For lunch today, I bought a chicken bowl and a chocolate shake from Hogi Yogi. Why? I don’t know…call it feel good food. It’s food that invokes happy feeling. music does that same thing as feel good food, except that we can invoke more than just happy feeling with music. Of course, food can invoke a lot of different feeling as well, but the range of good feeling is somewhat limited with food. With music we can enjoy a wider range of emotions, even feel negative emotions and still ‘enjoy’ the experience.
For example in You Can’t Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones we can experience the liberating realization that sometimes in life we can’t get what we want in life, but somehow things work out and ultimately we get what we need. At least in the midst of trials, it’s nice to hear someone else tell you such sage words of advice.
Who hasn’t felt their spirits rise as the result of hearing the refrain of Bobby McFerrin’s Don’t Worry, Be Happy. The song was worn out in it day, but only because it was so therapeutic to it’s listeners who longed to be uplifted and encouraged.
Weezer’s hit the big time in 1994 with Undone - The Sweater Song. 1994 was a hard year for me, kind of like last year, and that song really hit home. I felt like I was unraveling little by little. Thankfully I’m starting to feel better. But my point is that Weezer really seemed to be able to put into a song the way I was feeling. Here is a case where a song can make one feel good and bad all at the same time. “If you want to destroy my sweater, pull this thread as I walk away, watch me unravel I’ll soon be naked, Lying on the floor, I’ve come undone.” Now those are insightful lyrics. It’s funny to talk about a sweater unraveling, but the imagery is unique.
Finally, James Taylor on his album Sweet Baby James sings about the loss of a friend in his song Fire and Rain. Part of it is a story about a friend, Suzanne, who committed suicide while he was in London. His friends didn’t tell him about the suicide for six months for fear it would shake him up. You can feel the regret in his voice at this loss. “I’ve seen fire, and I’ve seen rain, I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, But I always thought that I would see you again.”
Where would we be without music…and where would we be without good food? I’m going to go finish my chocolate shake.
No Comments on "Stones, Sweaters, Fire and Rain"