Music Mondays: Unlabeled Edition

I'm not feeling very thematic, of late, and I'm in a rather muddled head space (maybe things aren't quite screwed on the way they should be or I just have one too many thoughts), and that's reflected in my music list. A mix of "gothic metal," indie pop (complete with the requisite fandom video) and hip hop.

Do you have music that speaks to you in those indefinable (undefinable?) moods that we all hit?


1. Fleur de Mal - Sarah Brightman
2. Some Boys - Death Cab for Cutie (for Garak and Bashir)
3. Letting Go - Lupe Fiasco (featuring Sarah Green)

1.

2.

3.

You Can't Have My Heart, But Here's My Spleen

I find VDay forced and artificial. Much like weddings. (Which is why I didn't have one.)

Despite its history (which does appear to date back to 16th century lovers giving each other tokens of affection) it's the epitome of the cellophane wrapped Hallmark Holiday.

I don’t like it.

So, I don’t bother with it.

But over the last few years, I've been drawn out of my normal, pleasant VDay apathy by several repeating irritants.


The Pressure 

Everyone else is celebrating and they want you to celebrate too!

Hey. I have my holidays and you have yours. That's cool.

I will smile and call it cute when you show me the card your boyfriend picked out or tell you to have fun on the $300 dinner date your husband or wife (though it's strangely, usually, the former) has splurged for.

But please, stop telling me I'm missing out by not indulging in any ephemeral actions of "romance" on this one day out of the 365 days we have each year. (And don't try to guilt trip my husband into thinking he should get me something. He knows me better than you do.)


Feminine Stereotypes

Words cannot express how tired I am of coming across adages in blogs and news articles alike that claim: "Women love to pretend that they don’t care about Valentine’s Day."

Really?

We do?

...dangers of a hive mind...

Tell me, did you poll every one of us or just ask a few women who travel in your circle and then make a sweeping assumption about everyone who identifies as a woman?

Or did women become a hive mind when I wasn't paying attention?

Women are just as diverse in their views about VDay as men are. And I'd venture to say that most of us actually do know what's going on in our own heads.

So, let's try this. 

If a woman (or anyone else) says they don't like the holiday, you take them at their word. If they really do like it but are putting on airs for some reason and get pissed at you for ignoring the holiday they claimed to dislike, that's their problem and, like an adult, they can put on their grown up pants and deal with it by actually having an honest conversation. 

And if you really do like VDay and you want your lover/girlfriend/wife/spouse/boyfriend/husband/friend-with-benefits to celebrate this day with you: speak up and say so. 

It's amazing how many things can be solved by a line of open communication.

Consider that little gem my VDay gift to the world. 

Music Mondays: Anti V-Day Edition

Thursday is Valentine's Day. If I hadn't known that, I probably would have figured it out due to the amount of red and pink decor appearing in the grocery stores, making it look as though a Care Bear upchucked all over the floral section.

I don't do Valentine's Day. For several reasons. And no, that's not just something I say. (I may blog about this topic later.)

So, on this Music Monday, I'm pulling together an anti V-Day song list to combat the sickly sweet sugar rush that invades the country this time of year.

If you're like me and don't get into the facade what songs appeal to you? What music do you use to combat the corporate enforced "love bug?"

(Aside: If you knew how many times I've edited this post for little grammatical errors/spelling slips-of-the-finger, you'd laugh. It's definitely Monday. Oy.)


1. Clear Hearts, Grey Flowers - Jack Off Jill
2. White Wedding - Billy Idol
3. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day
4. Every Breath You Take - The Police (Because, if you didn't yet know, it's about a stalker.)
5. Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana

1.

3.

5.

Getting Out of One's Own Way

Right now, I'm having to resist the urge to rip out pages in my notebook in a fit of pique, to walk up and down the hall of my apartment muttering about characters that don't want to talk to me, to drown my sorrows in coffee and Deep Space Nine, or to just start throwing things.

I can't, for the life of me, seem to get a handle on this short story. I have the idea. I have my principal characters. I have conflict. I even have a tentative resolution. The full form of the story exists in my head, in some capacity.

Yet every time I sit down to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, everything I write seems wrong. I'm not sure if I have the wrong tense or the wrong point of view or if I'm just starting in the wrong place/time.

It doesn't help that I have a May 1st deadline and my brain keeps jumping ahead to the other details that will have to be taken care of if I ever get this story finished (editing, finding beta readers, getting feedback, incorporating said feedback and re-editing). Normally, deadlines don't give me this much of a problem.

I just can't figure this one out. There's a lock in my brain and every time I think I get close to opening it, the combination changes.


Have you had story experiences like this? What do you do to break through this kind of block? How do you get out of your own way?

Music Mondays: Whatever Edition

Yes. The Whatever Edition.

Today is one of those Mondays where I didn't have any music selections planned ahead of time.

My weekend went by in a blur of DS9, Mama (if you haven't seen the movie, I recommend it) and a sleep deprived Saturday night that led me to napping from about 3 in the afternoon until 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.

As a result, I think I'm more mentally flustered and disjointed than usual. After running the errand I need to run, I may spend the day cleaning. It's something to do. And, sometimes, it seems to help me straighten up the mess that is in my head.

Sometimes, I think the dirtiness or cleanliness of a room is a direct reflection of my mental state. And lately, things have been more cluttered than not. (Anyone else feel that way?)


Here are a couple of songs for today's cleaning playlist.

Nickel - "Stupid Thing"

THC - "Need to Destroy"