Soundtrack 41
ey there, I'm Brian, founder of The Hot Mic. This week I turned 41 years old. I’m no longer 40, I’m in my 40s. Weird. Aging isn't something that really bothers me, but it's definitely weird. Until recently, I never had to worry about throwing my back out sneezing, or having to trim my eyebrows, nose and ear hair regularly. But, I welcome growing older and the experiences, including aches and pains, that come with it.
I feel like I should be making a bigger deal of being in my 40s. You know, going through a “What does it all mean?” phase a la Rob from High Fidelity, wrestling with how my life hasn’t panned out as I’d hoped. Instead I’m feeling pretty optimistic about 41. My mental health is better than it has been in years. I’m playing and writing music again. I’m looking forward to a great concert and festival season. I’m financially stable (as long as I stay off of Reverb), and I’m excited about the future of The Hot Mic. That got me thinking, what interesting way can I document and commemorate my 41st year of life? In the past I’ve unsuccessfully attempted to post a photo a day a handful of times and every year I do a “Year in Review” over on my Rubato Photo website, but I wanted to do something different.
I listen to music a lot. Probably at least 25-30 hours a week. Back in 2021, I started making weekly playlists of anything I listened to that caught my ear, regardless of genre or release date. What I listen to on a given day is always a bit random. Sometimes I’ll just put my music library on shuffle for hours, but sometimes the first song will send me down a genre or artist rabbit hole. Other days, I’ll hear something that will remind me to listen to something I’ve forgotten about. I also have a habit of listening to bands a bit before I photograph them or dig into a festival lineup in the weeks leading up to it.
So, for my 41st year, I’m going to resume posting weekly playlists. Not because I’m under the illusion that people are waiting with bated breath to see what I listened to each week, but to create a soundtrack of year 41.
I’m calling the project Soundtrack: 41.
