RECAP: Yesterday, I exercised quite nicely. It was sunny. I blew up the tires on my bike, put on extra layers. Oh, it was good to be outside getting a sweat going.
SHUFFLED: GLASS TO THE ARSON by Anberlin. I don't remember what this song is about, but I did interview Stephen Christian from the band about it (listen in here). For sure the song tears it up. And just from the time I've spent with Stephen, I know there's greater meaning to lyrics likes these.
"Calm me with your lies your simple tragedy, it's all I wish to hear tonight, and you're all I wish to be, and this is how we all fall"
I can have just about any Anberlin song hit my ears, and it will transport me to a higher place.
SHUFFLED: SHE'LL COME AROUND by Kim Hill. I do love this opening line.
"Sometimes life is a riddle, you find yourself caught in the middle"
I don't think it's earth shattering to realize this, but it's a nice reminder you're not alone in a world of many who feel stuck. (Is "stuck" a feeling?) The song about some girl whose searching for more, and letting the world get the best of her (um, who does that sound like?!).
"She builds a wall of anger, she can tear it down. With a little love She'll Come Around."
I'm a sucker for the female rock voice, and this early release from Kim Hill and her acoustic rock sucked my searching soul right in. So I still keep on my iPod for the sucker and searcher in me. And the love quotient she sings about, is love this answer [Todd Rundgren]? I'd like to think it is, but my interview with the aforementioned Mr. Rundgren spoke about it (listen in here). By the way I would like to think love could turn everything around. I'm just not so sure right now. Life is much more than that four letter word.
SHUFFLED: I STAND FOR NOTHING by The Ropes. This song burrows it's way into my high school mind, that I'm slightly off center. And that no one understand me. I'm good with that.
"In America and globally, been hearing, Hey, it's not just me. Do you hear us? Do you hear, Mr. Authority?"
I interviewed Sharon Shy about this song (listen in here). When I first started to understand I thought differently, it's like I was on an ugly island. I was never the "stick it in the face of the man" sort of guy…I was always good at bottling. I could bottle it up. I can bottle it up. What did I stand for in high school?
"It's gonna be different, do you fear it? Do you fear it? I stand for nothing you would understand."
What do I stand for now? This song Rocks On Purpose. And I want to. Sometimes, it's like I never left high school.
ON PURPOSE: LOOK MAMA by Howard Jones. After The Ropes got me thinking about life in my teens, I sought out this song on my iPod. Again, I ask when songs like this enter my sphere, "am I still in high school?"
"Look mama I love you, but you gotta let me live my life."
I don't know that I love the tune, I do love the idea that some parents have separation anxiety worse than dogs. They may not bark nor chew holes in the furniture, yet the destruction they cause on a kid (i.e., young adult) trying to leave the nest can paralyze. "You never call. When are you coming over?" I understand as a parent now, or more accurately, I am trying to understand how hard it will be when my kids are no longer at home. I hope I'm raising them to want to go out and do more in the world. To experience all life has to offer. I want them to seek their own purpose and make living worthwhile. I do not want them to be wondering if their parents are ok with their next step. Don't get me wrong, I want them to consider me when they get a White House invitation or tickets to see Kiss on their final, final, final, final farewell tour in 2035.
"Let me learn it my way. You think you know more than me, experience hasn't set you free."
We all have to learn to fly on our own. Fly. Fly away. And come back for a good meal now and then…
SHUFFLED: BREAK ME DOWN by Red. When I'm at my wit's end, I hope this song shuffles it's way to the top every time. The just reminder that I cannot fix it all.
"Break Me Down, replace this fear inside, take this nothingness from me"
My microphone time with Jasen Rauch (listen in here) has been primo. He's such an honest and rib-cage-open dude with lyrics. With our conversation. He absolutely has problems, and coincidentally, so do I.
"I try to find myself, I find the stranger trapped inside"
I always like the way Red's music creeps up and blast my conscious brain into oblivion. From my ears directly to my heart. Directly to the empty part of me that wants to wallow and sink. Songs from Red are like an underwater inflatable life preserver.
"I want to find, I want to shine, I want to rise"
As long as I have my iPod, I can breathe.