I really should write a reminder on my phone at the end of every month to make sure I do this on the right day because I like precision!
Anyway, it’s another month gone and yesterday was a really busy day at work so, yeah once again writing this today instead.
I can start opening my L’Occitane advent calendar now and I almost bought the NYX one too but then I remembered that I am committed to project Primus which requires a lot of financial sacrifices in order to afford the parts I need to build it. I will share more detail with that in another post.
The problem I have that I think causes me to forget about my monthly music posts is often when I commute places by transit, I’m always listening to my music, but then when there’s those months where I’m not travelling much or am a different way, it’s the opposite. Without a list of songs in mind, I tend to neglect and force myself to look back at the last minute! So, here we go:
5. Ariana Grande – Breathin
Two months in a row Ariana makes it onto my list. How strange! Normally, I try to do a variety of songs per month, but sometimes that changes. I would hear this song at work countless times; however not as much as God is a Woman which eventually led to me getting sick of it. But I kept that to myself so I could continue to focus on the task at hand in front of me.
This song makes me think of myself in a crowd of women and girls dressed up as elves: which are their Lavellan Inquisitors. While they were portrayed in black and white, I was shown in colour dressed up in Qunari Shokra Taar armor, my hair was long and white and I had horns on my head as I sang the song.
The connection? I looked at the lyrics and imagined myself being the odd one out and going through tough times with drama in fandoms and my life. Like, in the Dragon Age fandom I sometimes feel outnumbered a thousand to one by female fans who love elves, play nothing but them, and set themselves up with Solas, Cullen, or like to fap over Dorian and Bull, while I on the other hand am in love with the Qunari and am certainly going to play the crap out of an Adaar Inquisitor once I have enough disk space to download hair mods. So, in short, I feel alone as a fan with different preferences. I know for a fact that I am not alone but feeling alone and being alone are two different things. The fact of the matter is that the fans who do the things I just mentioned, along with others like Alistair and Fenris fans, those particular fans often speak louder in the community than others. They are seen in more places and have pretty much become a cult.
Whenever I find myself having a different opinion from these kinds of people, I feel like I can’t express it without being “gently” told to leave so someone doesn’t get “hurt”. So when I feel like someone who is different than others and it isn’t easy. It’s better to just focus on myself and keep breathing.
4. One Direction – Drag Me Down
Another guilty pleasure from artists that I don’t particularly like. Remember when these guys were big and all over those magazines I used to read? Elitists and rabid fangirls, you may exit stage left. I am not a fan of One Direction, but I heard this song on the radio shortly after the news spread that one of the members, Zayn was leaving. I actually thought this song was catchy when I listened to it, and today it still remains the only song I like by One Direction. You can see in the video the boys are training to go into space for the first time. It goes and shows all the hard work and training you go through in life, you don’t let anyone bring you down.
That can be said the same for myself. I wrote back in the spring shortly before my 25th birthday that I wanted to have thicker skin, especially now that I’ve entered the workplace. I want to be able to handle constructive criticism and not let it drag me down. Maybe this song can motivate me to strive harder to achieve that.
3. Hammerfall – Any Means Necessary
I’d do any means necessary to succeed at something in life, so maybe that’s how this song relates. It is the first Hammerfall song I heard and I can tell when it’s playing on my shuffle mode. The opening riff gives it away! It was even better live in April last year.
When I listen to this, I have a strong motivation to succeed, whatever happens, and that is what continues to drive me forward. It’s like a song that gives you confidence that you will make it in life, no matter how many failures, setbacks, and other complications you face on the road ahead. I always try to remind myself that success is not a straight or two-way street, it’s a squiggly line with tons of roadblocks but you can get there whatever it takes if you’re committed. This is the song that made me a Hammerfall fan so now, I am a proud templar.
2. Steve Jablonsky and Bobby Tahouri – Decepticons Theme (Transformers 2 Game)
Nobody knows who made this track, but if you played the Transformers Revenge of the Fallen game, this is what plays on the screen where you select your faction and during the credits of the Decepticon campaign. I searched frantically everywhere for this after hearing it in the game until this person uploaded it. Primus bless you for that! This theme is amazing, it makes me think of an epic battle between Autobots and Decepticons and perhaps a role I would play myself to contribute. It also links to the recent dream I had last week and this would likely play during the part when the Decepticons attack the warehouse to obtain the hidden Energon cache.
Now that I mention it, the game this track comes from, the story in that game was way better and that should have been made into a movie instead! I am guilty of playing as Megatron in one mission where you have to capture Mikaela since she has the that shard of the Allspark that Sam gave her. If only I could see what happened to her in the end! I may be an Autobot supporter first and foremost but I guess I have some Decepticon traits inside me too, also why I listen to this! But, I still think Devastation is more deserving of a motion picture. The chorus is my favourite part of this, it’s just so powerful and I think every fan needs to check this out.
1. Spyro Reignited Trilogy Soundtrack – Gulp’s Overlook
And the number one goes to this nostalgic remastered track! That’s right, I’ve spent the last several weeks hooked onto the Spyro Reignited Trilogy that was released a week after I wrote my Jurisprudence exam. I remember being excited when the news was first announced earlier in the year and then I forgot about it for several months, especially when I found out that it was delayed when I visited EB Games one day. It wasn’t until the last minute in that week of November did I start to see on my Instagram feed that my friends were impatiently waiting at their game consoles to download it. I’m not the kind of gamer who likes to wait until midnight for a release so I just went to bed and downloaded it the following morning to so I’ve recharged myself to play for a longer period of time.
So, why this particular track? Last night I defeated Gulp who is my favourite boss in Ripto’s Rage. (also why I didn’t get around to publishing this last night!) His battle music is epic and I was skeptical about the tracks being remixed but surprisingly, this remix turned out to actually be great! I certainly hope the remix for Spike’s Arena is just as good. Normally I don’t find Gulp too difficult in the original. I just run around in circles and either run away or under him when he jumps, but in the remake, the ray gun on his back seemed to be a lot more accurate than usual! Never did I have to deal with him eating any of the weapons on the field, it was his lasers that were a pain.
And that’s it for November. It’s going to be even harder to remember to write a post like this by the end of December because come the end of the year, I know I’ll want to also write about any lessons I’ve learned and other random things. For now, it’s time to focus on the holidays!
👽Emily
Monsterlady's Diary 