Friday 5: Wrapped, Part 1

Happy Friday, which is also National Microwave Oven Day, and National Gazpacho Day (I ate a lot of this when I lived closer to Wegmans).

And no, we still don’t have a microwave. We don’t have the counter space and my kitchen table is now home to a large toaster oven and an ice machine. (RIP, kitchen tree.) One person in my household really wants a microwave and to accomplish that we’d have to install it where the oven hood is. And I don’t think that leaves enough clearance to cook comfortably. We have a stove, an oven, and the aforementioned huge toaster oven. We do not need another cooking device.

Thought of the day: What if I *don’t* bake cookies this year? I don’t have extended family to bring cookies to on Christmas Eve anymore and TNP’s cookie swap was cancelled because we don’t have a place to meet anymore. I love baking cookies. It’s in my blood. But Kristen bakes and Mom bakes and there are only eight people I see on Christmas now. How many cookies do we really need?

This week’s Friday 5 theme is Wrapped, Part 1. It’s time for Spotify wrapped, the yearly summary of what I listen to. I listen to a lot of different music, so it’s doesn’t take much for one artist or song to be my favorite. My gym playlist really skews the artists/songs of my year. But if I really like an album, I buy it and listen to it via iTunes, so Spotify doesn’t know that. Let’s start wrapping up the year!

1. What’s the best song you heard for the first time in 2024?
   Tophouse’s The Mountain Song.
   
2. How would you summarize 2024 in one song lyric?
   Oh, and as I watched him on the stage,
   My hands were clenched in fists of rage
   No angel born in Hell
   Could break that Satan’s spell
   
3. Where did you hear the best live music of any kind, performed by musicians of any age or talent?
   I didn’t see any live music this year. I love concerts but they are expensive and it’s hard for me to justify spending the money for a ticket, times two. But then I’ll see someone drop $700 on Taylor Swift tickets for a six year old and think, “well maybe I could spend $140 on so-and-so.” I would go and see anyone in concert if asked, but I also feel weirdly guilty asking someone to go to a concert with me. (I think I need a therapist.) WM and I have wildly different musical tastes, as do most of the people I know. Next year I resolve to see some live music.
   
4. Whose music did you listen to most?
   According to Spotify, my top song was Houdini by Eminem but I spent the most time listening to Jack Johnson.
   
5. What was the most compelling music-related news or event of 2024?
   Kendrick Lamar dragging Drake in Not Like Us.

Enjoy your weekend!