, women, people of color, and lgbt artists. This is not a strict guideline for what makes it or what doesn't, but that's the direction I aim for. I like to think sharing my creative interests might inspire someone else to be creative or think creatively in their own way. Maybe, I won't ever know. I have been thinking a lot about what growth in the creative aspects of my life could look like in the upcoming year. I want to share more musically creative things and to keep growing toward something that leaves me feeling good. There's a lot of different areas to get creative in music: learning an instrument, designing album covers, expressing music in your body i.e. dance, and just so much more. I'm really looking forward to sharing. Here's to just keep trying - we'll see how it goes. This is my New Years song send off, into 2022 we go. Thanks for hangin out, hope you enjoyed. Happy New Year Goodbye - Marina
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A 20 something passionate about many facets of music: lyricism, melody, visual interpretations, the good stuff Categories
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June 2022
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