Happy

A brief Set List reflection -

I felt compelled to write about PMI (Persistent Musical Imagery) and finding a sense of peace and comfort while contending with OCD symptoms, especially when an individual is their own OCD tendency.

I also feel a sense of calm to return to Set List.  However, in months and years back I felt compelled to post daily, weekly, and monthly.  

To readers and passersby - I hope posting once in a while will be okay in order to preserve mental energy.

On this Friday, I am compelled to share happy notes - an adorable baby elephant with smile that cannot help but make a person smile along & Pharrell Williams with his song, "Happy."  Either artistic medium to end the week on a positive note.

Peace through OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) takes on many forms.  One you know is PMI, or Persistent Musical Imagery.  As of Monday, October 12, 2026, I take Prozac.  The true efficacy starts at 40mg.  Of course, any physician will rightly begin at the lowest dose possible to monitor any positive or negative reaction.  Therefore, I am taking 10mg.  The music continues and I still feel awful.

There is another form of OCD called Somatic OCD.  This form is brutal because I am the obsession and compulsion.  In other words, I look for any irritant within me that will cause an irritating reaction.  This reaction is what I am obsessed with.  My compulsion is agitation - rather, I encourage the irritating reaction to maintain the want of being agitated.  

Common symptoms of Somatic OCD to look for include - hyper awareness and fixation on breathing, blinking, swallowing, heartbeat, pulse, sensation of clothing to skin, and others.  Outside of my heartbeat and pulse (for personal reasons, I enjoy the sound of my heart), all else are relevant.  My primary symptom is tactile sensation.  My primary thought is "I don't like that.  Don't do that."  And so for every time I find an irritant (define as you wish), my thought taps into the irritation reaction and I am compelled to continue pressing the reaction to make sure I will be agitated.

My brain's baseline emotion is agitation.  So when my mental state isn't fighting off musical negative reaction, I am fighting off me.  And this is no way to live.

I recently noticed that my brain and mental health respond well to two factors - classical music and Miles Davis.  More specifically, the cello and "So What."  Drill deeper to Yo-Yo Ma and the music video for "So What."

I find calm, quiet, and peace through classical as performed by Yo-Yo Ma.  If you like this genre, I recommend his albums, Essential Yo-Yo Ma & Songs of Joy & Peace (Yo-Yo Ma & Friends).  My interest in classical music stems from The Nutcracker soundtrack, so diving all in with Yo-Yo Ma is intense but the crucial take away is calm, quiet, and peace.  An ideal mind frame for PMI.

Life events caused a build up of anger to now constant agitation.  These life events are best shared in therapy but for now I will share two profound non-medicinal aids.  

When I feel an agitation attack coming on, my (late) grandmother would say "Talk to Grandma, honey."  In a spiritual sense, her words broke the brutality my fragile brain would have faced.  I always fell into tears and better does not do justice to how I felt.

Miles Davis somehow taps into the same spiritual sense.  Kind of Blue is an iconic album and "Flamenco Sketches" is soothing to me.  The music video for "So What" is likewise medicinal to me.

While Yo-Yo Ma and Miles Davis are musicians and I would not normally advocate listening to either as a coverup to PMI (reminder - not possible), I will advocate both (of course, depending on your interest) to ease Somatic OCD.  

If you or someone you know finds irritation and agitation suffering from within and Somatic OCD symptoms sound relevant, consider calm and peace through classical Yo-Yo Ma and his cello or classic Miles Davis and his trumpet.  

Peace through OCD is possible.

PMI

PMI - In other words, Persistent Musical Imagery

Except musical imagery is not imagined or beautiful.  In fact, this condition is persistent and mental torture to nearly anyone suffering.

So what is PMI?

From my perspective, having PMI, the early morning transition from sleep to  wake and late afternoon from awake to tired are critical moments for PMI to ignite.  Yet what is turning itself on?  Songs.  Any songs.  Songs I am a fan of, songs I am aware of, songs I don't care about.  Songs that can be inspiring.  Mental mention of a word that is relevant to a song title.  Commercial jingle songs.  Television show credits.  Movie soundtracks.  Sound within a television program to enhance the tone of the scene.  In summary, songs and musical sound.  

