Musical Musings

I am sitting here with a cold beer, again.  Having just got out of the car, last song on the radio still swimming in my head.  Which of course has me thinking now.  I can't stop wondering what makes a song have that lasting impact on me. The more I stop and think about it, the more confused I get.  Each song hits me in a unique way, for an individual reason.  There is no general rule of thumb that I am seeing.

For example, the song that got me thinking about this topic.  It was the last song I head, "No Light No Light" by Florence and the Machine.  Not my usual cup of tea, but as the song played and the lyrics sunk in, I had flash backs.  Memories of the ugliest break up of mine.  Words from the song echoing words she had said to me at the time.  Still shaking a bit to be painfully honest with you internet gnomes.

Just as easily as my lack of light hits me there are other songs I think of.  Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt for one.  A song that haunts, taking a song about being trapped in drug addiction, and making it a song about growing old and alone.  Cracker's Low, because it transports me to a time and place that my old coworkers can still remember too.  The song got stuck in my head for a few months, and so those months on the line at the restaurant always pop in for a short 3 minute visit when that plays.

I wish I knew the formula.  It could save me from having my life shaped by inescapable bad songs, such as "All around the world" by ATC.   Also then I could write one, and get filthy, dirty, shamefully rich off of it.  Ok, I'd get someone else rich because I wouldn't know what to do with it.

I lost my thread of thought here somewhere, and I am out of beer.... so that's all for now.