Spin me ’round!

Her love spins like a merry-go-round
Going up and down, she’s far away bound
Her love – expression of vision and sound
It’s setting me up, and then it’s kicking me down

Songwriters: Per Gessle

Songteksten voor Love Spins © Universal Music Publishing Group

I think it was 2014, just married, totally in happiness, when I celebrated my 34th birthday. My new wife had gotten together with my dad and she bought me a record player.

Fast forward to 2018, freshly divorced and moving in my little apartment, where I finally had a place to set up the record player!

Sharing music

I’ve always loved music. Not all sorts. But enough to have plenty to choose from. First, I’d record music on tapes from the radio. Always hoping the annoying DJ would keep his mouth shut… 😂 Then came cd’s, which were so handy compared to tapes. But portable players often meant skipping, loads of it 😂!

Then came the illegal top music cd’s. For a reasonable fee you had a cd set every month that provided you with all the new and hottest tracks! And then… Internet! Napster!!! Newsgroups. So. Much. Illegal. Music. 💀 And of course I used it. Making my own cd’s, mixing the right tracks for a nice car ride. Soon there came MP3 players, which were even better than cd’s… So much progress in not that much time.

Music – Powerwolf 🐺

Powerwolf, often stylized as POWERWOLF, is a German power metal band founded in 2003 in Saarbrücken by members of Red Aim. The band consists of vocalist Karsten Brill as “Attila Dorn”, lead guitarist Benjamin Buss as “Matthew Greywolf”, bassist/rhythm guitarist David Vogt as “Charles Greywolf”, keyboardist Christian Jost as “Falk Maria Schlegel” and drummer Roel van Helden. The group uses dark themes and images, contrary to traditional power metal music, as well as corpse paint, gothic-tinged compositions and songs about werewolf and vampire legends.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerwolf

Powerwolf

Music – Smash Into Pieces

If you’ve seen some previous music posts, you may have seen a notice of this band here or there. And while this post will be mostly about my favorite songs by them, I’ll also share some general information about the band here.

For all info, please check out their official website here. Info below is from this website: Second Wiki.

Smash Into Pieces is a band Swedish of alternative rock and metal alternative from Örebro and emerged in 2008 at the hands of Benjamin “Banjo” Jennebo. In 2012 they signed a contract with Gain / Sony Music and shortly after they were named revelation group of the year according to the “Bandit Rock Awards”.

Music – Presence of Mind (Dynazty)

A song that I discovered at the end of November or early December was “Heartless Madness” by a band called Dynazty. It was recommended to me in a mix made by Spotify for “me” (while it had over 20k likes I doubt the playlist is just for me 😂 but still!).

I liked the song and decided to check out the album and band. The album is called “The Dark Delight” and it came out in 2020. I then did some research on the band as I’m always curious to where the music came/comes from. 😊

Spotify update!

Hello everyone! Long time followers have seen me sharing Spotify songs and play lists here on my posts before. I usually *try to* update a monthly playlist with a mix of 25 songs every month on the first. Due to many reasons I’ve not kept to this lots of times. But this morning I have finally updated the playlist and I’d like to share it with you.

There’s a free Spotify go home usage, with adds and all, and for about €10 a month you have unlimited access without adds and including downloads for offline “streaming”. I have had a paid version for years as I use my phone a lot for music these days and €10 a month is cheaper than buying cd’s here, which I’ll then need to convert and put on my SD card. With my data in my mobile, I can stream a very long time and ie doesn’t take up space on my SD, which means more space for pictures of Arwen! 😉

Weekly update & new Spotify playlist

Howdy folks, after a very serious topic, it’s time for a lighter one today. I had not shared my weekly Polar stats yet and I finally remembered to update the Monthly playlist I have on Spotify. I had a list all ready to share and last month I just forgot! So I waited till November 1st to update the new playlist.

