Things I’m Enjoying: Winter Edition
Back in early December I posted my latest installment in an ongoing series, “Things I’m Enjoying.” I realized that enough time has passed that I should provide a bit of an update.
Apple Music…
I love Neil Young!!!
Readers of this blog know that I’ve been writing a lot lately about music lately. To be exact, I’ve been writing about Apple Music’s impact on my music consumption. I am thoroughly enjoying my subscription to Apple Music via the Apple One subscription service. One of the things I’m enjoying most is getting reacquainted with Apple Music...figuring out...what it has to offer me as a listener. Recently I started listening to a really cool playlist of live acoustic Neil Young songs. Just one day after listening to that playlist a whole section was created in “Listen Now” including several of Neil Young’s albums proof that if you “feed the algorithm” it will give you cool things in return. I know this isn’t earth shattering news, especially to people well versed in the Apple Music ecosystem. Maybe what I’m hinting at here is that it might be worth your time giving yourself permission to have fun with something that millions of people are already “well versed in.”
Sleep Playlists...
This really helps with falling asleep!
I’ve always enjoyed listening to music at bedtime. And…I can pretty much listen to anything and fall asleep to it. That said, I’ve recently gravitated towards playlists that are more soothing, in an attempt to make the transition from being awake to falling asleep more; peaceful. Up until about a month ago I was using Spotify to meet this need. Readers of this blog know that I have since demoted Spotify and “doubled down” on Apple Music. I spoke about how I found the sleep playlists, in Apple Music, in a previous post but wanted to share with you here that since finding the “Sleep” category I’ve dabbled with two playlists and am finding great joy at night as I fall asleep.
Lo Moon…
This album is amazing!!!!
I’ve been listening to this band for about as long as I’ve been back into Apple Music. I actually came to know of them on accident while waiting to listen to an interview of The Rolling Stones conducted by a Beats One DJ. The song the DJ played was “Loveless,” from the band’s debut album titled: Lo Moon. After being literally hypnotized by the experience I immediately sought out the album. Much has been written about this L.A. band and I strongly urge you to check out this review of the album. In the time that I became aware of this band and getting this post ready to publish, I have listened to Lo Moon’s debut album all the way through at least 7 times! Stand out songs for me include the opening track, “This is It,” the aforementioned “Loveless,” and “Camouflage.” The soundscapes that this band paints within each song have brought me the closest to “mental silence” via music consumption than any other band or artist in 2021! If you are in to 80’s pop give this band a listen and see what happens as they allow their musical influences to, in my opinion, take you to a near spiritual level!!
Waterloo Sparkling Water (Lemon-Lime)…
You really need to try this!!
This one is in here just for fun!! I’m not drinking as much water as I just each day...go figure. When I do, I find myself leaning towards sparkling water and one of the brands I enjoy most is Waterloo. Recently we found ourselves looking for the Black Cherry flavored version of this but the company we were ordering from did not have it available. They did have lemon-lime though so we thought we'd try it. People, this is like having Sprite (which I do not drink) without the guilt! It’s crisp, clean, and...wait for it...has not caffeine!
Well...these are some of the things that I’m enjoying here as another Winter fades away. I am very grateful to have the time to reflect on things that I am enjoying...especially during a pandemic.
