Blogocentric Formulations

Surface Pressure

"The Soundtrack of Your Life"  | Day 7

"Surface Pressure"
by Jessica Darrow (from the Encanto soundtrack)

I went back and forth on which song to pick from this soundtrack. Like most of his work, I think Lin-Manuel Miranda did a great job with the songs on this soundtrack. He has such a distinctive flow to his lyrics, it's really remarkable. While I don't necessarily share his same passions like musical theater, I do admire him as an artist because he's managed to accomplish the goal most artists have, which is to have such a unique style that you instantly say, "Oh, I can tell that's a Lin-Manuel Miranda song!" We should all be so fortunate to have that kind of brand identity with our own creative works!

As tempted as I was to choose "We Don't Talk About Bruno" or "What Else Can I Do" (or even "Colombia, Mi Encanto") because I find myself listening to those songs more often, I picked "Surface Pressure" because I think it's the song that I most identify with right now. I won't ruin the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it (definitely worth a watch, though!), but it's about someone who feels all the burdens placed on her, and who struggles to always carry the ever-increasing weight of expectations. Needless to say, as a parent of young children... and as someone who has been struggling to manage work and family in a pandemic... the themes of this song really speak to me right now.