Do you ever just start a blog and forget about it for 10 years? No? Just me? Cool.

Here’s another question: do you ever have the creative urge to write what you’re passionate about to share but when you log in to WordPress you realize you tried to start the same thing 10 years ago?

Whether it’s fate or the still-present feeling of “wtf am I going to do with my life?!” I naturally gravitated toward writing about a topic that is deeply woven in my DNA: Music. So hi again, my name is Rikki and in 2015 I was a fresh university student and I started a blog called Take Me to the Dreamer’s Ball: A flower child with a rock & roll heart. I wrote a post about the music that shaped my identity – and then I never hit publish. Reading it now feels like a reflection of myself in a VERY different place in life. Like John Lennon said in Imagine (released in 1971 – but this song will ALWAYS be valid):

“You may say I’m a dreamer; but I’m not the only one.”

I was always a dreamer and an old soul. That’s why I’m renaming this blog Needle Drops & Daydreams. Capturing the internal feeling when that needle first drops: the static, the first couple notes…nothing compares in my opinion. This started as a love letter to the soundtrack of my life, written by the version of myself who was just beginning to understand what life truly means. I smile reading this now, because everything in it still rings true – only deeper, more flourished and complex as I reached adulthood.

I still feel like a child with a rock & roll heart – and that is exactly who this blog is for. The outcasts, the ones who can never be put in one box. The dreamers. If you’ve ever fallen in love with a song and felt like it understood you better than anyone else could…welcome. This blog is for you. This blog is for me. And it’s finally time to hit publish.

Introducing: Needle Drops & Daydreams.

Folk Roots

“In my small Canadian town, there is a strong presence of folk music…”

I mention my ties to The Rankin Family in the opening. Their music still pulls the heartstrings, bringing me back to a wonderful childhood and a profound sadness for family members I’ve lost since then. Despite the intense nostalgia, the songs are still beautiful and I still love them. I’ll always have that connection, no matter how much my taste has expanded. With a strong Scottish connection in my family, my hometown, and my province, I grew up amongst fiddles, ditties and traditional tunes and in my opinion, The Rankin Family stayed true to their Gaelic roots, while keeping the music fresh and still adding just enough pop to appeal to a wider audience. I still turn to these songs when I need to feel close to home.

Folk has been a widely used and expanded genre over the past sixty years, from Pete Seeger the original folkie to Bob Dylan (how dare he go electric) to the singer-songwriters of the ’70s (Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King) to Bruce Springsteen’s storytelling Nebraska in the 80s to bands like Mazzy Star and The Indigo Girls in the 90s to the Bon Ivers of the 00s and a resurgence in 2020 spearheaded by Taylor Swift’s Folklore. Folk has taken many forms since its roots and there is a deep love forming around the soft, dreamy sound now with artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Kahan and Lizzy McAlpine. That is why I am so excited for new music in 2025.

My Country Chick Era & Swiftie Loading

“I used to pretend I could sing like Faith Hill, and that made me want to become a singer in my future…”

It’s true. With my butt-length blonde hair at the tender age of three, I believed I was Faith Hill. Her and Tim McGraw were my everything for a while, their solo stuff and their GORGEOUS duets are so nostalgic for me. I’m going to take this opportunity to focus on the women of that era right now. Because WHAT AN ERA. In addition to Faith, I worshipped the other country crossover queens like Shania, The Chicks, and Sara Evans. Faith was elegance, Shania was “girls can do it too,” The Chicks were “f the patriarchy” (hello Goodbye Earl), and Sara Evans was a pop poet. I didn’t realize it then, but they were laying the foundation for how I would connect to music for the rest of my life; through storytelling, strength, and just the right amount of sparkle. And then one day in 2006, a certain blonde, curly haired teenager appeared on my screen with boots and a guitar…more on that next!

This is where the roots of my Swiftie-ness began. A young blonde girl like me, singing a song called Tim McGraw (hello, I loved him) and other songs about REAL TEENAGER STUFF but with a country twang. Before Taylor Swift, country music was essentially adult-centric. I loved it for the vibes then because that’s what was on my cable TV, but as an adult, my goodness those lyrics hit hard. Taylor Swift was a voice for the young people with songs that outlined teenage heartbreak and most importantly to me, being an outcast. The girl who had one friend and was an avid dreamer. This is where my Swiftie heart took root – and it will always continue to bloom, one track 5 at a time.

Queen Hilary & The Disney Channel Princesses

“Hilary Duff was my idol, and when I got her album one year – my first full-length CD – I could not stop listening to it…”

Let’s take it back for a moment: it’s Christmas 2004 and I receive my very first album on CD and it’s not Metamorphosis although I know and worship every single word on that album, it is Hilary Duff’s self-titled second album. This was my lifeline. The CD is scratched lovingly and the insert has been flipped through 500 times. I know the songs inside out and still to this day that CD lives in my car for when I want to scream sing (or cry). And no wonder I still love it – that was some ROCK music. With driving guitars and biting lyrics that go far beyond her 17 years, it is a true hidden gem. Hilary Duff was my first true dose of girlhood magic.

