Writing In & For Digital Environments

LISTEN TO Playlist #3: My top 10 most-played songs on iTunes. HERE!

10. Bonfire Heart – James Blunt [16 plays]

I had to put “Bonfire Heart” on this list because I first heard this song last week and was absolutely hooked. Bought it, blasted it in the dorm room, stopped blasting it in the dorm room because my floormates got annoyed, blasted it in my headphones, fell asleep to it on repeat. It’s not on the actual most-played list YET, but let me tell you, it will be there soon. Yeah yeah, I can hear your snide comments about James Blunt already. But PLEASE give his new song “Bonfire Heart” a chance. This earworm is warm and reliant on the acoustic guitar, yet packs a powerful punch during each chorus. I imagine a group of flannel-clad people sitting around a bonfire: strumming, clapping, and belting out this song on a blissful fall evening. 

9. Placid Acid – Tourist [98 plays]

Why “Placid Acid” is on my most played list: I played it on repeat as I tried to fall asleep on a flight from Madrid to Chicago. It worked!

Why I love “Placid Acid”: It’s not a song I would typically listen to. This lyricless, mellow, electronic song provides the perfect background noise for finishing a paper, thinking alone, or drowning out airplane noises/snoring/annoyances. Not to mention it’s quite beautiful in its own unique way.

8. Follaton Wood – Ben Howard [103 plays]

Talented British alt-folk artist Ben Howard is one of my favorites for many reasons. The meditative and emotionally cathartic nature of his songs provide for a truly moving listening experience. The song “Follaton Wood” is about his ex-girlfriend who committed suicide. Howard weaves beauty and tragedy together with unforgettable lyrics and powerfully soft vocals. This song, as with most of his other songs, conjures up the reflective experience of being alone in nature. No wonder I played it over a hundred times.

7. Hurricane – MS MR [114 plays]

“Hurricane” is the breakout track of indie duo MS MR. I would compare lead singer Lizzie Plapinger’s vocals to Lana Del Rey or Florence Welch, but MS MR is a completely different animal. “Hurricane” is a song that was painted charcoal grey and comes out at you like it is slowly emerging from a fog. Paplinger’s emotionally-charged lyrics and effortless feminine vocals go so perfectly alongside the punching beat and ominous string instruments. It’s the perfect contradiction. 

6. Beautiful Girl – William Fitzsimmons [146 plays]

As you hit play on this song, you will hear the gentle picking of a guitar accompanied by the soft, lullaby voice of William Fitzsimmons. Truly a gorgeous piece both lyrically and musically. As Fitzsimmons delicately coos words like “unfurl your gown” and “let down your arms,” my heart grows ever so weak. 

5. When You Come Back Down – Nickel Creek [163 plays]

Ready for a heartwarming story? The first time I heard “When You Come Back Down,” I was at my cousin’s wedding reception. This song was played for the father-bride dance, and if you listen to the lyrics, you will understand exactly why the moment brought tears to the eyes of many guests. 

Nickel Creek is truly a folk-rooted band featuring a mandolin, fiddle, and upright bass. “When You Come Back Down” features the crisp main vocals of Chris Thile and gorgeous harmonies by the other band members during the chorus. You can’t resist the perfect blend of sound created by the upright bass line and the intermittent mandolin and fiddle solo. Truly masterful and ever so touching.

4. Living In Twilight – The Weepies [169 plays]

Married singer-songwriters Deb Talan and Steve Tannen make up the indie-folk duo called The Weepies. Their music has been dubbed “subtly intoxicating folk-pop” and I could not word that statement better. “Living In Twilight” is one of their lesser-known songs. The gorgeous harmonies done by this pair are especially highlighted in this gently flowing, lullaby-esque song. 

3. Breathe In Breathe Out – Mat Kearney [173 plays]

Mat Kearney is another bigger-name artist featured on this playlist. “Breathe In Breathe Out” has a certain quality that makes it such a standout tune. I connect this song to times when I was going through hardship, and this song gave me the release that I needed. The beginning of the song is simple guitar picking and slowly builds until the big catharsis in the second minute of the song. Sometimes all you need to hear is “there is a light in your eyes” over and over to get through a bad day. 

2. Moonshadow – Cat Stevens [174 plays]

I think this song can go without much explanation. This was played on repeat on multiple occasions as I fell asleep.

