Music on a Sunday   

Music on a Sunday

(not intentionally an indie title...)

I was driving home from making a quick errand this Sunday afternoon when I heard a song that I really liked on the radio. I quickly roll the volume dial to the right. I could tell that I really liked the song because at that moment, I had become something quite similar to a dashboard bobblehead doll, into the beat, completely carefree, and totally unconcerned about my ridiculousness. Due to my foolish behavior, I undoubtedly appeared slightly insane to any fellow drivers on their weekend outing, restlessly waiting for the traffic light to change; however, the oversized, annular sunglasses I was wearing, along with my showy faux fur hooded jacket, probably helped altar their perception a bit, making me appear like an overexposed, D-lister celebrity recording a 99 cent album while driving in a rental that was, unfortunately, the only rental available upon notice in this humdrum town. I could've just said I looked like Paris Hilton, but that wouldn't have been any fun... (plus I have a word limit to reach here)

Anyway, I was singing along to this song, filling in the unknown parts with hums, nah-nah's, and baby speech, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel keyboard, thumping my left foot to the beat when suddenly I realized that I was freakin' IN LOVE with this song and that I had no idea what it was titled and who sung it. I don't have Sirius XM radio service that automatically tells you the artist and song being played, so in the old-fashioned way, I have to play the fun and equally frustrating game "Guess the Title" because most of the time, radio hosts fail to mention the name or artist of the song being played. BIG, NASTY TURDHEADS!!! - WITH ANGELIC VOICES!!!! If I don't know the song, I have to guess the title of it by determining the most frequently said, emphasized phrase in the chorus and hopefully get it correct, or at least something close to it that, so I can google and search for the song on the internet (if I love it THAT much).

All through the song, I was trying to guess its title, praying that it wasn't one of those hippy, indie titles that have almost nothing to do with the lyrics of the song because its lyricist was trying too hard to be original. The song was nearing its end and I had found what I thought was the title--playing the phrase over and over in my head so I wouldn't forget it after rolling into my driveway. After all of my effort to guess the song title, and remember it, the radio host announces, "And folks, that was 'TiK ToK' by Ke$ha. More mix coming your way on Mix 106 5."

Actually... that's a lie. That's not the song that had me pretending to be a bobblehead pianist in my car...
For those of you here who understand a little more about my 20 year old self than others, you'll probably believe me when I say that the radio host really said, "And folks, that was 'If You Really Love Me' by Stevie Wonder. More 70s-80s weekend coming your way on: 101.9 Lite FM."

Okay...So... Thank you, radio people...? Were they messing with me??? They actually announced the title and artist for once...?! I wish I could kiss them! But mostly, I wish I had their heavenly voices...

(I'll have to seek out Ursula, octopus witch and part-time larynx thief, for that. Mwhahahahaha...)

To continue, I was quite close guessing the song title and artist. I guessed the title was "If you really love me, Won't you tell me?" But now when I think about it, that title would be a bit too much. I figured the artist was Stevie from the get-go because it sounded like him, but I could have been wrong, so thank you, radio people, who made my day a bit easier! As soon as I got home and put my bags of art supplies away, I hopped on the computer and searched the song to place on my playlist for later itunes downloading. I found the song on playlist.com, but when I played it, it just wasn't the same song...

Something was a little different about it and I couldn't figure out what. Were my car speakers better than my computer speakers? Was it a slightly different version of the song played on the radio? I played the song again and listened a bit closer. It was definitely the same version, but something was still missing. What?

The song that played on the computer had failed to excite me as much as it did in my car, and I wondered why. No tapping my foot to the beat. No bobbing of the head. No pretend keyboard playing. All it did was invoke a slight smile and encourage my calm behavior even further. After thinking about it for a bit, I finally realized what was missing from the song. Pedestrians were missing. Street signs were missing. Sunshine was missing. The song was being deprived of life---which was something I couldn't quite experience, in all its glory, while staring at a bright computer screen, absorbing its fabricated light.

I always wondered why music sounded so much better on my ipod while walking than it did while sitting at my computer at home. Nearly everyday during the warmer months, I sit at a picnic table on campus, waiting for my next class to start. I'd begin to read a textbook or work on some sketches when I decide I really need some music. I need some Stevie. I need some DMB. Stat! I'll dig my ipod out of my messy purse, untangle the knot my headphones tied themselves into, and push the power button, hoping it still has a bit of battery left. Then, I'll lay my head down on the table, comfortably resting on my sweatshirt pillow, watching the people pass by, chat with each other, embrace each other... I don't want to sound like a hippy more than I already do, but listening to some great music with amazing lyrics while soaking up the sun, the breeze, and everything else I'm too lazy to mention here is a total high for me. This is where music came from in the first place. Life makes music and our music "amplifies" life. So, why not listen to it while watching the world pass by?