So it's 350am and I have one of my more atypical cases of insomnia. It's something that's been going on a bit lately. Ugh! So I'm sitting here trying to unwind and I've been listening to the same song on repeat on my iPod for quite awhile. Do you ever do that? Find a song that just hits the spot better than getting to scratch you back when it itches like crazy? That's where I find myself rather frequently. Lifted up by music. Currently it is the ROCK GOD Chris Cornell's cover of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You"...an iconic song in its own right. But when sung by a guy whose voice sort of caps up the Seattle scene and the early 90's so well...it is JUST.PLAIN.PERFECTION. And it makes me realize how great music is in just that way.
I could probably make a timeline of events in my life and attach a song to each and every major thing that's happened to me. My mother and father in their infinite wisdom had possibly the only console stereo in Sacramento with an 8 track in it. My brother still to this day denies my mother's remembrance of him hanging off of it as a toddler listening to John Denver singing "Rocky Mountain High." We had a Christmas record that was made by my mother's high school choir from a tiny town in southern Minnesota, that we haven't listened to since she passed away. I remember getting my own stereo with a record player and double tape deck, at which time my "mixed tape" phase began in what can only be described as painful earnest. Going to Tower Records to find music, getting a new record as soon as humanly possible after it was release. Singing my favorite song with a car full of friends. CD's came along and I certainly amassed an impressive collection. (I could probably finance the government of a small African country on what I've spent on music in my lifetime). I remember the album I was listening to when I took the first of many day road trips to Sonoma and Bodega Bay, truly enjoying just meandering along the gorgeous roads of Nor. Cal. And on, and on, and on.....
I'm sure like most people who are getting on in years, I question the cultural relevance of popular music. "It's just not as good as the stuff I listened to when I was younger" seems to be the war cry of the quickly aging. But let me just say this, Pearl Jam's song "Jeremy" speaks as much about bullying and gun violence NOW as it did when that video first came out. Will we be saying the same about Lady Gaga? I'm not so sure.
There are times when I want some chill acoustic music. There are times when piano stuff is nice too. There are the rather frequent times that I get into the car after my dad has driven it and find the channel set to the classical station and listen to it for awhile trying to enjoy it. If I feel particularly aggressive, angry or grumpy I will go for my "Angry White Man" music, with lots of drum, base, and yelling. There's something about that sort of music that's empowering to me; a sort of war cry to the world that the people next to me at stoplights CLEARLY don't understand...
In the entirely INSTANT world we live in these days, I have mixed emotions about the digital music age. I certainly enjoy the speed with which music is available to our ravenous consumer society. But I also find it a bit sad, that I don't come home and find my proud library of music displayed so lovingly on a bookshelf or CD rack. But then again, it's a lot easier to put an iPod or iPhone into my purse and take it along with me. For me, it's certainly true that music soothes this sometimes savage beast.
I was a music major in college for 2 years focusing on vocal performance. I truly love to sing and find myself sometimes amazed how many songs I can sing along to in the car when driving around doing my typical daily deeds. I changed majors because the technical side of music is a lot more challenging than riffing along with a Matisyahu song on the way to the grocery store. When I see someone playing piano or guitar with ease and skill...I'm truly impressed and even a bit jealous. Reading sheet music never came that easy to me. It is truly a gift that I'm always glad they shared.
The first time I ever sang in public by myself I sang the Ave Maria in front of 500 people during a wedding. Coming from a choral experience before that, I can only be glad that there was holy water nearby during my baptism by fire. It was a terrifying, great, nerve racking experience. But it was fabulous none the less. I learned a lot about facing your fears and opening your mouth and just letting it rip.
So wherever you are in your day, is there music in it? When's the last time you listened to the album that you just couldn't get enough of in high school? Here's hoping that you are singing your favorite song, loud and proud.
