I is for…
I’m participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, where I post every day in the month of April (except Sundays) and each day is a letter.
My theme for the month is a series of posts about the things that shaped me.
It seems “I”, for me, is all soothing and peace and mostly musical. (I wonder if that means anything?)
Indigo Girls
One of the major soundtracks of my college years, listening to 1200 Curfews by the Indigo Girls — or really, any of their songs from any of their albums — gives me a wave of nostalgia and a happy, peaceful feeling.
1200 Curfews is a live album, and every “Hey, y’all” (and there’s a lot) makes me smile. I think this was my first real foray into the “folk rock” genre, and I really do love Amy and Emily. There’s nothing stressful about their music; sure, they have things to say, but they’re not beating you over the head with it. There’s no thrash metal, angry grrl yelling. There’s just poetry.
And a highlight of my college experience was when my teeny tiny Midwest college scored an Indigo Girls concert, and I sat third row center in a sold-out theater. It was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to in my life.
Favorite songs? “Closer to Fine,” “Galileo,” “Power of Two,” “Shame on You,” “Least Complicated“… whenever I’m listening to one of them, I think — that’s the best song. And then I listen to another, and no, that’s the best song. It’s so hard to decide! But I have to say, “Get Out the Map” will always have a special place in my heart.
I Will
And here’s another song that I think just defines “me” — the Beatles’ “I Will.”
Now, if you were to ask me which was my favorite Beatle, John wins, hands down. But my favorite song is this not-even-two-minute-long ballad which is all Paul.
Why? I’m not sure I know. I think I heard it first in a movie (which one, I can’t be certain). But there was something so simple and straight-forward about this little love song — and yet, not so simple. It’s a love song to someone you know is out there, but you may never find. It’s that hopefulness I connected to.
And so I bought the sheet music and played it incessantly on the piano, and bought the White Album — which was probably the best music purchase of my life. It’s kind of bizarre that this short, sweet song immediately follows “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?”, but hey, it just makes it all the more entertaining.
Imagine
And now from one Beatle to another —
I play piano. I have since I was six years old. I’m not the type who sits at a keyboard and makes up my own songs, or can pick a tune out by ear and play it perfectly the first time. But I read music just fine, and following the notes and playing a song I know well (and playing at the proper tempo) is a surprisingly good stress reliever.
And “Imagine” is one of those songs.
John Lennon made a beautiful piece of music, and it makes me happy to play those chords the way that he played them. Its message still resounds today, a picture of a world that we have yet to find.
Maybe someday we will.
Impressionism
I love art — whether it’s words on a page, notes in a song, or paint on a wall. And when it comes to visual art, impressionism will always be my favorite.
I can appreciate hyperrealism, expressionism, surrealism, even old school Baroque. But my heart lies with the impressionists, like Monet, Renoir and Degas.
These artists created so much beauty and movement, with a few daubs of paint that implied shadow and action. I could stare at paintings like this for hours.
It sounds weird, but one of the things I love about Monet was how he continued to paint even when his eyesight began to fail him. As someone who has always been blind as bat, I appreciate this and maybe that’s why I like the fuzzy filter of impressionism — it’s like showing other people what the world looks like without my glasses.
You don’t need sharp edges to see clearly. The world may be fuzzy, but it really is beautiful.
