Music has always been an intregal part of my life. I remember walking to school and the like when I was as young as 5 or 6 and making up songs in my head. That was also the beginning of my writing career. Since then I've always had music around me. Like so many things, I find a great deal of 'magic' in music. Music like all art is about passion, and thus about life. Many songs, albums, artists, are intricately woven into moments of my life, all part of the soundtrack.
The least important thing about music to me is genre. Having never been formally trained in music, its difficult for me to define specifically what makes some music 'great', some 'good', some 'dreck'. It is for a variety of things, passion, heart, and honesty. For instance honesty isn't a definable quality perhaps, but we know when we hear it. I think mayhaps that's why so many formula bands come and go every generation and leave behind nothing truly memorable, they're playing to a commercial template, they are the 'Big Macs' of the music world. Then there is the artist who genuinely care about their art, sometimes they're not even technically good. If you listen to Don McLean's American Pie, recorded when he was still a very young artist, you'll notice he really isn't a great guitar player, but the collection of writing on that album is extraordinary.
So ok, genre isn't important, heart is. Thus my collection of music over the years has been ecclectic and diverse to say the least, and is ever evolving... and yes, there is even some pop I enjoy. Still having said that there are genres that I enjoy more than others. Blues, rock/blues, country blues, ... seeing a pattern here? LOL Yeah the day I learned to play minor chords on my guitar (A Yamaha SJ180) was the happiest day of my life. For me, there is something about a minor chord that reaches inside your guts and grabs you by the place where all your hurt is stored. Music I can close my eyes and FEEL, is always what I'm looking for. Sometimes that feel is something bright and shining, sometimes its tears flowing unbidden, sometimes its belting it outloud as you sing along, and sometimes its drifting off to a gentle dream state, but always it must move you. What moves me, isn't always going to be what moves you, but maybe one or two will make you go YES!
Soooooooo... without further ado.... some of my favourites and others... in no particular order:
The Sounds of the Ocean
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There are so many songs, so many artists who haven't been mentioned here with a link. Either because it's so far just a single song, or because I haven't heard enough of them to really decide. Some of those..... Avril Lavigne, yes I do like Skater Boy; Stone Temple Pilots - Sour Girl; Mary Chapin Carpenter - 10,000 miles from the Fly Away Home soundtrack, Lionel Ritchie - Hello .. that one always gets me.. right here; Henry Mancini - Moon River, gods I love the movie Breakfast At Tiffanys; Allanah Miles - Black Velvet, Bruce Guthro - Falling, Adam Cohen - Cry Ophelia ... although I've never seen a single episode of Dawson's Creek; Julie London - Cry Me a River... why have more modern chanteuses not done a cover of this?; Train - Calling all Angels; Sting and the Police - yeah I'm an 80's child; Player - one album wonder, but I did love that album to death when I was 13... yeah Baby Come Back; Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant; The Straigh Lines - Breakfast Club soundtrack; The Star Canyon Band - Ken's Dad's group - damn fine bluegrass, and of course... Yes, Journey, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Guns and Roses, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen ... before the 80's, Steve Earle, and always a love for aboriginal music, particularily traditional drumming.
One of the interesting phenomenons I've come across lately is band members blogging for their fans, especially while on tour. Some of them, like Alan Doyle of GBS or Ra Mcquire of Trooper actually write fairly well. They detail the normal life of a well known Canadian working musician both the occassional glamour of it, and the 'real life' stuff. No they aren't superstars, but that makes it all the more interesting. Yes, they've both achieved a fame of sorts, but still lead very ordinary lives. However their work is a world we rarely get to see on such a personal level. As a bit of a music geek, it's an interesting perspective. And a final note... no discussion of music could be complete without one final last link to Rolling Stone Magazine.
I hope you've enjoyed this trip through my world of sound. There's a lot more I could say about the music and bands listed here, but I'd rather let them speak for themselves. I could explain a lot more about what my taste says about me, but I'd rather let you decide what my taste tells you about me. Come back soon, and drop me a line, lemme know what you think about the list, what's there, and what you think is missing, I'd love to hear from you.
Ocean's Edge