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About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
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Blogocentric Formulations
Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
 "The Soundtrackers Group" 
"Blogging Circle of Friends "
"Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"
"JAFBG"
"Take up Your Cross"
Thanks for stopping by! 
February 25, 2015 at 8:42pm February 25, 2015 at 8:42pm
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** Image ID #2026596 Unavailable **
Song: "Fantasy"
Artist: Mariah Carey
Album: Daydream
I know lizco252 is probably going to give me hell for this choice, but maybe if I tell her that there's a challenge/prize-related reason I'm selecting it she'll give me a pass. 
Mariah Carey's music has been a pretty significant part of my life, starting with "Vision of Love" off her self-titled debut album way back in 1990. That was roughly around the time I was working my way through elementary school and first became aware of music as something beyond background noise that my parents listened to or that accompanied movies and TV shows. I'd always listened to songs, but the early 90s was when I started to consciously pay attention to my tastes in music. I've always loved the catchy nature of pop music, and Mariah Carey's light happy songs really captured the tone of the music at the time.
I do have to admit to having a little bittersweet feeling toward Mariah Carey; while I enjoy most of her songs, one of the ones I really hate is "One Sweet Day," her duet with Boyz II Men. It was one of her most successful hits, but also the song a supposed friend of mine danced to with the girl I like in junior high. I was painfully shy in junior high and when this extroverted friend found out at the dance, he thought it would be hilarious if he walked over and asked her to dance while I watched. Needless to say, that was not a particularly "sweet" day, and I've hated the song ever since. But Mariah's got plenty of other songs that I can listen to... especially The Track Which Shall Not Be Named!
Okay, now for a challenge! This is only the second artist I've ever repeated for a Soundtrackers challenge. The first time I used Mariah was The Track Which Shall Not Be Named during the "12 Days of "Christmas"" . I made a conscious decision not to repeat any other artists I've used for this current challenge... so can you figure out the only other artist I've doubled up on in the past?
The first person to post a comment stating the artist, along with both songs and their respective Soundtrackers challenges will win their choice of (non-group) Merit Badge from me!
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February 25, 2015 at 2:42pm February 25, 2015 at 2:42pm
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** Image ID #2026596 Unavailable **
Song: "Solsbury Hill"
Artist: Peter Gabriel
Album: Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel would be my vote for the best thing to come out of the band Genesis... if it weren't for that drummer guy Phil Collins. And while Phil's accomplishments and music are more my style, I can't deny that this track from Peter Gabriel is one of my all-time favorites. It was his debut single after leaving the band to go solo (not too shabby for an opening single!), and was originally written about letting go and being prepared to give up what one has for the possibility of what they might get. While Gabriel admits that he was largely inspired to write this song as a result of his decision to leave Genesis, the song can easily be applied to a much broader scope of emotional situations.
Over the years, the song has increased in popularity as it's been frequently used in soundtracks and trailers for movies and television. It's all-time best use, though, was in this parody trailer where an editor re-cut The Shining into a family film. If you haven't seen it yet, it's well worth 90 seconds of your time. There are a ton of parody trailers out there now, but as far as I know this was one of the very first that went viral and started the trend, and Gabriel's song really pulls it all together, if you ask me.
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February 25, 2015 at 1:03pm February 25, 2015 at 1:03pm
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** Image ID #2026596 Unavailable **
Song: "The Monster"
Artist: Eminem (feat. Rihanna)
Album: The Marshall Mathers LP 2
I'll admit it; I like Eminem. I think he's a ridiculously talented rapper, and when he teams up with other dynamic artists he creates a really unique sound to his rap songs. Teaming up with Rihanna was one of the best things he ever did... "Love the Way You Lie" started their collaboration (which continued with "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" and "Numb"), and while I think "Love the Way You Lie" is perhaps the more powerful song since it deals with a distressed interpersonal relationship, "The Monster" (in addition to having the catchier lyrics, IMO) deals with a just-as-distressed intrapersonal relationship. The hook for the song was actually written by a different musician (Bebe Rexha), but Eminem loved it so much he bought it, stripped out the rest of the lyrics and inserted his own, then had Rihanna re-record the hook so that it could be combined with slightly different instrumentation. The result is a song that's been well received by critics and the public alike. It won the 2015 Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
When Eminem first hit the scene, I remember loving his bizarre music videos on MTV (anyone remember TRL???) and thinking that his lyrics were kind of amusing. "The Real Slim Shady" and "Without Me" were amusing and kinda fun. But it wasn't until he did "Lose Yourself" for the 8 Mile soundtrack and acted in that movie that I started to think there was a little more to him than just a gimmicky rapper. And even then, I didn't really follow his music too much until 2012 when "Love the Way You Lie" was released and I finally appreciated him as a maturing artists who moved beyond the gimmicks and the humor to create some really moving rap compositions. I still can't say that I'll go out and buy anything he does on the day of release, but he's an artist I definitely keep my eye on, since he always seems to surprise people with what he does next.
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February 25, 2015 at 12:31pm February 25, 2015 at 12:31pm
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** Image ID #2026596 Unavailable **
Song: "Turn the Beat Around"
Artist: Gloria Estefan
Album: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
Yeah, I know that with a discography as long and successful as Gloria Estefan's it's practically heresy to choose a cover rather than an original song, but I'm going to do it anyway. "Turn the Beat Around" was originally written by Peter and Gerald Jackson and performed by Vicki Sue Robinson in 1976, and was even covered successfully by Laura Branigan in 1990. But Estefan's version is probably the most well-known, since it was recorded as a single and included in the soundtrack to The Specialist. The movie was a huge hit ($170 million worldwide box office), which drove sales of the single and prompted Estefan to include the single on her subsequent fourth studio album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me. And by the way, if you haven't seen The Specialist yet and love 90s cheese... you need to see this one ASAP. You can see a few clips in the video below, but it's Sly Stallone versus bad James Woods and Eric Roberts as the most yolked demolitions expert you'll ever meet. Mix in a femme fatale courtesy of Sharon Stone at the height of her Basic Instinctiness and you've got a winner on your hands. 
I love that this song includes a little of everything. Synthesizer, strings, flute... there's a little something for everyone in there. Her whole discography is great, though. I remember listening to her earlier stuff with my parents, who absolutely adore her music. Gloria Estefan was one of the few artists that we all looked forward to releasing a new album or listening to after dinner. My parents didn't really become fans until she got popular in the U.S. though, so I missed a lot of her work in the late seventies and early eighties. I think we caught on around the time "Conga" from the Primitive Love album charted, and then followed her through subsequent hits like "Words Get in the Way," "Rhythm is Gonna Get You," "1-2-3-4," "Get On Your Feet," "Cuts Both Ways," and "Coming Out of the Dark." She also did a great cover of "Everlasting Love."
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