Living In Rhythm

As happens a lot, I stumbled upon a song that was released to radio that I had for some reason stopped listening to. For whatever reason, as soon as a song is released to the masses, I find that I get over it pretty quickly.

I think I've mentioned it before; that feeling of having something to myself if a song is unreleased. Like maybe no one else has heard it and it's my secret. I know it's ridiculous, but it's just the way it is. A little crazy and a little hard to explain.

But I was listening to If I Aint Got You by Alicia Keys this morning, and it amazed me. I always knew this was a great song - that's no secret. Great lyrics, simple concept. But I cranked up the volume on my headphones and really listened to it for the first time in probably 4 years.

The piano in this song is just so strong. So well arranged. Not too much, not too little, not too eager. Just perfect. Add in a little organ (really hidden, but adds sooo much), and it's just incredible layering.

And sometimes, with songs like this, I am from the school of 'less is more' with background vocals. I love that the first chorus has none. That, to me, is wonderful. Then when the BGs come in, it hits you even harder.

Bass and piano at 1:37 is mind blowing. I literally listened to that bit a dozen times in a row before moving on.

Just a brilliantly written, brilliantly crafted song. I've had it on repeat for an hour, and I still keep hearing little things I've missed.

That is one of my favourite things about music. No matter how many times you hear a certain song, you can still hear new things. Maybe you heard them before, but you're hearing them differently, or you missed it while you were hearing something else. That intricacy never ceases to make me smile. That is what I love.

Two posts in one day? I know...I know...

It amazes me (though it probably shouldn't) how much one song can make you feel. I mean really feel. Like that hands trembling, eyes closed, take a deep breath, feel like you want to scream, kind of feeling.

I started out my day listening to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Then went on to Josh Hoge, Patty Griffin, Damien Rice....Then Youtube got a hold of me, and I got sucked into the vortex, looking for good live videos of John Mayer (for far too long than I'd ever admit to, seeing as I was supposed to be working...oops). That quickly turned into me listening to the insane amount of John Mayer I have on myTunes.

Slow Dancing In A Burning Room. This might be my #2, all time favourite song. Second only to Lover, You Should've Come Over.

This song, the first time I heard it, made me cry. The lyrics, the guitar, the melody, just...everything about it blew me away. I can never skip over this song, or cut it short. I always need to listen to the entire thing. To do justice to what, in my opinion, is one of the most perfectly crafted songs I've ever heard.

So today, when the live version came on my headphones as I tried to work, I just turned it up, closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let the song to do me what it wanted to.

Certain songs, or parts of songs, give me this feeling in my chest that is almost impossible to explain and only one other person has ever really understood. It feels like my chest is just full. I don't know how to describe it any better than that. Just an overwhelming feeling that makes your throat tight and you feel like your heart is going to beat out of your chest. I'm sure that makes me sound like a crazy, but I'm OK with that.

Slow Dancing In A Burning Room, for me, no matter how many times I listen to it, always gives me that feeling. As soon as I hear those opening notes.

Maybe that's what my life is; searching for whatever is going to give me that feeling. Music, love, work...whatever.

For now, the music is the only thing giving me the feeling. But I am perfectly OK with that.

And can I just say? Slow dancing in a burning room is the most perfectly beautiful metaphor for the end of a relationship that I have ever heard. Absolutely brilliant.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=914609

I actually teared up reading this. Pure sportsmanship, compassion. Just...everything I love about sports.

So, last weekend, I was lucky enough to have one of those days that makes you fall in love with things again. I don't know if I'm the only one who has those days, or feels those things, but I love those days.

Lately, I've been feeling completely out of place in this city. It drives me crazy and wears me down, and I feel sometimes like all the reasons I loved this city in the beginning don't apply anymore.

And then I had an amazing Saturday that included beautiful weather, He's Just Not That Into You (I love you, Justin Long), a great lunch with an old friend, and a stroll through the downtown area, stopping in at a huge record store I never get to go to.

So after about an hour of browsing (yes, an hour...I would have spent more if I hadn't started looking like a total shoplifter), I picked up a couple really hard to find albums, and headed home, taking a slow walk through a part of town I never get to, and just generally enjoying the day.

To top it off, Patty Griffin's album, Living With Ghosts, went in my CD player as soon as I got home, and damn, she's good.

I heard Let Him Fly when I was in my first year of college, and immediately needed more from her. But her albums were so hard to find that I just ended up downloading (legally!) a few of her tunes here and there. Then Children Running Through came out in wide release, and I bought it as soon as I could.

No one sings like Patty. No one writes like Patty. She cures me. No matter what I'm feeling, she makes it better. If I'm depressed, she pulls me up with songs like Burgundy Shoes and Up to the Mountain and Heavenly Day. If I need a good cry, it's Let Him Fly and Rain and Not Alone. She's amazing, and I adore her music so much. I don't even think I can put it into words.

So I took a Saturday, and I fell in love with the city again. I fell in love with walking alone, a scarf bundled around my neck and my hands in my pockets. And I fell in love with that record store. And I fell in love with an album from 1996 that I've been searching for for 5 years.

I need more days like that.

So my faith in my musical instincts has been restored.

Since I first heard Until You by Dave Barnes, I have fully intended to do a piano ballad arrangement of it, convinced that it would be THE perfect wedding song. It's been in the works (meaning, in my head) for about 2 years. The only people I ever told about this was my sister, and she didn't really care, which is understandable because she's not a music geek like me, and my brother, who was like "yeah! totally would be a great ballad!"

Dave Barnes himself, released an EP of some of his tunes done in a kind of jazzy tone. Until You done as a piano ballad! Crazy!

Just gave me some confidence that I do know what I'm doing and I do have decent ideas. I mean, if the guy who wrote the song does what I've been wanting to do, that's gotta be a good sign, right?

It sounds quite a bit different than what I would do, but it's so good!