Author: dj dragonfly

Alt rock and grunge lover.

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Miscellaneous

This Too Shall Pass

Illustrated raven on branch
Raven, a common depiction of bad luck. Image by rawpixel.com, licensed CC0 1.0 Universal.

Having a hard time? Finding no joy in your favorite things anymore? Feel like things just keep getting worse and worse? If you feel like any of these things is accurate, you should know that it’s okay.  Sometimes, everything goes wrong and there’s nothing you can do about it.  I know it isn’t always a comfort but these things happen sometimes.  

If any of my readers are anything like me, then good and bad things usually happen in big clumps.  I can have weeks or even months of almost nothing bad happening and suddenly a storm of bad luck rains down on me.  Likewise the other way; sometimes I just have consistently bad luck and suddenly the sun comes out and I have a slew of good things coming my way.  

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Miscellaneous

How Do You Use Music?

Antique radio
Old Radio. Image by Alan Levine, licensed by CC A2.0 Generic.

Everyone is different: tastes, habits, needs, wants etc.  It stands to reason that everyone does things differently and treats things differently.  Music is no exception.  So how do different people use music in their lives?

Some people use music for a soundtrack to their lives while others use it as background noise and I know people who don’t really even like music.

I personally use music as a soundtrack to my life.  I carefully pick and queue exactly what I need to make the moment feel a specific way and make sure it fits the vibe.  Sometimes I let my playlists shuffle and I get a surprise but it almost always is still part of the soundtrack style I strive for.  

If I have a bomb fit on and I feel really good about myself, I’ll usually have music in my earbuds that reflects that.  Same with if I’m driving to campus on a rainy autumn morning.  I need the music I listen to to reflect how I feel and how I am as a person.  This is what makes life rich for me.  

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Categories
Classic Album Review

A Public Theatre Review: “Soulless and Friends” (2023)

Public Theatre "Soulless and Friends" album cover
"Soulless and Friends" by Public Theatre album cover.

Content Warning: This album contains some explicit language.

Most Popular:

Personal Favorites:

  • “Anime Intro”
  • “Fine!”
  • “Sober”
  • “THE HUNT”
  • “My Caustic Ego”
  • “Babe ur So Exciting”
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Categories
Local Music

Local House Show Venues

Musician playing electric guitar
Musician playing electric guitar. Licensed CC0 1.0 Universal.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Where can I go to see the artists before they become popular?”  There are many venues, big and small, all around the NC State and Raleigh area.  I’m going to focus on the latter: small house venues.

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Categories
Playlists

Women in Bands

Woman with short hair reclining
Dolores O'Riordan. Image by Roger Woolman, licensed CC A 3.0 Unported.

When we think of the legends of Rock n’ Roll, some of the names listed might be Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Plant, Mick Jagger, Axel Rose, Slash, Eddie Van Halen, Jon Bon Jovi or Kurt Cobain.  A simple Google search would show mostly men popping up.  I checked and found only two results with any women.  Unfortunately, this isn’t surprising.  Music, especially rock, has tended to be a male dominated field.

“I grew up in a world that told girls they couldn’t play rock and roll.” – Joan Jett

Since her statement, there have been many noteworthy and successful women in the rock music scene.  Sadly, there is still a long way to go.  As a woman in the rock music scene, I find it particularly important to have someone to look up to and to be inspired by.

I made a playlist with some bands of various popularity and time periods who have women in strong roles.  Many of these bands have women in the front-person or singer’s position but not all.  I’ve included women as drummers, bassists, guitarists, keyboardists and even fiddle/violin players.

Content Warning: Some of these songs have explicit content

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Categories
Playlists

Steering into the Skid

Pink, white, and flue forget-me-not flower clusters
Forget-me-not flower clusters. Image by Sophia Dutton-Rodkin

We all have our good and bad days.  Some days, you feel like skipping down the street or singing in the shower while others make you feel like the whole world is against you.

Oftentimes when I’m feeling the former, I like to listen to happy and upbeat music.  I like to be embraced and supported by similar energies. A good example of this would be “Walking On Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves.

When it comes to feeling the latter, what should one listen to?  If someone is sad and down in the dumps, should they listen to “Washing Machine Heart” by Mitski?  Likewise if someone is upset or angry, should they listen to “Bleed the Freak” by Alice in Chains? Would it be better to listen to someone happy and upbeat to facilitate that emotion?

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Categories
Miscellaneous

Music and Language

Two Russian books
Two classic Russian books, "Dunno on the Moon" and "Alice in Wonderland." Image by Sophia Dutton-Rodkin

Whether English or Spanish or Swahili or Japanese, learning a new language is always going to be a challenge.  One of the best ways to help with language learning is to immerse oneself in media content with that language being the primary.

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Categories
Movie Review

“Hair” (1979): A Review

"Hair" movie poster
"Hair" 1979 movie poster

CONTENT WARNING: This review, film and/or soundtrack contains themes of war, sexual expression, illicit drugs and racial inequality.

Musicals: some love them, some hate them.  I can’t claim to be a big fan of musicals until we get to the specific category of old musicals.  “Hair” would fall under this category.

“Hair” started as an off-Broadway musical in 1967 and moved to Broadway the following year.  Later the musical was released on film in 1979 with the same title.  This story is an anti-war drama with comedy sprinkled in and follows a good ole’ Oklahoma boy being shipped off to Vietnam as he spends his last couple days in New York City.  There, he meets a group of four hippies: Berger, Jeannie, Hud and Woof. They turn everything upside down for him and change his perspective.

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Categories
Miscellaneous

The Importance of Variety

Black and White photo of record player on desk with guitar in corner
Fleetwood Mac "Rumors" album on record player. Image by Sophia Dutton-Rodkin

What does it mean to have a diverse musical palate? Does it mean liking many artists in one genre? Many genres but few artists? Many similar genres? A few wildly different ones?  As someone who loves exploring different genres, I don’t think there is a “right” answer.

Everyone is allowed to like whatever they like.  There is no right or wrong answer to the question: What is good music?

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” – Margaret Wolff Hungerford.

A less literal paraphrase might be along the lines of: “Good music is in the heart of the listener.”  Everyone has different upbringings and experiences and tastes.  There might be some music that is objectively bad but if someone likes it there has to be a reason behind it.  Maybe they are noticing something others aren’t.

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Categories
Miscellaneous

Playing Music with Animals

Person plays piano while puppy sleeps on their lap
12 week old puppy (Daphne) sleeping on lap of piano player. Image by Sophia Dutton-Rodkin

Any musician worth their salt could say with full confidence that practice is the cornerstone of success.  Practice at home, in the dorms, in the practice rooms and even in between classes.   While your roommates might think you’re strange, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t disturbing anyone.  In my case, the one most affected by my practice would be my lovely lady, Daphne.  She’s an Australian cattle dog mix and she both loves and hates when I play music.

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