1. Your Song – Ellie Goulding [315 plays]

Coming in at the lead with a whopping 315 plays, is Ellie Goulding’s cover of Elton John’s “Your Song.” You can argue that Goulding’s poppy hits like “Lights” and “Anything Can Happen”  are overplayed on the radio, but you will notice the truly unique quality of her voice as it is stripped down in this cover. By trading the synth and artificial electronic beats for the simplicity of just a piano and strings, Goulding showcases her vocal talent. The brilliance of this cover may shock you.

LISTEN TO Playlist #3: My top 10 most-played songs on iTunes. HERE!

Hi readers and listeners!

I hope you enjoyed this peek into my most played songs on iTunes. As you can see, I made some aesthetic changes on the blog AND set up an Instagram just for Playlists for the People! Enjoy. Next post, I will review Jake Bugg’s brand new album (so excited) and after that, another special playlist. Stay tuned.

-Emily

Until now I have tried to keep my posts limited to the experiences and locations that I see on my bike rides, but now prepare yourself for a whole post about…Biking!  One of the reasons for this is that a blog Biking @ Dickinson written by Mariah Murphy already had some great writing about the benefits and joys of biking, and I wanted to establish my blog.

I got my first road bike sophomore year of high school.  I remember trying to ride it to up my driveway and falling over painfully slowly, as I couldn’t figure out how to shift down.

My first road bike, a 2010 Specialized Allez

I soon got the hang of it and that Spring I biked the three mile trip to school every morning.  One memorable day, after a weekend of torrential rain the bridge on my way to school was covered in two feet of water.  Already running late I had no choice but to continue through the water.  I showed up to history soaking wet, and thoroughly embarrassed.

Unfortunately when I got my license junior year, my bike was pushed to the back of the garage as the exciting new world of driving opened up to me. Biking had became a chore, and almost a punishment.

Exhausted at the end of Bike MS

It wasn’t Thanksgiving last year when my newfound friends, Alec and Andrew, took me on a bike ride around the farms of Carlisle. It was definitely the shared experience of biking with friends that changed my view of biking and reminded me why I used to enjoy it so much.  We were able to cover incredible distances and discover parts of Pennsylvania we wouldn’t otherwise see.  That summer Alec and I did a Bike MS charity ride.  We both raised a few hundred dollars and spent two days covering 160 miles throughout Rhode Island.  Although I was unable to sleep without terrible leg cramps this was the most challenging and fun bike ride I’ve ever done.

One very broken bike

Although I have a road bike I often bike through the woods, jumping over roots, threading between trees, and popping more tires than I can afford.  The only downside of my woodland adventures is usually walking my broken bike back to campus.

Here are some of the best parts about biking.

1. I consider myself in pretty good shape, but whenever I run for more than ten minutes my chest hurts, legs feel numb, and I slow down incredibly.  With biking I’m able to keep a much faster pace over miles instead of a lap on a track.  I can coast on downhills to conserve energy, and blast through uphills.

2. I have a road bike, but stupidly that doesn’t stop me from exploring off the path.  I love the technical nature of dodging rocks, roots, and trees all on half inch tires and no tread.  I get the occasional flat tire, or smashed frame, but it feels great not being restricted to roads.

3. This

4. I haven’t done much in the way of bike competitions, but any type of race is fun.

5. Oh the places you’ll go.  That’s basically what this whole blog is about, read up.

Today, I wanted to do something a little different and examine one of my current favorite albums.

You may know Alex Turner as the lead singer for the Arctic Monkeys, the English indie band slash post-punk powerhouse. In March of 2011, Alex Turner released his first and only solo work, a little six-song EP soundtrack to the movie “Submarine.” Sadly, I didn’t discover this gem until October of this year. And when I did, I became fully and utterly obsessed. You would expect that Alex Turner sans the Monkeys would feel unnatural. But it is actually a genuine treat. In these six songs, Turner puts his electric guitar aside and trades the punk power of “Fluorescent Adolescent” and “Do I Wanna Know?” for refined, lilting, minimalistic ballads. Equal parts clever and reflective, Turner creates a tender portrayal of the uncertainty of growing up and figuring things out as we go. He humbly and effortlessly boasts incredible songwriting, and his unique lyrics speak right to the heart:

Confession: I watch Girls without putting too much extra thought into it, other than wondering how it can possibly be so relatable in the subtlest of ways. So, I decided to re-watch the first episode of season one and give it some more thought – it’s crazy how much I’ve missed. At the end of the episode, Hannah goes to her parents’ hotel room (in an opium haze) and lays it out for them: “I think I may be the voice of my generation.” This got me thinking: is Girls aiming to be the quintessential text of this generation? Or, is it more fair to say that Girls is simply looking to express what it means to be young and a woman right now?

