I DIG MUSIC!

When it comes down to it, I am an old soul. Almost all of my favorite things seem to come from times long past. This includes music, although I would hardly call the music I listen to "old." For me old is anything over 300 years of age, and though it’s true that some of my favorite music really is that old and BEYOND, my standard favorites hail from a few decades ago.  Now, I know this might be hard to believe, especially if you have read my previous blogs, but there is something about my lifestyle choices that seems to ruffle Southern feathers.  Yes, my inane ability to upset extends even to the music I choose to listen to.

I rarely listen to modern music.  When I do, my favorites: HIM, thenewno2, and The Civil Wars are so widely-spaced in variety that eyebrows all around me arch towards the ceiling in confusion. To an outsider, there seems to be no sense in my musical choices.  The genres are so far apart that there appears to be no common ground between them.  There is, of course, something they all DO have in common.  They all consistently produce good music… Although I want to write about older music and the funny assumptions that come with the enjoyment of such, I must briefly point out that support of modern bands comes also at your own risk.  The logos for my two favorite bands, the Heartagram for HIM and the faceless face of thenewno2, carry enough of the unknown and are so misunderstood in concept that they might earn Southern person many well-meaning invitations to the local church house. According to the local tradition of what is acceptable and what is not, it seems that music really "could be the devil." Or it could mean that they haven't bothered to Google and find out exactly what these logos actually represent. 

But, this blog is not about new music.  This blog is about my favorite music, and the funny reactions I sometimes get when people discover my love for those musicians. First, I really should give you a list of the music I am talking about: Elton John, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Heart, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, and most importantly, The Beatles. This list has been by far-shortened to keep this blog from becoming a small book.  Clearly, the common ground here is that I love music from the 60s and 70s.  Is that weird?  Don’t most people?  I mean, disregarding the one person I know whom actually hates the band Heart (to think, she normally has good musical judgment…), who doesn't love the above-mentioned bands/musicians? They have successfully made timeless music. They are classic.

Since I have been writing about the funny idiosyncrasies of the South, I had to bring up the musical topic because music is discussed quite often by most people, but here in the South its spoke of in  shamed whispers.  A lot of Southern persons would not want you to think that since they enjoyed the music of a particular band that they might also enjoy the bad behaviors that come with certain bands.  In fact, they distance themselves  from acknowledging a preference in music in order to avoid any possible assumption that they have, in any way, supported or participated in any vulgar, lewd or illegal behaviours that might be attached in any way with the business of music, as if by saying they enjoyed “such and such” band or tune, their own personal code of ethics was at risk  based on “guilt by association” principles.   This skewed line of thinking goes along with never drinking from a bottle or an aluminum can while driving so that no one will mistake that you might be drinking alcohol, as if a brightly colored soda can resembles the typically drab beer can so common here in the sticks.  Here, music is discussed in nervous unpleasant clipped words in the same manner as if someone had brought up politics at dinner.  One might listen to these bands often, but in general, actually stating that you enjoyed the music of such a rebellious or shocking nature is a discussion you would find rarely admitted.

What is my worst guilty pleasure in music, the one band I should be ashamed to mention lest my goodness be questioned?  The Beatles.

Everything I need to know in life, I learned from the Beatles.

I stand by that quote because it is true.  I have never had a problem or a bad day that a Beatles song could not fix.  I have never had a good day that was not made brighter by one of their songs.  But, here in the South, you do not go around telling people that you listen to the Beatles…unless you are me!  I find great fun gushing the brilliance of such an innovative band to old-fashioned and reserved faces of horror.  The replies make me almost keel over in laughter.  “Oh, I never listened to them.”  “They were quite popular when I was young.” “Don’t you think they were a little outspoken, and their music was strange.”  “I liked a few of their songs, but you know those boys were on that S.D.L. stuff…”  See what I mean?  Hilarious responses.  And, the best way to make their response even funnier is by initiating a little hoodwinking.  Many, many times I have turned on the their music, at work, in the car, from my phone while standing somewhere in public…wherever….and it never fails, no matter what Beatles song I play, no matter who I am standing around or how hard they deny their love of this British band, they always start singing along, enjoying themselves for a few moments before they remember their ridiculous code of music ethics and begin to guiltily look around to see who is watching their fall from grace.

I actually enjoy these responses, because I could not imagine living in a world where I could not love the beauty which is music, and so I usually let these pleasure-stifling comments go with a little smile and perhaps a song. 

 

~ And,I wonder should I have explained to that little woman about L.S.D.?  Probably not.