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Well, hello. I’m still testing this.

Music Notes

A blog, generally about music, usually for projects hosted by Jeff

. I may also write about the 48-Hour Media Prompt Challenge if I don't feel like writing a story or poem inspired by the given song. Other bits of poetry or different topics of discussion might end up here as well.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

DLSpiritwriter☯️🦋🌳

Feb 23, 2025 at 12:03pm
In response to "Beautiful Day, by U2"

Very intense and thanks for sharing your insights. It is a very good song and more so now...
Glad y'all made it out safely 🙂.

1 Like

Ms. TerrifyingTuber

Oct 15, 2024 at 12:09pm
In response to "500 Miles (I'm Gonna Be) (ID cover)"

That was an amazing performance. Dan certainly has a sense of showmanship..

1 Like

QPdoll

Oct 12, 2024 at 8:00am
In response to "I Heard It Through the Grapevine (CCR)"

I've only known the Marvin Gaye version. I have to say that CCR did it justice. The drums and that bass. So cool.

Excellent choice!

1 Like

♥HOOves♥

Oct 12, 2024 at 7:45am
In response to "I Heard It Through the Grapevine (CCR)"

Great song choice! There is also a version with Gladys Knight and the Pips that may or may not have been the first one. It was the first one that I heard.

1 Like

Dave Ryan

Oct 11, 2024 at 8:19am
In response to "If I Had a Hammer"

Puff the Magic Dragon is a great song for traumatising the kids. There's nothing like a happy ending, and that one is definitely nothing like a happy ending.

1 Like

QPdoll

Oct 10, 2024 at 7:57am
In response to "Fast Car (Jonas Blue cover)"

This is great! I love this song and have heard a couple of different versions, but I've never heard this one. Thank you for sharing.

1 Like

♥HOOves♥

Oct 9, 2024 at 9:07am
In response to "Fortunate Son"

Love Centerfield and Have You Ever Seen the Rain, also!

So many wonderful songs!

1 Like

♥HOOves♥

Oct 8, 2024 at 9:00am
In response to "I Won't Back Down"

Great song choice!

1 Like

QPdoll

Oct 8, 2024 at 6:15am
In response to "I Won't Back Down"

I like Tom Petty, too. My favorite song is Mary Jane's Last Dance. However, I like the message of I Won't Back Down. It's a fine choice.

1 Like

tracker

Oct 7, 2024 at 12:23pm
In response to "Creeque Alley"

This is when I like AI. The song is a story about when the group was formed. It was released when I had first started college. Where? In California! Good choice of song.

1 Like

February 25, 2025 at 1:51am

#1084355

Better, by OneRepublic

Today's choice is a single off the 2016 OneRepublic album Oh My My. Better never got a music video because band leader Ryan Tedder took an extended break from music production after the album release.

Sound:
There are two vastly different versions of Better: the string and the studio. Both masterfully encapsulate an atmosphere of tension, anxiety and mental fragility.

The studio original uses generous doses of dubstep (a special kind of synth) and reverb, creating an eerie feeling of pulsing brain waves against Ryan's staccato lyrical rhythms and plunging, echoing deep notes.

The string version begins with the effect of an inexorably ticking clock, and has no drums whatsoever. Violin and cello chase each other between the words in high notes of orchestral symphony, weaving a web of mystery and instability.

Theme:
By now Better's theme is probably obvious. Ryan Tedder is here dealing with being on the edge of a nervous breakdown, reminding himself that it can happen to anyone and "in the morning I'll be better."

He speaks directly from his own experience, bringing us a song so honest, he lived up to it the moment he had the opportunity. I was getting into 1R as a band right when Ryan was making his comeback in 2017, and I eagerly cheered him on, praying he wouldn't be another Chester Bennington, who had passed the same year, though I knew little about either of them.

I love how at the bridge, Ryan turns the question of mental well-being upon us and offers us the same advice he's been telling himself. It's a clever lyrical twist which brings the message home.

Significance:
I've only rarely heard this song in public, instead bonding to it directly from YouTube in my early days of exploring 1R. The two versions taught me what to expect from the band in terms of their skills with the cello (thank member Brent Kutzle for that,) and the lyrics gave me a relatable way to navigate my own feelings of unease and mental exhaustion.

I seem to go through a nervous breakdown of some kind at least once a year, usually in the winter. Ryan's words offer some comfort as I remember the cyclical nature of life and the way things tend to get better after getting worse. I have often hummed and sung this to myself over the years, clinging to its simple, fragile optimism.

Last year as part of my "Invalid Item"

project, I took Better and crafted a story about a neurodivergent young man in a hostile work environment, based partly on my own experience. At first I thought it was a rather silly story… how heartwarming to receive a five-star review and award from my dear friend Jack Tyler. (He even listened to the song at the end; "syncopated" is how he described the lyrical rhythm.)

I can't let go of the Oh My My album this month without a word of thanks to Jack for patiently reading, reviewing and awarding stories out of that collection. His kind words of advice and affirmation kept me motivated to complete the most ambitious, high-stakes project I'd yet taken on here.

Better

(13+)
Think you lost your mind? Don't worry about it...
#2320166 by Amethyst Agape Angel

Words: 540.

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