Happiness with Loneliness

Our first choice of the night, (listening at night as a soundtrack to your solitude is recommended), is:

"The Sheltering Sky" by King Crimson, from the record "Discipline", 1981.

This selection doesn't stay consonant, but it also doesn't get too dissonant. In other words, it doesn't constantly feel resolved and complete, but it also isn't constantly waiting to resolve. It has its happier, brighter melodies but it also has dark, mysterious lines.

I consider this piece to be two things: it's a good representation of an isolated person (as the music can represent good moments and bad moments, like how being alone can be a good and/or bad time depending on what you do).

It can also represent a good situation that slowly turns nerve-wrecking. Imagine a date with somebody going well until a small fire starts in the kitchen of the restaurant you are eating at. Both yourself and the date are fine, but things still get chaotic over time. This song is that, essentially.

The second choice, still kind of in a slow tempo, is a personal favourite of mine. This song is:

"Undertow" by Genesis, from the record "...And Then There Were Three...", 1978.

This song is sort of like the last one. It has peaceful moments but also sadder moments. It also relates to the last one as they both appear on records by progressive rock artists that were somewhat transitioning to a more pop-friendly sound. Whether you like very complicated music or you like a simpler pop song, these first three selections should please most. This song is not exactly about a relationship, by the way, but rather an ill person who believes that he will soon die. I listened to it a lot in a previous relationship of mine, as I suspected it would soon end. It did.

While I have you in a progressive rock meets pop rock phase, I want to focus on a very gentle song from a band that most consider art rock. This song is very light (instrumentation is an electric piano, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, string ensemble, and an exceptional vocalist named Kerry Minnear). This is:

"A Reunion" by Gentle Giant, from their brilliant record "In A Glass House", 1973.

If you're not a fan of this style of music, I promise we'll move on soon. However, if you're like me and you tend to genuinely enjoy this universe of music, you will love this selection. It's a very beautiful, poetic song. It is also very short and classical-inspired. If you didn't like the overly-pop sound of "Undertow", this might be more your style.

At this point, we are around 15 minutes into the playlist. This will be the last track of "side one" of this non-existent record for the romantic isolationist. This track starts a little slow, but becomes more upbeat, which will move us along in the playlist to push us towards a more upbeat and faster selection of songs. This one is a personal favourite of mine as well. I even named a custom fragrance after this. It is:

"Secret Journey" by The Police, from their record "Ghost in the Machine", 1981.

This song is interesting as it has a more encouraging "you can change your life with a personal journey"-type theme. It's also interesting as it was released the same year as the first song of this playlist, "The Sheltering Sky" by King Crimson. It documents how different certain artists were, even within the same year.

This song is really amazing. I believe that if somebody is single on Valentine's Day, they probably have a lot of time for self-reflection and self-discovery. This song is a good bit of encouragement for such learning, and I strongly encourage these actions.

I'd like to begin "side two" of this "record" with a more upbeat selection. "Secret Journey" ends with a fade-out, as well as a strange drone that focuses on one note. This next song starts with another one-note drone that sounds very similar to me. It's even played in a similar manner. This song is:

"Private Life" by Oingo Boingo, from their record "Nothing to Fear", 1982.

I'll move us away from the 1980s soon, seriously. But for now, I have always loved this one so I'd like to include it. This one has nothing to do with relationships, opting for a more private, secluded lifestyle. It is a very creative and original song. If you only know Oingo Boingo for "Little Girls" and/or "Dead Man's Party", I 100% recommend this song all day, all year.

Speaking of upbeat songs with strange drone openings, I have an interesting song for you all next. This one kind of jumped back to the late 70s, but I think it sounds stylistically similar to the last song. This one is very interesting to me as one vocalist sings in one ear about one topic, and the other vocalist speaks (at the same time) about how generic love songs can get. They occasionally line up as well, for a cool effect. This is:

"(Love Like) Anthrax" by Gang of Four from "Entertainment!", 1979.

I already spoke a bit about this, but this song is genuinely great to listen to if you have a bit of time to read and analyze the lyrics. Musically, it is kind of strange. Guitars make loud, screeching noises while the drums play an aggressively groovy rhythm and the bass plays a similar groove. This one is too fun, I had to include it. It's very original and very entertaining.

This next song was written and released two years ago and is somewhat stylistically different from the previous tracks, but also very similar. It has bass lines with copious amounts of groove, insane guitar playing by the legendary Steve Vai, and a sound that is sort of 80s-inspired, but still very original and new. This song, or set of songs rather, is:

"Do You Feel Love/Outro" by Jacob Collier from "Djesse Volume 2", 2019.

This entire record is absolutely brilliant. I cannot recommend a series of albums more than I recommend Djesse Volume 1, 2, and 3. Don't get me wrong, I love album collections like the 80s King Crimson records and Jethro Tull's folk trilogy, but I'd go for this more modern sound all day when it comes to recommendations. You don't have to "feel the love" from someone else to enjoy this one either. I think the love Collier was going after was more a self-love or maybe a universal love.

This last piece probably seems strange being on here. It's an 11 minute jazz number, but despite the minor-key piano opening, it's rather upbeat and I love listening to this one just to feel good. And after all, it's Valentine's Day night and you're alone: you deserve to feel good. This is:

"Clair de Lune" by Kamasi Washington from "The Epic", 2015.

This rendition of the beloved composition Clair de Lune always makes me feel good, like I mentioned. I also tend to listen to Clair de Lune at night, it is a night-themed piece after all - the title translates to Moonlight. If you listen to this playlist at night, which I recommend, then this is a great end.

At the end of your night, allow yourself some time for reflection in the silence after the last piece. Think about the world, think about yourself, think about anything. Try to feel at peace with existence if possible. Then wipe all your thoughts away and try to sleep. Tomorrow, potentially February 15th if you truly do this all Valentine's night, is a new day. But try to approach it in a positive light after your reflections. Try to make your own secret journey. Try to feel the love. Try to feel good.

End negativity, encourage happiness.

Build self-love and love for the universe around you.

Thank you, and good night.