It's been a tough week. Like my skin is raw. Like the air stings. A feeling exacerbated by the fact that it came from nowhere, unbidden, unprompted, uncaused. Such is the plight of those prone to fits of melancholy.
My apologies if this is a bit of a downer. Hopefully, the music helps. Hopefully, the art does too. It usually works for me.
i’m ok
"Pulling Teeth" - Slow Joy
It's easy to get sick of it. Of this. Of that. Of everything. Feeling down. Feeling low. Feeling anything.
It's like pulling teeth some days. To lift your head. To get out of bed. You wonder if it's worth it to try again. If you'll ever feel alright again.
The only way out is through it, they say. Until I'm okay, until I'm okay, until I'm okay.
you'd think by now
"Lament" - Touche Amore
It's difficult to be objective, to be sure of anything, when you can't trust what your own head is telling you. Depression is a real motherf*cker that way. It seeps into everything and bends it, turning it into something you'd never otherwise believe.
"You'd think by now I'd know," the song says, "You'd think by now I'd have a grip/ But again I've let it slip."
I told
that every existential crisis should have a soundtrack. He sent me this song and I knew I had found it.As simple as this piece seems, it took three tries to get something passable.
I wonder if the stars regret me
"Underneath the Stars" - Kate Rusby
Cormac McCarthy says that "books are made out of books." You could say the same for playlists. Or, at least you could say the same for this one.
I scour the playlists Spotify recommends and the ones it makes for me. But nothing is better than the ones that someone makes personally.
sent me theirs and I reveled in it.Maybe it's just the mood I'm in, but this song and this line from it really struck me.
hold me close
"Hostage" - Maggie Lindemann
When she's not writing beautiful poems and enthralling stories,
sends me great music. When she sent me this one, I made a note immediately.I'd had this collage sitting around for a while. Some pieces are like that. Liminal without any explainable reason. I knew it was finished. I knew there was nothing more that I could really add to it. But, I didn't know quite what came next for it. But, after I listened to this song, I knew it had just been waiting for this.
And yet...it still took several attempts to get it to something close to satisfactory.
wake up to the world
"Worlds on Fire" - The Butterfly Effect
In The last installment of the playlist,
pointed me towards a couple of bands I wasn't familiar with. He's been kind enough to do it again.It's a welcomed reminder that the moment you "lay down on the floor" because "you don't care anymore" is the moment you most need to wake up to the world.
That’s it for this week’s Collage Paper Playlist. As always If you have a request or a recommendation feel free to leave it in the comments or send me a DM.
Take care.
The stars do not regret you! I do not regret you. You’re so talented! Thank you for sharing. I love your art and how you connect it to music. Hang in there—I do also believe that the only way out is through and there is a glorious spot for you on the other side. 🙏
"nothing is better than the ones that someone makes personally" >> Completely agree!!!