Morning Soundtrack
As far back as junior high my morning included music. Back then it was albums, 8 track tapes, and the radio. Cassette tapes arrived during high school and then the Sony Walkman. Thus began the age of take your music, on your person, with you. Today, many use their phone to connect to streaming services that are the new “radio”. Or, you can upload your music to your phone. I don’t use my phone for that. It already has more of my attention than I want it to have. I’m experimenting with paying it no attention during sabbatical. No, that is not going as well as I want.
My friend, Steven J-B, was always into new music. He was a young boomer that I think clung to the summer of love mentality when it came to music. Try it. Sample it. Live in it. Listen. Listen deeply and listen just for fun. He often knew more about new music than his kids. “You never know what is going to speak to you, maybe even for you.” And he allowed music to speak for him and for the congregation at his funeral. Along with hymns of faith, that playlist included:
“Sarabande in Pencil Form”, Calexico
“Can’t Find My Way Home”, Blind Faith
“Mad World” (Alternate Version), Michael Andrews
“Pyramid Song”, Radiohead
“Oh Great God Give Us Rest”, David Crowder Band
“Seasons of Love”, Rent
“Keep Me In Your Heart”, Jorge Calderon
“Everything in Its Right Place”, Radiohead
Here in the West, much of the 1960’s and early 1970’s music spoke for the antiwar movement, hippy culture, and yes, establishment society. R-n-B, Soul, Punk, Metal, Grunge, and Rap speak about, and for, specific community’s experiences, and since the 1990’s have been repackaged as Hip-Hop or Pop which have found their way into what is modern Country. Crossover talent. Mashups. iHeart radio. I don’t mean to sound like a curmudgeon, but I’m not sure what passes for Rock-n-Roll anymore. The Grammy’s remind on a yearly basis how stuck I am. Classical, Opera, Bluegrass, and Zydeco have retained their original sound as much as my ear has given it. I don’t doubt it has always been about selling records, but I want to be idealistic enough to believe that there was a time it was just about the music. Maybe somewhere it still is. An aside, one of my top ten movies is, “Pirate Radio”.
Rather than listen to a political or sports talkshow in the morning, I’m returning to a soundtrack that inspires me and challenges me. No SiriusXM before 8am unless it is the George Carlin channel which always sets me in an interesting mood for the day. I’ve got all this music on my computer (and iPod) much of it reflects my personal album collection. So, I’m returning to my examen morning soundtrack. Listen. Listen deeply.
“Redemption Song”, Bob Marley
“Creator’s Blessing”, David Fein
“One Voice”, The Wallin’ Jennys
“An Elder’s Prayer”, Charlie Wayne Watson
“YHWH”, U2 (abbreviated to respect my Jewish neighbors)
“Cherokee Indian Drumming”, American Indian Music
“Amazing Grace”, Braveheart Soundtrack
“Aziz Azia”, Outback
“Day by Day”, Godspell Soundtrack
“God Must Be a Woman”, Travis Tritt
“Seasons of Love”, Rent Soundtrack
“I’d Love To Change the World”, Ten Years After
“Onward”, Yes
What’s your morning soundtrack?