Music Question Challenge 2025
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Some weeks ago I posted my answers to the Blog Questions Challenge that's been making the rounds. Now it's time for the Music Question Challenge. I can't remember where I read abou it as I didn't bookmark that post. But through a little link hopping I found out that TakenVaullt is the author of this challenge.
Where available the links to songs or albums go to the official Youtube playlist or video. Otherwise they go to another official website.
What are 5 of your favourite albums?
When I listen to music, I listen to music. Wether it's a playlist or an album, I don't really care. What I mean by that is, that I don't really pay attention to which album I am listening to. For the most part at least. There are a few exception, however, which I list below.
- "Che vita meravigliosa" - Diodato
"Fai rumore" is the first song I consciously connected to Diodato. He won the 2020 Sanremo festival with it and should have competed at the Eurovision Song Contest that year. It remains one of my favourite of his songs.
"Non ti amo più" is another favourite. I love the juxtaposition between lyrics and music.
My favourite lines of the whole album come from "Quello che mi manca di te":
Oppure quando vuoi vedere un bel film
ma è soltanto una scusa
per dormirmi addosso
Translation:
Or when you want to watch a nice film
but it's always an excuse
for sleeping snuggled against me
And then there came "Un'altra estate", which Diodato wrote during the first phase of Covid, which hit Italy brutally. That song carried me through 2020 an also through 2021. It was added to the album after it had come out.
- "Subspace Rhapsody" - Tom Polce, Kay Hanley, Strange New World Cast
Star Trek's first, but hopefully not last, musical episode got its own album release. All songs, including the title song are included. I listen to it regularly. For months I would listen to it while showering. TMI? *shrugs* But it's a great album to sing along to in the shower.
My favourite song will forever be La'an's (Christina Chong) "How Would That Feel".
- "Discovery" - Daft Punk
My first Daft Punk album. I realised then that I loved electronic music. The more synth the better. A hard and dirty techno makes me just as happy as a good snyth pop song. Just give me all that your syntheziser has.
I loved that the videos to the singles were anime and telling a continuous story. Which then became a full length film for the whole album: "Interstella 5555". I recently rewatched it. It's not the best film ever, but what I love about it is that you do not need spoken words/ dialogue to tell a story.
- "The Great Escape" - Blur
My first Blur album back in the day. So many great songs! Along with Parklife Blur's best album if anyone would ask me.
- "The Platinum Collection" - David Bowie
It feels like cheating to mention a best of album. But it's one of my favourites. It is a good mix of Bowie's music and was my entry point into getting to know his work better. Whenever I want to listen to Bowie, but don't have something specific in mind, I play this one. It's three CDs worth of great music.
What are five of your favourite songs?
Ask me another time and I would list a different set. But today they are
- "Into the West - Annie Lennox
- "Un'altra estate" - Diodato
- "Absolute Beginners" - David Bowie
- "Imagine" - John Lennon
- "The Universal" - Blur
Favourite instrument(s)
I am a sucker for the piano, and for pipes & drums. If you wanted me to like you, play one of those. 😉
Oh! And the synthesizer.
What song or album are you currently listening to?
When I initially sat down to answer these questions a week ago or so, I was at work, so I couldn't listen to anything.
But I had watched the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" the day before and had been having Johnny Flynn's "Queen Bee" in my ear all day.
While finishing up this post I was listening to Blur's "The Great Escape".
Do you listen to the radio? If so, how often?
No. I can't stand the stupid talking and the music is seldom my style.
However, if I have to, like riding in someone's car, I prefer German "90s 90s Radio". A low talk station where they play the good stuff. They also have specialty channels.
I am currently discovering internet radio stations, but that is more a once every couple of weeks thing than anything regular or deep.
How often do you listen to music?
Pretty much every day.
How often and how do you discover music?
In the past years I have often discovered new music by listening to playlists. I am not using Spotify anymore, for reasons, but when I was still using it I really loved the playlists. There are so many great ones on there and they are easy to find and browse.
I am currently subsribed to Apple Music and I miss the good playlists. How do you find them there??? (Yeah, I know. Apple isn't great either. My goal is to eventualy stop subscribing to a streaming service.)
Sometimes I get sucked into a rabbit hole, where I then spend a fews days or weeks only listening to one artist. I listen to a lot of new to me songs that way too.
What’s a song or album that you enjoy that you wish had more recognition?
I have no idea how much recognition anything has. Absolutely none whatsoever. I only listen to the music. I don't read interviews, or reviews, or anything to that effect. So... any good piece of music deserves the widest possible recognition.
What’s your favourite song of all time?
That is a question I don't know how to answer. It depends on my mood and state of... everything. There are so many fantastic songs that I love, that touch my soul (I have a whole playlist of those). I could not pick just one favourite. For a selection of my favourites see above under question 2, "What are 5 of your favourite songs?".
But if I must, let me mention Peter Schilling's "Major Tom (Völlig losgelöst)". The story is basically "Space Oddity", with melody and musical style being completely different. I've been loving this song ever since I was a little kid. There's also an English version "Major Tom (Coming Home)"".
Has your taste in music evolved over the years?
Oh, absolutley. Although I still like most of what I ever loved, my taste - or interest - flows in waves. I often have phases. Like one time I almost exclusively listened to Italian pop music for months.
Tag, you're it
Wanna play? Please do! If you wish, drop me a line when you did so I can read your answeres.
- Elena.
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