08 - Music

The Weeknd (Credit: Nabil Elderkin)

Music feeds the soul. 

It’s one of the few things this year that’s helped me keep my composure throughout all the craziness.

Just this year alone, two of my favorite artists, Eminem and The Weeknd, both dropped stellar albums (Music To Be Murdered By, and After Hours respectively), and Taylor Swift fucked around and dropped what was probably the greatest album of her career - an indie/folk record of all things, and appropriately titled folklore.

Every playlist I made this year was straight fire, even though it was the world that was burning all around us.

I can’t imagine how I would’ve gotten through 2020 without the help of both quality new releases, and the comfy, worn-in, reliability of the classics. 90s west coast hip-hop, 90s freestyle, early 00s alt rock; an audial security blanket - pushing me into a more positive mood by revisiting simpler, pre-pandemic times. 

That’s the dual power of music in my opinion. The new stuff catches your ear because it’s fresh, the old stuff takes you back to a moment in time. Both feelings providing you with nothing but good vibes throughout.

Music is both deeply personal, and interpersonal. You have your favorite genres, artists, and songs that lift your spirits, get you moving, or create an atmosphere when you’re alone - but you can then celebrate your love of those same songs with other people at concerts, or with friends and loved ones who enjoy the same music. It becomes a shared experience and can even help form connections.

At a time where most of us can’t see each other - at least we can hear each other.