Bounce
You may not know this about me but I’m a huge word-nerd. To make it even worse I’m sort of a font + punctuation bitch too.
It’s an obsession and it’s getting worse. For example my idea of fun would be a class or work seminar where we’re instructed to “list 25 words that describe…” I would be all over that, pen to paper hovering over my notebook with a fast agitating scribbling noise as my pen moves fast annoying others around me in the quiet work space. I love clever witty intelligent writing so muchthat I’ll go find my husband in the house (or sometimes wake him up next to me) to read a line from a book out loud and gush, “…isn’t that the best word choice EVER?? …isn’t her use of metaphors brilliant?! …wait, one more paragraph!! ” And my oldest son Andrew will remember (and vouch) for this one.. He was filling out college apps years ago and walked into the room complaining, “listen to this stupid essay question I need to answer: What is your favorite word, and why? I jumped out of my chair so excited and energized… “Andrew, this is a fantastic question!! Do you know how much fun this will be?!”- and promised him that this would be an exercise of the most deliberate - soul searching - healthy kind! I said, “let’s take a walk and talk about words you like!” He turned and walked away. (The word he chose for his essay was “yes”.)
I know this obsession has everything to with my love of good song lyrics. Anyone can send a message. Anyone can speak his mind. Anyone can write it down. But it takes a special artist to write solid lyrics, set them to music and make it stick. The trick and the challenge is, listeners will consume differently. The best lyrics are written for the heart, the brain, and the soul; a hat-trick for an ultimate win. The listener will decide.
This week’s playlist is titled “bounce.”
~ because this week this word saved me ~
I had a bad case of writer’s block this week. It’s a rare occurrence when my words don’t work for me. I had four different opening paragraphs, four different takes on a topic, with a blog + playlist title I didn’t love. I was forcefully trying to back a story into a four word title that, in the end, I hated. I finally hit the wall hard and something wonderful happened. I bounced far enough away to take a look, and had a moment of clarity. I told my marketing team I’m starting over, I’m going to miss my deadline, and I’m changing the title to “bounce.” The word wraps my story and my playlist perfectly.
You’ve probably used this word a thousand times over your lifetime. So tell me, if you close your eyes and think of the word bounce, what do you see?
Mirriam-Webster sees it this way:
verb (used without object), bounced, bounc·ing.
to spring back from a surface in a lively manner:The ball bounced off the wall.
to strike the ground or other surface, and rebound:The ball bounced once before he caught it.
Urban Dictionary sees it this way:
TOP DEFINITION
to leave and go do something better, go somewhere else.
Which brings me to [my] yesterday’s moment of clarity:
you can bounce around or bounce back.
You might see a bouncing ball. I see words bouncing off a wall:
catapult - propel – springboard – rebound – transport – return – project – react – push
I see it everyday in the music industry where resilience and perseverance prevail. Many examples of this are in this week’s news: 1) Vintage artists who bravely release a new album after all those years (see AC/DC). 2) Clever artists whose cool cover catapults their career (see). 3) Iconic artists who bring out new/old songs from the vault (see Joni Mitchell). 4) The death of an artist rebounds their relevant hit single to top of the charts to a new generation of fans (see Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman”, Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now”and Eddie Van Halen’s “Jump”). 4) Lucky artists who benefit from society’s rewrite (see Rolling Stone’s new artist list). 5) Brave artists who take a stand with songs of protest, healing and hope (see Marren Morris’ “Better Than We Found It”, Zach Heckendorf’s “Stronger Than I Once Was”,Cobi’s “Keep Climbing”, CAAMP’s “Fall Fall Fall”, Scott Mulvahill’s “Peace On Earth” (these and many more are on this week’s playlist and are worth a dedicated listen.) And one final feature: 7) Legendary artists whose fun frolic brings an unexpected spotlight to an old song and a new star in a very unlikely setting (see Mick Fleetwood’s cranberry juice skate on TikTok.)
The world is crazy right now. Like the old pong game from 1972, it’s a ball and two walls. Are you bouncing like me? Let’s make a pact to bounce back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F73cgR63Jn4&ab_channel=JakeANowhereMan
find all of these artists on our new playlist bounce.
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In music,
Val