I had endured some difficult times at that point, and at the time I had a poor concept of who God was. Music was my silent prayer, music was my hidden place. And while it’s hard to call the disturbed growling of Eddie Vedder uplifting, or the nihilistic musings of Chris Cornell very comforting, there is something about music that transcends any form of conscious thought, reverberates inside the places that make up who we are.
I will never forget the first time I heard Barber’s Adagio for Strings. My grandparents had given me a new stereo system and I had received a CD collection called “Classical Music for People who Hate Classical Music” from my mom because I think she was getting tired of hearing Kurt Cobain telling me to come as I am. I started playing one of the discs in the background while I was playing Sonic and Knuckles on the Sega Genesis. I could not hear the beginning of the song so I pressed pause on the Sega and went to turn up the volume on my stereo. What I heard next was like somebody telling me to sit down and be quiet while they tell you something that will irrevocably change your life. For the next ten minutes violins and cellos coursed powerfully through my body and I was powerless to stop the weeping. I sobbed for about 30 minutes after the piece was done, and couldn’t listen to it again for another week.
It was only later that I realized that what I was hearing was the unbearable sorrow of the cross (http://www.delmarscove.com/adagioII.php).
I don’t know what purpose these anecdotes serve other than to say that music has played a very formative role in my life and continues to do so. I would also like to invite any of my innumerable readers to leave a comment naming any particular song that has affected you, the situation surrounding it, why it means so much, etc.
Also, here is a playlist of songs that my wife and I picked out which possibly best represents our current musical tastes as a family:
The Arcade Fire (Funeral) - Tunnels
Badly Drawn Boy (One Plus One) - This is that New Song
Coldplay (Parachutes) - Don't Panic
Counting Crows (August and Everything After) - Round Here
Dave Matthews Band (Crash) - #41
Death Cab for Cutie (Plans) - Marching Bands of Manhattan
Eisley (Rooom Noises) - I Wasn't Prepared
Elbow (Leaders of the Free World) - Great Expectations
Frou Frou (Details) - Let Go
Innocence Mission (Befriended) - Tomorrow on the Runway
The Killers (Hot Fuss) - All These Things That I Have Done
Pearl Jam (Big Fish Soundtrack) - Man of the Hour
The Pernice Brothers (Yours, Mine, and Ours) - Weakest Shade of Blue
Radiohead (OK Computer) - Let Down
The Shins (Oh Inverted World) - Caring is Creepy
The Stars (Set Yourself on Fire) - Your Ex-Lover is Dead
The White Stripes (White Blood Cells) - We're Going to be Friends
7 Comments:
Counting Crows::Recoverying the Satellites::A Long December
Life's full of fast and slow moments. My first summer in New Zealand was freezing and slow (it's their winter). Candice and I were at a weird spot in our relationship. . . I was weighing the costs of an ecumenical marriage and mission.
It seemed like I would have to give up a major relationship in my life: either Candice or Churches of Christ.
I was at a youth camp, and this kid (1 year younger than me!) sounded just like Adam as he floated across the piano. Luke and I became instant friends as I came in on the harmony.
We didn't figure everything out that summer, but I left with love and hope. "there's reason to believe. maybe this year will be better than the last."
Although my listening habits have become relatively narrow, my tastes have always been extremely wide. I guess everyone believes they have good taste in music, but I don't often meet people with an appetite for good music in a truly eclectic range of styles. Somehow I managed to grow up on Country, big hair bands, rap, and AVB, and Alternative all at the same time. I integrated classic rock somewhat later, but it actually became the dominant genre for a while. I played trombone for years, and while that does necessarily imply appreciation for even classical music, I do have a love for a wide range of instrumental music. In high school I met Ska (thanks Tyson), at which any number of people turned their nose up, but they just don't realize the beauty of good Ska. Anyway, I like music.
To select one song experience is difficult, but I'll go with a more scandalous and random one. 2Pac, "I Ain't Mad At Cha." I would post the lyrics, but like I said...scandalous. Nonetheless, I heard this song at a point in my life when I was deciding whether to leave behind a number of things, such as profanity-ridden rap. It's about a friend of 2Pac with whom he used to do all the things young lads will do. The friend was smaller and not quite as cool. He friend converted to Islam and started living a different kind of life. "I Ain't Mad At Cha" are 2Pac's words of blessing to his friend to go on with his new life.
Now, the primary conduit of rap influence in my life was a relative who was like a big brother to me. I was the smaller, and less cool, but he always took me out anyway to do what cool people do. As I said, I was making decisions to live differently myself, and I knew that would mean a change in relationship between us. 2Pac became a meaningful expression of what I wanted from my relative--a blessing to convert. That it was the kind of music we listened to together made it even more powerful. As it turned out, that is the last secular rap song I remember listening to.
bobby -- recovering the satellites is an awesome album. i can put that cd in and sing until i hurt my throat (especially the first two songs). i admire how your relationship transcends denominational boundaries.
greg - i'm afraid my rap experience is limited to two aspiring poets named Kris and Kross. they succeeded in making me jump. i felt sincere pain and empathy when they missed the bus. actually, i have lately enjoyed listening to some outkast and dangerdoom, but i get tired of having to weed out the songs with profanity.
--Dave Matthews: Under the table and dreaming : Dancing Nancies especially, but the whole album is really beautiful, plus the name of the album brings back memories of myself under my parent's dining table...dreaming, drawing on the wood to the point that there was no more room left for my creative images. Of course I got in trouble when my mom found out, but I think she understood somewhat.
--Dave (again) - Crash - Two Step- Bryan and I had just found each other :)
--Radiohead - The Bends - Fade Out
--Radiohead - OK computer (all of it)
That's it for now.
i love my wife for many reasons. the fact that our music tastes generally coincide makes life SO much easier. i remember the pained looks of my roommates (kyle, greg, tyson) when i would start playing OK Computer. now i get a beautiful smile instead!
we just wanted you to like ska too.
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