Good day, my fine friends.
Have you ever had an experience where a song captivates you? For days? I find myself lucky to have those experiences. It isn’t always, but when it does happen, I am always thankful and usually a little surprised.
When I find these songs, usually it’s either a YouTube like next play, or a Spotify suggestion. These are moments I am thankful for algorithms. My YouTube and Spotify have my taste in music figured out. (I don’t always love what they’re trying to sell me… haven’t quite cracked that code yet. But that’s another topic.)
Because music is my profession, you can imagine I have listened to and performed a lot of music. A lot. And after a while, it is easy to separate yourself from it. There are pros and cons to this: a pro being that your nerves start to dissipate because you’re being repeatedly exposed to similar stimuli. A negative is the flip side of that same coin: you can distance yourself from the music you’re creating. After all, often as a professional, you’re working on music that you are being asked to produce, and the subject or type of that music does not often align with your heart.
But when it does, it is something like magic. When I fall in love with a song on first listen, it is as though those sounds borough right through the thoughts in my head and curl up right next to my heart and soul. To try to explain it in color, it’s like a black circle opens in my chest, and it has a misty outline of many different hues of blue. Usually, I see an expanse in my head before me. The clouds part. This moment is crystal clear.
I find myself today entranced by this song. It’s called “More Like Love” by Ben Rector. I’ve included the lyrics below. And even if this song does not have the same effect on you, I hope there is a song that is running with you today. Happy listening, friends.
Chelsie
I used to think I wanted to be famous
I’d be recognized out in a crowd
But the funny thing is every time
I’ve gotten what I want it lets me down
But now I just wanna look more like love
I just wanna look more like love
This whole world is spinning crazy
And I can’t quite keep up
So one thing around here that we don’t have quite enough of
So I just wanna look a little more like love
I used to think I needed all the answers
I used to need to know that I was right
I used to be afraid of things I couldn’t cover up in black and white
But now I just wanna look more like love
I just wanna look more like love
This whole world is spinning crazy
I can’t quite keep up
So one thing around here that we don’t have quite enough of
So I just wanna look a little more like love
I find the farther that I climb
There’s always another line of mountain tops
It’s never gonna stop
And the more of anything I do
The the thing that always ends up true
Is getting what I want, will never be enough
So I just wanna look more like love
I just wanna look more like love
This whole world is spinning crazy
I can’t quite keep up
So one thing around here that we don’t have quite enough of
So I just wanna look a little more like love
Like love