Hello friends,
Memories can’t be trusted.
I pressed back into mine for the first song I heard. Because whatever notes drifted into my young mind, they implanted a love of music.
My mother, who studied voice and sang her entire life, must have picked a special lullaby to lull me to sleep or bolted out a pop tune to make me laugh or dance around the room. I long to remember the special song that gave life to my world.
Instead, I see the square record player sitting on the dresser. I marvel at the stack of yellow disks with one song on each side etched into the mysterious grooves. As if by magic, instruments and voices meld into songs that play as I open my sleepy eyes to “Good Morning Mary Sunshine” and the sound I love—music.
At the annual ACL Music Fest in Austin, Texas this past week, I embraced the musical excitement with my son, daughter, granddaughter, and thousands of other musicophiles. I listened to musicians and vocalists whose talent far exceeds my own.
Country, pop, electronic, rap, bluegrass, gospel, soul, and indie singer-songwriters filled the air. Bodies swayed, singing along and reliving another place when notes clung to a moment in time.
I watched people, too. Believe me when I tell you the outlandish attire (or lack of) seen on all shapes and ages provided unimaginable entertainment. The crowd came from different places, backgrounds, and beliefs, spanning in age from infants to baby boomers and beyond. What drew this diverse crowd together?
Music, rhythm, notes, words, and memories stamped into our being like the grooves on those vinyl records. In this, we are all very much alike. What if we stopped long enough to grasp and build upon what we share?
I do believe we could narrow the chasm between us and them. Let’s hold onto the hope that music still holds the power to bind humankind.
My love affair has never waned. Music continues to breathe life and joy into the extraordinary and ordinary moments.
I wish the same for each of you.
With music comes movement. Have you ever wanted to dance with love?
Roseanne Cash tells a TED Talk audience, “Music can unlock a frozen memory that melts into the seeds of our creativity.” Then she turns that memory into a song, “The Sunken Lands.”
“Love Make(s) the World Go Round” from Deon Jackson, Anna Maria Alberghetti in Carnival, and Jennifer Lopez with Lin-Manuel Miranda.
"We are all just radios, hoping to pick up each other's signals."
—John Stewart, Songwriter
“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”
—Kahlil Gibran
Find a little wonder this week while you sing, dance, or simply sway to the music all around you.
With gratitude,
Kathryn
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Love makes the world go round
That's Good, Just Do It! "Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; Everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone's task is unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it. - Viktor Frankl,1905-1997" **Prosperity Bonus: "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that, I stay with problems longer. - Albert Einstein,1875-1955"
This is a lovely post, Kathryn. You are quite right in that music has the power to bind people together. I haven't been to a musical event or concert for years, but I remember, when I used to be able to go, that the music brought a great sense of unity between people. I love your photos. I, too, remember those smallish square record players. My parents had one, which I was allowed to borrow as I got a bit older. I remember the vinyl records we used to stack up so that they dropped down one after the other until the whole pile had been listened to. I can't remember the yellow discs that you mentioned, though. I like the music suggestions you shared and intend to watch the Ted Talk video tomorrow when I have more time. Thanks for sharing your lovely experience. Xx 🎵💛