What Recent Songs Have You Been Enjoying Lately

Who have you enjoyed being around recently, and why?

I haven't had the opportunity to socialise much lately and to be honest, I have been enjoying my own company.Initially, I did feel lonely and exasperated. I craved for attention, but eventually I learnt to live with myself. I've been called a LONER and an INTROVERT, but I vehemently object. I do love socialising and infact, I do it pretty well ( if not the best) and I personally enjoy hanging out with people or making new friends.I think there is some stigma around being alone or spending some time with yourself and people are often labelled as loners and introverts with no life just because they hang out with themselves. But, honestly speaking , I've learnt much more about myself and the world by being alone. I introspect and try to improve my personality, I spend time in picking up new hobbies and explore new things, being alone gave me a sense of serenity and happiness as I realised that there's no one ,but yourself who can truly make you happy.

What song are you playing on repeat now?

I’m listening to "Scars to Your Beautiful" by Alessia Cara.I’m in the process of arranging it (for piano and violin; and piano, voice, and voice) entirely by ear, without referencing another piece of sheet music; just music, a piano, and Finale PrintMusic.As part of that process, I’ve been listening over and over to the song for the past three days over and over, trying to pick out little details and individual instruments. Not all of that goes into the music, but the more I know the song, the better the arrangement will be.This one’s a little bit too rushed, because I was trying to get a condensed rough draft out at least by today for a friend at school.ScarstoyourBeautiful 0000-0245 short.pdfIt’s not entirely done yet, but you can take a look at what I already have!

Would you be willing to share a song that you have been enjoying recently?

I’m not sure if it’s a Quora faux pas to answer your own questions, if so forgive me please!I asked this question because I think the music we each listen to at various times of our lives is like a little picture.I love to experience things through the eyes (or ears) of others, sometimes if I am not living vicariously I’m living precariously!A few of my picks:Good Morning, Hypocrite by Electric PresidentFrom my house to my work is about a five minute drive if I take the boring way. I never take the boring way. I take the back roads, I drive slowly, I watch birds floating across the sky like clouds, I greedily fill my soul with the changing colors of the trees, and I listen to this song.Family and Genus by Shakey GravesThis song, I don’t know, the line:Where we will wait for friends and familyTo pass away or come in handyIt gets me.Our bodies are made of bone and sinew, but we are made of the combined influence of the people in our lives. This song reminds me to not let those people who are important to me to fall off of my radar until I am reminded of them again by tragic news, and also to embrace the opportunity of new people; so that they may add to me and I to them.I Would Rather Go Blind by Etta JamesIt’s no secret that Etta is wonderful. I like to listen to this while cooking and dancing in the kitchen with a glass of wine.That is until I inevitably burn the sauce, drop the pasta on the floor, realize that cooking might not be one of my strengths, give up on the whole doomed endeavor, and order a pizza.Mmmm, pizza..

Why do we listen to a new song on repeat and after a while the magic wears off?

Late me take the different perspective of making music.There is a thing that probably most of us who makes music using a midi sequencer/DAW where we  experience the never ending four bars(or whatever length) loop cycle disease.We play the same number of bars in a repeated loop over and over again, recording new instruments, drums sounds, editing, mixing, tweaking synth sounds etc. (And as said it may be longer than four bars, this thing also applies to a whole song if done for too long.)Then "ear fatigue" occurs, when you sit to long a time with the same thing.It could be likened with how you experience very strong smells (good or bad ones).At first the smell is something that is very strong and very different from the surroundings, but after a while it "melts" into the other smells (by your brains perception) until you don't even notice it!Often you sit too long with an arrangement until everything sounds dull and at that point you just have to take a break and maybe even leave it for a long time to come back with a fresh perspective.Actually knowing this I try methods to not fall into the trap with this fatigue.Sets alarms for breaks. Write different parts beforehand(verse, chorus), lays down rough sketches, mute the most melodic sounds to not overuse them etc.It is the same with a finished piece of music. Professional musicians (I am not one) often hands over the job of mastering to another person, often a mastering engineer.One of the biggest reasons is that he haven't fatigued his ears(or to be more precise : his brain)as a result of endless hours of mixing.He has a fresh perspective on how it sounds and how it should sound, since he haven't fatigued his ears/brain with the music over and over and can get a much better result. The "smell" is new for him and hasn't blended into the surroundings and faded away...It is even common for musicians who are very good at mastering (other people) to not master their own tracks mainly for this reason.

Is it normal to listen to the same song over and over again?

DefinitelyI get obsessed with many different songs. I think the first one I ever got really hooked up on was Lemonade Mouth’s “She’s So Gone.” I would listen to that one nearly non stop for at least a year until I got tired of it. I still listen to it once in a while, but the spark’s not a big as it used to be.I then got hooked up on Steps’ version of Diana Ross’ “Chain Reaction.” I LOVED it. Normally when I get obsessed with a song, I can���t stop listening to a specific section of it. In “Chain Reaction’s” case, I couldn’t stop listen to the portion that goes:You make me tremble when your hand moves lower,You taste a little then you swallow slower,Nature has a way of yielding treasure,Pleasure made for you.But alas, I got tired of that one too. I then begain getting hooked on many others, but the euphoria only lasted a few hours or so.Recently, I couldn’t stop listening to Rihanna’s “Pon De Replay.” But I’ve grown out of that too. Though I do still like to listen to it occasionally.About a week ago, I couldn’t stop listening to “Next Stop: Anywhere” from Tangled the Series. It’s such a catchy song.Now I’m hooked on “The Mob Song” from Beauty and the Beast- specifically the first section:So it’s time to take some action boys,It’s time-to-fo-llow-me!But the euphoria will go away soon. And then, as usual, I’ll find a new song to be obsessed with. Totally normal.