I don't know how people get through their day without music. It serves so many purposes for me.
I do remember a time in college where music allowed me to wallow in my own misery. Thank God I got over that. I made a mix tape with some of the most depressing songs I had. It's a wonder I didn't off myself or something.
I remember in 2004 when I was driving the long and horrible drive to Progressive, I bought Dido's Life For Rent. I read something about how she couldn't even get through "White Flag" without crying a little, and thought, wow, that's amazing. You could hear it in her voice.
But as much as that was a break-up album, it ended with a song called "See the Sun." The big line that always stood out to me was in the bridge:
Do you remember telling me you found the sweetest thing of all
You said one day of this was worth dying for
So be thankful you knew her at all
But it's no more
I had no idea at the time how useful that song would be to me some time later. That album still makes me smile. It's really quite an achievement. I snagged a live version on iTunes tonight.
Liz Phair's Somebody's Miracle last year was a little darker, but also a great sympathetic album to a more general set of woes. It's more of a, "I'm plugging away and doing the best I can" kind of thing, which lends a lot of perspective.
Some of the live Blue Man Group stuff, including the "Baba O'Riley" cover I pulled off of a TV performance, motivates me because of all the drums and violin shredding. Outstanding stuff.
I think that's why I went through such a long techno/electronic phase. It's like the zillion beats per minute and percussion created a sense of urgency to get my shit together.
I can't imagine a world without music.
I honestly think the only time when I'm not listening to music is in classes.
I listen to it on car rides. I listen to it walking around campus. I listen to it at work. I listen to it at home.
If I'm not listening, it's because I'm talking to somebody or something.
I love music.
For myself, music is fundamental to who I am.
I can equate almost every significant (and most insignificant) moments in my life with some sort of music or song.
My youngest biological child is a musician and I could not be prouder. Just today we got a piano, and without a single lesson he is sitting on the bench playing away. He plays guitar, bass, baritone and tenor sax, even bagpipes. I have instilled the importance of music in my children, and in-turn they inspire me with their choices. My oldest (Colin - age 20) has turned me on to Bright Eyes - sort of an Emo Violent Femmes, vocally that is, as the music is far from the stripped down 3 Chords No Waiting Femmes style. My daughter (Madeliene - 17) is really into Pink Floyd and the Beatles, add in the White Stripes for good measure. Trevor (15 - the guy I first menioned) is into the Ramones, VFemmes and Eels - add in Horse the Band (Nintencore) for his choice.
But I am rambling . . .
We too are a musical family. I've played piano since I was 8, and like Eric, I can equate almost every significant momment in my life with some song. There is music I'll listen to specifically to portray how I'm feeling, or how I want to feel.
Gordon plays woodwinds, flute and keyboards, and Ian plays keyboard, and acoustic, bass and electric guitar.
I can't imagine a life without music.
This topic reminds me why my iPod was the best purchase I've made in years. I own hundreds of cd's dating back to when they first came out. It's helped me re-discover the reasons why I bought them in the first place.
Example, the other day I heard the last three songs of "The Power Station's" first cd, Go To Zero, Harvest For The World, and best of all...Still In Your Heart. It just made me feel so good to hear those songs again. I can relate to what Jeff is saying.
-cm
Music was a refuge for me in my childhood. Choir, piano, musicals... these were the places where I felt like I belonged, like I was safe and no one could hurt me. I can remember singing in district choir one year and having the conductor say to us that he believed that young people were more capable of expressing emotion in their music than older people sometimes, because they feel things so acutely, because their emotions are so intense and overwhelming. I took that to heart, and it will stay with me forever. I finally felt like my presence mattered, like I was an important person. I remember it every time I perform, every time I listen. Music is my sanctuary, music is EVERYTHING, music is life. And Eric - a kid listening to the beatles in this day and age gives me hope for the future.