If you are reading this, I wish a happy new day ! a new day is a beginning of new year, have a happy day, week, month, year, decade, eternity !
In general we sing and listen to music as a means of self-expression. Songs are powerful when it comes to influencing social change. My fellow fellows, we are leaders and we lead the change, but it’s too hard and overwhelming. And we love it like butterflies loves fire !
Artists are using their instruments and bodies and whatever resources they have to address all kinds of social issues, racism, violence, injustice, poverty… you name it ! And we are all artists in our own ways.
I compiled a few songs that inspire people and are somehow good to the ears and hearts, please feel free to comment with links to songs you like to be added in the next post, as I am trying to get one song from every active fellow so we can have a 100 songs-playlist.
Here are my top songs for this time of year, I don’t have a sorted order for music ”everyday i’m shuffling” :
This is for all of us, fellows, and changemakers, and activists (and all those words that we were called by in the recent years). This is for us to take a moment of pride, a moment of ‘pause’ from our overwhelming lives and celebrate EVERY SINGLE THING ! celebrate ourselves, celebrate our existence, celebrate our achievements, celebrate our people, celebrate the air entering our bodies and celebrate LOVE, JOY and HAPPINESS.
I am a big fan of woodkid because he puts a lot of soul and sweat in his art. And tasting the difference is like comparing Italian chefs, you can easily point out the one who put a lot of effort to serve you.
This is also from the same artists, it’s move-mental, check it out:
I also love the 70s, so the following songs will take you back to the era where we felt, at some point of our lives, that our parents are luckier than us for having people like Jimmi Hendricks and listen to live music instead of earbuds.
This song is a little commercial, but it’s a great way to convey a message….
Truth to the Power, POWER TO THE PEOPLE !
This song is meant to make you move, it’s best when you are on the busy traffic bus/train commute :
The bus/metro ride is always bad, i think, people having the same sad and depressed faces everyday, and you start to see everything in grey or a sad and pale shades of other colors that make no sense, this song is to get you moving and a great way to fly up and down the elevator stairs !
After dancing in a non-choreography with more than a hundred people on the subway or the groups of people waiting for the stop sign to cross the ”zebra crossings”, this is to get you walking, happily, in the grey streets of the city !
Presuming that you watched Pulp Fiction, the girl/boy of last night in the club/bar/event where you two ROCKED the dance floor and then just said ”good night, see ya soon”, when you just have huge desire to kiss those lips ! And then your mind gets blown-up by the beauty of that person and somewhere in your backhead keeps telling you ”Oh MY GOD we two make a great love story” , well, this song has got you covered to keep that wizz on your head wizzing for a few days:
After a day of intellectual mess at your host organization that you are happily helping it be more effective and driving more impact, the work-related noise is still in your head, it’s feels like it’s stuck there, this song will try to heal you, but will not achieve its goal, just give it a try ! it’s a good song !
This one has more chance to heal you, but music healing really depends on your person, your childhood, your entourage, your mood and your love stories, … (yes, including that crazy ex !).
Working in an international environment can be challenging sometimes, back home as I run my own organization, everyday is a very warm ”GOOD MORNING” or when I go to my favorite fancy place for a meeting (basically a 5-star hotel lobby because it’s fancier and cheaper and more professional) and the guys at the reception and at the door would say the same magic words ”Welcome back Mr Adnen, have a lovely day !”, with a smile and all those things.
But at your new host organizations, you land in a different office environment, you don’t know for sure how office politics work and you are like ”WHAT’S UP PEOPLE ! I am here now and ready to take the world by its thin hairs !”
It’s the evil Monday and all you want is to recover from the crazy weekend while keeping a good memory of it … this songs is self-explanatory because we are YOUNG and WILD and FREE ! Party hard and this song will get you covered !
Fellow experience means also having a crush on some humans that you think they are special and then crave their absence, even though you didn’t date or kiss yet, and you are bouncing from ”i am screwed and my ex is haunting me, i am so damaged” to ”oh my god i love this human !” and you start seeing the new-crush everywhere and when you sleep you remember his/her smiles, his,her eyes … all that nonsense, this song is to get you dreaming !
A few weeks go in your fellowship and you encounter some problems/challenges/issues at a personal or professional level and you don’t know what to do. I will tell you what to do (and telling myself as well): JUST FACE IT ! Grab it by the small parts !
Because, you have no where to hide baby !
Another love song, sometimes I just call everybody around me ”Baby” , and to all my beloved people : I LOVE TO CALL YOU BABY !
I think by this time in our lives, we became experts in breaking up and mostly recovering from break-ups, to know this imagine the first relationship that you were in, that high school crush or bf/gf, and see yourself now, of course you repeat the same mistakes ALL OVER AGAIN, but nothing beats the adrenaline rush you experience every time, and the fall to the lowest-of-lows when you break up, these two songs will help you once you emerge from the tear-soaked blankets of yours, ”OH, JUST PUT THEM IN THE WASHING MACHINE ! YOU FILTHY LOVER”
Break-up recovery, step 2, PARTY HARD !
Grab some drinks. Kiss and hug more people. Be happy.
THESE ARE MY FAVORITE MORNING SONGS !
I am a late sleeper, I have troubles waking up and I love doing the ”Grasse Matinée” but often times I can’t find time to manage all the morning rituals, hopefully it will get better by adapting to the DC lifestyle.
So, these songs will get your nerves up and running in no time ! Run Baby Run !
this one is pre-Black Eyed Peas, i have the lyrics and it’s like a karaoke party in my head !
This song is to all women I knew, know, and will know in my life, I couldn’t be where I am without their help…. Thank you ! I love you all !
This song reminds me of my best friends, back home, we just didn’t care and tried to spread love and happiness everywhere, even at our darkest times, love love love !
And we have a thing of ”initiation to travels”, where we do a small ceremony using this song !
When walking, I also like to listen to First Aid Kit, a beautiful duo from Nordiclandia (my word to describe Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland in one word, it’s better than ”Nordic Countries”).
This following song will get your head nodding ! If you are in DC, go visit the Neuseum and on the top floor they have things from the Vietnam War, put this song on and move around… you can thank me later.
Living easy, living free….
As you all know, I move around the city by bike, everyday, every night, every weather, this song has the magic power to push the pedals and makes you forget the brakes sometimes.
This one is also a good one, just include it in your list and forget about it, it’ll surprise you one day !
Friends, fellow fellows, amaze me with your playlists in the comments below, we are in this together, we will make it to the end together !
To Eternity.. and BEYOND !