Music makes my life.
In any season, based on the weather or emotion, music has always been there to give me that hug I desperately needed. It is that warmth you get when listening to a song that gets it. It gets the feelings you are feeling.
Picture this.
You are sitting next to your fireplace. The embers roaring. A cup of tea in hand. The record player is spinning in the corner of the living room and from its sultry cords rings the sweet vocals of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. It is peaceful.
You are immediately at peace.
It is insane the way music can make us feel. I have learned in the past year that my favorite music is vintage sounds. The guitars the ring perfectly in tune with the drum kit. The notes that are low, yet the octave shifts, bringing a tone like never before. All of the music of the late 20th century moves me to tears and/or want to dance.
It is pure magic.
Since fall is among us and that fall semester is hitting America's youth directly in the abdomen, I decided to share yet another one of my many playlists. This one on my phone is called Laurel Canyon, 1969. Pretty amazing if you ask me.
It is always and always will be about the music of the late 60s. Simply iconic.
Bad Moon Rising : Creedence Clearwater Revival
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival (HQ - 5.1 Studio )www.youtube.com
I have the largest, and I mean largest, crush on John Fogerty. I am not ashamed either. He is my 1969 dreamboat and if I could sip a mimosa on his yacht and listen to the Green River album on repeat, no questions asked. I am there with champagne.
This song is one that I have been listening to far before it made its way to my playlist. My dad loves Creedence and had their CD when I was a child. My household was always CD's on the stereo, listening to the music my parents loved. 'Bad Moon Rising' always stuck out to me because of the speed and joy it brought my emotions. It picks me up when I am down, almost immediately.
You want to get up and dance.
You want to drive you 1987 Ford f150 down the back roads of your hometown, the windows down, wind in your hair. It is one of the most liberating songs I have ever heard.
Dancing in the Street : The Mamas & Papas
The Mamas & The Papas - Dancing In The Street (HQ)www.youtube.com
So, after this song, I want to be Dancing In The Street. To be quite honest. This song is those immediate 60s vibes. The guitar and the beat. Well, that and the strong voice of Mama Cass, too.
The Mamas & Papas single-handedly changed the dynamic of music groups and the sound that they can capture. I first heard this song while in my roommate's Jeep, running down Kentucky backroads. It came through the speakers as though I had been missing it my whole life. You can hear the strength of women in the song as well. Michelle and Cass perform with gumption and sass. Their notes vary and their runs are spectacular.
The song makes me giggle, and that is always the best sign.
Touch of Grey : Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey (Official Music Video)www.youtube.com
I was sitting in a pizza restaurant one night. I was looking around at the photos and art on the wall and say a photograph of two men riding camels. The caption said 'Grateful Dead, Dubai'. It was none other than Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh, mounted on two large camels.
I laughed out loud. For this song is one of my favorite Grateful Dead creations.
Now, I know this song came out in the 80s but is on the playlist because of how it makes me feel. It is freeing. The notes are very vintage and remind me of many artists that came before. It is all about life having color, but also has that touch of grey. but, that's okay. All will be okay and people will survive.
California Girls : The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys- California Girls (1965)www.youtube.com
Oh, look, another one of my crushes. None other than Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson. A musical genius and absolute west coast dreamy boy.
This song just makes me feel loved. I am not even from California but is so amazing and free-loving. The song is pure and hopeful for love, something that music can be absent of. It would a dream of mine to have the Beach Boys serenade me. It would be like having a sensual hug from a boyfriend.
So tender, so kind.
Miss You : The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones - Miss You - OFFICIAL PROMOwww.youtube.com
THIS. FREAKING. SONG.
I cannot even begin to tell you its importance to me. I will protect this track with all of my mind, body, and soul. I heard this song for the first time when driving down the highway with my dad.
He is a big Rolling Stones fan. His absolute favorite song is from Some Girls, called 'Shattered'. When listening to the entire album, this song came through the radio and I was captivated. I wanted to get up and jump for joy. It made me grin from ear to ear.
Not only that, Miss You has some of the best guitar notes I have ever heard. It is all-encompassing. Along with that, I just want to meet Charlie Watts and give him a hug.
All Along the Watchtower : Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower - Live Atlanta 7-4-70 - VOCAL/GUITAR onlywww.youtube.com
When I was in middle school, we had a writing assignment that asked, 'If you could have a dinner party, with people both dead or alive, who would you invite?'
Well, being the writing feen that I am, I wrote about these questions for pages and pages. At the top of my listening was none other than the king himself, Jimi Hendrix. I heard him play the 'Star-Spangled Banner' at Woodstock, on the guitar, he plays upside down and I was captivated. At the dinner party, he will be performing 'All Along the Watchtower' of course.
I love this song. It gives me the spirit to feel like I can conquer the world.
