Goose Bumps

This morning was great, mainly thanks to a great soundtrack and an interesting revelation.

My morning started with listening to Ray LaMontagne’s Be Here Now. About half way through I realized that the guitar rhythm is similar to Sting’s Ghost Story so I switched over to that song and then let the rest of the album play.

I came outside to walk to work and it is sprinkling out. For most people, they would be sad or upset, especially it being summer, but I am the opposite. Sweet! My last day of walking to work and I get to do it with a light sprinkle. How cool is that!

So I start switching music again and land on Sunny Day Real Estate’s Tearing in My Heart.  Definitely setting the mood for the day.  Next I jump to the all time favorite – the soundtrack for Once.  I jump to one of my favorite songs, Gold, an instantly get chills with the strum of the opening chord.  Oh yeah – got the perfect soundtrack going for the day!

I like all of the songs on the album, but when I am in this mood for keeping the chills and waves of energy flowing through the body, I have certain ones that I listen to due to the emotion and drive of the song.  So up next were the songs Lies, All the Way Down, Once and finally Say it to Me.  I wrapped up my walk to work with The Frame’s Fitzcarraldo, whose lead singer Glen Hansard is also the lead male on the Once soundtrack.

As I am listening to these songs for the bazillionth time, a thought occurs to me.  Why do I like these so songs much?  What is it that keeps me coming back to them?  And then it comes to me.  The pure, raw emotion in the songs.  But why?  Ding Ding – light bulb turns on above my head.  These musicians have found a way to express their feelings on personal topics in a way that I could only dream of.  (Actually, I do dream of it.  Glen Hansard inspires me to want to learn how to sing and play guitar just so I can play his songs.  And then hopefully create my own.)  I admire their ability to express themselves and these songs help me to push myself to do the same.  Because, let’s face it, I am not great about sharing my thoughts and feelings, especially face to face.  Baby steps.  Baby steps.

After I get to work, I continued my soundtrack of emotion with songs from my Death and Love playlist, which I alluded to a while ago:  The Minstrel Boy, Stay or Leave, Pig, Your Song, Nothing Else Matters, Disappear, Now We Are Free, Atlanta and I Choose You.

The best part of all this – I got to re-listen to these songs while I wrote this post.  Damn, this is a good day!

Special thanks to everyone on youtube that posted these songs online so I could share them with you.