Living In Rhythm

Now that we are closing in on 'the holiday season' it seems every time I turn on the television, there is a new and more annoying commercial featuring some lame Christmas carol. Really? Does Blackberry need a holiday commercial? Those Best Buy ads have got to go. Canadian Tire isn't much better.

From a young age, I disliked cheesy Christmas music. For the end of our annual "operetta" in elementary school, we were all forced to sing Have a Holly Jolly Christmas. I hated every damn second of it. I am more a fan of traditional 'carols'. Oh Holy Night is my favourite Christmas song, with my favourite versions being by Martina McBride, Celine Dion (yeah, I said it) and *NSYNC.

That's not to say there are no great modern holiday tunes- there certainly are. I'm partial to anything off any of Harry Connick Jr.'s 4 Christmas albums. Seriously? 4 Albums? That guy must really love the holidays.

There are two 100%, perfectly acceptable Christmas albums (according to me).

1- Boys II Men. Amazing. Basically R&B tunes about buying gifts, snow, and/or breaking up with someone around Christmas. The appearance from Brian McKnight doesn't hurt.
2- *NSYNC. A Capella version of Oh Holy Night is one of, if not the, best version I've heard.

I love the holidays - I won't lie. I love everything about them. The smells, sounds, the feeling of being home with family. Giving gifts. Receiving gifts. Christmas dinner. Drinking wine with my brother while we make fun of my sister and/or the lame shows that are on television on Christmas night. For such a musical family, however, we never really listened to Christmas music together. I'm OK with that.

And I know that I would be the sister that my brother made fun of if he knew my two favourite Christmas albums are by Boys II Men and *NSYNC.....

They say that sense of smell is the sense most closely tied to memory. That may be true. Actually, I'm sure it is. Yet, somehow, I can hear songs and they transport me back to a time or place so vividly, that it makes me feel like I am there again.

I can listen to Maroon 5's first album, and I swear I'm walking down Dundas in Toronto in the snow on my way to the subway station. I can practically feel the sidewalk beneath my feet and the cold on my cheeks.

I just put on Vince Gill today, feeling, for some reason, a strong urge to hear his voice (one of the best in music, for the record.) I have one of his early greatest hits collections, Souvenirs, on my iTunes.

The Heart Won't Lie, his duet with Reba, is one of the songs that I most remember from growing up. It just came on and I could have sworn that if I closed my eyes, I was a six year old girl, sitting in the front seat of our '88 Dodge Caravan, listening to CKBY (Ottawa's country radio station, now Y101) with my dad driving.

When we were kids, my dad used to sing in the car all the time. He has a great voice. I don't know why he stopped. But I can still hear him singing the Vince Gill part of that song, loud and clear. The line, "Old desires make us act carelessly" still gives me goosebumps...

When I was 11 or 12, Vince Gill was the second concert I ever went to. I remember siting there at the Palladium (now Scotiabank Place) with my dad, watching as the guitar tech set up a full rack of guitars. There must have been 15. I was amazed. How could one person need so many guitars??

He played every single one of them.

When I heard that song today, I wondered if my dad has the same memories? I wonder if he remembers driving around with me next to him, listening to country radio and both of us singing along. I wonder if he remembers that concert and the way my eyes went wide as Vince sang with that crystal clear voice of his.

I hope he does.

Sometimes you just have to resolve yourself to the fact that the universe is trying to tell you something. Some people would call it coincidence, some people would call it fate. I'm starting to think it's just a way to get you to open your eyes.

I woke up this morning and almost immediately had a song in my head. Without You, by the Dixie Chicks. I hadn't heard this song in probably 3 years, so I had no clue why it was plaguing me. While I was in the shower and making coffee (not simultaneously), I couldn't get it out of my head.

I sat down with my English muffin and coffee, and turned on my TV like I do every morning so I can catch the news. The TV had been left on CMT. Guess what video was on!? Of course, I watched the whole thing. (Great song, by the way.)

So I was thinking to myself, "that's a little weird, but not that crazy."

The crazy part came when I got in my car and the radio was on. I always have a CD playing. I'm not a fan of the radio. But last night I went for a drive, and took my CD into the house with me afterward, leaving it on the FM country station. Guess what song was playing?

I just had to admit to myself that for some reason, the universe just wanted me to reconnect with that song. There was something about it that I needed to hear today. I'm not sure what it was, but I'll figure it out.

Fave line? "You made it look so easy / Making love into memories. / I guess you got what you wanted. / But what about me?"

It's always exciting to hear new music, no matter what. Scratch that. It's always exciting to hear new good music, no matter what.

One of my favourite things that always surprises me is hearing a really great song, and checking out the artist or band and finding out that the rest of the songs are just as good. Sounds can be deceiving. You can hear a song that you like, only to find that the rest of the songs by that artist are completely different.

I heard Apologies by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals about 6 months ago. I was impressed, but kind of moved on and didn't think about it again. The other day I just heard the song in its entirety for the first time and was completely blown away by how good it is. Just...holy smokes. Amazing lyrics, amazing voice, amazing organ (I'm partial to any song with organ).

Thanks to Myspace, which I loathe on most occasions, I was able to check out a few more of their songs. I am at a loss. Why haven't I been listening to these band all along??

It's an interesting thing when you can hear something and it just fits you. When it can give you that feeling of - THIS is what I've been looking for. THIS is what I've needed to hear. I got that the first time I listened to John Mayer's first album. And again when I heard the RH Factor. And again when I found out about Augustana and Kings of Leon and Dave Barnes and Marc Broussard.

That all makes it sound like it's not a rare thing, but it really is. Sometimes it's hard not to take that for granted.

Since I bought it last week, I've been listening - almost exclusively - to the new John Legend album. It's just...brilliant. Standout tracks are Quickly (which has an incredible guest vocal by Brandy), Take Me Away, Everybody Knows, and This Time.

John Legend, for me anyway, has the unique ability to both excite me and relax me simultaneously. He pairs a slow piano riff with incredibly passionate vocals and lyrics. He has songs that make my chest feel tight when I listen to them (it's a strange way of explaining it, but it's true). Just the range of emotions he elicits blows my mind.

I have a theory, since his last album came out, that all his track 8's are connected. The first being Ordinary People, then Again, and now This Time. In Ordinary People, the line is 'this time we'll take it slow'. Again is about one or both people in the relationship being unable to trust the other, and breaking up because of it. This Time is about wanting another chance. The lyrics: 'I can be all you need. This time its all of me.'

In my overly analytical brain, I want to believe that these three songs are about the same relationship. Whether that's the place Legend wrote them from or not is a whole other story, but I want to think that all the track 8's are connected. Maybe it's something only I have clued into. Maybe it's a fluke. But the themes are so similar that it's like he's telling the story through the songs, and connecting them all together by placing them in the same spot on the album. I love it.

John Mayer did the same thing, but he owned up to it. His song Covered in Rain is directly derived from City Love. Both are incredible songs. And if you have the Any Given Thursday album, you'll see that City Love is track 4 on disc one, and Covered in Rain is track 4 on disc 2.

Also (and again, this could be completely fabricated by me, similar to the John Legend connection), I want to believe that Come Back to Bed and Slow Dancing in a Burning Room are about the same relationship. Come Back to Bed being about wanting to hold on, and Slow Dancing about knowing that you need to let go.

Yes, I read too much into things sometimes, but I like it - it's mine. They are my theories and whether they are completely untrue, or insane, or unimaginable to others, it doesn't matter.

They are still mine.