Imagine a radio station in your head.  There is no DJ.  There is just a loop.  The loop can stay on one song or mix into a variety.  The volume is low.  In fact, the volume is faint but just loud enough to hear the lyrics with no instrumental.  

The initial hit "play" is enjoyable.  I want to acknowledge the interest.  However, within less than half an hour I am miserable because the song will not go away.  If I distract my mental state, the turntable will find something else.  This turntable spins nonstop unless noise or sleep quiet it.

I cannot sleep all the time.  Noise is specific and temporary.

Can I listen to music on my own to drown out PMI?  No!  While the joy of listening to my favorite radio stations or iTunes offers relief, that relief is in the moment because even those favorites will seep into my brain.  Listening is sadly detrimental to PMI.

I have been aware of this condition since early summer of this year, 2026.  I have been starving my brain of dopamine through music for months out of fear of worsening PMI.  In reality, PMI cannot get any worse than it is right now.

Is there relief to PMI?  Yes.  So let's talk clinical and not personal.

PMI is generally involuntary and without an external source.  This is most commonly known as an earworm.  The song is spontaneous and repeats without conscious control.  

Key notes - Spontaneous (you didn't choose to think of it), Repetitive Loop (plays over and over), Internal Perception (mental play, no external source), Common Triggers (emotional connection, recent exposure, etc.)  

Facts - At least 90% of people experience involuntary musical imagery weekly.  Links within the brain include phonological loop (short-term auditory memory) and auditory cortex (active when listening and when imagining music).

Musical hallucinations or Musical Ear Syndrome are on the severe end where music is perceived as externally real.  In MES, the brain is filling sensory gaps.  I have on occasion experienced auditory hallucinations (musical hallucinations are a form), but generally in the form of nonschizophrenia faint conversations.  I can't hear the words, just people speaking them.  If there is music in the hallucination, it is either sharp like an instrument in a concert or an on-air radio.  This severity is best addressed by an audiologist or neurologist.  I have not seen either for my experience because I find my hallucinations linked to an overly exhausted brain.  After rest, I am okay.

PMI though is not okay.  The loop is a musical obsession.  This type of obsession, if defined as intrusive, recurrent, unintentional, and distressing, is in fact OCD in type.  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is not necessarily neurological (such as hallucinations).  Therefore, examples of treatment include -

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & Exposure and Response Therapy (ERT)

SSRIs (such as fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, sertraline, paroxetine...brands by name include Prozac and Paxil) ... Immediate go-to medications for OCD

Clomipramine (tricyclic antidepressants)

Sources to the above facts are many, so I am relying on simply saying Google search.

Persistent Musical Imagery is anything but musical, pleasant, and enjoyable.  The want to engage or entirely distract is real.  The want to completely shut down is more than real.  What is devastatingly real?  When PMI is classified as an OCD (such as me), mental health is given a severe blow.

And when music is an important part of a person's life, whether listening or playing or writing about, that importance becomes extremely fragile and generally gone silent so as not to feed and worsen mental health.  Silence can be deafening and make mental health sicker rather than better.

If you or you know of someone find this post relatable, please consult with a healthcare provider.  I realize Set List is quiet after 16 years of daily active, but I am always an advocate for my mental and physical health.  I am an advocate for you if this post will help in some way.

Side note - While I have PMI, other OCD tendencies, neurological and psychiatric illnesses, my most recent scare is me.  Life events in the past two years shifted my brain's baseline acceptable emotions from naturally calm, peaceful, and happy to always irritable and agitated.  These events allowed anger reaction to escalating constant agitation.  My obsession is not an irritant but the agitated reaction.  My compulsion is encouraging the irritant or finding an irritant to become agitated.  

This is no way to live for anyone.  I am working with a psychiatrist and therapist.  I am also working with myself through defusion tactics - acknowledge an irritant but do not react to it thereby not giving my false baseline what it wants.  I also affirm my brain every morning (and occasionally during the day) by saying thank you for its protection and that I am safe because calm and peace are safe, so I can move on with the day.

Familiar settings, activities, and feelings are huge to resetting my baseline.  This will take time and although I am one for being impatient, taking back my true mental state of mind at its own pace is far greater than getting there in a hurry just to say I am back.  I want both.  I also want me.

