my questionable musical tastes

i believe there are different levels of music for different moments in our lives.

having worked a minor gig in the music industry, i'm sensitive to the fact that not all music is good. in fact, a lot of music is really not good. at all. although it's safe to say my standards for determining "good" music would be less strict than cook's and ottley's standards.

much less strict. 

i recall a time when ottley needed to borrow my car because one of the bands we worked with - blindside, which is by far harrison's, and graham's, most requested musical choice - was in town and his car wasn't big enough to get them all where they needed to go. so off they went in my sedan. when ottley got back to the office he asked me "what in the world were you listening to?!!?!" i had left the volume cranked on a song i had, at the time, been obsessed with. it was by a christian band. a canadian band. not sure now who they were or what the song was. obviously, it was memorable.

that last sentence was dripping with sarcasm. just fyi.

when confronted with the fact that ottley and blindside, who are creators of very good music, discovered i'd been jamming to some really not so good music, i was embarrassed. sheepish. red in the face. just all together mortified.

but i had a justification.

ya know how, at that time, before the death of tangible and the birth of digital, you could buy a cd because it had one song that you loved? anyone else do that? just one song was all it took for me and that cd was a keeper.

well, whatever that canadian christian song was, it was speaking to me. and i had it on repeat in my car at all times.

that song was my anthem for that moment in my life. and it definitely was not "good" music.

which leads to my point...this is how i categorize the different levels of music:

first there's good music. like, really good music. respectable music. legendary music. but, then, there are times in life when you just don't feel legendary. maybe you are feeling stressed. maybe you are just in the mood for a more mellow vibe. second level music includes stuff like enya. are you feeling me here? and, lastly, when things get really bad, you might have to turn to christian music. i'm not talking good christian music. (some would argue if there even is such a thing). i'm talking this-song-is-speaking-to-my-heart-inspite-of-itself christian music.

and that's what i had cranked in my car that fateful day when ottley and blindside drove off into the sunset and forevermore questioned my musical taste.
 
fast forward ten years - TEN YEARS?! - and my musical tastes have grown to accommodate children's music. so what i'm saying is that things have gotten worse, not better. sigh.

and i've recently found myself a new anthem for this moment in my life. and it's another christian song. and if it was the olden days and i had to buy the entire album just hear this one record over and over again, i would do it.

by the way, did you know that's the correct terminology? a record is one song. an album is a collection of songs. just fyi.

and i would keep it on repeat, on high volume, in my car at all times.

because it speaks to me.

and, frankly, i think it could be anyone's anthem...for any time in life. depressed? needing a magic word? weary? dealing with life-changing disorders? or maybe you are just an exhausted mom? or an exhausted mom of a newborn? or an exhausted mom of a newborn and toddler? or an exhausted mom of a newborn and toddler who is potty training?

AHHHHH!

this song is for you. it's for me. it's for anyone. it's for everyone. whether they know it or not.

wanna hear it? click HERE.

you listen and tell me if it speaks to you, too.


and, ottley, if you're reading, whatcha think? can we put this song anywhere in the vicinity of the good music category? (wink)