It happens all the time. You could be driving along, minding your own beeswax, when all of a sudden, it starts playing- a song you haven't heard for years and there you, right smack in the middle of high school, a summer vacation or finally, either the happiest time of your life or, unfortunately, the most painful. The kind of pain, of course, that eating lots of unhealthy food can only take away.
But that's the power of yet another of our magical senses, that can instantly transport us into another time, set of emotions and state of mind. Phrases like, "I haven't heard this in years", "I loved this song!" and of course, "turn this off, I hate this song" are commonly uttered during the transmission of these songs. Occasionally we will go looking for them, now with the ease of the internet and all that but the true beauty of these aural moments is that they catch you by surprise, like when you're watching ridiculous amounts of bad television(don't act like it only happens to me) and as you flip through the channels, with a sort of surrender, followed by a sigh screaming "how can there be this many channels and nothing on" and suddenly you find a movie that you love. Usually it's a cheesy movie that you may be even too embarrassed to admit you love, but there you are, like a pig in slop, happy as can be. Since shame is not high on my priority list, I will readily admit that Back to the Future is one of those said indulgences for me. Stop the giggling, I'm sure yours is just as corny. Okay, maybe not, but stop teasing anyway.
I was recently walking in a store and heard the song Angel by Sarah McLachlan come through the speakers and immediately I was taken back to my college days, when I was studying music and practicing piano for hours and hours each and every day. Music filled every corner of my life and every song that was piano dominated, I knew, loved and was studying. This song had just come out on the City of Angels soundtrack, yes another guilty pleasure of late night television and I was blown away. It's played in a 6/8 time signature which for those non-musical folks reading this, means that you count the song in 6 beats instead of the more common 4 beats of most pop music so it has a certain flow that is just beautiful.
Sometimes you forget how far you've come in life until you are gently reminded where you've been. I enjoyed that moment and the wonderful thing about a great song is that that very same song could and most likely does mean a completely different thing to someone else. Different memories, different experiences and different reactions. Two people, with the the same song could start crying, one for happy memories and one for memories that would rather not be visited again. I don't know what it is about music that does this but I do know whatever it does, it does to most of us and it's very cool indeed.
As so much becomes so accessible all of the time, it's not as easy for something to make it's mark so distinctively in your life but I will offer this humble idea. Take a song or two for the next month that you really love and put it at the front of all your playlists. Get a little sick of it even if necessary but it will be a little life investment into the future. Soundtracks to life need two good things:
Good music and good living.
much soundtrack love ~Adrian
Daily Update: I have finally setup the fan club section of the website up again, so be sure to sign up. It's Free and I will be adding pages every week of special music, videos and writings for members to enjoy. Btw, If you already have an account on this website, then you're already a member.
Whenever I think of trying to put into words what my dad meant and continues to mean to me, I find myself struggling for a treasure of words I don't have the map to. I then remember that in matters of love and family, it's not always what we say or how eloquent we say it but that we remember to actually say what those special people mean to us in our lives.
With that behind me, I wish to share a little of who my father was with whoever happens to come across these words and shares similar experiences with their parents.
The are things in life that make us sit back and think, "wow was I lucky!" My dad makes me utter that phrase. Of course, you don't always see how special things are in the day to day of life. Sometimes, buried under the routines and struggles of living, it's easy to grow accustomed to something or someone that is truly special and with each passing day, I realize that I had a dad that was unique, loving, caring, compassionate and a role model that I continue to admire. He had his faults like we all have our faults but his virtues by far outshadowed them all.
An amazing listener, I could call with any issue at 3am to the most receptive and calm ear I could ask for. Advice was sure to follow and although he sometimes had trouble taking his own advice, I see now that he rarely missed with the advice he gave. We share everything from soccer to camping and he rarely missed one of my shows. He didn't have to come. It could have been the middle of the winter with 5 people in the audience but there he was, watching and singing, no humming, along to every song. In all fairness, my whole family supports me this way and I love them for it beyond words.
And so, on this day, August 8, his birthday, I remember him with a full heart, a grateful soul and a thankfulness to God that only He knows. I couldn't have asked for a better father and I hope someday to be half the man that he was.
Sunday morning. Once again. The sun is coming in through every window, with it's streaks of warmth, highways of light pouring over anything that might be in it's way. Leaving no permanent mark, yet making a beautiful intrusion that is always desired and strangely missed though we know that we will see it and feel it again. As I sit writing this, I feel that warmth and begin a new day that can be the day that will forever change my life as I know it.
Will this be the day?
In the meantime, while I wait, I share with you a beautiful piece of music from the movie Amelie. I have shared other music from this movie and thought it was well worth it to share this one. It is called La Valse D'Amelie and I really think you'll like it. There's a full orchestrated version of it online as well but I am sharing the piano version today.
Hope you like it and I am off to get some stuff done, write some music and write some chapters in the book. I can't wait to finish it.
have a beautiful Sunday and hope something unexpected happens
much Valse love ~Adrian
