Don’t Panic, It’s Only Music

I sat, eyes closed, staring at my life; the way it looked in the dark. Music brings memories and makes new ones. Pumped, loud, into my earbuds was a live recording of a a couple of bands I’d seen play together several times. Widespread Panic with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, God, even now it quickens my pulse.

Those flats and sharps on the clavi, it was Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. No music lover can be still with such a honed, funky groove. Those who seem motionless are ensconced in a cocoon of contentment. They’re dancing their minds off.

Have you ever closed your eyes during an instrumental solo and tried to see the music? There is a story there, a path riding on waves of color. Or maybe there isn’t.

Christmas Katie comes on. I can see Katie, sauntering down the roadside and stepping out of the way in time to avoid the dusty Cadillac, but not quickly enough to avoid its dusyt cloud. The building brass and drums are actually building… “Puttin’ on the doors, put the wheels on tight” and after the car’s been assembled the guitar comes in to drive, and make it last all night!

If Widespread Panic isn’t your speed, close your eyes and listen to Pink Floyd’s Shine on You Crazy Diamond from the Pulse live two-disc set. Every emotion, save anger, is in there. It’s a vivid story. Try it.

Every song tells a story. There are, very often, multiple tales being told simultaneously. This is where the genius of art happens. Music, painting, sculpture, poetry, and film all build upon themselves. The artist’s brush covers a canvas with layers of paint. A sculptor’s hands smooth and shape earth and metal over and again. Music is special though. It can not only build upon itself, but it can also harness poetry. Music is poetry. Every phrase and expression, linked in melodic sequence, is open to interpretation.

Music and writing help make me a better version of me every day. They are who I am. Who are you?