3 posts tagged “music”

I'm listening to my iPod more now than I ever have and lovin' it. I've always been a music hound but this work situation

has just cranked that up a notch or two. I find, with the iPod, there are tunes that come on when it is on shuffle that just stop me in my tracks for one reason or other. Here are three that either make me stop and listen, or just make me grin like a stupid fool.

In the "stop me in my tracks" category, we have "Sand and Water" by Beth Nielsen Chapman. There is just  something about the simplicity and the emotional rawness of the lyrics demands that I stop and pay attention. I would love to be able to perform this someday myself.

In the "big stupid grin" category, we have the live version of "Mama Just Wants To Barrelhouse" by Bruce Cockburn. Raise your hand if you are tired of this song. No? Good. When this came on at the gym the other day, I must have looked retarded, hauling myself up the

Gravitron with this silly smile on my face. This live version is the first one I heard and I realize that when I've been performing it, I've been playing it too fast. I made this repeat several times throughout the workout so I could remind myself of a few the the nuances that I'd clearly forgotten. No idea why this song appeals to me so much. And, NO, I don't do all that fancy schmancy Bruce Cockburn guitar work. I just, you know, play it.

The "big stupid grin" category also contains, surprise surprise, anything by Julie Andrews. On my iPod, I have two albums she recorded before the disastrous surgery in the summer of 1997 that killed The Voice. Here is a Broadway standard that has always been one of my favourite pieces of music anyway, regardless of who sings it. There is something about Dame Andrews, in particular her singing voice, that just pushes some ancient button. No idea why, and I know that many many others do NOT share this button with me. That's ok

- diversity makes us strong, right?

I'm having great fun loading music into my new iPod thingie. I find myself drawn to music that already has layers of

memory to it.

For example, Joni Mitchell's live album from the early 70's, Miles of Aisles, has been with me all throughout my 20's, while living, laughing, loving my way through the Niagara Region.  There is geography attached to this album ... I also remember it as  the soundtrack to my first drive to the Michigan Women's Music Festival in 1990. This album has seen me through about 10 different apartments, break-ups and earnest coffee klatches in which the impact of post-modern thought on feminism were discussed. Now, it comes with me to Hawaii for a new layer of memory.

Jane Siberry is another nostalgia trip for me. I have specific memories for specific songs, often involving driving ... occasionally involving sobbing ... or my friend Trix and I obsessively hitting "repeat" on The Taxi Ride when she was getting over a particularly bad heartache.

80's retro stuff reminds me of the crazy L/G (there was no B/T or "queer" at the time) dances and intense crushes I had when I was just coming out. Erasure, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Pet Shop Boys ... yep ... all comes back to me. Huey Lewis and the News makes me think of driving along the Welland Canal in St. Catharines, windows down, music blaring, shades on, groovin' ... I wanna new drug ...

I think iPods make it possible for people to re-connect with their nostalgia trips, musically. I'm the kind of person who associates particular visuals or conversations or people with particular songs. When I hear the song, I'm taken back to a special moment in time. Wondering if this happens to others - what songs or artist take you right back? And, where do they take you to?

Years ago, I envisioned a particular type of life and somehow, by more hooks than crooks, I seem to have gotten there. At least I'm at that place until the vision changes, and then I'm off on the quest again. Nonetheless, sometimes I forget to notice that I am, in fact, in a good place.

Those several years ago, I wanted to live alone in an open, airy space that was truly "mine". I wanted a wide variety of work and "leisure" activities. I hoped for an assortment of interesting friends who bring richness to my life. I needed a certain level of income to maintain my life in some comfort. Perhaps the best way for me to describe my life is to look at a 24 hour snippet ...

Monday - early evening - played in a really fun hockey game
Monday - late evening - dinner and catching up with a good friend whom I'll convert to blogging someday because she is an outstanding writer and a deeply interesting person with an interesting life and I wanna read about it! :-)
Tuesday - morning - teach a class
Tuesday - early afternoon - meet with students about their project work
Tuesday - late afternoon - massage appointment!
Tuesday - early evening - jam session at a friend's house

When I look at this, I shake my head at the life I lead. Given how I was raised and what the expectations were, it is almost too good to be true. Recently, I've been providing some help to a friend deciding whether to leap from a corporate, high-stress yet high-income life to something more like my teacherly existance. I really can't recommend it highly enough.

In a few weeks, the major assignments, exams and projects will arrive and I'll feel swamped and overwhelmed. This will be at the same time as some of my client work will become more demanding. I will lose sleep wondering how I will manage all of it.

But ... not today ... :-)

My American friends are celebrating their Thanksgiving this week. I guess I'm feelin' it too. Happy Thanksgiving to those marking the occasion.

Oh ... orange juice, poached eggs on whole wheat bagel, coffee, multi-vitamin ... for those who have missed this part. :-)