My Music

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." -Bertold Auerbach

The other day, I was laying on the floor in my apartment listening to this and I got thinking about music. I like music. Always have. Always will. Music has the power to move me in a way that nothing else can. I was reminded of this again on Sunday listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir & Orchestra at Temple Square perform "O Come, All Ye Faithful". It was simply divine.

Growing up, Mom and Dad frequently played music around the house. Whether I was mopping the kitchen floor listening to Les Miserables (I learned what a prostitute was that day- ah, the memories) or enjoying the Christmas strains of Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians and their unique version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on the reel-to-reel, music was always music in the house. I like to think my life has been blessed because of early exposure to bands like CCR, the Kingston Trio and 3 Dog Night (saw them in concert a few years ago- that was a trip) and to artists like the Statler Brothers, John Denver and Tom T. Hall, as well as spiritual music, classical music and Broadway tunes.

That being said, I am in somewhat of a musical rut for a great while now and need some new ideas. I listen to the same 7 or 9 playlists on my iPod over and over and while I obviously love the songs, I need to branch out to something besides church music, country broadway and folk type music. I have a few friends who like Bon Iver- I tried listening to their videos on YouTube and couldn't understand what the lead singer was saying- either I am getting old or I need to look at the lyrics first and then listen so I have a general idea of what I am listening for. I know others who like Sufjan Stevens- I saw him/them on Jimmy Fallon one night and that was just weird. Ingrid Michaelson has been recommended and I do enjoy her.

So, I am open to suggestions. I don't have a particular fondness for rap, although I really like this one rap number, but really, it's a knockoff of a Sting song, so is it even really rap? I have a definite non-fondness for real heavy metal and death music type stuff. I would like to be one who can appreciate all kinds of music, even if it wouldn't necessarily be my first choice.

What do you think I would like?