I love the power of music. Sometimes I’m astonished by it.
For a few years now, my son’s favorite song has been Against Me!’s cover of “Here Comes A Regular” by The Replacements. It is, admittedly, a fantastic rendition. Check it out:
Thing is, it’s a sad dirge about aging alone in a small, shitty town and finding your only solace in a small, shitty bar.
My son is a teenager. He does not live in a small shitty town. He does not drink (and yes, smart guy, I’m sure of it). He is not a weary middle-aged man wondering where his life went. He should not relate to this.
But it stirs something in him all the same. He takes his own thing from it, he weaves it into his own life, and it means something to him, and it strikes a chord in him, and it’s powerful to him. He CONNECTS with it through the sheer power of music.
I’ve had the same experience with many songs over the years. Songs that connected with me despite being the furthest possible thing to my own experiences or emotions or feelings. Songs that can make you feel sad when you are happy, or that can make you dance when you’re feeling lazy, or that can make you pine for yesterday’s you’ve never actually experienced.
I love that music is capable of this sort of thing.
I love music.
