If you read along with our “Getting to Know You” series on 5 Things Thursday (you can check out installments 1, 2, 3, and, definitely hardest of all, 4 if you missed any), then you know that I love music.

I’ve sung or played instruments in chorales, choirs, worship teams, rock bands, bee-pop duos (complete with poodle skirts), musicals, solos…the works…for as long as I can remember.

But the thing is that, although music has been an integral part of my life, I don’t actually listen to it very much now.

I almost never have it on at the house. And we don’t listen so very often in the car unless Della’s sleepy and fussy and needs a distraction.

Obviously, the music is blaring the whole time I’m teaching at the gym, but that doesn’t feel like music so much as the beat that I hurt to.

So, why in the world would I love it so much but practically never listen to it?

I think the main answer is busyness.

I’m not a technologically adept sort, so I put off figuring out “gadgets” (yes, I’m 84-years-old on the inside) for…well…years.

I can prove it: I have an Ipod—have had for over a year 1/2—and yet have still never bothered to sit down and figure out how to set it up to play music.

Sad?

Absolutely.

True?

Most definitely.

So, if I don’t have a gadget all set up to play my favorite songs, then I’ve got to go find a cd that fits my mood, and heaven knows where that one ended up, and…

It just feels like more work and doesn’t end up happening.

So, today, I’m making a conscious effort to talk about some of the music that puts a smile on my face in hopes that, before the year 2020—when Ipods will be obsolete anyway because we will surely just be able to tap our temples, think of a song, and hear it playing from every speaker within a mile radius (doesn’t sound problematic to me at all)—I will actually get my musical act together (complete with dancing Russian bears) and bring back a part of my life that I may not even realize that I miss…but I do.

So, here I go with a list of music that makes me happy:

1) Motown.

My Girl, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Mama Said, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, Wonderful World… I love them all. Shaun made me a cd with about 20 of the best classic Motown hits for Christmas a few years back, and it’s one of the most common ones I do bother to haul out—mostly for cleaning.

Nobody softens the sting of scrubbing toilets like Aretha.

2) The Mostly Martha “soundtrack.” There actually isn’t one, but I love practically every song and every musical score in that movie, and, once again, my awesome hubby saved the day by tracking down every single song in the movie, buying them individually, and burning them to a cd for me.

Mostly Martha is my cooking music. The movie is about a German chef, so maybe that’s why, but if it had been about mushroom-growing, it wouldn’t change the fact that it really is the perfect music to cook to (although it might beg the question of why I was watching a movie about mushroom-growing).

3) Collective Soul’s “Run,” “Falling Slowly” from Once, and “Ain’t No Sunshine.”

These are my moody/happy songs (there are plenty of others, but my brain is tired right now). The mood of these songs embodies that good sad feeling that overtakes me sometimes, leaving me all philosophical and pensive about “life.”

4) “Tale as Old as Time” from Beauty and the Beast, Alison Kraus’s version of “When You Say Nothing At All,” Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”

These are a few of my pretty/sappy go-tos.

Beautiful melodies.

Poignant lyrics.

love.

5) And while there are lots and lots of other that make me feel this way, One Republic’s “Good Life” is my current choice for sing-along, makes-me-want-to-dance-around-the-kitchen-with-my hands-in-the-air euphoria.

So, what about you?

Do you have certain songs that evoke different kinds of happiness for you?

I know you do. So you might as well tell me all about them. : )

P.S. Speaking of music, I don’t know if this song make me happy or not, but it astounds me. If you need a good jaw-UNhinging today, check out this video that my bro sent me. I have never (insert that word 456,789 more times, and you’ll get a better idea of its emphasis in my mind) seen somebody’s mouth move this fast (especially for that long—check it out from about a 1:05 on if you don’t want to watch the whole thing).

 

 

 

 

0 Comments

  1. So belated on this post, but a) love how fast that girl can rap b) Falling Slowly is my wedding song next year, so it makes me indescribably happy to see it mentioned anywhere!

  2. Oh the fifth one, I think that One Republic lead singer is so so cute, I am currently having on replay their song with Alesso, it’s called If I lose Myself. And I enjoyed the cover of Look at me now to which you provided the link, like it way better than the original one though.

I love hearing from you guys!