Soothes the Savage Beast  

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I believe the saying goes Music can soothe the savage beast.... If not it's something similar to that, and besides I'm sure you guys have heard the term in one form or another. I have been reading in a bunch of posts lately things relating to music. I think it's one of the few things that all of us have in common. MOST people enjoy music of some form or another. While we might not like the same type, we like some type and that should hint a little bit at the fact that maybe we aren't all that damn different after all.

I'll share that I'm a former band geek. Ian brought up cliques and I guess I fit into a few of them. I was in band from 4th grade till the end of my freshman year of high school. I played the trumpet, flugelhorn, and french horn when called upon (which I really hated). I stepped away from marching band in 10th grade because that was a conflict for me with football. I was definitely a jock at heart. I loved sports as a kid. I played ball of one form or another throughout my childhood, and into adulthood. I have had many friends from different teams I've played on and some I still talk with to this day. That's for another post though...

I was decent in band. I played in drum and bugle corps also and that I kept up all through high school. that was sorta my secret and not many knew that I was doing that while still maintaining jock status :)

That's not really the music I'm talking about though...I knew I loved music from a fairly young age. My dad played in a band and I grew up on Joe Cocker, Foghat, Boston, Bad Company and The Stones. My taste were a little bit differnt than that growing up though...I'm pretty diverse, and listened to everything from Run DMC to Peter Frampton.

I came to find out that I could change my moods pretty quickly depending on what I listened to. If I wanted to work out, I listened to AC/DC or Boston, if I wanted to fall asleep maybe John Waite. People can say what they want, but nothing can put me in road rage quicker than The Offspring or Live...Something about the tempo that just makes me wanna GO GO GO!!!!

I discovered Country at the age of 19 and I have to say, that I wasn't all that impressed at first. Garth Brooks, and Randy Travis changed all that for me. My grandparents listened to that OLD country, I can't handle too much of that, but give me some good ol' Toby Keith now and I'm pretty happy. I also learned that Country Music can change my moods just as fast as pop and rock did. Wanna speed up a little bit, don't bother with a caffeine kick, just turn on some Brooks and Dunn. Need to get to sleep, try a little Tracy Byrd.

Regardless of what mood it puts you in, when you are listening to music, the world is just a little bit better. Things just seem to flow better for me at least. I've recently started listening to more and more classical music (getting old I know). It's so relaxing and I find that I can actually concentrate with it playing lightly in the background.

So put on that old cd you just found or download a few more songs on your Ipod, or do like I do and use the *gasp* radio. Anyway you like, just remember that music soothes the savage beast, and it does a pretty good job on the cranky blogger too...

This entry was posted at Tuesday, February 02, 2010 and is filed under , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

13 comments

Music is life =) (from a fellow band geek)

February 2, 2010 at 6:21 PM

I think I'll take your advice and listen to something mellow and upbeat tomorrow. I need a mood changer.

February 2, 2010 at 6:26 PM

All I can hear right now is the sound of Hubby on the phone, making plans to meet up for lunch with Larry Sanders, from the "Coastliners" to discuss the Mistress. Did that sound a little jealous? Does it show?

February 2, 2010 at 7:05 PM

Ah, the French Horn is a lovely instrument, why did you hate it? Maybe hard to play?
As usual, you give me food for thought...I think I may have a post about music coming up in the near future.

February 2, 2010 at 7:51 PM
Anonymous  

As you can guess I relate to this post. I had lots of "band geek" friends except they were not considered geeks in my school. They were cool and cute boys!!! I love how a song can change your mood, change your outlook, change your mind. It bothers me that music programs are often cut in schools due to budgeting problems. It has been shown that learning music composition can dramatically improve a child's comprehension of mathematics! How cool is that!

February 2, 2010 at 7:52 PM

Kristy...something tells me you were/are far better than I..

rebekah...if you feel like trying something, not sure if you listen to them, but Blues Traveler has some really good stuff.. :)

Ms. Anthropy..lol...maybe a lil' jealous..

Joe...while i agree that the sound of the french horn is great, it was a bit cumbersome after playing a trumpet..

Lisa Marie..along with increasing their mathematical aptitude, it is the greatest single gift I can think of to give my kids. It's something they can take with them wherever they go...My middle son sings in choir and my youngest is going to play in band next year...I'm excited for them..

February 2, 2010 at 9:52 PM

I listen to music all the time when I write. I repeat a piece if I find it is particularly suited to the scene I'm writing. Pavarotti is singing behind me right now..

February 3, 2010 at 1:20 AM
Anonymous  

So true. I sometimes wonder what music would be playing if my life were made into a movie. Weird, but true.

February 3, 2010 at 10:47 AM

You use the radio????!? (just kidding :P I do too )

Seriously, music is wonderful!

February 3, 2010 at 1:59 PM
Anonymous  

Yes, MUSIC is what actually makes the world go round!!!!!

February 3, 2010 at 2:18 PM

Bendigo, if you like Garth, you'll love Chris LeDoux.... I can't listen to new country, but I remember Boot, Scoot and Boogie-ing....

February 3, 2010 at 4:55 PM

I absolutely enjoyed Chris LeDoux...The singin' cowboy was pretty impressive.... Not the greatest voice but he was real and that's something I can appreciate.

February 3, 2010 at 8:46 PM

I think I would want to crawl under a rock and stay there if I couldn't listen to music anymore.

It's in my soul.

February 4, 2010 at 11:04 AM

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