Recently, a friend sent a photo of me taken while we were out dancing. My first thought was, “Profile pic!” But it had me thinking about what people see in a face and the expectations that may come with it, so I decided to wait. My annual New-to-Me Playlist was nearly due. It coincides with New Year’s Eve and the anniversary of another trip around the sun for me. In this writing I’m tying it all up together—faces, playlist, New Year, and birthday reflections—because, well, that’s just what my brain likes to do. Sometimes. Sometimes, I’m happy not thinking about anything much. Sometimes, I’m just out there in the music, dancing.
This is Out There Me with in-camera filtering and a dance glow on.
Out There Me
by Mary Noseworthy
This is Morning Me that wakes slowly, raw, introspective…with or without makeup.
Waking Me
People are multifaceted, have more than one face, and more than one way of being. It doesn’t mean that one is better or any degree truer. These are simply different aspects of our selves. Embellished, or stripped down—the essence of the face, as a whole, remains. It’s amazing and fortunate that we can have so many looks and still be recognizable. I know my own face well (a most cooperative subject for visual art experiments) even though it keeps changing. When I look in the mirror, sometimes I see the changes, and sometimes I see a younger, more familiar version. And, although the above are extreme examples—a sort of Yin and Yang of my face—you should also be able to tell that they are essentially…me.
Our face can define us. Can make us stand out in a crowd. Set us apart from the pack. Draw others near. Or repel. It plays a part in making us feel loved, or insecure; alone, or part of the greater whole. This is important, whether or not we want to admit it. So we take our flaws to task… colour, cover, tweeze, modify, photoshop… and then tell ourselves that, in the end, it doesn’t really matter.
Well, it doesn’t.
That won’t stop us from striving to be seen in good light.
Yet light, as any artist can tell you, has little or no value without dark. We need both in order for either to have any meaning. So, every now and then, why not give in to the dark side and risk the unexpected. Let others, at least those close to you, see some aspect of your self that you’d otherwise tuck away. (No need to bare it all—some images should simply fall to the cutting room floor. Maybe with a thud.) Meanwhile, continue to seek the best light, the kind photographers call golden, and practice the graceful acknowledgement of those shots that seem to say, “Oh wow, you’re kind of amazing, after all.”
You are.
Remember that when you’re making resolutions and plans for the coming year. Remember it when the anniversary of your next trip around the sun approaches. If nothing else, remember it when you’re Out There, dancing. You sexy thing.
All but the last one of the songs in the following list are new to me this past year. Each has been chosen because of how it resonates when I hear it. Some are highly danceable while others are more suited to rumination, though I can’t deny that I’d get up for any one of them. Happy listening. And Happy Light Year.* May 2015 find you soaking up the good rays… and sharing some of yours.
THE MULTIFACETED 2014 TOP 10 NEW-TO-ME PLAYLIST
Counting Stars ~ One Republic ~ I don’t usually post the playlist songs in any particular order but this year, as a looong-term project comes together, I’m making this my #1. Putting it out there Universe…
Now, in no particular order:
No One Knows ~ Queens of the Stone Age ~ The lyrics, like almost every song in this year’s list, grab me… but this selection is really about the beat. Feet, where are you taking me?!
Bohemian Like You ~ The Dandy Warhols ~ Fun lyrics and a groovy dance beat. Yeah, I like you. 😀 Video recommended for BIG kids only, kids.
Dry the Rain ~ The Beta Band ~ First half is dry. Maybe that’s what makes it work? What I love is how it builds…and the lyrics, the lyrics, the lyrics: “If there’s something inside that you want me to say, say it out loud, it’ll be okay. I will be your light, I will be your light…”
Snap Out of It ~ Arctic Monkeys ~ Bap-bap-bap bomp-bomp-bomp-bomp… Brand new to me today. Sorry Foo Fighters, you’ve been bumped (my brother-in-law will cringe).
Shake It Off ~ Taylor Swift ~ First heard as a cover by one of my favourite dance party bands, danced to with one of my favourite people, and loved immediately. Get on your feet. Shake it off, baby.
Keys to the Kingdom ~ Current Swell ~ Oh my my… the melody…
Domino ~ Jessie J ~ Glitterpated… “dancing in the moonlight”. Take me there.
We All Float ~ Hooverphonic ~ Mellifluous. And lightly cheesed, lyrically speaking.
Holiday ~ Green Day ~ Hey! Grab your dance buddies and get to the floor. “This is the time of the rest of our lives.”
It’s becoming tradition to break the 10 and add more. Rule schmule, right? Besides, there’s usually something special special about the after-10 top tunes.
Winter ~ Entertainment for the Braindead ~ Sweet, ethereal, alternative. Found while searching the Free Music Archive. Julia Kotowski, singer/songwriter also plays all instruments.
Angel ~ Aerosmith ~ Rediscovered. (One per year, that’s the rule.) Strings of all kinds… mmmm… divine
*Thanks to my daughter, Tess, for the phrase, “Happy Light Year.”
moya 