Unfortunately my playlist only has 2 likes. I know it will not be everyone’s cup-of-tea. But I really hoped that more people would have clicked that little heart symbol… I shared the list on Twitter several times and I really hoped some of my friends on there would like it, to show some support… I guess 2 of them did and that really means a lot. 😊 OK lets head over to last week’s Polar Flow numbers!

Music – Cynni’s Monthly 25

A few years ago, on my old Spotify account, I used to make a “Cynni’s Monthly 25”, where I would create a new playlist every month, as the title explains, with 25 “new” songs. When I created a new account after my divorce, I had given up on making my monthly playlist. I had lost all interest, I barely listened to music and when I did, it was to a very “sad” playlist… Which I will share here with you, to give you an idea of it.

Music – Spotify Wrapped 2020

We’re coming near the end of the year and for premium Spotify users, this means you get to see your stats… They will tell you your top 5 songs, top 5 artists and such. They even provide you a playlist of you top 100 songs of that year.

As I have shared some music with you here, I also wanted to share my Spotify Wrapped 2020 music here with you all! Interested in my top 5 artists? You might know a few 😉 Keep scrolling if you want to know! I’ll even include links to the songs and artists so you can explore them for yourself if you want to!

Music and mental health

I’m guessing I’m not the only one to have a playlist for when I’m feeling good, feeling sad and feeling down in my Spotify app. There are many songs that often correspond with the way I’m feeling at the moment. Some songs I can listen to whatever the mood, some songs get played more often ad my mood changes.

A while ago I’ve shared with you some of my favorite ballads and OST (original soundtracks) songs. I’ve let you hear two songs I want played when I get cremated. You had the ability to listen to songs I’ve played when I was getting divorced.

But what does music do for me? In a way it helped me express my feelings. It gave my sadness words to hold on to, to find comfort in. It showed me how I’ve been wrong in the past. And how I messed up as well (Stay by Smash into Pieces). It gave me something to listen to, to help me calm my mind, when it was working overtime because of the messing up I’d done.

But it also helps me with my workout. Yes, of course there’s a playlist for that as well. I chose some favorite up-tempo songs that I can do my cardio and weight exercises on. It helps me a lot when the rhythm is right, helps me keep a good pace for the workout.

And it helps me when I’m feeling good. Nothing better than singing something like “Hello, you fool, I love you, come on join the Joyride!” (Joyride by Roxette) when my mood is up.

But certain songs also help me recognize when my mood is shifting. When I start listening to my “Feelings” playlist more, I know I’m not doing too good at that moment. I know I’m slipping and need to watch out. Try to prevent my mood from sliding into a depression. Would it help me to just listen to different music? I’ve tried, but so far, changing the music hasn’t resulted in a change in my mood. For me, it really works the other way round. Mood changes and then my music changes.

I’m not sure if I am the only one who experiences music this way. I know music has helped a lot of people in the past and I guess it will continue to do so in the future. But noticing mood changes by musical taste shifting… I’m curious if people experience music and moods in the same way as I do. Or maybe differently… My comment section is open so please do let me know!

I always try to listen to upbeat music when I am working out. Though during the cardio I also like to watch a series on Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ (or even Ziggo on demand, depending which show I am currently watching). I used to listen to music when walking the dog, but I haven’t done that in a while. Dunno why, to be honest, as I do enjoy a nice song when walking. I hope that the weather will get better so I can enjoy longer walks with Arwen again.

But music and moods. Music and happiness, depression, sadness, working out… What does music mean to you? Does your taste shift as well when your mood does? Or can you do the reverse: feel better by listening to happier music? Please make good use of the comment section and let me know! I’d love to chat about it.

Thank you for your interest in my blog. I really appreciate your visit. And I do hope to “see” you back soon. If you like what I write about, please consider pressing the “Follow” button (if you’re a WP user; signing up for WP is easy and free). Or leave your email down below to receive an automated email whenever I share something new, thanks! I hope you are having a nice day and I am wishing you the best. With love, Cynni 🌹