Of Music, Wandering, and Celebrating Spring (Rather lengthy!)

"I will live my life as a lobster-man's wife

On an island in the blue bay.

He will take care of me, he will smell like the sea.

And close to my heart he'll always stay.

I will bear three girls, all with strawberry curls,

Little Ella, and Nellie, and Fay.

As I comb their long hair I will catch his warm stare,

On our island in the blue bay.

Far away, far away, I wanna go far away-

Where the water is blue and the people are new,

To another island in another life."

                         ~ "Far Away" Ingrid Michaelson

Often, teenagers these days seem to view music as one aspect of defining themselves. I can't count how many times I've seen people my age post comments about how "music is their life" or how "music defines them". I'll admit that I went through that stage when  was about 13 or 14. I was listening to music constantly; my style could have been described as "anything that was loud and had a beat worthy of giving someone a headache". I guess I bought into the lie that if I didn't listen to the same music as everyone else I would get laughed out of town. 

I really can't recall the exact moment that my opinion on music changed. For almost an entire year I stopped listening to music. I didn't turn on the radio in the car, I didn't plug into my iPod at school, I didn't listen to any tunes while working on homework; I just stopped cold-turkey. 

To this day I don't know what it was that caused me to drop all things musical... mid-life crisis maybe? Nevertheless, by the time I came back to music my taste had changed entirely. All I remember is hearing the Googoo Dolls' song, "Iris", on Pandora; I was instantly hooked. 

At first it was a struggle trying to find other artists that had a similar feel to the Googoo Dolls. I didn't mind the really old bands, but I also wanted something modern that had the same low-key acoustic feel to it. I finally struck gold when I discovered Sara Barielles' music. Granted, she was a little more soul-funk than I had in mind, but I wasn't mad at it. From then on it just got easier- Missy Higgins, Regina Spektor, The Script, Boyce Avenue, and Ingrid Michaelson quickly followed. Since then, I've added a few miscellaneous artists and eventually developed a style all my own. I have yet to meet someone who likes all the same bands as me- I finally have a unique style. However, instead of using this new style as a means of defining myself, I use it as a means of discovering more about myself. The way I respond to certain songs and their lyrics gives me insight into how I view the world and other people. 

Music shouldn't be how we define ourselves, it should be what we use to discover ourselves.

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.

You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet,

There's no knowing where you may be swept off to."

                                   ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

There's no arguing the fact that spring is the time for wandering. After a long winter there's nothing more enticing than a promising walk in the sunshine. The sky has finally given up on trying to hold back the color and it simply explodes from every angle. The birds come back and strike up their song once more, while the tiny, yet perfect, flowers begin to bloom on the side of the road again. It's times like these that, as Chaucer puts it, "people yearn to go on pilgrimage". 

In the past few days I've been fantasizing about how great it would be if I had enough money to fill up my old, 1993 merc. tracer (yeah, she's a beaut), and just drive. I wouldn't have a specific destination in mind; just take whatever road captured my interest. In a beautiful town like mine, surrounded by mountains with hundreds of hidden trails and roads, it wouldn't be too difficult. 

Unfortunately, with gas prices being where they are, and me being temporarily out of a job, I have to content myself with taking my pooch for walks in the evenings after school. It's still a little chilly to go too far, but I have hopes that the weather will allow me to make it to the old graveyard and back sometime soon. Yet another dream of mine- reading poetry in the old cemetery. Ah well, it'll have to be postponed 'till another day I suppose.  

"Three little birds, sat on my window.
And they told me I don't need to worry.
Summer came like cinnamon
So sweet,
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete.

Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alright
The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same
Oh, don't you hesitate.

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Blue as the sky, sunburnt and lonely,
Sipping tea in a bar by the roadside,
(just relax, just relax)
Don't you let those other boys fool you,
Got to love that afro hair do.

Maybe sometimes, we feel afraid, but it's alright
The more you stay the same, the more they seem to change.
Don't you think it's strange?

Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams,
Just go ahead, let your hair down.

You're gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow."

           ~ "Put Your Records On" Corinne Bailey Rae

I couldn't be more excited about spring and summer! I've had enough of this dreary winter.