I'm fascinated by communication. The written word in all its forms - articles, poems, novels - I've even found scraps of paper on the ground and opened them up. Some were love notes, some bits of homework. Each made me wonder about the person that wrote it: Who were they? What did they look like? Why did they choose THAT word? I wondered why it was crumpled up and thrown away. Was it discarded because of sadness, frustration, or because they suddenly felt free of the thing and wanted to demonstrate that freedom through the act of crushing and leaving it?
I like things that make me wonder.
Music does that to me.
It is so often a cryptic, yet lilting riddle. So much of the lyrics you hear in music are snippets. Like overhearing bits of conversation blown to you in the wind.
And I sit and wonder what they meant by that.
I remember listening to the Ben Folds album 'Way to Normal', and thinking afterward: "I wonder if Ben got divorced?"
Turns out, he had.
Most recently, I'm wondering about this guy and what drove him when he wrote this song:
Why the North Atlantic Ocean? Who does he want back? And does he really want them back, or does he feel left behind. Would they have been happier back with him, or is that selfish of him and does he just have that sense you sometimes get when you know people have moved along and are pursuing their dreams? And what happens tonight? What is the truth he is talking about? Is it some dark secret or is it something more simple - the truth about himself or the situation he's faced with?
There are so many stories you could conjure by just listening to stuff like this and allowing your mind to wander and wonder.
Either way, I love music as a form of communication. It is compelling in a way that words alone seldom are.
Let me ask you - what songs sit atop YOUR list of favourites and why? What is it in them that really speaks to you? Why do they identify with you so strongly that they rate amongst your favourites?
Please take a moment and tell me - I really want to know.
Best,
Atlas
Excellent post. Struck a chord with me (both literally...and literally) I’m obsessive when it comes to picking up little scraps of paper. I get giddy when I see a note or envelope, maybe even greeting card , fluttering around the streets of Chicago.
ReplyDeleteI pick it up with the wide-eyed optimism of a turn of the century gold prospector panning for truth and wisdom. Failing that, a phone number I can call and ask “what gives?” Failing that, I love It could be ANYTHING, after all. It’s usually anything but.
One that springs to mind was something I found on Michigan avenue many years ago. A "Blockbuster Music" post it note, found a good five years after someone realized "Blockbuster Music" was a terrible idea. This one had the words "Shut that f##cking Dog up?" scrawled across it. The question mark at the end KILLED me.
I love when I find a checked off grocery list in an otherwise empty shopping cart. The mind does indeed roam.
Don’t get me started on highlights and annotations made in used books. IN FACT Ever since I was a little kid I’ve had a copy of Annemann’s “202 Methods of Forcing” FILLED with notes. Every method is accompanied by a handwritten classification AND a grade, (Prearranged Deck Force: B-) Some of the 202 have a note or two scribbled in the margins on how to improve the method (or why it should be discarded)
“Paul Eckert: Magician Extraordinaire” is written on the front back cover with the same immaculate handwriting. He even drew a little top hat with puffs of smoke and tiny cards bursting out. (It was a simpler time, perhaps)
Only recently did I attempt a Google search for “Paul Eckert: Magician Extraordinaire.” I hoped to find some record of him. I didn’t, of course. Wonder and wander indeed. (Maybe I’ll call it “The Double W” that could catch on)
As for your question: Since I have ZERO musical ability, I (guess) I think of music visually first. Usually scoring the film (READ: made for TV movie) playing in my mind. I think theatrically and cinematically next. Every piece in any improve or mentalism show I do ends with a music sting…that way even if a piece doesn’t hit, I dance like f@@uckig magic
Here’s what get’s the most bang for my wander and wonder buck:
Billy Joel’s: Vienna (still tear up when I hear it)
Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car
Anything Jimmy Web wrote.
ANY Soundtrack to a Coen Brothers film. (Miller’s Crossing is my favorite…T-Bone Burnett stuff next)
The song "The Voice Of Truth" by Casting Crowns is one of my top favorites. For me, it sums up my passion and goal in life, which is to know and teach the Truth that is in the Bible. By faith I believe the Bible is what it claims to be, the truth in a world where we are looking for answers - the truth about where we came from, what we are doing here, and where we are going. And even more, the Truth is the name of God Himself, so coming to know the truth is coming to know a wonderful Person. And that, I believe, is the meaning of life.
ReplyDeleteLearning to do mentalism effects and magic tricks can be one of the most grindingly tedious experiences you will ever have.
ReplyDeleteBut if you have to spend literally a thousand hours practicing (and another thousand hours sorting through lame YouTube videos posted by 11 year old preteens) to get good, is it really worth it?
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If anyone's interested, this is what helped me:
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