I’ve decided to update the ol’ 80 Proof Playlist, because why not:

Here’s the latest round of song, in chronological order of the posts published. This time, I’ll also post some feedback on the song/post.

1. “This is not a love song; this isn’t fantasy-land…” (Rush – Cold Fire)
   1. I actually didn’t like this song at first, but now it’s grown on me. I like the post as I see it as a very good basic building block of a relationship – settings expectations for better or worse. I believe I made my own version based on it and I think I’m going to make a second, revised version. Below is one of his best points.

   2. 18. If you have a problem with me, I expect you to tell me about it. I will continue to behave the way I do until I’m clearly told it is unacceptable. I may continue even afterwords but I’m willing to listen to reason.

2. “After I count down three rounds…” – (The Dead South – In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company)
   1. This song is often stuck in my head after I give it a listen. Then I listen to it 20 times to get it through my system. Then 20 more.
3. “Here besides news of holy war and holy need…” – (Duran Duran – Ordinary World)
   1. This is another song that grew on me. I’m not normally a fan of Duran Duran, beyond a few recognized hits. As for the post, I like it because it references important posts in Ace’s inventory, which makes it easier for me to reference them later.
4. “Am I the righteous or the damned?” – (In This Moment – Oh Lord)
   1. Besides a good song, I like this post because it’s a promise to get to 52 posts in a year. Which I greatly appreciate given that Ace’s blog is one of the few I still read.
5. “But find the ones that bring you life and you’ll find me” – (Nothing More – Fade In/Fade Out)
   1. This song rends my heart. It scares me. It reminds me that my Father is about to turn 70 this year, and though he looks around 10-20 years younger, depending on the day, when he started caring for my Mother after her stroke three years ago, it was the first time I’d seen him tired. The first time I’d seen him as an old man. The first time I’d seen him as normal. The first time I’d realized that he’d eventually fade out, just like my grandparents. I’m not ready for that at all.
   2. I enjoy homework assignments.
6. “When the night is young and the land is dark…” (Stand By Me – Barron, Lemmy Kilminster, Dave Lombardo)
   1. I can appreciate the experience Ace talks about in this post as I’ve lived it a couple times. Even though I misinterpreted the homework assignment, I got out an email that contains a lot of what I should have said to someone some 3-8 years sooner than I did. The song’s an interesting variation, too.
7. “I don’t have to look at you to see in yours eyes…” – (Drain – Right Through You)
   1. This song is eeriely beautiful. And it came in my life a time so appropriate for it that I don’t think it was just happenstance.
   2. It makes an extremely good point about how women tend to look for the meaning in what people don’t say or reveal. Which is an interesting way to look at things – it also makes more sense why some women are attracted to men who look like outright scumbags, besides the obvious talking points.
8. “She’s got a smile that heals me…” – (Billy Joel – She’s Got a Way)
   1. I’m a fan of Billy Joel.
   2. There’s so much negativity around that we often forget there’s a very good reason that men naturally want women in their lives. It’s just that their natural programming to be a helpmeet to the right man is subverted by propaganda and societal messages that invert natural drives and incentivize the worst in women rather than rewarding their best and discouraging otherwise.
9. “Behind the curtain, in the pantomime…” – (Queen – The Show Must Go On)
   1. I’m a fan of Queen
   2. I really like the central message of the song – too many men let a bad relationship or even worse, the end of a good one, torpedo their lives. I’m guilty of this to an extent as well, though I’m better than I used to be.
   3. I like that Ace reminds the reader that he’s learned things the hard way and has suffered plenty himself, rather than just pretending he was either always an Alpha Male or that he just magically found the keys to the kingdom and you too, for the price of $69.99, can be ballsdeep in a tsunami of women like me!
10. “No way to prepare; impending despair…” (Type O Negative – Anesthesia)
    1. I’m slowly becoming a Type O Negative fan.
    2. This song has an eerie quality to it. Ace has said, a couple of times, that he hopes to be your dark secret that you read under the covers with a flashlight under the dark of night. This song is great background music for it.
    3. I agree with the premise to this post; loss and how you deal with it, are more responsible for your success with women than many things. Hell, most men, including myself, were drawn to this corner of the web because an overwhelming sense of loss. Loss of a loved one, and perceived loss of future opportunities due to lack of knowledge.

~Wald