"Let the Music Play"

Here are my thoughts on music:

I love it. I love it all. Well not so much the rap and the country and the heavy metal, but just about everything else I can manage to get into.

The great thing about the music I like is that it's so diverse. I have two mp3 players and on both of them I can find a song to perfectly compliment any mood or character.
If I'm feeling sad I might cue up "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley or "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton.
If I'm working out it might just be something from Linkin Park's Reanimation album.
When I'm driving I'll listen to anything from "Stolen Away on 55th & 3rd" by DMB to "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell to maybe even a little "66" by Afghan Whigs. ;)

Whatever I'm doing, wherever I am, life seems so much better with that perfect song accompanying me along.

Then there is the art of making the perfect mix. Making a great mix or playlist, a compilation of songs that can hit every nerve yet completely encompass your current state of mind, is not an easy task. Yeah, its easy to drag a bunch of songs onto a window and click the burn tab, but selection is key. That playlist is no good unless each and every song is out loud singable word for word. Each of those songs has to...evoke a feeling, a memory...inspire you, exhilirate you...or just artfully assuage you.

For me, the best songs are the ones that distinctly remind me of people in my life and the specific times in our lives that we shared listening to those songs. Who says the term "our song" is reserved for only romantic couples? When a song creates a memory between you and me, it's "our song." And when a song becomes a memory, it's music to my ears.

So, the next time you find yourself making a new playlist in iTunes or a new mix for the car, take a few minutes to find those songs that incite vivid emotion in you. Choose the ones that remind you of good times, or maybe even some bad times. Conjure up those memories of where you've been and who you have been there with...and use them to propel you to wherever you are headed.