Music

I just bought Ariana Grande’s new album from iTunes, and that’s what I’m listening to right now while I’m writing this. I like her voice, and she’s so adorably cute. I’ve been buying a lot of music lately, and I’ve been playing each new album I get on repeat until I get the next newest album. I actually pre-ordered Taylor Swift’s newest album, and when the full album dropped last week, I played it on repeat for days. That’s all I listened to while at work, while writing, and while lounging around my home. Last week I discovered Run the Jewels, a hip hop duo comprised of Killer Mike and El-P. They released their second album last week, and that’s been on repeat all the way up to today. And a few days ago I bought another Sigur Rós album, and I love listening to them when writing my novel. All these albums are just so good. I love music.

When I decided to write my first novel, I made a few decisions that I don’t think I’ll ever do again. One of them was writing the entire thing by hand. I thought I’d get a better feel for the story by doing it that way, but once I started my second draft, I realized I needed to throw that whole first draft away. That decision was a good one. Another decision I made was to write without any music. Before that decision, I rarely wrote anything without music playing in the background. I say rarely because I’m sure there were a few times in my life where I wrote without any music (not counting classroom settings). I guess I wanted to experiment and see what it would be like doing these things. Turns out, I don’t like it. Now I know, though, so that’s good.

One thing I love about Insanity is the music that plays in the background during every workout. If you’ve never experienced an Insanity workout, you might have a tough time understanding what I’m trying to say. The music varies between workouts, but it’s all a variation on some high tempo, instrumental track that relates to the context of the workout. During the warmup, the track is upbeat but a bit slow. As the warmup speeds up, so does the music, but you never notice it, really. Then later, during other high energy workouts, the music might speed up and increase its energy. There’s a moment during the Game Day workout where we’re sprinting as fast as we can after already doing a variety of running exercises for five or so minutes. The music feels inspirational. There’s a track of cheering fans layered underneath the music, and I could really feel myself sprinting down the track in a packed stadium. The music helps me push harder. There’s an option to turn off the music, but I never do. The music plus Shaun T’s magnificent training style equals a passion for Insanity that I don’t have with anything else.

Love Me Harder by Arianna Grande and the Weeknd just started playing, and I’m dancing to the beat in bed. I love the Weeknd. A few years ago he released a trio of albums for free, and I gobbled them up because his voice is so sexy and smooth. I love it. That coupled with Ariana Grande’s beautiful voice makes this track one of my favorites.

I’ve never really written about music before. I was just tired today, and all I wanted to do was close my laptop and go to bed. But I wanted to write something tonight. And I’m glad I did. I had fun.