“I’m busy trying to become who I am.”

A quick overview:

Girls obviously has some Sex and the City vibes – we get four women of different personality types living in New York City, dealing with relationships and employment woes. (Shoshanna even makes a direct reference to Sex and the City in the episode: “You’re definitely like a Carrie with a little bit of Samantha and you have Charlotte hair.”) Still, Girls is more honest about what it’s doing, and functions more as Sex and the City’s antithesis. Hannah, the main character is a self-proclaimed artist; Marnie is self-absorbed and creeped out by her overly affectionate boyfriend; Shoshanna is naïve and fast-talking; Jessa disguises her fear of putting down roots by putting on airs of worldliness.

The first episode of season 1 begins with Hannah at dinner with her parents. They don’t waste time beating around the bush – they tell Hannah midway through her meal that they’re no longer going to support her anymore. Bummer. Hannah is two years out of college working at an unpaid internship and writing a memoir. Hannah is crushed and counters this devastating news: “I’m busy trying to become who I am.” (Self-centered and pretentious? Yes. Relatable? Yes.) So, Hannah’s cut off, she’s fired from her unpaid internship, and doesn’t have anyone to read her memoir or supply her with 1,100 dollars a month. Yikes.

So, what is Girls doing right in terms of capturing the essence of this generation?

1. Communication (or lack thereof): Girls perfectly captures the disconnection of this generation, honing in on a dependence on texting and social media to interact with one another. Marnie gives us a break down of the hierarchy of today’s communication: “The lowest form of communication is Facebook, followed by Gchat, then texting then email then phone. Face to face is of course ideal, but it’s just not of this time.”

2. Relationships: Girls offers an honest view of what relationships (and quasi-relationships) are like. We’re given two drastic but reasonably relatable examples of relationships in the first episode: the suffocating boyfriend and the elusive/shady quasi-boyfriend who can’t be bothered to even answer a text message. Girls doesn’t glamorize relationships; rather, it shows that intimacy can be awkward, and boyfriends can be suffocating. What’s much cooler, though, is that guys and romantic/sexual relationships certainly play a role in the show, but friendships between women are brought to the forefront. Hannah and Marnie are crazy-intimate BFF’s – they sleep in the same bed and sometimes shower together. These care more about each other than they do about their boyfriends (maybe not always true in real life, but certainly a refreshing take).

3. Self-absorption/superficiality: Hannah’s character says is all. She’s already writing a memoir (I can’t imagine about what) and thinks she’s justified in asking her parents for 1,100 dollars a month from her parents for the next two years since she is an “artist.” Jessa can’t be bothered to show up to a dinner on time, and Marnie is all around selfish.  This self-entitlement is an accurate reflection of the inflated egos of this generation that are encouraged with social media.

“Will you get me a Lunabar? And a Smart Water and a Vitamin Water?”

4. The economy: The recession is referenced often in this first episode. It’s cited as the cause for lack of paid jobs and even internships (a fear that hits close to home for a senior in college). All four of these girls (and their boyfriends) went to college, but this doesn’t bring them any closer to securing a decent job (and they’re left burdened with student loans). The most refreshing aspect of this – especially when considering Sex and the City – is that it’s realistic about how difficult living in New York City actually is.

The potential problem with Girls is in its title: the women of this generation are referred to instead as “girls,” and are stunted in their portrayal. Marnie still wears a retainer and Hannah tells her parents that she’s a “growing girl.” These “girls” are openly dependent on their parents (or grandparents) and are completely naïve about what it takes to function as an independent adult; these girls aren’t exactly striving for independence either. However, as difficult as it may be to accept, this stunted portrayal may be the more realistic one. In the end, Girls offers something relatable, a look at what it means to be a young twenty-something in this moment. Perhaps it’s a bit exaggerated, but it certainly resonates with the nuances of a generation.