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I remember standing on my tip-toes behind my older siblings as they burned CDs for their first car. They showed me how easy (illegal?) it was. They'd type in their search (usually something by Nelly if it was my brother and Evanescence if it was my sister), we'd take a brief listening preview to make sure it was "legit", and then click "download." From there, you drag and drop your downloads from iTunes to the blank CD. Twenty songs - max. I'm not sure when I burned my first CD but I was absolutely enamored. I became obsessed with curating the perfect mixes for a variety of themes and purposes. By the time I hit  middle school, I was the go to kid for the school dance playlist. In high school, I burned CDs for sports warm-ups, car rides, and friends as gifts.

Even as a kid I knew how just the right song had the power to transform a place. It could lift moods or pump you up or make you want to dance. It could bring butterflies or heal a broken heart. It could create connections or shared understandings. It brought people together.

To this day, I am still the friend who gets the call when someone needs ideas for their wedding playlist or backyard barbecue. I'm quick to take the aux at camp or on a party boat. And, I still create playlists. But nowadays they are (1) a lot more illegal and (2) easier to physically create via Spotify. Honestly, a hobby of mine is curating playlists for various moods or activities I might encounter. Some of my most visited playlist are:

"My High School iPod"
"Coastal Grandmother"
"Dreamy Girl Pop"
"Songs You'd Only Here in Coming of Age Films"
"For Mom" & "Pat's Hot 100" (for Dad)
"Pay Day"
"Cleaning My Room as the Main Character"
"POV: You are Sitting Around a Fire"
"Oatmilk Lattes in the Mountains"
"I'm in Europe"
"Riding in Cars with Friends"
"Roadtrip in October"
"I'm on a Boat"
"Good morning Class!"

and more.

This is all to say that my musical dictionary is large. I pride myself on reading a room and understanding, for lack of a better term, "the vibe." Whether I'm up to camp, out on a girl's night, or in a classroom filled with working students.

So, welcome to my multigenre - "Music that Moves Me." A project dedicated to the music of my past, present, and future. A closer look at music as a storyteller, mood evoker, and great connector.

In this work you will find:

An "ancient" piece of musical lore passed down from my family in the form of a narrative scene.

A poem that intertwines music with the loss of innocence and coming of age.

A listicle that pairs music with a second passion of mine - reading.

A brief history article examining not only Taylor Swift's evolution but also my evolution as a "Swiftie."

A narrative presented in a unique form pairing songs with vivid memories from my childhood (thanks to a musical genius: QuestLove).

Throughout the project feel free to get comfortable, put in your earbuds, and stay awhile. As you read, I highly encourage you to listen to the music along the way. Hint: if it is a PDF hit "Open in new Tab." You never know what personal memories or trinkets of nostalgia of your own that might surface along the way.

Enjoy!

Alex

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I. Narrative Scene: The Wedding Singer (or Please Release Me)
II. Poem: When Sinatra Comes on at Green Lake
III. Listicle: Choose Your Next Read Based on These Taylor Swift Songs
IV. Reflection & Pop Culture Analysis: A Brief History of my Admiration for Taylor Swift
V. Personal Narrative: My Youth in 10 Singles

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Engelbert Humperdinck - Please release me - 1989

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The Wedding Singer (or Please Release Me)

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The Wedding Singer (or Please Release Me)

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The Wedding Singer (or Please Release Me)

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Gramp’s Irish eyes flutter open.

He raises an empty martini glass

as if he could orchestrate the gin and vermouth

back into existence.

Turns the knob so that we feel

Sinatra’s voice fill the notches of old pine.

At the start of verse one,
he stands, unevenly

forcing escape

from the worn floral rocker.

We hold our breath with

each muddled shuffle and tipsy

step en route to replenish his spirits.

At the start of verse two,

orangy-freckled &

blue-veined hands beckon

for a partner, any partner.

The crystal stem seems to be

the perfect match for his permanently

bent inward Celtic hands. Nothing has ever

fit there more seamlessly, more assuredly.