Pop Princess Chaos & The Canadian MTV

“I have always enjoyed popular culture and it was mixed in with my Disney Channel phase, however this discovery of Much Music really turned me more into a electro-pop junkie and I pushed Disney aside as the new generation flooded in…”

While in my Disney Channel era I was simultaneously in my pop hits era thanks to school friends. Like, lyrics we had no business singing to at age 10 but ignorance is bliss, right? Rihanna, Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani, Jordin Sparks, Fergie, the Pussycat Dolls. Yep. “Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me” still lives in my head rent free, and Shut Up & Drive by Rihanna was certainly not about driving a car…I learned that much later in life. Still, the Good Girl Gone Bad era was IT. I had the CD, I admired the pictures in the booklet (see pic) and proceeded to CUT one of them out to take to the hairdresser because I wanted the funky haircut with the long side bang. Why, little me? Anyway. With my favourite shows fading to an end and a new decade upon us, this style of music was a sweet transition to my preteen years.

In 2010 I started watching the Much Music countdowns faithfully. It was the Canadian MTV (since we didn’t get the MTV Canada channel on cable). Much held a blend of top hits from the US and UK, and Canadian hits that I didn’t realize until I met my international University friends that no one else really knew outside the country. How special! Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Kesha were my new go-tos. The great part about all this was that my Disney Channel queens, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, plus Ariana Grande from my new favourite Nickelodeon show Victorious, were transitioning into this era with me.

2013: The Year the Needle Dropped

“Who knows what will happen in twenty years? All in all, I do love a variety of music styles, but now my go-to style is definitely classic rock along with others from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, and will be for years to come…”

One day in early 2013, I ventured onto YouTube and looked into some old music. I liked what I heard on 70’s CDs my parents had so thought I’d give it a shot. One band stood out among the rest for me. To this day, I am still a Queen fanatic; in fact, those four dorks have my heart forever. To quote the line from Radio GaGa (Released 1984):

“My only friend through teenage nights”

That was Queen to me. Laying in my teenage bedroom with headphones, dreaming of them while wandering the streets of London as a 15 year old who had until then never left her home province, receiving my first vinyl for my Sweet Sixteen (Queen’s Sheer Heart Attack and yes, it is still my desert island album). They were there for life events, seemingly coming on the radio just when I need them most (it’s a kind of magic, iykyk). Guess what, 2015 me? You’ll see Brian and Roger live with Adam Lambert – TWICE. And you will ugly cry. Listening to the Sheer Heart Attack album in particular gave me a sharper ear for musical elements – because there are so many details in these songs, that span many genres (stay tuned for a deep dive!) I started zeroing in on noticing each individual instrument and production elements as opposed to just voice and lyrics. As much as I’ve loved them for everything they’ve done, with age I fell more and more in love with Queen’s quirky, mesmerizing early-mid 70s sound in particular. Let me tell you, they are so much more than Bohemian Rhapsody and Another One Bites the Dust.

My love for Queen was the gateway drug (pun intended) to all things Rock & Roll. Once I fell in love with the band that helped shape my identity, I needed more. I wanted to know where Queen fit into music history, so I went digging – and fell hard. David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, The Doors…all names I knew before, but now I heard them differently. I stopped listening passively and started studying, for instance, the way a guitar sound can evoke emotion. 10 years on, I have gained more knowledge and deeper cuts as my vinyl collection grew. I fell in love with the singer-songwriter sound of the early 70s: Carole King, James Taylor, Van Morrison…the people who didn’t need a full band to cut you in half with a lyric. I fell in love with the poetry and acoustic warmth and realized, hey…these elements are reemerging in modern music. And I couldn’t be happier.

Hey, Modern Music Isn’t That Bad

“One could say I am passionate about music and I cannot stop talking about it, but that is what I enjoy. Music has always played a major role in my life, pulling me from the lowest to the highest points every time I listen…”

Aside from the fact that TikTok allows young people to discover old music (i.e. Stevie’s main character moment during Fleetwood Mac’s Silver Springs live performance), young artists are bringing elements of the past back to the mainstream. It’s a beautiful thing to witness. One particular album that amazes me lately is Clairo’s Charm. I can almost hear the Carole King influence, whether she intended it or not, it is there and I’m HERE FOR IT. The warm piano tones, understated vocals and mellow vibes, it feels like a modern day Tapestry. Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS takes me back to my roots of scream singing to Avril Lavigne and plotting my imaginary breakup with Kelly Clarkson with a dash of Alanis in her louder moments. Ashe and Suki Waterhouse are 70s divas in the modern world. Lana Del Rey captures eras like a time machine, from 40s Hollywood on Honeymoon to 70s soft rock on Ultraviolence to everything in between on NFR. The excitement is real and I can’t wait to see how the next wave of daydreamers and needle droppers carry the legacy forward.

The Soundtrack Continues

The fun part about finding this piece was that it still rings true ten years later, just more complex and with more variety. I am also more open-minded, unlike the “ew, modern music” attitude I had back then. I find myself getting excited about new music again which further fueled my desire to pick this blog back up once I found it. I can’t wait to share all the dreamy deep cuts I love with the world because they should not be left in the dust. I can’t wait to engage in conversation about new music releases and compare them to their predecessors. Because music is a revolving door that is constantly in motion, blurring the lines between genres that were once static and echoing what came before us.

Music will always be my one true love, and this time? I’m definitely hitting publish.

Sincerely, Rikki | Music lover & avid dreamer