Song of the Day

I find it intriguing that various songs can capture my mood perfectly. Some days it's melancholy piano, some days my heart beats in time to French techno, yesterday it was Jack Johnson, and today my world is rocked by Gypsy punk. Music is so fundamental to who we are, though oftentimes it's a subconscious realization. We don't do well with silence - it's the complex harmonies and intricate musical textures that can create intense emotion and soothe troubled minds. Or just make you happy.

I've been exploring music this summer resulting in some delightful discoveries. In Santa Cruz last week, I found a hole-in-the wall (almost literally) record store and spent almost an hour cruising down aisle after aisle learning new names, new sounds, new voices. Yesterday, I made a mix CD for a awesome friend at work with all my indie-folk favorites, a couple swahili tunes, and a sprinkling of 80s rock. He's promised to make me one too with his "undiscovered favorites"; I can't wait to hear it.

Music is fascinating. I can throw out the technical descriptions, how distinct ostinatos beneath the intertwining harmonic patterns create pleasurable sound waves to our delicately balanced ears....but music is more than that. It's an outpouring of someone's soul. It's a collective bond we share with humanity. It's language without words. It's passion and power and emotion and freedom, all tied up into a string of beautiful notes.

If I could be a song today, this would be the one.