An October scene. Image by Drazen Nesic, licensed CC0 1.0 Public Domain
It’s finally October and sadly it’s coming to an end. With that comes the next monthly “DJ Dragonfly’s Favorites.”
I know that I am not alone in saying that this month has been a rough one. With all the midterms, fall activities and the sun setting earlier and earlier, tensions have been high. I have personally been falling back on comfort and so many of my favorites this month have been repetitive of the last couple months. That being said, I tried to compile a list of songs that I think accurately measure my favorites this month, excluding repeats. Some of these songs have explicit content, so fair warning to everyone.
This month, I feel I have a dichotomy of nu metal or heavy distortion and indie or high reverb feel in my playlist. I like to think there is a gradient especially with all the Halloween playlists I have been working on lately. I believe a couple of the songs in the playlist are kind of Halloween-esque, such as “Oh Klahoma” by Jack Stauber.
I have a couple other songs that I had recently been reminded of and haven’t been able to stop listening to. One example would be “Deceptacon” by Le Tigre. The other night, I was taking my lovely dog Daphne out and I overheard a car passing by with this song blasting. I hadn’t heard the song in ages and decided I needed to listen to it right then and there. Thus, the song has become one of DJ Dragonfly’s October Favorites.
Another example might be “Suffragette City” by David Bowie. I was also reminded of this song as it was playing in a TV show I was watching. I couldn’t just let that song slide. I needed to start listening to it again. That honestly led to a spiral of Bowie songs which of course led me to now want to rewatch “Labyrinth” from 1986. I suppose I have my evening plans. I hope everyone enjoys this months’ selections.
A pensive Autumnal scene. Image licensed CC0 1.0 Public Domain Universal.
Daylight savings time has come to its timely close, on Halloweekend no less. While I’m sure many of us enjoyed and appreciated that extra hour Saturday night, there are many more changes still to come.
The days are colder and the nights are longer. The sun is setting earlier and earlier every day and with that comes many an annual affliction. Aside from the flu and getting paler, seasonal depression comes a-knockin’.
Officially referred to as seasonal affective disorder, this silent criminal of good feelings is not an all or nothing affair. There are many ways to combat the seasonal sadness most tend to feel around this time of year and so I have decided to compile a list for anyone in need.
The value of the humanities can be described in a multitude of ways, one in which I’ve adopted is the notion that engaging with culture, communities and the arts, interrogating their forms, can help us better interrogate our own lives in this same manner as the classics and the acclaimed.
So I was crying over the death of Socrates studying for my ancient Mediterranean history class and something stood out to me.
“this charming man”, this charming man you say…
Acclaimed artistry, The Smiths. As I grow up I move from listening to them in nostalgia for my mother’s taste and her adolescent soundscape and now nuzzle my way into the songs.
It’s quite odd to grow with a song, to fit yourself, your narrative and snapshots slot into anothers lyrics, someone else’s life.