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About This Author
I am SoCalScribe. This is my InkSpot.
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Blogocentric Formulations
Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics).
Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:
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February 15, 2014 at 7:43pm February 15, 2014 at 7:43pm
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DAY 15
Song: "Mind on the Road"
Artist: Reverend Run
Album: Distortion (2005)
Run D.M.C. will forever be one of my favorite hip-hop groups, but the song I chose for today's entry is Reverend Run's first single from his solo album after the passing of Jam Master Jay. There's no question that Run D.M.C. has had a huge impact on the world of hip-hop music, and I've always been fascinated by Reverend Run who, in addition to being a rapper, actually is also a practicing minister and the brother of Russell Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Records.
"Mind on the Road" uses a sample of Joan Jett's classic "I Love Rock 'n Roll" and continued the tradition of these artists using samples or creating covers of other artists' work (Run D.M.C. covered Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" more than a decade before). I was excited for this album to be released, even more so since it was supposed to come out in 2003 and was delayed for two years.
This song has so much energy and momentum... it's a regular feature on my "work out" playlists even almost a decade later. Anytime I want to get pumped up and really feel like rocking out, this is one of the songs I'll put on.
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February 15, 2014 at 6:59pm February 15, 2014 at 6:59pm
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DAY 14
Song: "King of Anything"
Artist: Sara Bareilles
Album: Kaleidoscope Heart (2010)
This was the first song that I ever listened to on iTunes more than 100 times in one week. As mentioned in earlier blog posts, I tend to have a bit of an obsessive music personality, where I'll latch on a song and listen to it on repeat for a few days at a time. In most cases I'll take breaks and switch to something else for a few minutes, or even listen to a podcast or audiobook to break things up a little, but I loved this song so much when I first heard it that I literally had it on repeat for my entire commute for multiple days in a row. The result was over 100 listens in the first several days of downloading it. 
What I particularly like about the song is that, as Sara Bareilles has mentioned, it's an angry song about someone trying to control your life, but it's played and presented in such an upbeat, positive way that you can't help but tap your toes and even sing along with it. I'm not really a musician of any sort so I can only speculate, but I imagine it's pretty darn hard to write a song that says one thing and has a tone that sounds completely opposite. That's hard enough to accomplish in writing; I can only imagine how much tougher it is to accomplish when you also have to set it to music!
I think Kaleidoscope Heart is a great album overall, with a bunch of great songs on it. In addition to "King of Anything," I also highly recommend "Uncharted." "Basket Case" is pretty good too, but the other two are my clear favorites on the album.
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February 15, 2014 at 5:34pm February 15, 2014 at 5:34pm
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DAY 13
Song: "Travelin' Thru"
Artist: Dolly Parton
Album: Transamerica Soundtrack (2005)
Okay, I had to include a song from one of the most prolific songwriters and savvy businesswomen the music industry has ever seen. Say what you will about Dolly Parton's voice or her particular brand of music, there's no question the woman knows what she's doing. I mean, just look at the numbers her music career has garnered:
 41 Top 10 country albums
 25 #1 hit songs, 110 total singles on the charts
 Over 100 million records sold worldwide
 Has written more than 3,000 songs
 33 career awards won, plus an additional 45 Grammy nominations, 40 CMA Award nominations, 18 AMA nominations, and 2 Oscar nominations for good measure
And her music career is just the start of her empire. She invests much of her music earnings into other ventures, most notably the city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee which is the home of The Dollywood Theme Park, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede (a dinner theater), and Dollywood's Splash Country (a water park). She also owns a movie production company, a line of wigs, and her own charity which, among other things, guarantees every child in Sevier County, Tennessee one free age-appropriate book in the mail every month until the age of five. 
One of my favorite Dolly Parton songs (yeah, yeah, I know everybody loves "9 to 5" and the music buffs will point out that she wrote and originally recorded Whitney Houston's classic, "I Will Always Love You") is "Travelin' Thru" from the Transamerica soundtrack. She received one of her two Oscar nominations for the song and it's a powerful commentary on finding your way in life something that, even if we can't identify with the transgendered character's struggles in the movie, that we can relate to in other ways. And seriously, just listen to the lyrics. The woman has a gift for catchy lyrics that really communicate a message. With all the modern day popular songs that are just about partying and familiar relationship fare and whatnot, it's so nice to hear a song with lyrics that actually mean something.
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