let’s Begin Again so we can Start Again don’t say Bye Bye Bye because i used to be Someone You Loved!

Hello, Monday peeps! Today is a (much-appreciated) ‘no alarm day’ for me; those are more robust during the holiday break and precious when there are only a few scattered 3-day weekends at the start of the new year. I love how one of my clients described today’s office closure: “In the spirit of ‘A Day On, Not a Day Off,’ we encourage you to use this time for service, education, or reflection.” 

Since it is Monday, you know that Monday means music! This week’s theme is “Learn something about this first month of the new year and build your playlist around that for your music inspiration.” Let’s get this “learning” party started!

I learned that January, the beginning of the year, is named for the Roman God Janus, known as the protector of gates and doorways, who symbolizes beginnings and endings. So my contribution to this week’s theme focuses on Beginnings and Endings. 😉

Let’s start with a song that represents ‘beginnings’ from this favorite artist from way back in 2012.  The song finds the country-pop star singing about a girl embarking on a first date after getting over a bad relationship. The new guy turns out to have qualities her ex didn’t. She explained:

“It’s actually a song about when you’ve gotten through a really bad relationship, and you finally dust yourself off and go on that first date after a horrible breakup. And the vulnerability that goes along with all of that.

Even after [a relationship] explodes into a million pieces and burns down and you’re standing in a pile of the ash of what it once was, thinking, ‘Why did I have to meet this person, why did this have to happen?’ . But then, when you make eye contact with someone across the room and it clicks and, bam, you’re there. In love again.”

The song’s music video was filmed in Paris in late September 2012 and finds the artist turning a corner with a sophisticated-looking photographer. She described the clip as, “a love letter to Paris, cause it’s just the city and this storyline of somebody moving on and finding yourself again.”

She personally chose the model who stars as her love interest in the visual. She was sent audition tapes of 20 male models before selecting Vladimir, as he had “good acting instincts” and “a really sweet and endearing charm to him.”

Here’s the inimitable Taylor Swift with “Begin Again”:

Next up, also representing ‘beginnings’ is a song by an American band, featuring American rapper Logic. The song was released on May 15, 2018, as a single from the Season 2 soundtrack of the TV series 13 Reasons Why.

The music video was released on June 22, 2018. The video starts with a man wearing a gas mask. It works as a warning, as a reflection of near reality in its profound crisis. It reflects the possible outcome of manmade destruction of the Earth by going to war. Nevertheless, in the last scene, it is revealed that the man was imagining all the destruction in his mind. At the very end, the man saw the television showing the consequences of global warming.

Give a listen to OneRepublic and Logic with “Start Again”:

Next up, switching to ‘endings’, is an iconic song from 2000 – you’ll see what I mean in a minute. 😉 It’s from this band’s third studio album, released on January 17, 2000, as the lead single from the album. Its lyrics describe the end of a romantic relationship; it was also reported to reference the group’s separation from their manager and their record label. This song is widely considered to be the group’s signature song.

Without further ado, here’s NSYNC with “Bye Bye Bye”:

Last but certainly not least is the final representation for ‘endings’, a song from this favorite artist mourning a lost lover who walked out on him. He addresses his ex, telling her he misses the feeling of being loved.

Now the day bleeds / Into nightfall / And you’re not here / To get me through it all / I let my guard down / And then you pulled the rug / I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

The artist said this was the saddest song he’d ever written. He explained that it’s about “that feeling when you start getting to know someone and things have been going really well, but you’ve been reluctant to be as open as you like with stuff in the past and all that.”

The song finds the artist reflecting on both the end of a relationship and family bereavements, particularly the death of his grandmother. The Scottish singer explained that he chose to write open-ended lyrics for this song as he was “bored of talking about myself.”

While making his album, a couple of family members passed away, and he “wanted to write a song that could be applicable to both my relationship ending, which I was writing a lot about, and then this bereavement thing.”

Without further ado, here’s the amazing Lewis Capaldi with “Someone You Loved”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday! See you on the dance floor!

Now, onto the particulars of Monday’s Music Moves Me:

I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and Alana of Ramblin’ with AM!

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!