It’s a shame the world became so noisy. I mean it was noisy but then douches started having phone calls on speaker or listening to TV shows with zero consideration for anyone else. A potential solution is to try and negotiate with one of these clowns. A task that I fear would diminish my IQ to the level that I too begin to watch reality tv shows on full volume on the bus. The alternative is to put in some headphones and listen to some music. Which in my humble opinion diminishes the purpose of music. I mean surely music was created to express beauty. To externalise an internal feeling that words alone couldn’t do justice for. The swirling emotions that ravaged the artists’ soul demanding to be brought out into the world and shared. Some people used their gift to impress members of the opposite sex or the same sex. Whatever the reason music was created, it was not to block out morons. It was created to bring people together. Whether lovers sharing an embrace with their souls united by the sounds. Or a group of people in a hot club dancing in unison, the empathy from the MDMA connecting them as one as love and sweat fill the air. A moment, a wedding, a funeral, dancing around the front room on a wet afternoon or singing with thousands of others at a concert, you problems a million miles away. Whatever the event music not only has the power to connect us to each other but to sear a moment into our brain. A moment that will be recalled every time we hear that piece of music. Some good and some bad. Maybe the first time your eyes met with someone else’s. It could be the saving grace for someone who feels isolated and alone but the words of the song offer an olive branch. The emotional power of music is not to be denied and we need to remember why it is there. The functionality of music should not exceed it’s potential. Nor should those moments of wonder be confined to special events. Playing a song on my commute to work creates a whole new dynamic but only if I am engaged in the moment, not distracted or living vicariously. Music adds to the beauty of everyday life. It doesn’t have to block it out. There are times for movies and there are times for listening to music. My landlord told me when he was a kid he used to lay in a dark room with headphones on and listen to music. I used to sit in the dead centre of the speakers late at night and full of drink. Nick Drakes three hours would dance suavely from the speakers as I sat and smoked, whilst contemplating life. The music would facilitate my thinking.
No matter where I am in the world when I hear certain music I am reminded of a moment in time. No matter my mood, certain songs can drag me out of a hole and brighten my day. One specific song is “I am the resurrection” by the Stone Roses. It has been an anthem to my life. It reminds me of good times, good friends and the time I went to a Stone Roses gig in Manchester. When I hear that song it reminds of being there, free, happy with great company. Or the anticipation of good times. It was my go-to song on the drive out of London back up north to see my friends before I got lost in the smoke and my self-importance. I would excitedly drum my steering wheel while inching forward in traffic on the M25. I remember the first time I heard the song nearly twenty years ago in a student flat. I was stoned and quite drunk the Stone Roses album was playing in the background as everyone chatted away. That was until I am the resurrection started and one of the lads there picked up an acoustic guitar and started playing along. Silence, except for the guitar and the song, coated the room as awe replaced idle chit chat. For the whole 8minutes 15 seconds everyone shared a moment of beauty. An iconic coming together, united by our appreciation of the music. That’s the beauty of music. It can be a room full of people or two lovers sharing a moment. Music is there for us to celebrate life. Let’s not just use it to drown it out.
The wonder of music – A poem
The suns shinin’
But the goose bumps are risin’
The light and the heat licks at my skin
Yet my core is cooled as the opening beats begin
I am the resurrection
The Stone Roses with a scent of perfection
Music has the ability to make the ordinary sublime
And to make the wonderful divine
To drag you from a miserable hole
Light the fuse and ignite your soul
As the tune kicks in I’m transported from here
Back to Heaton Park with my arms in the air
Music can send us through time
Back to moments when we truly felt alive
The wave of sound pushes the worries out of sight
And for a few minutes everything is gonna be alright
Slowly the music fades and the guitar loops to a stop.
I’m no longer in Heaton park
I’m on my way to get bread from the shop
So stick on your favourite song
And have a dance and sing along
Cos life ain’t always wonder and beauty
But with a decent tune we might just get through it
Peace,
Charlie
Barstool to the Beach 