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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 28, 2020 at 11:59pm February 28, 2020 at 11:59pm
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"The Soundtrack of Your Life" | DAY 23
"Even Louder" by Steven Malcolm feat. Natalie Grant
I've already posted a couple other Christian music songs that I've been listening to over the past year, and this is another one of them. For some reason, it just seems like there's been a lot of good Christian music coming out lately, which I define as songs that really transcend the religious overtones and can speak to everybody. Much like "Sinking Deep" and even more especially "Gotta Live" , this song really speaks to a larger emotional perspective than just what Christians experience. It could be about a whole lot of different aspects of faith, not just the Christian expression, which is something that I find refreshing.
This song has remained on my playlist for quite a few months, mostly because it's so uplifting and positive I find that that it really improves my mood when I put it on, no matter what's going on in my day.
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February 28, 2020 at 11:54pm February 28, 2020 at 11:54pm
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"The Soundtrack of Your Life" | DAY 22
"Babe" by Sugarland feat. Taylor Swift
I discovered this song on a Taylor Swift playlist. I had no idea that Sugarland and Taylor Swift ever even did a collaboration, let alone one that I would enjoy so much. The video is a lot of fun to watch too; Brandon Routh does a great job of playing the lousy husband in the middle of the two women. I think it's interesting to hear Taylor Swift's vocals on a backing track rather than as leading vocals for a change, and it really works in this case. The song actually has an interesting history... it was written by Taylor Swift, originally for recording by rock band (well, rock-adjacent) Train on one of their albums but it never happened. Everyone assumed that Swift would then include the song on her next album (Red), but that never happened either for some reason. Swift, a fan of Sugarland, was excited when the band got back together and reached out to them about a collaboration. This song was in the offering, and it was included on Sugarland's sixth studio album. It's the only song on the album... and, in fact, the only song in Sugarland's history, not to be written by the band members.
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February 28, 2020 at 11:45pm February 28, 2020 at 11:45pm
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"The Soundtrack of Your Life" | DAY 21
"Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
My son has requested this song be played so often that I really don't enjoy it anymore, but I wanted to include it in my playlist this year not just because it was a fixture of my listening this past year, but also because I really enjoy the story behind this song, most notably the fact that it was rather controversially removed from the Billboard country charts for not being "country" enough (a problem that many black artists face when trying to record country songs that include elements of other genres), and prompted Lil Nas X to record a remix (the first of which included Billy Ray Cyrus and is the version I chose) to include more country elements. The song has since gone on to chart on multiple Billboard charts, and has a number of different remixes, and has absolutely exploded in popularity both online and on radio stations. It became so popular so quickly, that at one point several radio stations had to stream the song on YouTube to keep up with play requests.
After coming from humble beginnings and the initial controversy about the song not being "country" enough, it's really nice to see an artist like Lil Nas X enjoy so much success from an undeniably catchy song.
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February 28, 2020 at 11:34pm February 28, 2020 at 11:34pm
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"The Soundtrack of Your Life" | DAY 20
"The Middle" by Zedd feat. Maren Morris & Grey
I have my five-year-old to thank for bringing this song back onto my playlist. I listened to it almost incessantly when it first came out, then got tired of it, and then started listening to it again (and not just when he was in the car!) after it popped up on a mix we were playing and he kept asking me to play it again, over and over again. At this point, I think we both probably know all the words - at least to the chorus - by heart. It's a really catchy song, and one that I think benefits from artists of different disciplines coming together to collaborate. And I have to admit, these kinds of collaborations also get me to check out artists I wouldn't normally discover on my own. I had no idea who Maren Morris was until I heard this song, let alone that she's a fairly accomplished country artist.
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February 28, 2020 at 11:28pm February 28, 2020 at 11:28pm
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"The Soundtrack of Your Life" | DAY 19
"Here With Me" by Marshmello feat. CHVRCHES
I first discovered CHVRCHES a few years ago with "Recover" and "The Mother We Share," and I think I found this song when I was surfing for other CHVRCHES songs to see what else was out there. And I already recognized Marshmello from a few other collaborations (most notably with Kelly Clarkson on "Broken & Beautiful" from the UGLYDOLLS soundtrack, and this song didn't disappoint. The indie vocals of CHVRCHES are a great fit with Marshmello's dance/electronic musical style, and this is another great combination that I've added to my playlist alongside the likes of tomorrow's song, "The Middle" by Zedd feat. Maren Morris.
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February 28, 2020 at 5:31pm February 28, 2020 at 5:31pm
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"The Soundtrack of Your Life" | DAY 18
"Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B
Maroon 5 is one of those bands I really want to hate, but I also have to begrudgingly admit has catchy songs. Most Maroon 5 songs are perfectly okay, if not particularly memorable, but every once in a while they'll release one that I just can't stop listening to. That's definitely the case with this song, off their sixth studio album, Red Pill Blues from 2017. The song spent 33 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10, tying "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran and "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee (and also one of my SOYL picks this year) for the longest Top 10 run in the chart's archives.
I do have to laugh about the fact that the song was negatively received by critics, with Vice's Shad D'Souza calling it "god awful" and describing it as an example of "horrid, weird, marshmallow-soft songs sung by dudes pining after a ‘good girl’ who will finally fix all of their problems through the power of love." Ouch! I guess Maroon 5 will have to console themselves with the fact that it reached number one in twelve different countries, and set a number of chart records in the process. 
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February 28, 2020 at 5:23pm February 28, 2020 at 5:23pm
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"The Soundtrack of Your Life" | DAY 17
"The Archer" by Taylor Swift
I had a hard time picking this song, mostly because I knew it was going to be a Taylor Swift song off her latest album Lover, but I wasn't sure which one. It's easily one of my favorite albums of last year, and with few exceptions, I love all the songs on the album. I picked this one as my Soundtrackers entry because I think it has some of the most memorable lyrics and has been one of the songs I've most often found myself listening to on repeat or going back and playing again as soon as it's over.
I'm strongly considering using this album as my "Musicology Anthology" entry this year, but I'm still not 100%, as there are a few other albums that I'm considering. But this is one of the few albums where I can clearly envision entries for each song, and I wouldn't mind listening to each of these songs on repeat for a few weeks at a time as I come up with the stories, so we'll have to see!
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February 28, 2020 at 5:13pm February 28, 2020 at 5:13pm
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"The Soundtrack of Your Life" | DAY 16
"The Flame" by Cheap Trick
For some reason, Cheap Trick is never a band that I immediately think of when I think of great bands of the 80s. Even though they have some iconic songs that I instantly recognize (like "Surrender"), they just don't enter my head when I'm trying to come up with rock bands from my childhood. It's usually only after I've heard them on another source ("Surrender" re-entered my playlist after being featured on a segment of Conan O'Brien's late night show, and this one after being used on The Goldbergs).
I also, for some reason, always thought Cheap Trick was a British band, but apparently they're actually from Rockford, Illinois in the good old U-S-of-A. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, after more than 5,000 live performances, 20 million albums sold, and multiple resurgences in popularity over the decades.
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