To those who have read this far, thank you.  To those have found this post at some point and have read this far, thank you as well.  Set List is not a closed book.  Music and writing are always open.

Sweet 16 - Hope for Haiti Now (album)

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the island nation of Haiti.  As one who has experienced 4~ magnitude earthquakes, I cannot imagine the fear and intensity of a seven.  To worsen the situation, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or stronger were recorded weeks later.

An estimated 3 million people were affected.  The death toll was projected in excess of 100,000 while the government estimated twice as high.

Major landmark buildings were damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail.

The damages were devastating, coming in at $7.8 billion to $8.5 billion.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

And so this earthquake was considered the deadliest national disaster of the 21st century in one country.

The geography surrounding Haiti is intriguing and best explains why the country can feel direct impact of natural disasters.  Follow the link below to read more.

(Wikipedia)

Global response was immediate...

Hope for Haiti Now is a live album by various artists.

Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief was a televised program featuring 19 live performances.

The digital-only album was set for pre-order on iTunes on January 22, 2010.  On release, the album sold 171,000 copies.  Within two days, the album as digital-only became the first to top the Billboard 200.

The album was issued by Billboard 200 on February 6, 2010.

Track List -

1.  Send Me an Angel 

(Alicia Keys)

2.  A Message 2010 

(Coldplay)

3.  We Shall Overcome 

(Bruce Springsteen)

4.  A Time to Love/Bridge over Troubled Water 

(Stevie Wonder)

5.  I'll Stand by You 

(Shakira featuring The Roots)

6.  Motherless Child 

(John Legend)

7.  Hard Times Come Again No More 

(Mary J. Blige featuring The Roots)

8.  Breathless 

(Taylor Swift)

9.  Lift Me Up 

(Christina Aguilera)

10.  Driven to Tears (Sting)

11.  Halo

(Beyonce featuring Chris Martin)

12.  Lean on Me 

(Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Keith Urban)

13.  Like a Prayer (Madonna)

14.  Hallelujah 

(Justin Timberlake featuring Matt Morris & Charlie Sexton)

15.  Let It Be 

(Jennifer Hudson featuring The Roots)

16.  Many Rivers to Cross (Emeline Michel)

17.  Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)

(Jay Z, Bono, The Edge, Rihanna)

18.  Alone and Forsaken 

(Dave Matthews featuring Neil Young)

19.  Rivers of Babylon/Yele (Wyclef Jean)

20.  Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)

(Jay Z, Bono, The Edge, Rihanna)

*

Weekly Charts - 2010

No. 1 UK Compilation Albums

No. 1 French Digital Albums

Year-end Charts - 2010

No. 82 Billboard 200

No. 44 Canada

*Refer to the link below to reference the writers of the performed songs.

(Wikipedia)

Music is a global bond.  In times of crisis, the industry is the first to come together in a show of support on a human level and awareness level.  

Wherever your genre interest is, music is guaranteed to appeal to all and for this reason is the first outlet to heal on an individual level and worldwide level.

One note, one lyric, one song changes the course of history on a constant basis.  Social history changes on a constant basis.  Yet no matter what, one's love for music in any way will always come back full circle...

...Play it!

I remember when...

...I published my first post on Set List.  I was excited for the topic - sharing an article I wrote on the no longer Associated Content about what my top 10 favorite Duran Duran songs would be.  I do not recall that list now although I imagine the mix would be classics and highlights from the Red Carpet Massacre concert way back in May 2008.  I did not really know what I was doing as I wrote.  I was just driven by passion.  And then I hovered over the Publish button.  

What was going to happen next?  What were my words going to look like?  Well, at the time they were black and in a terrible font but hey I was new.

What would the experience of blog publication be like?  Would anyone know I exist or would I jam to music on my own?

I got initial feedback about the text color against the custom template color.  I took the advice seriously and that is how I landed on Georgia Bold.

A few followers trickled in and that made me eager to keep going.  They have sadly all stepped back but the memories of when they were active and keeping in touch remain.

I did keep going that first month.  I kept going that first year.

Increasing views kept me going.  The constant hum of new topics kept me going.  A growing love kept me going.  A passion for Set List is it flamed my heart and truly kept me going.

