Sunday night, I posted on Instagram saying I’ve been living off a diet of John Mayer songs (yum!) lately. And while that’s been true for a majority of the last 14 years, my relationship with music ebbs and flows just like any other.
At times, I’m so happy I want to sing and dance to any song. And there are other times, when I need songs that reach far into my soul, that it’s like the singer/songwriter lived the moments of my life, and took the words straight from my brain before I even understood a word that would even fit the way I felt.
I know that soul searching is a life-long journey, but I sure as hell feel like I’ve done a bunch of it over the last six months. I’m finally realizing just how creative a space I’m in right now… and it’s pretty cool. In this headspace, sometimes I feel like the only people I can relate to are the ones in my playlist. So, pretty much everywhere I go, I’ve got music on — in my car, in my apartment, and anywhere in between (I’m addicted to my headphones).
I wish you places that still so still, where people never ever change and never ever will.”
—Marc Broussard, Gavin’s Song
Many years ago, Daniel Levitin (a prominent psychologist who studies the neuroscience of music at McGill University in Montreal), wrote a book, “This Is Your Brain on Music,” which has been on my reading list for years. But seriously, what DOES happen to our brains when we hear a song?
Don’t worry, I found an article on CNN.com that has some cool facts. One, listening to music lowers anxiety (YAS!). It also mentioned a study that proves how music has the power to unite all sorts of different people.
The kind of music I listen to definitely depends on how I’m feeling or what I’m going through at any given time. In general, I love all sorts of different music.
I love listening to John Mayer, well for several reasons, but for one, I feel his sound and his lyrics have matured at the same rate as my life. His music was pop-heavy when I was in high school, and over the years, the music has developed into blues, and even grazing western sounds, and his lyrics have covered self-discovery, love, marriage, family, and life expectations. He sings my soul, y’all.
Music combines my two loves: dancing and words. I love to dance (even though I’m not good at it like I once was) and I love words, and words that go together in a way that make sense to the masses.
What kinds of music have you been listening to lately? What songs, no matter how old or new, really make you feel some type of way?
“So scared of getting older, I’m only good at being young.”
—John Mayer, Stop This Train
The Bitter Lemon 