Orchestrating My Day: Getting Your Main Character On

Holly Brown provides a soundtrack for your potential post-Labor Day slow work week

I love Holly Brown. I make no effort to hide it because it’s impossible not to love Holly Brown. Holly is a lot of things: she is a stand-up comedian, she is an inspirational colleague at Tink Media, and she is a ray of sunshine.

When we were chatting the other day about how isolating remote work (especially writing) can be, Holly told me how important the background scores of movies are to her day. How they carry her through it, I suspect especially in those weird, empty moments between tasks. So, I asked her if she would be interested in writing about these scores for Shreya’s Audio Affairs, she said ‘REALLY? Can I?’

Duh!

If you ask me, Holly Brown can do anything. So, here she is today with four stellar background scores to help find the rhythm in your days.

Warning: these scores might be especially useful if you’re emerging from the haze of the long weekend.

(There’s also a small personal announcement at the end of the issue).

♫ Finding rhythm with film scores ♫

Let’s talk about chaotic loud. Post-pandemic life's decibel level is rivaled only by my endearingly loud sister, whose voice is like a Will Ferrell SNL skit yelling on a loop. Every morning, we're greeted by shouty headlines, a system demanding more, and the constant buzz of digital living—Go bigger! Louder! Be all things to all people! We are trained in a post-pandemic world to never be quiet, to always be watching, listening, scrolling, doing. Being the main character in your own life has never been more exhausting.

In my life, my neuro-spicy brain is both the lead actor and the occasionally distracted (remotely working) director. I can’t lie, I’m so used to the loudness now, that the silence of working from home terrifies me. Amplify that with OCD and ADHD and the right sound is precious. Focus is paramount.

So, as I work from home, alone, I still crave to feel surrounded and not become a background character in my own routines.

Fade in 🎥: Film scores. No words to sidetrack or tempt a tune. When I need to feel like the protagonist at home I blast an epic battle theme. Trying to craft a persuasive pitch? A heart-rending melody does the trick. It’s lights, camera, productivity, baby, and these film scores might just set the right mood for whatever you need to get out of your day too. 

1: The Holiday

Each track feels like eavesdropping on a first date: the awkward pauses, the overeager laughter, and the end-of-night, "Will they? Won't they?" suspense. It’s a meddlesome matchmaker for that ‘meet cute’ feeling, butterflies after things went surprisingly well. Plus, if you think of the too-tan Jude Law in an England winter while listening to this soundtrack, you are going to have a GOOD DAY. And I say GOOD DAY. 

Listen when you’re feeling stuck. It will make you feel like good things will take root and soon blossom. 

2: Minari

This was a rare instance of falling in love with a soundtrack before I even watched the film. From the moment I listened, I felt like it echoed in my heart. I found it at a time when I was hurting after the unexpected loss of my mom. The labyrinth of loss tugged on raw memories and I was not ready to open my eyes to face them. But each track felt like a new dreamscape. From the longing in ‘Garden of Eden’ to the tender embrace of ‘You’ll Be Happy’. It forces your heart to listen, and in doing so, to remember.

Listen when you can’t sleep. You’ll start to look forward to the next day and feel like a droplet of morning dew - fragile, but full of life. 

3: The French Dispatch

Our very own Shreya showed me this score and I am obsessed. It transports you to a whimsical soiree where you’ve had one too many espressos. It's the kind of music that might make your croissant do a little jig if you're not watching closely. But a word of caution: listening might induce spontaneous long walks around your city and an urge to debate existentialism with the nearest barista.

Listen when you need to brainstorm something. Your drowsy, overused ideas will become avant-garde masterpieces. 

4: Hook

Ahoy, dear readers, we’ve met our end! But no list of film score recommendations would be complete without John Williams and Hook is, in my opinion, his most criminally underrated work! I will do my best not to use too many pirate references, but this score is a treasure trove of gold (I’m a bold-faced liar, set sail for pirate city 🫡 ). Like the film, the score captures the very essence of adventure and youth, while remaining delightfully self-aware. The strings are the whispers of Wendy, the brass trumpets a Lost Boy's battle cry, and the flutes, the flutter of Tinker Bell's wings. If ye be yearning for a score that charts every nook and cranny of your heart's map, Hook ventures through every whimsical wave and hopeful horizon. Let your ears set sail, matey!

Listen when you are doing literally anything. Trust me. 

Honorable Mentions:
Rear Window
Encanto (I can’t wait to listen to whatever Germaine Franco, the film's composer, does next)
Punch Drunk Love

Fin.

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Thank you, Holly for taking the time to write this. You truly are the best.

Before you go…

Rushing off to test this fantastic playlist of background scores, one quick thing. After years of pining and a summer of magic, I am ready to move to NY. If you’ve been following my birthday adventures at Central Park or my melancholy I-don't-wanna-leave NY podcast playlist or have even had a conversation with me for more than 2 minutes, you won’t be surprised.

Sooo… I am on the market for full-time opportunities in marketing and media relations based out of NY. I wasn’t going to share this here because it is scary AF to let you all in on this. But, #WWBBD: What would Brené Brown do. Ergo, here we are.

Know anyone or simply wanting to wish me luck (or even share the perfect background score for a job hunt)? Reply to this email or…

Thank you for reading, as always.

With insurmountable joy,

Shreya