Find the music in your life
By Daniel J. Calderón  Daniel J. Calderón
We named ourselves thus because of the club we would frequent. It was Jackson Street Bar. My group of six (including me) would go there every Friday night. For the first several weeks, we were required to go out in our uniforms so we stood out from the rest of the crowd and the bartenders remembered us the entire time we were in school and going to the club – six months. We were indeed a grand and glorious group of friends. It’s always struck me as odd that we rarely keep in contact. I still call one member of our group and he's still doing well. He’s probably one of the best friends I’ve had.But, back to topic.
There are songs that bring back the good times, like “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” (The Blues Brothers version). There are songs that will always bring back the bad ones, like “I am a Rock.” Songs to sing along with, like “Jack and Diane” (which has one of the saddest and truest lines when he sings “Hold on to 16 as long as you can – Changes come around real soon make us women and men”), and songs to endure simply because they have a connection to something else (I place “The Macarena,” a truly annoying thing, in this latter category). Music is a universal phenomenon that binds us and helps us put things into perspective.
Poetry may be passé, but songs remain. Why? There’s a quote for that one – “Words and music, Word Man. Words and music.” I think we, as a people, have forgotten the power of words. We’ve become too heavily reliant on weapons and strength of arms and we’ve forgotten that words are infinitely more powerful. If you change a person’s mind, that person then can change others. If you kill someone, you’ve changed nothing and you’ve most likely angered anyone who had close ties with the deceased.
“Someday at Christmas, men won’t be boys playing with bombs like kids play with toys.” I’m not naïve enough to think blind pacifism is the way; but neither am I a jingoist who feels we’re in the right because we’re stronger. I don’t think it’s just us. I don’t think we’re the only nation on earth infatuated with our own strength. I think there are others who are even more infantile in their belief that might is the way to change things.
But I wonder what their songs are. I wonder what music moves them. What music moves you? What music, what words help define your life? It changes, as I’ve said. One day you may be all about “Eye of the Tiger” and another day, you may be more “The Boxer.” It’s all a matter of perspective and circumstance.
I think we need to find our music. I think if we can put soundtracks to our lives (much like “The Wonder Years,” which is one of the best shows ever) then we can understand our motivations. If we can understand the soundtracks of others’ lives, then we might be able to see just how similar they are to ours. Granted, there are some differences between Journey and … Hmmm… I don’t know any speed metal groups, but I’m sure they’re out there. The point is that although the genres are different, many of the feelings, the motivations, and the raison d’etre are still there. They are still very similar. If you looked up the Cavalier poets and read some of their work, you’d see similar themes in some of the music of the 1960s.
Language is among the highest and most convoluted ways we, as human beings, express what we are feeling and what we are thinking. Poetry is among the highest form of language and songs help make poetry more accessible.
Take Ecclesiastes from the Bible. The Byrds made that one famous in 1965 with “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To everything, there is s a season).” Poetry is out there with numerous singer-songwriters. Not everything is vapid syntho-pop like The Spice Girls. And you might be surprised where you’ll find lyrics that move you. Who would have thought The Scorpions would release “Wind of Change” and that the song would be an anthem for encouraging a better world? When listening to music, I think the only thing you can take for granted is that you may be surprised where you find your song. What is your soundtrack? What poetry moves you? Take some time to really listen to the words in your favorite songs. Take some time to listen to the words of some songs you never really thought you’d like. Then (and this may be a leap of faith for a lot of you) take some time to read some poetry. You may be pleasantly bowled over by what you find. “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you will join us.” Just a thought… |
