My good friend Caitlin and I were on a long run one day last spring. We were bored, so we decided to play a game of the always mature “Would you rather..?”
Right off the bat, Caitlin hit me with a classic tough one.
“Would you rather live the rest of your life without great music or without great food?”
She received my answer with an audible gasp. Yep, I chose living without music.
For Caitlin, I see music as a central part of her life. Everytime I went to her dorm room, she was jamming to something different. Music drowns out the voices that distract her from studying. A huge Springsteen poster adorned her closet. She grew up listening to his music with her family.
I sincerely wish I had grown up with a keen musical taste like Caitlin. It's such an excellent and irreplaceable quality. It's not that my parents don't listen to music, but I wish I had those memories that were defined by a song that sent my parents dancing around the house. It's not like I am some locked-in-the-closet, never heard music before freak. But in college I finally learned to appreciate the life-changing qualities of music.
Thus, my current goal. I'm trying to teach myself the importance of a musical life. Lately I've been desperately trying to listen to everything. I want to be beyond book smart. I long to be musically intelligent. As the result of this sudden mania to be more musical, I have started adding every song I can get my hands on to my iTunes. My cousin recently gave me a huge stack of CDs, which I am so excited to dive into.
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Some of my recent additions. |
The other day I was stuck in traffic and another sudden impulse hit me. I drove to a music store and bought a new A string. Then I invited my (Asian) violin major friend over and he restrung my violin that has been gathering dust for the past three years. Laura the violinist is back. I played violin for seven years. I still regret ever stopping. It seems ridiculous that I am just starting to realize how cool it was to play on stage. I miss my calloused fingertips, the tricky notes and possibly even scales. So along with my new string, I picked up a book of Disney classics. I probably could have played these better in seventh grade. It takes a while for them to sound familiar, but for some reason it's something I need to do. I'm making violin into a lifelong activity for myself. Plus, now I can play "Under the Sea."
So please show me your music taste and I'll show you mine. I want to hear everything and I want to hear it now.
I'm learning that I'd rather be without great food if it meant I could still listen to Ray LaMontagne.
What I'm listening to