It’s been a while, but I’ve decided to make this a permanent, and hopefully frequently updated, Music Blog. I think it’s a good way to share a lot of my thoughts and emotions, while introducing quality music to any who decide to read. Whoever that may be, thanks for taking the time to do so. But if hardly any one reads, just writing about life and beliefs is enjoyable and therapeutic enough for me personally that it won’t matter. I just hope that I can always find time to write something in my life.
There are many things dear to my heart I could write about. Family is mostly covered by our “real” blog: http://mitchandangela.blogspot.com/ (that also needs some overdue updating). I used to mention sports often when I began this blog for a class assignment in 2010, but I watch so little of them now that I don’t think I’d have hardly anything of worth to say anymore (don’t think I’ve lost my love for sports though; it’s just difficult to follow with a busy schedule and no TV—both good things). Health/nutrition is a maturing passion of mine now, but I’ll have my whole professional career to worry about promoting this. I could write about more philosophical subjects like religion or politics, but these can be quite thorny topics for some, and it’s tough to ever come to firm conclusions/solutions, especially with politics. However, music, this is a way to express my opinions in a more harmless manner. Music is always open for personal interpretation and opinions, yet I can still touch on almost all of these areas: love, politics, God, happiness, pleasure, depression, and even health and nature. Plus, I already know I can enjoy blabbing for paragraphs about artists and songs from my last venture on this blog site.
About a year ago, I finished recapping my favorite 100 musical artists (which of course, has changed a bit with new discoveries, changing styles, and surprises or let-downs from old musicians—maybe I’ll do an update later). Although I enjoyed this, I wanted to do something with more substance this time around. And so the idea for my next few posts came to me. I wanted to share some of the songs that have made me feel something or taught me something that I can share with you. I even have a cheesy name: “Life Lessons Learned through Lyrics”.
Any one that truly knows me knows my “obsession” with music is in most part due to my love of good quality lyrics. I think that’s why my playlists can span, literally, all genres of music. If the lyrics are meaningful and the presentation is not horrible, I will likely enjoy it. Although the occasional, typical song about love or heartbreak can catch my ear, I’m usually drawn to the less common songs that tackle other themes of life such as faith, doubt, society, peace, etc. These are the songs that really show the power of music; they can impact lives, spark change, and even ignite a movement. I can’t hear Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” without feeling like I’m right there in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement and want to do something to help. It’s amazing really, that in just 3 or 4 minutes, so many thoughts and feelings can come from one song. With the ever changing, fast-paced, instant access world we now live in, we need more musicians spreading short, uplifting messages to our youth and adults. Instead, most of what we hear on the radio today only reinforces that live-it-up attitude and the instant gratifications so many of us seek. Hopefully, to any who read my posts, you can be enlightened by better messages and informed about better presenters of those messages.
My plan is to share about 3-5 lyric messages per post, hopefully with Youtube links to the entire songs. But for today, I think you’ve heard enough of me. So I hope the introduction was interesting enough that you’ll come back soon (hopefully within a few days) to read my first post of “Life Lessons Learned through Lyrics.” Here’s a quick preview of some of the topics to come (each post will be a new topic or group of songs):
• “Love Your God”
• Songs that Get Me through Trials
• PBA – Maybe the Best Little-known Songwriter
• Lessons from the “Creek”
• Legendary Songwriters
• Modern-day Songwriters
• Friendship
• Meaningful Love Songs
Be back soon!
