Music, a daily supplement

I've noticed recently a couple of my friends showing some surprise when I know the lyrics to certain songs, or that I'm familiar with a band that isn't "popular"or "mainstream." Or they're just surprised with how much I know about some that are popular or mainstream. My response to that: ...well, music's a pretty dang important part of my life, and makes it a lot more meaningful/entertaining. I'm certain that we have music for a reason (or, probably multiple reasons), and it affects every one of us in some way.

My taste in music is pretty eclectic, spanning genres from classical to dance to rock to [some] rap to acoustic to electronic to jazz to mixes of everything in between. I can appreciate a pop song on the radio (depending on the artist) just as much as I can relax to a piece from Bizet's Carmen. One thing that I've actually come to love in the last few years is when two genres collide, and one is covered by another. For example, this is a fairly recent song that I would play at a dance or Divine Comedy event, wherever I would need to keep an audience pumped up and excited:

Then there's this guy who did an AMAZING cover of it with just a piano, probably a couple different takes, a decent amount of editing, and lots of practice to get it all right:

I know how to play basic piano, and like messing around on it and playing simple versions of songs that are kinda popular. But this... I'm just in awe at what he was able to pull off. Both versions of this song just put me in a good mood; either one can come on my music player, and most likely it won't be skipped.

Music is integral in my life. I've got a fairly large collection that just continues to grow based on songs I hear every day. I'd be lost without the apps on my phone that identify songs for me that I don't yet know (see the mini rant I had in my last post about technology these days and how incredible it truly is). If for some reason I don't have a music player around me, I'll start humming or whistling something. It just gets me by throughout the day. Some people used to do those "soundtracks for my life" posts on Myspace and Facebook back in the days when "notes" were still popular, and I'll admit that I did it once or twice. But honestly, I think it'd be amazing to have music playing wherever I went. It only enhances whatever I'm experiencing at the moment. It can change my mood, for better or for worse, or push me farther when I'm exercising, or just keep my mind focused on whatever I'm working on. I like to think of it as a necessary part of a balanced life.