Music

Music really knows how to get through to people. Music evokes emotion, tells a story, or is just plain crazy. Right now I am listening to the playlist I have made from playlist.com. I turn it on everyday at work. It's a bunch of different types of music. You are probably listening to some of it as you are reading this right now. You can check out all the songs on the green list to the left. I love walking into my office after a class and hearing music from my computer. The songs I listen to either calm me done or hype me up. Sometimes you just need that little extra something to make you get into the mood you need to be in. Having the music on during my after school responsibilities has made me a more relaxed and easy-going person. I am not as uptight as I normally am when I have my music going. I can also use it as noise control. I tell my estudiantes (like that Spanglish don't you?) that if I cannot hear the music from my computer at the current level then they are too loud. My computer can get pretty loud so if I can't hear it then I know the kiddos are pretty darn loud.

I have fallen in love with the music of Ingrid Michealson as of late. She has some really fun songs. The sweater song used in the Old Navy commercial is one of her songs. Most of the stuff of hers that I have is fun to listen to and makes me feel happy. Not all songs do that but the ones I picked seem to do that right now. The song I am listening to right now is BE OK. It just has a great lift and lightness to it. Ingrid Michealson, you rock!

Music is very powerful. The best music is the music that uplifts you and makes you feel good about who you are and what you are doing. Now granted, some of the music I listen to is not that great. It may have a great beat, but the words are terrible. To be honest, I like a song for the beat and that is what I pay the most attention to. After a little while I start listening to the words, then I change things up. There were a ton of songs that I liked until I really started listening to the words. Yes, people can be attracted to a beat and not listen to the words. Can they ignore the words forever? No. The words sneak in there somewhere sometime. The character of a person is shown when they know exactly what is being said and understand what is being said and still listen if it does not have the right lyrics. Even the most naive person can figure out what things mean. It's not like when my parents were younger and everything was hidden in a song (ex. Rock and Roll = sex, not a genre of music). Now-a-days there is no effort to hide what is being said. I was talking to someone about a song (Superman by TI I think) and that person did not want to believe that the words were all about disrespecting women and she didn't want to hear what I had said about it so she could be "ignorant" and not feel bad about listening to the song that she should not be listening to. That's her choice and someday she will be accountable for the decisions she made.

No matter what type of music you listen to you feel something. Classical music makes you use you imagination to try to put a story to a song. Upbeat rhythms make you feel happy. Slow, sad songs make you want to cry or make you feel sad. Have fun exploring music and learning about the songs. I have certainly had an education in music the past few years trying to decode the messages being sent. I have seen the effects music has on people and I now the effects it has on me. Whatever you listen to have fun listening and get lost in the music.