I slowed down here and there.  For a brief time, I only published once.  Yet when I realized what I was potentially walking away from, I came back with strong intent - to realize the love a global audience had for some random person's personal website.  

I do not remember my first post back.  The publishing setup was different.  The number of followers I gained did not change.  My writing style did, though.  I took to research-based more than relaxed style to be informative rather than narrative.  This bent is not wild with potential income but is a format I enjoy.  I will admit to missing my narrative voice and will try to bring it back when I can.  The Publish button.  The Publish button did not change and now I click it without thought because each post is a proud addition to a blog once out of curiosity now a desired career.

Professionals don't use the word "blog" as it somehow connotates tacky writing.  Of course these professionals have gone to publish books, courses, job boards, collaborations, and much more.  I am not such a professional.  I am just a blogger.  And I am okay with that.

I became a blogger with the first post I published on Set List.  

And I have never looked back.

Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now

Dear Set List readers and passersby,

I am taking a much needed break to gather my emotions and heal my mental state.  Just the one day but a needed one day.

In 2010, "All You Need Is Now" was Duran Duran's biggest hit and the album itself was quite successful.  I remember promoting their project as part of being a fan club member.

In memory of those early moments, enjoy the song and video below.

See you tomorrow.

February by Janet Jackson

In honor of February's Black History Month, I am noting music's pop icons throughout history.  Where noted from time to time or once in Set List's lifetime, these artists are always worth highlighting for their contributions to the industry and society's pop culture.  As icons, the successes and honors garnered are profoundly impressive and worthy of their talent.  Their early years are reflections of who they are, where they have come from, and what they offer to their own careers and the impact on intrigue and interest.

Interest.  With that said, she has been noted from time to time on Set List and today, always, deserves a spotlight.  

Janet Jackson

Janet Damita Jo Jackson

b. May 16, 1966

American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer

Genres considered - R&B, Pop, New Jack Swing

(Jackson family - Janet is the tenth and youngest child.)

Known for provocative records and choreography

In her rise to fame, Janet Jackson broke gender and racial barriers.

Successes -

- 10 No. 1 singles on Billboard Hot 100 (also made by brother, Michael Jackson)

- Record for the most consecutive Top 10 singles on Billboard Hot 100 by a female artist - 18

- Only artist in Billboard history with 7 singles from one album reach the Top 5

- One of the world's best-selling music artists with over 100 million records sold worldwide

- The launch of Janet's own record label, Rhythm Nation (following the 2004 controversary failure).

- Together Again Tour (2023-2024) - Highest grossing of her career

Awards -

5 Grammy Awards

11 Billboard Music Awards

11 American Music Awards

Honors -

- Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

- 8 Guinness World Records

- No. 7 on Billboard's Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists (2008)

- Second most successful dance club artist (Billboard, 2016)

- MTV Icon

- Award of Merit (American Music Award honor)

- Humanitarian Award

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2019

Discography

Filmography

Life and Career

1966 - 1985 : Early life and career beginnings

- The Jacksons

- Good Times, A New Kind of Family, Diff'rent Strokes

- Signed with A&M Records at age 15 through Janet's father, Joseph Jackson

- Janet Jackson 

Debut (1982)

- Dream Street (1984)

1986 - 1988 : Control

- Janet ended business relations with her family "...and get out from under my father..."

Control 

1986

3rd album

No. 1 Billboard 200

Over 10 million copies sold

"...remarkably nervy and mature..."

Top 5 singles -

- "What Have You Done for Me Lately," "Nasty," "When I Think of You," "Control," & "Let's Wait Awhile"

Themes of empowerment

The music videos immediately influenced MTV and her role in pop culture.

