mshades01

[mshades01]

2025 Musical Tarot

Every year on my birthday, I like to do a little divination with music. And, because I have a fondness for Tarot, I pull up Spotify and meld the two into my Birthday Tarot. I go to the big Song Dump playlist, hit shuffle and see what happens. So, with that, let’s get started. #music #tarot

Present/Self “Running Up That Hill” - Placebo

This hits me as a song that's about struggle for identity. The deal the singer wants to make with God - a deal to switch places - is because they want the person they're singing to to know them in the truest way. Perhaps that's what I'm immersed in right now? Maybe why I've started blogging again out of nowhere. So people know who I am, especially as I've vaulted over the half-century mark by now. But that deal with God simply isn't possible, so an alternative has to be found. #music #tarot #Placebo #KateBush

Problem “Runnin’ Down a Dream” - Tom Petty

This is a very recognizable riff, so maybe a very common problem - the need to Go Get the Thing you want rather than wait for it to come to you. It's classic advice for anyone who wants to succeed, but hard to do. So is that my problem? Is the song telling me that I need to run that dream down harder? That I'm being too laid-back? I guess I should know what that dream is, though…. #music #tarot #TomPetty

Past “Don’t Drink the Water” - Dave Matthews Band

Not going to lie, this is a puzzler. The song is about the madness and evil that come from colonialism, and while I may have benefitted from a history of colonial involvement, so have a lot of other people. Maybe it is about arrogance, though - the belief that what I want is the most important thing. That doesn't really sound like me, though, at least not from my point of view. Maybe it's a denial of the darker parts of one's nature as one lets those darker parts take over? Not gonna lie - this one's escaping me. #music #tarot #DaveMatthewsBand

Future “Blame It on the Boogie” - The Jacksons

Well, it's nice to know that the future is going to be more upbeat after all that. It seems to suggest not a loss of control, really, but rather allowing myself to enjoy happiness. Relinquishing control in order to feel joy, which is something that sounds very nice. Not sure that the whole "relinquishing control" thing is something I'm very good at all the time, though. #music #tarot #Jacksons

Conscious Focus “Best Day of my Life” - American Authors

A relentlessly positive song, this one - very future focused and intent. It's a statement of purpose, in a way: "This is gonna be the best day of my life." But there's a dreaminess, as the singer pleads, "Just don't wake me now." Maybe these things I'm focusing on right now aren't real, or even realizable, but I'm having fun so let me enjoy things. #music #tarot #AmericanAuthors

Unconscious Focus “Kiss Them for Me” - Siousxie and the Banshees

This one is nostalgia bait for me, so part of it might be a looking back on the past as a "better" time. Not a good idea, generally. Apart from that, the song is about glamour and fame and wanting to be the "prettiest by far," and who doesn't want that? There's other elements here, though - loyalty, as she sings “Nothing or no one will ever make me let you down.” And I wonder what the delay is, such that she asks that the listener kiss them for her? The unconscious is a weird and messy place, I'll say that much. #music #tarot #SiouxsieAndTheBanshees

Advice “Upside” - Judith Hill

As far as advice goes, this is pretty straightforward: get moving. Get it done and get it done now. She sings, "Don't want to wait around till someday," which is fantastic. No notes. #music #tarot #JudithHill

External Influence “String of Pearls” - Soul Asylum

This is a story-song, a loop about people who are losing things, frustrated and incomplete. Perhaps that's the influence: the "story" that I live inside. A cyclical nature of events that I am a part of but cannot see the whole of. A narrative that I cannot control and cannot escape. That said, it does have a glimmer of hope at the end - a pearl in the gutter that makes up for a loss the night before. Even in that story, things can be fixed and be better. #music #tarot #SoulAsylum

Hopes / Fears “Once In A Lifetime” - Talking Heads

Ah, it's nice to get a straightforward one. This is the canon song of the modern existential crisis - a fear that you've chosen the wrong life. It's wrong and you know it's wrong, but there's nothing you can do about it anymore except let it happen. Time moves on, it's same as it ever was, but deep inside you're aware that this isn't for you. #music #tarot #TalkingHeads

Outcome “Karma Police” - Radiohead

Uh-oh. This is conflict, but amongst who? Am I on the path to being called out by the Karma Police, overstepping norms or values that someone, somewhere has decided are unacceptable? Or perhaps I'm on a path to becoming the Karma Police, and slipping back into the Dave Matthews Band solipsistic madness. I mean, if I had to pick one I'd pick the former, but neither one is good for the soul. #music #tarot #Radiohead

And Another Thing…. “Ralph Wiggum” - Bloodhound Gang

(Tumblr won't let me do a 10th link, but look it up. You'll love it)

I always like to do one more: a "Columbo" if you will, just for fun. And that's this song - kind of like last year's. It's a reminder that life is kind of stupid sometimes, and you should have fun. On top of that, it's always possible to make something new and wonderful out of the things you love. Yvan eht nioj!