Well well well, look who it is just making it under the self-imposed deadline?

February’s About An Hour playlist is decidedly a personal one. I thought I had it all figured out earlier this month until the emotional exhaustion of where I’m at just hit me and I realized I wanted to reshuffle things for my imaginary audience (with me sitting in the front row) and make it absolutely just right. Now, with hours to go before we hit March 2021 I think it is.

I love listening to the moodiness of “Cold” because it’s both cheeky and breathy. My standout this month is Son Little’s “about her. again”. I played this over and over again, just like his lyrics said, because it’s one of those songs that seem to describe your specific life. His voice, the guitar riff in the second verse, those damn lyrics. I dare you to listen to this and not think about someone you’ve loved for the longest time of your life. This song is a hard hitting, 20/20 Barbara Walters, more at 11pm testament to the pretty little moments in a relationship that just fucking kill you. The intimate moments that make it lovely, the wonderful ups, and the critical downs that make or break it.

Since this playlist is about the loves of my life or what not there’s a song in here about my mom. It’s in spanish. It’s awesome.

Anyway, moving on, I am a huge Sufjan Steven’s fan and this song is a continuation of the above but with a different almost angry intensity: “My love, I feel myself unraveling — tell me you love me anyway.” Enough said. (The video is gorgeous, too.)

Little known fact: I have been trying to teach myself Agnes Obels September song for a long time now. Does it make it more difficult not having a piano? Jajaja…YES. Anyway, it’s a lovely instrumental song and it’s made an appearance in my playlist before, but I don’t care. It’s my life, it’s my blog, it’s my silly playlist project.

Rostam’s “These Kids We Knew” is just a great transition to one of my favorite song from the 90s “Yellow Ledbetter.” I mean, if you didn’t grow up to the sound of Eddie Vedder’s distinct and amazing vocals then I don’t even know how to relate to you, Gen Z.

Then you get some Led Zeppelin, because why not, and then a little Radiohead “Karma Police” because it’s got to be one of my hands down favorite songs of all time. Thom Yorke’s singing “Phew, for a minute there I lost myself” is about me more and more these freaking days.

Do you remember Mazzy Star? I don’t. But I do remember her breathy “Fade Into You” which is just the kind of thing you want to say to the one you choose to dedicate February’s made up holiday to.

Then, oh then!, you get to the other loves of your life: your friends. Specifically for me it’s my pal Julia. She’s lovely, I love her, and I feel that she loves me no matter what. That, my friends, its called a Galentine and Mariah Carey was singing all about them in the 90s with the incredible album Music Box. Listen to it. Love it. Tell your friend you love her.

Then finally why not end the 90s with another 90s pool jam. Nick remembers life guarding to this on the radio. I can see the scene in my head: my super blonde buzz-cut future husband with his lithe competitive swimmer body sitting in one of those elevated lifeguard chairs by the community pool in Northern California. He is likely squinting his pretty eyes because he probably doesn’t have a hat on, because he’s going to have to wait about 20 years for me to come into his life to harass him about sun damage every time the sun peeks past a cloud. (This is love, folks). In this scene he is yelling at kids in this lifeguard voice (WALK!) and even saving a few dumb dumbs who manage to roughhouse too much in the deep end. I love him in that vignette in my brain and I love him every day now. So this playlist is mostly about him.