While I absolutely feel that I'm blessed to have such a cool job–especially when lots of folks are slogging through extraordinarily tough times–there are some moments when I let the amount of work ahead of me cause just the smallest amount of stress. It's in times like these that I reflect upon the revitalizing power of art. For me, no art form is as evocative, as transformational or as engaging as music.
I've been an avid musician since I was 12 years old, a lowly seventh-grader learning the drums in Charlie Clark's Beginning Band class at East Junior High School (now home to the Colorado Springs Conservatory and Galileo School of Math and Science). More than 20 years later, I still play drums, although I've also added guitar, piano, ukulele, and bass to the mix.
I love playing my instruments, but I spend so much more time listening to others playing theirs. It's always a transformational experience, akin to meditation in a way. It's during the day here at COPPeR when I do most of my listening. iTunes is constantly open, and I balance my musical diet between old favorites and new releases (complete albums, only–I'm a "purist"). Right now, I just finished listening to Katy Lied by Steely Dan and now the brand new Silversun Pickups album Swoon is rocking the office.
I love it all, though. Maybe someone out there on the INTARWEBS can suggest something new for me to sink my ears into. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Swoon ... it's new, and quite good, IMHO.
Oh, and the title of this post is also a cool song by a little British band called Blur. Here's the video:
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