Let's Talk Music

I love music. Like, seriously LOVE music. I can’t imagine life without it. It speaks to me in ways only music can. I wish I was a better musician. I can sing, but that’s it. I tried learning the clarinet and the piano, but neither really stuck. I can bang out a few bars on a keyboard, but no more. Singing, though? I sing all the time. Ask my kids. Drives them crazy some days (Mooo-ooooom…*accompanied by an enormous eyeroll 😄). Anyway, music is one of those things that will always be a part of my life. If I start to go deaf with old age, I will find the loudest speaker I can and turn it up. Sorry, neighbors... It lifts me up when I need it, calms my mind, and just generally makes me happy. I even write to it.

When Twilight first came out, Stephenie Meyer wrote something somewhere where she said she listened to a certain playlist to put her in the right mindset when she wrote. I remember thinking, how does that work? I wrote drivel just for myself at that point, but if I listened to music, it was just on the radio, or I’d pop in my favorite CD (yes, I’m that old—I even remember cassette tapes). Now that I write for more than just me, I still listen to music, but it’s more curated. I still don’t have a specific list for the type of writing I’m doing—I just like music.

Take right now, for instance. As I sit here typing this post, I have my earbuds in and I’m listening to a playlist I put together on Amazon. I’ve been on a Pentatonix kick of late. And the solo stuff from their former bass singer, Avi Kaplan. If you haven’t ever checked him out, do it! Even if you don’t like his genre (country/folk/bluegrass), just go listen to him sing. He’ll rip out your soul, pummel it to bits, then smush it back together and stuff it back inside you with his voice alone. I even found the stuff he did for Blade Runner 2049 on YouTube. Someone put part of one of the songs on a loop, and it’s filled with his low bass growl and some serious subwoofer action. AH-MAY-ZING! It makes a nice accompaniment to writing. I can’t sing along.😂 The 1917 soundtrack is nice for writing too. The song at the end of the movie, where Schofield goes and sits beneath the tree, is haunting and beautiful. You can feel the soldier’s joy tempered by the pain he’s been through. Hits you in all the feels.

So, what’s music to you? Is it just background noise for a busy life? Something that lifts your soul? A great way to exercise?? Let me know!