Listen to the Music

Music has been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. I have talked about my love and my addiction to music many times. I consider myself a melomaniac. It is music that has been the biggest influence in my life, it’s been my escape when I’ve been left feeling beaten, it consoled me when I felt like I had no one to turn to (even though I did,) it has spoken to me in ways where everything else has failed.

I have met people who have told me they don’t understand what I mean when I say I feel the music, they simply just hear it, it inflicts no emotions or memories for them, and this baffles me.

If someone told me I had to lose either my hearing or my vision, I would lose my vision because the thought of never hearing music again devastates me.

Simply put, I LOVE music!!

Let’s go back, to the 80’s, my early years, when I first discovered the sounds that made my body move. I’m going to do a series of these posts, sharing the artist’s that have made an impact on my life, and the songs I have fallen in love with over the years.

The Beatles

Can you guess my favorite Beatle?

I have spoken many times of my love for this band. When I was just a baby I used to dance around to their music.

A Hard Day’s Night was the first cassette I ever owned, given to me by mother for my birthday when I was only 3 or 4. She gave me the original and also The Chipmunks version. Haha!

Fast forward a few years to the early 90’s. I was 7ish, and I heard Yellow Submarine. This song, oh boy, this song…

This is the song that made me realize I didn’t just want to sing and dance to music, I wanted to learn how to play it. So when I hit the fourth grade and our music teacher wanted to start a concert band, I jumped at the chance. I picked up the clarinet and it sounded much more like honks than actual music, but I was playing. Of course, like every child I had started out playing “Hot Cross Buns,” on the recorder, but I fell in love.

I still play the clarinet, and I’m still learning. I’m good, but I’m not a master, and I want to be better, so I’m going to practice my little heart out and I am going to master Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue!!

Anyway, I’m getting off track a little…so learning the clarinet. I learned how to play “Twinkle Twinkle little star” and “Joy To The World,” ya know, the easy stuff, but the first real song I learned how to play? You guessed it, “Yellow Submarine!!”

Have you ever seen the movie? It’s so much fun to watch, it’s visually stimulating with bright colors, it has humor with the blue meanies, and putting things into perspective with “Nowhere Man.”

Nowhere Man is one of my all time favorite songs, but I have many, many favorites from the Beatles!!

The Beatles shaped today’s music, listen to interviews with many other artist’s and they will tell you The Beatles inspired them. Even Metallica, with songs like “Helter Skelter” and “Come Together.”

The Beatles have a wide range of eclectic songs and were seen as taboo in 1960’s Britain with their suits and long hair. Haha! Oh, how the times have changed!! It’s kind of sad that “I want to Hold Your Hand,” was seen as risque and in today’s music, artists don’t beat around the bush they just very blatantly sing about random sexual acts they want to perform and want performed on them.  Even when I was a teenager Nelly, Ludacris, and many other rap and non-rap artists were very derogatory. That’s not to say artist’s weren’t back in the 60’s and even earlier, perhaps “Why Don’t We Do it in the Road,” by the Beatles was missed by listening ears. Hmmmm….. But in the grand scheme of things, songs seemed to be a bit classier back then. A song about hand holding would be refreshing in today’s world.

I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite Beatles songs, but stay tuned for more artists in the weeks and probably months to come!!

Let It Be. The first time I heard this song, I was under the impression that “Mother Mary,” was the virgin mother, Mary, however; Paul wrote this song about his own mother, named Mary who was very wise and when Paul would feel the weight of the world on his shoulders his mother would come to him and just tell him to “Let it be.” Now I have that quote by my desk at work as a reminder that more often than not, I just need to let it be, whatever it is. I actually really want these words tattooed on my body.

When I’m Sixty Four! Such a fun little tune, and oh, so sweet!! Also, just listen to that beautiful clarinet!!

I will. Now, I don’t have the best of singing voices (although, I’ve been told I can sing, I think those people must not have the greatest hearing,) but I sing anyway. I sang this to Neil on our anniversary a couple of years ago.

Something. Oh, this song is so romantic. George Harrison wrote this song for his wife, Pattie Boyd, who was later stolen by Eric Clapton when he wrote the song “Layla,” for her. I read the Pattie had at least 10 songs written for her, she must have been quite the woman! I don’t even have a sentence written about me, let alone 10 songs!!!

All You Need Is Love. In a world full of hate, in a world so dark and cold the only thing that can drive out hatred, the only thing that can turn darkness to light and cold to warmth is love! Love is all you need!

Love deeply, my friends!

Did you guess my favorite Beatle? Drop your guesses in the comments and I’ll let you know if you’re right. If you know me, it probably isn’t that hard to guess….

Love & life lessons,

Kristian