Gram’s golden
wedding portrait, on the
brick mantel, looks on.

At the start of verse three,

he is passing off partners

left and right

and just for a singular moment

we are flyin’ to the moon

& feelin so young
& doin it our way

& dancin through the streets of New York, New York.

At the start of verse four,

he’s fallen.

Broken glass cuts through

time and space and music and

silhouettes his drunken stupor.

Oh, what thorn encrusted love

flows through our bloodline.

At the end of the song,

Sinatra’s voice begins to fade
but we must start an age old

dance of our own: clean the chaos.
Grab your instrument of choice
and sweep & sweep & sweep
under the rug, beneath the floorboards,
deep into the soil and pendulum like

pits of your stomach.

Everything is fine,
everything is fine, everything is fine.

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With thanks to Clint Smith,  When Maze and Frankie Beverley Come on in My House

Smith, C. (2020) “When Maze and Frankie Beverly Come on in My House,” in Counting descent. S.l.: Write Bloody Publishing.

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Choose Your Next Read Based on These Taylor Swift Songs

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Choose Your Next Read Based on These Taylor Swift Songs

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Post Script: A Brief History of my Admiration for Taylor Swift

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Post Script: A Brief History of my Admiration for Taylor Swift

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Throughout my years of school, as both student and teacher, I've created a few multi genres along the way. Honestly - they are always a good time.

I cannot say there is anything that surprised me but the "newest to me" genre, or at least something I've never attempted to write in before, were the two Taylor Swift pieces. When I came up with the idea to pair Swift songs with novels, my pairings did not come out like a floodgate. It was more like "Ok, now what?" So, that process was a gradual one. I found myself reading and listening to her music and thinking and writing down sporadic notes in my phone as the ideas came to me. It really was a lot of fun. I plan to use this piece as an exemplar for my students own choice creative reading reflections. However, I would definitely adapt it to require written rational for each pairing. I went back and forth on whether I should include rational of my own. Ultimately, I opted out of it. For my purposes, I found it effective as is. I wanted the reader to focus in on the lyrics and aesthetics. I didn't want to "spoon feed" them, so to say.

The peer feedback process was really helpful. I've worked with Heather during Maine Writing Project, so we already had a strong working relationship. Because our meetings were all via Google Doc comments and e-mail I'm not sure if it would have been as effective or as helpful if it wasn't Heather. In other courses I've used video conferencing for writing groups and that has worked well to form those necessary relationships to provide writing feedback. Heather gave great suggestions, answered any questions I might have had, and overall eased my worries and built my confidence in my writings. It was nice to not feel like I was all alone in this process.

I believe the strongest part of my portfolio is the overall structure and design. I enjoy creating web pages and using Padlet in general, so the unique presentation of it was fun to create. I also love my poem about Green Lake. I feel the weakest part of my portfolio is the informational/research piece about my admiration for Taylor Swift as well as looking at her evolution. I worry it is too scattered, at times too informal, and has too many quotations. It is such a big subject I had a hard time encapsulating it in a concise and specific way. I really wanted to do her work justice because I do feel she faces unfair pre-assumptions from society, who tend to automatically hate things girls love (that is a whole other story). I also struggled with the in text citations on this piece. I went with MLA format but it never seemed to make sense to put her name after in parenthesis as I had always introduced her as the speaker of the quote and most of the quotes were taken from her social media pages.

The part I'd like pointed feedback on is - Did you feel the cohesion as you read? Did any piece feel out of place in regards to message, tone, or style? Would one more piece have rounded it out even better? What did you think of the Padlet board? (I did notice this wasn't listed as an option, but I am just hoping it is okay to use ... having the musical element as you read felt significant to me).

I feel I deserve an A on this portfolio. I am extremely pleased with how it all came together. I would consider it in the top three multi genres I've created. It pains me to rank them - so I won't - hah! I could easily see expanding this to make it even more comprehensive, especially when it comes to including more research, but in regards to the major objectives and requirements of this assignment, I believe I have met almost all of them.