Messed up

Why do I blog? It's true I just plain love to write. I'm a talker. I could talk about anything... but then when I'm tired of talking, writing takes it for me. I love it.

I have to say, I've been really touched by some e-mails I've gotten from people I've never met before, who've read my blogs and were touched by them. Things like that make my day to say the very least. It's awesome to hear feedback. And really humbling too.

Here is a blog that I love to read. Click the title of this blog....


You may have heard of Owl City... that guy can make the most disgusting words sound like audible honey. It's amazing. He's extremely talented, and I love his music. He recorded In Christ Alone, and put it on his blog this week, and reading through the responses he got from people was really just incredible to me. I just think it's staggeringly beautiful how much of an impact he can make on people.

Music is such a powerful thing. Music literally rules our generation. I really admire the way Adam (Owl City...) uses his music to express himself, and then still uses it to blatantly praise the Lord in the presence of his extremely diverse fan base. I love that his music is the core of who he is. As in, he uses it to express the smallest and most secret places in his depth. Music. It's what he does. It's what he is. And so he uses it, and shares it, even if it's uncomfortable for those who don't fully understand it.

I love how honest, and transparent music makes people. I don't think I could be offended by music when it's so honest... I'll rephrase that... I don't think I could disrespect anyone's music as long as it's honest and transparent.

As a writer and musician I have oodles of respect for other writers and musicians. It's language. It's a dialect that not every nation could interpret collectively the same way, but it has power to move you.

If you are reading this, and you've read other blogs of mine, you may know I'm a huge nerd. That's fine. I hope it's not a shock to you that I'm about to get a little nerdier in my next statement.... music moves us on a molecular level. Stay with me... it literally changes us molecularly. How insane is that? It's crazy. It's wonderful. Completely fantastic. It can move you.

I heard a guest speaker in one of my classes say it this way, "Music rearranges our molecules." It's the literal truth. No fancy talk to try to describe how music is mind boggling. It's simply the truth.

Music can mess me up. Seriously... I could be in the worst mood, and it'll change my very state. I'll forget why I was mad. Or the contrary, I could be feverishly happy, and all of a sudden, completely solemn. Messed up. It messes with me. I kinda love it.

Last night in Keyboard Ensemble, I was terrified. I practice... I really do. But Pirates of the Caribbean scares me. It's an arrangement of the theme song of the movies... GORGEOUS. But I openly recognize I am NOT a piano major, and would never have the guts to be one. I sing. My finger are mere fingers. Stubby ones at that. Anyway, we were supposed to be ready to do the entire piece last night at practice. I wasn't ready. The time signature stumped me every time. Let alone the notes.

But then when we all started playing, the whole thing made sense. No we didn't get through the whole thing. But there was a moment in the music.... somewhere around measure 30 or so... that heavily pulled me into the emotion of the music. I don't know what the chord was, but it was beautiful. It was like my fingers body surfed the music freely as if I were rolling with the waves back home at the Jersey shore. All 9 of us playing together. Adding to the motion of the music. I loved it. I'm not so terrified anymore. Unless Stampfli (prof) makes me play my part by myself. Then I'll be sweating bullets.

As Jorge Casas (pop theory prof... plays bass for Gloria Estefan. How cool is that?) would say, music theory makes sense. It makes sense on an emotional level. It makes you feel something.

When we practice our ear training for pop theory (recognizing things by ear), he always tells us to memorize how it makes us feel. If we can recognize it, we'd have no issues saying, "I'm feelin' it man. That's a Bb half diminished chord." And so on...

So this is my rant for the day so far.

I love music. And please listen to In Christ Alone on the Owl City blog. You will love it.