Due to unforeseen circumstances (having to get my wisdom teeth out) I am currently stuck at home for the entirety of Winter Term. Although this wasn't my original plan, I've been trying to make the best of it. I have especially enjoyed the New England architecture and home-cooked meals, and it's been really nice to spend time with my friends and family.
Unfortunately, however, most of my friends are back at school by now, and my family is usually busy during the day. As a result, I've had lots of time to work on my independent Winter Term project, which is centered on knitting a quilt for my dorm room (more on that in my next blog).
In the name of expanding my music taste, I have also decided to incorporate one of my favorite pastimes: making Spotify playlists. At the beginning of winter break, I posted an instagram story asking people to share their favorite album(s) with me. I then compiled them into a playlist of over 800 songs, coming in at just under 45 hours of music. Over the past few weeks, I've tried to listen to at least one or two albums every day. Not only does it give me something to listen to while I knit, but I've also discovered a lot of new artists that I didn't know before. After I listen to an album, I remove songs from the playlist until I'm left with my top 5ish favorite songs. My hope is that, by the end of Winter Term, I will have a whole handful of new music to incorporate in future playlists. At the end of the month, I plan to share my top five favorite albums of the ones I've listened to and give a description of the ways in which they have influenced my Winter Term experience.
Albums so far include:
- When the Pawn… (1999) by Fiona Apple
- Bad Contestant (2018) by Matt Maltese
- Grace (1994) by Jeff Buckley
- Zaba (2014) by Glass Animals
- The Much Much How How and I (2017) by Cosmo Sheldrake
- Beginners (2020) and Quitters (2022), both by Christian Lee Hutson
- Slippery When Wet (1986) by Bon Jovi
- Preacher's Daughter (2022) by Ethel Cain
- Coming Home (2015) by Leon Bridges
- Growing Pains (2021) by Sammy Copley
- Solar Power (2021) by Lorde
- Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966) by Simon & Garfunkel
- Come Around Sundown (2010) by Kings of Leon
- Stony Hill (2017) by Damian Marley
- Honey (2023) by Samia
My favorites of these have been Jeff Buckley and Fiona Apple. I'm currently working my way through Further Joy (2022) by The Regrettes, and tomorrow I plan to tackle Gemini Rights (2022) by Steve Lacy. I've really been enjoying the variety of genres and themes across these albums, and I'm excited to see where the rest of the month takes me. With any luck, I might even find my new favorite artist. If you're interested in following along (or you want to judge my music taste) the playlist is linked here! It is entitled "synesthesia," a condition in which the brain creates associations between different senses, also referred to as a crossing of the senses. I decided to call my Winter Term project "synKNITsthesia" because it also incorporates multiple senses (the sound of new albums, the colors of the yarn) as well as knitting.
Although I'm eager to get back to Oberlin, this project has been a great way to fill my time, and I'm excited to see where it leads. I'll definitely write at least one more Winter Term blog before my project is done, so feel free to send me album recommendations if you have any. I'm always interested in finding new music!
