Let’s talk about the one thing in my life that has always been special

Music has always been a staple of my life. I can remember being a little kid and listening with my parents to such names as Frank Sinatra, The Association, Neil Diamond and Neil Sedaka. For those of you younger than 60, those were some of the best singer/songwriters of the 60s.

Granted, it took until I was in my teens for me to realize just how much I loved music. The way songs could go from fast to slow, loud to soft. The way lyrics could tell you a story about life. The way a singer’s voice could transport you to places and feelings you might not have ever thought about.

I listen to just about every type of music you can think of. Some more than others, but I can usually take something from any type of music. Think about those certain songs that whenever you hear them, you remember the first time you heard it, or how you felt the first time. I can be driving down the highway, hear a song that I’ve loved and listened to all my life, know every word and note, and it will still bring either a tear to my eye or a warmth to my heart.

Everyone loves music. It has universal appeal. If you don’t like classical, you might like rock, or pop, or rap, or New Age. Think about how much music humanity has created since we figured out that some noises go well together, and with a certain rhythm, can evoke emotions that few other creative arts can give. There are bone instruments that have been found that are 40,000 years old. (Thanks AI for the info.) There have been BILLIONS of pieces of music that humanity has created.

I think I can safely say, everyone likes music.

To me, it doesn’t matter what the genre is. If the music has a great rhythm, good musicianship, and the lyrics make me remember parts of life that I thoroughly enjoyed, I like listening to it.

I also spend a lot of time listening to New Age music, which if you have no idea what that is, it’s generally highly rhythmic music without lyrics. It can also be softer music. It’s great for ADHD folks like me who can never get their brains to shut off at night when trying to sleep. I just put on New Age music (Space Station SOMA is my favorite) at a volume just loud enough you can make out all the instruments, and let it run for two hours. I almost always fall asleep within 15-20 minutes.

We play music for our babies. We play music to celebrate life and death. We play music to just celebrate being alive or having a great day. We play music that makes us cry, and laugh, and scream and sing along.

Music is THE one thing that I think everyone can believe in. If you’re feeling down, you listen to music to either commiserate to, or to help bring you into a happier state. Music doesn’t care how old you are, what your nationality is, where you live, who you love. When created well, it will transcend all of it and just make you smile.

Tim Marlow lives in Storm Lake.