The Zeigarnik effect

Since leaving Facebook and Twitter; so much more of my time has been taken up by reading, writing, running and sorting things out in my flat that I've meant to do for such a long time. I read earlier that "even after one stops actively pursuing a goal, many mental processes remain focused on the fail (e.g the Zeigarnik effect), potentially occupying limited attentional and memory resources". Useful to know. The dishes will be done, I'll call my friend I've been meaning to call for ages and that "To Do" note on my list at work for three weeks has been "To Done".

A few songs have crept into my playlist this past week. Shuffle on iTunes has an uncanny ability to reach into my mind, pluck out some songs and bring a lump to my throat at an idle moment on the train.

The story of The Last Five Years is told through the voices of two characters - Cathy and Jamie. Jamie tells the story from the beginning of their relationship, to it's demise (as heard in this song), whilst Cathy tells it back to front. This song (Goodbye Until Tomorrow / I Could Never Rescue You) in context, is probably the saddest song in my collection. The hope in Cathy's voice and the sadness, grief and sound of loss in Jamie's is such a sorrowful dichotomy.

This one is self explanatory.

Gil Scott Heron came into my consciousnesses after he collaborated with Jamie from The XX, producing a colourful explosion of spoken word wisdom overlaid with youthful exuberance (a.k.a. some heavy bass). Apart from The Revolution Will Not Be Televised and few other 70's tracks, I'd not listened to any of his non-Jamie XX collaboration sounds. After having an urge to write about running yesterday, I remembered that Gil Scott Heron wrote a song called Running, which I adored in remixed version. The original is dark, stripped back and industrial. GSH seems to be standing on the corner of a snow covered street corner, as a fire burns from an empty oil can in front of him, reading straight from his book of words. The skills of Jamie XX have to be marveled at for finding the sound heard on the remix.