1989 - 1992 : Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814

- Rhythm Nation 1814

4th album (1989)

- Socially conscious theme of unity

- No. 1 on Billboard 200

- Over 12 million copies sold worldwide (highest selling of 1990)

- Only album with 7 Top 5 singles on the Hot 100

- 15 Billboard Awards (record)

- Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990

Most successful debut tour in history

"Rhythm Nation Scholarship" established by Janet

1992 - "Queen of Pop"

1993 - 1996 : Janet, Poetic Justice, and Design of a Decade

- Janet (5th album)

No. 1 on Billboard 200

Over 14 million copies sold worldwide

"That's the Way Love Goes" & "Again" - No. 1 Hot 100

Expressed sexual maturity

- Poetic Justice

Film debut

"Again" - Golden Globe & Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song

- "Scream" collab with brother, Michael (1995)

In response to media scrutiny

The music video - "Most Expensive Music Video Ever Made" at $7 million & set a Guinness World Record ... Grammy Award in 1996

- Design of a Decade: 1986-1996

Compilation album

No. 3 Billboard 200

1997 - 1999 : The Velvet Rope

6th album (1997)

Reflected experiences with depression and anxiety

Theme of intrinsic need to belong

Considered more sexually explicit than Janet

Established Janet as a gay icon for themes of homosexuality and stance against homophobia

No. 1 on Billboard 200

Over 8 million copies sold worldwide

"Together Again"

- 8th No. 1 on Hot 100

- "on par with Elton John, Diana Ross, and the Rolling Stones"

- 6 million copies sold worldwide (one of the best-selling singles of all time)

"I Get Lonely"

- No. 3 on Hot 100

- Grammy Nomination

- 18th consecutive Top 10 hit 

Only female artist to achieve this record

Surpassed only by Elvis Presley and the Beatles

The Velvet Rope: Live in Madison Square Garden

- HBO special

- over 15 million viewers

- Emmy Award

2000 - 2003 : Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and All for You

- Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (July 2000)

Janet's second film 

"Doesn't Really Matter" for the soundtrack - 9th No. 1 on Hot 100

- All for You

7th album (2001)

No. 1 on Billboard 200

Upbeat dance style

"All for You" lead

- First week audience of 70 million

- No. 1 Hot 100 ... Top 10 in 11 countries

- Grammy Award

2004 - 2005 : Super Bowl XXXVIII controversary and Damita Jo

Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show

"wardrobe malfunction" - Justin Timberlake & Janet

The accidental exposure of her right chest left an iconic imprint in pop culture and the entertainment industry.  Repercussions - Janet was not allowed to attend the 2004 Grammy Awards (although Timberlake was).  She stepped back from a project set to portray singer and activist Lena Horne.

Damita Jo

- 8th album

- Reviews based more on the Super Bowl incident than the album

- Blacklisted from radio and music channels

- Ban lasted through Janet's following two albums

- "...The high-ups are still pissed at her, and this is a punitive measure..." - Viacom senior executive

- Otherwise predicted to outsell her previous release with singles thought to perform "extremely well"

- Nonetheless, Janet received career honors including:

Legend Award (Radio Music Awards)

Inspiration Award (Japan Video Music Awards)

Lifetime Achievement Award (Soul Train Music Awards)

"Favorite Female" (Teen Choice Awards)

Artistic Achievement Award (100 Black Men of America organization) - 
"...an individual's worth can't be judged by a single moment in that person's life..." - in response to criticism for the honor

2006 - 2007 : 20 Y.O. and Why Did I Get Married?

2008 - 2009 : Discipline and Number Ones

During this time, Janet's brother Michael died.  In tribute, she performed "Scream" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

2010 - 2014 : Film projects and True You

True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself 

Self-help book released in February 2011

2015 - 2019 : Unbreakable, touring and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

2020-present : Documentaries and Together Again Tour

Janet Jackson documentary (January 2022)

Together Again Tour (2023)

Janet Jackson: Family First documentary (2023)

Artistry

Legacy

(Wikipedia)

I am well aware of Michael Jackson on Set List.  Thriller after all.  By extension, Janet Jackson has come up or at least I think.  In certainty, this entry seals her name in Set List history.  

Where his name is cemented in social and pop culture, Janet takes her cue in thematic messages shared through songs reached by the millions on a global scale.  Her lyrics range from intimate tones to social tones to advocacy tones and while suggestive over time, her maturity is long praised by critics.  The rightly deserved honors she has received surely bypass one incident made by a human being.  I personally will always associate the concept of blacklisting with 1940s and 1950s political climate, not the Super Bowl and music.

As I delved into her history, I realized that Janet Jackson is unique away from the Jackson Family and her profound talent was discovered through herself and her own voice.  

Never accept control.

Never back down.

Never give up.

February by Janet Jackson