- Aaron Fletcher
My Lent Promise: A Song A Day for 40 Days!
Updated: Jun 5
I'm not a religious person, so for the last few years I've never really bothered with Lent. This year was going to be much of the same until about 2 days before lent started.
As a sound engineer, music producer, DJ and the other jobs I've had in the music industry, I've spent the last 10 years or so of my life around music constantly. I've picked apart, analysed and broken down music when listening to hear how they'd fit in sets, how the instrumental was produced and understand the mix-down and master. While doing this is so helpful when it comes to making my own music, it managed to take away some of the magic of music to me. Not intentionally, but for a while now I've almost forgot how to simply just enjoy the music.
In Feb, on a few occasions, I would just whack a quick couple of songs on while tidying up the studio ready to pack up for the day. I found myself not tidying (I did tidy in the end) and dancing around or singing loud like I was in the shower. Like nobody was watching. Thank fuck nobody was either because I can't sing AT ALL!!!
After speaking with a networking group I'm part of, where we just so happened to meet on ash-Wednesday (the first day of Lent), I proposed a challenge to myself. I will listen to at least 1 song a day, not analysing, not picking it apart and not breaking it down - just enjoying the music. Some days I listened to more than just one song, obviously, because if I'd have regimented it and literally just enjoyed one song a day, it kind of defeated the purpose.
My relationship with music has become much better, I'm simply enjoying it again. A lot of those songs took me back right to when I was a teenager, skanking around my bedroom or blasting tunes and my mum screaming up to me to "TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!!!". Some days the song had more meaning than others, some days I put the song on and others I just happened to listen to as they came on in the background.
But, here it is: my list. 1 song a day, for 40 days.
1: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
2: Ookay - Thief (Flux Pavillion remix)
3: Skylar Grey - I’m Coming Home (Part II)
4: Eminem - Lose Yourself
5: Lionel Richie - Easy Like Sunday Morning (On a Tuesday, whaaaaaaat?)
6: Oasis - Don’t Look Back In Anger
7: Oasis - Wonderwall
8: The Specials - Ghost Town
9: Turin Brakes - Save You
10: Britizen Kane - Going for the Head (Ft. Jada Kiss)
11: Snoop Dogg - Gin & Juice
12: Lukas Graham - Lie
13: Excision - Throwin’ Elbows
14: Eminem - Framed
15: Beethoven - Ode to Joy
16: Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum
17: Nero - Promises
18: AC/DC - Back In Black
19: Katy B - Katy On A Mission
20: Royce Da 5’9” - Caterpillar (Ft. Eminem & King Green)
21: Skrillex & Damian Marley - Make It Bun Dem
22: Guns N’ Roses - Sweet Child Of Mine
23: Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M
24: Celine Dion - Ashes
25: Ed Sheeran - Supermarket Flowers
26: Jessie J - Flashlight
27: Kehlani - Gangster
28: Eminem - Bitch Please II (Ft. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit & Nate Dogg)
29: Lukas Graham - Lie
30: P!nk - Fuckin’ Perfect
31: Warren G - Regulate (Ft. Nate Dogg)
32: Freestylers - Cracks (Flux Pavilion remix)
33: Linkin Park & Jay Z - Numb/Encore
34: Eminem - Stan (Ft. Dido)
35: Eminem - Godzilla (Ft. Juice WRLD)
36: Biggie Smalls - Ten Crack Commandments
37: The Specials - A Message To You (Rudy)
38: Massive Attack - Teardrop
39: The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
40: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can’t Stop
This 40 days just became one of the craziest times any of us could've ever imagined. During this 40 days Covid-19 shutdown the whole country.
If you'd like to see the list in the form of a Spotify Playlist, you can do so here:
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