Jude's Music Traditions / Rituals
In my first blog post, I talked about how I participate in an activity called Drum Corps International. During the summer, we compete every few days. To get to these competitions, we have to take the bus. Before these shows, we play the same music playlist every time to get hype or into the right headspace. Our music is very diverse, with different songs having different roles. Some of them get us really hype some get us calm and collected, but in the 3 years I have participated, the combo of songs is perfect before a competition.
On the way to the show, we always start the order off with a song from the movie LaLa land called "Another Day of Sun." At the start of the song, there is a piano intro and on designated beats, everyone hits the celling of the bus at the same time, indicating its time to start getting into the "zone".
The next song in the playlist is normally is Sicko Mode by Travis Scott. This song is played after Another Day of Sun which is sort of a slower song compared to Sicko Mode. By the end of the summer, everyone knows all the lyrics to all the songs, and it's super fun to yell out the lyrics to the whole song.
In the activity DCI, we are almost all musicians of some sort, so we play the song 3 am bounce witch is an instrumental song. The rhythm and instrumentation of this song really get the energy on the bus going, and its fun to sing along to.
The last song I want to talk about from the "bus hype" playlist is a really special song to me. The song "Magic" by Ben Folds the a cappella version is played only on the bus I ride on every summer called Twit. There are 3 buses that the entire group uses to get from place to place. The 3 buses are called Twit, Bus Party, and Mike. The 3 buses all have different personalities on the buses. Bus party is the loud crazy one, Twit is more chill and quiet, but we can still get hype and loud. The last bus is Mike bus, where all the drummers ride. The song Magic is special to me beause it's only played on Twit, and every time I listen to it, it brings back so many great memories of being on the bus with my friends for so many days through the summer. This song is just people singing with no instruments, and it is so powerful. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
Jude! I also use music to get into the "zone" before I compete, and I think it's a great way to get locked in. Even though I normally listen to other kinds of music, I would say the Sicko Mode by Travis Scott is more relatable to what I listen to before a game, however I also love La La Land (it's my favorite horror movie), just not before a competition.
ReplyDeleteI love how your bus playlist helps set the tone for competitions. I can totally relate because my track team also has like a pre meet music ritual. We always play the same few songs to get in the right mindset before a big event. I also would say Sicko Mode by Travis Scott is a good selection to listen to before games.
ReplyDeleteI have a few friends in DCI and they have so many stories to tell from it and they also love to listen to specific playlists they make for the rides, I used to listen to Sicko Mode a lot when it was super popular and still put it on now and then. I LOVE Lala Land it was such a good movie and had me bawling by the end of it, this song is so good and I still regularly listen to the soundtrack whenever I'm in the mood. Your ritual is different from mine because when I make trips somewhere like when I go to NC to see my girlfriend I usually just play my Spotify songs on shuffle.
ReplyDeleteI love the variety of songs involved in this tradition because usually, "hype music" just means upbeat songs like "Sicko Mode," but it's just as important to include the right amount of calm to really get in "the zone." I love how everyone on the bus knows the songs by the end of the summer because, in a way, that's how you know you've become and always will be part of the group. I also love how each bus had its own slight changes to the hype playlist because each group had to end in a slightly different headspace. Your bus decided to end with acapella because that's the headspace they needed to end in, but the others may have ended with a more upbeat or faster paced song because they needed to be in a more energized headspace for their particular role.
ReplyDeleteJude, your "bus hype" playlist tradition is such a cool way to build team energy and create lasting memories! While I haven’t experienced something exactly like Drum Corps, I can relate to how music helps set the mood and bring people together. It’s cool how different songs serve different purposes for your group, from getting hyped to feeling nostalgic. Magic especially reminds me of how certain songs become personal soundtracks to unforgettable experiences
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