mood music

Hi,

Remember me…. I’ve missed you.

You know that moment in a concert, when the rhythm of the drums begins to beat inside your chest — and your blood and breathing seem to pulse in time with the music…. yes? The music is so palpable it’s on your tongue with a taste and color vibrant with the song.

It’s been one of those weeks…. joy and stress and work and play (and music, but there’s always music) pitched just a little higher, the volume nudged just a tad louder. For a woman who gets lost in rhythms, it’s not a bad thing — quite the contrary — it’s absorbing, exhilarating and you end up a wee bit sleepy.

On a daily basis I meet the most entertaining people one can imagine — think of all the stories you hear in a single day?! This past weekend, however, my co-worker and I took a road trip to a Children’s Literature Conference. What a way to start the week — the featured authors were Frank Serafini, Jim Murphy, and David Wiesner. Frank, an author, photographer, and professor, gave one of the most compelling, educational and outright delightful presentations I’ve heard in a long time (no one will ever match Timothy Leary, but that’s another story). Jim was engaging and David Wiesner, wow! Have you seen his illustrations? He bends reality in an incredibly kid-logical kind of way, that makes his books both art and captivating stories…

Full-time librarian, teenagers (!! when did that happen?), back in school, and trying to write means that sometimes sleeping is less of a priority,,, no big deal except your senses become sharper. Not sharper, given I’m pretty sure that physiologically lack of sleep does something opposite — maybe what I mean is opened, more attuned, more “sensory.”

In other words, I’ve had the most incredible week of music, and hearing from friends and learning… ok, when I discover something new, even though 8 billion people probably knew beforehand, I still get a jolt! Today, I got reminded of all the joy I’ve experienced, while tonight I got to hear the most amazing live performance of the Carolina Chocolate Drops!

Now I will say, I giggled inappropriately at the opening act. You had to, bless their hearts. The first song was a ballad about Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot told from the viewpoint of police chief, Parkins Gillespie. And that was the beginning… yet, it was brief and Rhiannon Giddens and the rest of the band took the stage. Quick backstory, while she was still in North Carolina, she sang in the choir of the local Episcopal church I attended. Even then, her vocals would take you through a rainbow of emotion! My favorite song is on the list below — but she killed tonight with a Hank Williams cover that is astonishing…..

full throttle tunes:

• Country Girl (Carolina Chocolate Drops) — peaches, silver queen corn, and red clay — reminding me that wherever I am, the south gave me my voice…
• Fields of Gold (Eva Cassidy) — yes, it is Sting’s song and he is the absolute definitive version, but the late Eva Cassidy pours a richness over the lyrics that makes them a little shivery.
• Many the Miles (Sara Bareilles) — I know it’s pop, I love her voice and this song — there’s so much
• And I Wait (the Strange Familiar) — I just love the band name, and the irony that I have any patience….
• Run (Snow Patrol) — lots of emotion, probably too much — but it makes me move
• Rhythm of Love/Can’t Help Falling in Love (Straight No Chaser) — How happy can one song be — it’s like one of the “whistle while you work” Disney songs — except it’s not and it truly is cool
• I Will Dare (the Replacements) — somehow when this song is on — nothing is difficult 🙂
• Accidentally in Love (Counting Crows) — life is just made for this song, just a little haphazard
• What you see is What you get (Save Ferris) — seriously good band name, and kind of an updated My Life by Billy Joel
• Slip Away (Clarence Carter) — a song that can make you lean back against the couch, launch into a daydream and then get up and dance
• Wonderful Remark (Van Morrison) — what a delightful premise for a song
• Good Morning Sunshine (Alex Day) — my girls introduced me to Alex, and he is just fun!

 

 

There are times when we stop, we sit still. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper. –> James Carroll

Take care,
Aly