Part 1: Defining Music

I was out for a walk today, listening to my most recently assembled playlist entitled "Wanderlust" when a song came on that I haven't heard in a while. It took me back immediately to a very defining moment in my life. I love how music does that. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to write about some of the music that's defined my life. 

The song that played today on my walk was Linkin Park's "Waiting For The End." I discovered this song in January of 2011, which was the month before I left Fresno. It became the song that represented my move from California back to Alabama. The lyrics are great, and I sang them with tears pouring down my face as I waved bye to my three best friends and let my mom drive me out of the city. "So I'm picking up the pieces now where to begin, the hardest part of ending is starting again." Truer words have never been spoken.

There are a few artists that I could name as important at every turn, Sarah Mclachlan and Coldplay are two of those. Sarah McLachlan's album, Afterglow, became the album of my last six months in New Orleans for a variety of reasons. At the time, songs like "Push" and "Answer" seemed to fit, but looking back "Trainwreck," "Stupid," and "Dirty Little Secret" are much more applicable. The song that is the most representative is "Fallen." The lyrics say, "But it's one missed step and slip before you know it, and there doesn't seem a way to be redeemed." Oh the irony of feeling in desperate need of redemption as I graduated from seminary!

Maybe the best soundtrack of the past decade...or maybe ever, is that of Garden State. I think I played it every single time I climbed into my maroon XTERRA for the entire year I lived in Nashville during 2004-2005. It's a mellow album with lots of heavy songs, but lots of hope too. Iron and Wine's version of "Such Great Heights," Frou Frou's "Let Go," and Remy Zero's "Fair" are all incredible. It also features The Shins, Coldplay, Nick Drake, and Cary Brothers. But Simon and Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy In New York" is my favorite, and for that time horrible year in Nashville, I felt like the only living person there, and that song (and soundtrack) gave me what I needed to get through it. "I get the news I need on the weather report...Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile."

In the fall of 2010 I was finishing up my MFA thesis. The thesis was basically the story of my developing (and at times, deteriorating) faith. I spent a few days on the California coast near Santa Cruz in a place called Capitola/Aptos. I spent the time writing like crazy trying to finish chapter after chapter, and the entire time I listened to the song, "Ocean" by Bebo Norman. I was introduced to Bebo in 2000 by my friend Leslie, and have been a fan since. This particular song was inspiring and worshipful and comforting for me, exactly what I needed for that project. But to this day, I cannot hear it without picturing the little town of Capitola and the thousands of words I put down during those days. "You are an ocean, and I can get lost in the first wind on my shore." Because of having it on replay for that time, it remains the most played song in my iTunes.

As I mentioned before, a Coldplay song could really be named to represent almost every turn, every emotion, and every event of my last ten years. This particular song has kind of become my anthem for forgiveness. The older I get, the more people let me down, or just flat out hurt me. I guess it's bound to happen as we grow and experience more. We just rub against each other in hurtful ways. My mom says this shapes me. She calls it "heavenly sandpaper." She's good like that. The worst part about being hurt is that the people who hurt you the most are usually the ones you don't get the apology from. It's a hard lesson, and one that forces you to find inward peace. The song, "Death and All His Friends" is one the song that soothes my anger and want for vindication more than any other. Not only is the music fantastic (of course), but the lyrics (though few) are perfect. "No I don't want a battle from beginning to end, I don't want to cycle or recycle revenge, I don't want to follow death and all his friends." It puts me at ease every time. 


I will write a few more of these blogs in time, as there is no way I could limit defining music to just these! But I'll let you digest these few and consider your own defining music. 

Is there a defining song that represents a moment or period of time for you? Tell me about it!

Vitamin C and Other Musical Graduation Supplements

In sticking with the graduation theme, I thought it would be appropriate to mention some of the greatest "graduation songs." Most of these were not actually written for graduation purposes, but have more of a transitioning theme. They are songs we love because they mark times of change, even when we don't always love the change itself. I love how music has the ability to offer stability. Today I listened to Mumford and Sons just to see how they sound in China. They sound good. Really good. Anyway, before I digress into my love affair with music, here's a list of 13 "graduation songs" 1 for each year of high school and 1 to grow on! Some are personal favorites, some are just too classic to ignore, and some you might have buried deep down into that same grave that holds your high school yearbook photos and first kiss. Enjoy!

Seriously, great advice that everyone ignores.

Graduation is the Reason
While the rest of the songs on this list could be considered in a context other than graduation, there is no mistaking that these 3 which are clearly meant in a "you're free from high school" kind of way.  
1.School's Out-Alice Cooper
Memorable Lyric: Schooooool's out Completely! (That's about as final it gets.)
2.Everybody's Free (Wear Sunscreen)-Baz Luhrmann
Memorable Lyric (if you can call it a lyric):You are not as fat as you imagine. (A. Freaking. Men.)
3.Graduation (Friends Forever)-Vitamin C
Memorable Lyric: When we look back now, will that joke still be funny? (Nope. Probably not.)


Gone Country
It's no surprise that these country songs carry sentiment, but it is surprising that they have the staying power to make us feel a little emotional when we look back (and forward) on life.
4.Leaving On A Jet Plane-John Denver
Memorable Lyric: Don't know when I'll be back again. (I love a good open-ended journey.)
5.My Wish-Rascal Flatts
Memorable Lyric: Your dreams stay big, your worries stay small. (Funny how the exact opposite happens.)
6.The Dance-Garth Brooks
Memorable Lyric: I could have missed the pain, but I'd of had to miss the dance. (That pain will look like a measly splinter compared to what's coming.)
7.I Hope You Dance-Lee Ann Womack
Memorable Lyric: When you come close to selling out, reconsider. (Oh to have this option.)


Gonna Make You Cry
If you haven't slow danced in a group with your friends to these songs then you haven't lived.

8.It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday-Boyz II Men

Memorable Lyric: And I'll take with me the memories. (Years later it turns out that all your "memories" are yearbook photos.)

9.End of the Road-Boyz II Men

Memorable Lyric: Although we've come to the end of the road, still I can't let you go. (How is this about anything related to graduation at all?)

10.I Will Remember You-Sarah McLachlan

Memorable Lyric: Weep not for the memories. (Don't you dare.)

How is that lamp even on?

Going...Going...Gone
Now these...these are the songs I like to think of when I think of graduation. They offer a healthy perspective on the past but offer some hope for the future.
11.Free Bird-Lynyrd Skynyrd
Memorable Lyric: I'm as free as a bird now. (Fly while you can!)
12.We Are The Champions-Queen
Memorable Lyric: No time for losers cause we are the champions, of the world! (So mean, so innocent, so wrong.)
13.(Good Riddance)Time of Your Life-Green Day
Memorable Lyric: It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. (Best "graduation" song ever.)

What's Your Favorite "Graduation" Song?