Isn’t it crazy how a song can come on the radio and your mind is instantly whisked away to a specific time or place or person? It’s as if these moments in your life (both the major and mundane) are somehow connected to a song or album, and can give you a fleeting return ticket to your earlier life when hearing them again.
Music has always had that power with me. When I hear “Carolina in my Mind” I’m transported back to summer camping trips to North Carolina with my daddy. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” puts me right back in Daytona Beach on Spring Break. Any song by ABBA makes me feel like I’m 10 years old again, belting out the lyrics with my mom and sisters. And for the last almost 20 years, John Mayer’s music has been my life’s soundtrack.
It makes me happy to crank up the tunes and sing along, whether I’m by myself cleaning the kitchen or we’re all piled in the car for school drop-off. There’s something about getting lost in the moment and just letting the music take over for a little bit. My boys know they either need to sing along or be quiet–no talking while we’re jamming out! 🙂
The style of music we play in our house changes according to the mood, the season (oh yea, Christmas music is played the entire month of December!), the time of day, or who’s choosing it. There might be Brett Dennen one day and Imagine Dragons the next. It just depends on what’s going on in our little world.
I’ve realized over time that music and music concerts are a huge part of who I am, and a way to bring happiness into my life. No matter what is happening around me, the right music can ease the pain, comfort the hurt, or celebrate the goodness. It’s a little bit of “me therapy.”
So, my ultimate treat or gift to myself is a night of live music. I don’t need the latest Coach bag or Louboutin heels. I’d rather spend our “fun” money on concert tickets. There’s just something about live music performances. They take me away from the stress, the worrying, the constant go-go-go of our life. It’s a few hours of escaping into a fun, happy world with a few thousand others who are just as excited to be there singing along with you.
And I always walk out a happier person. I usually leave with the songs and fun moments from the musicians still dancing in my head. It feels like I’m floating above the craziness of life for a little while … and then we come back to reality and make do with our own concerts in the car until the next time we get tickets for another magical music getaway.
Omg! Totally agree with this! Music is my go to. I don’t drink or smoke to relieve stress, I crank up the tunes. You could say I am stuck in the 90’s but I also grew up listening to my moms favorite tunes also. So a few of the songs that I turn up is American Pie by Don McClean, Fancy, and That’s the night that the lights went out in Georgia by Reba McIntyre, then switching up to Fiona Apple, Rage Against the Machine, NIN, but my all time favorite forever and always will be Butch Walker. He was the lead singer in Marvelous 3 in the 90’s. His music is my life story much like it seems John Mayor is to you.