Hit shuffle on your music library and post the first song played

Not gonna have an Apple Music link with this one. Public Service Holiday by Jay-Zeezer came up. Gotta love a Jay Z/Weezer mashup every once in awhile.

Share a song you love that has parentheses (in the title).

Not sure if I love it yet - just discovered it 30 minutes ago when I saw one of the band members post that he had in mind another 90s emo band in mind (that he was also in) when he wrote it. There’s definitely some nostalgia there and it makes me smile so decided to share. Oh the band that did it is Gasoline Heart and it just came out April 26 (and the band that inspired it was Dear Ephesus who put on an amazing live show when they were around).

A song from a TV show that you like.

I love Sleeping At Last. They started as a full fledged indie rock band and gradually morphed into a project fully owned by Ryan O'Neal. One interesting thing about SaL - they've had a lot of song featured in Grey's Anatomy shows. Close to 50 I think. Anyways, one of my favorites is their cover of Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (originally).

And to be clear - I like song. I've only seen 3 or 4 episodes of Grey's Anatomy. If I'm watching a medical show it's Scrubs.

What’s your favorite collaboration between artists?

The Brilliance re-released their song Brother on their advent focused album featuring spoken word artist/rapper Propaganda. It adds so much to an already great song. It's particularly poignant in this day and age were dehumanization is so popular. For a look at his spoken word, check out this video which is inline with the song.

Which song would you use to introduce yourself to someone new?

I'm going with Gloria by Mineral for a number of different reasons.

1. Mineral has long been my favorite band.
2. Gloria is one of my favorite songs by them or any band.
3. I think at different times different parts of the lyrics have stood out for different reasons. Life, faith and everything swirling around it is quite a journey and there are aspects of that captured well by this song. Finally, I love the last, "glory is a silent thing."

Share a song that tells a great story.

The first song that came to mind I've already done so I'll do the second: The Story by Brandi Carlile. It's a great song that documents the story of life - aging, the adventures we go on and most importantly the people that were meant to hold them. It was my introduction to Brandi Carlile and in general is such a great song. The ache and gravel in her voice is perfect.

Share a song that makes you want to dance every time.

Son Lux immediately came to mind thinking about this prompt. In particular there album Bones never fails to have me dancing around the kitchen while cooking. Change is Everything is the goto song that comes to mind. I love the whole album though so much. It's a great listen.

What was the first album you ever bought? Pick your favorite song off that album.

First album I every bought myself was by Hootie and the Blowfish. It was (I think?) their first: Cracked Rear View. I was 13 at the time and if memory serves: I used birthday money to pick it up for my new discman. Yeah those were the days! My favorite tracks from it are Only wanna be with you and Let her cry. Only wanna be with you is probably the one that would spark the most joy these days although Hootie and the Blowfish aren't really a band I turn to much anymore.

Share a song that captures the moment when seasons change.

One immediately came to mind for this! Reliquia by Rosalía! This song, from what I've read, is inspired by Saint Rosalia of Lima who left relics in all the different places she visited. In the song, Rosalía sings about the pieces of herself she's left in all the different places around the world she's visited. This song came to mind as the feeling it inspires in me is that idea of the seasons of life and what we leave in the places that shape us. One of the coolest parts of the song is near the very end where the music stops, there's a sound like a page turning and then it immediately drops in with this fast paced hopeful musical outro. No lyrics - those pages haven't been written yet because there are new seasons coming.

Share a song that makes you want to call an old friend.

Haunted Church by Rose Blossom Punch immediately came to mind. Their album Ephemere came out originally in the late 90s and was a favorite of mine. They recently reissued it (July of 2025) and until then it hadn't been on streaming. Upon first listen I immediately wanted to message my cousin. We've been regularly (weekly almost) talking about music since then.