If We’re Lucky Enough…

Part III

We’re not robots…

At least, not yet….

Even if our lives can sometime seem like a series of tasks; smartphone swipes,and download commands

Fear not perspective reader!..…

This isn't an anti-technology rant in any way, shape, or form

To the contrary, I'm a big proponent of convenience and thus, I welcome technology.

What this is…. is the conclusion to

“The Music & People That Make Us.”

“Time is of the essence and keystrokes are currency…”

We feel responsible…..Then we feel rushed..

We fall in love…..Then we feel exposed…

We feel accomplished …..

Then we feel anxiety…

Yet through all of it we continued to post and upload to social media, our thoughts and feelings, and those countless food pictures,

Just like that double smoked ham I made last fall(Pictured above)

I'm still proud of that ham…

The Hard Truth

So it turns out that when you're in your late 40s you automatically re-evaluate and come to terms with hard truths,at least in my case.

It’s like your “middle aged auto-pilot” kicks in and you’re seizing naps and topping out at 3 beers before your 9:30 pm bedtime.

So I took that proverbial "thousand foot step back" to allow me to see the wider perspective of the music, people and moments that have helped shape me.

What I am?

Where have I've been?

Who have I know(n)?..

Where I’m currently at with everything?…

It all reminds of Ravel’s “Bolero”..

It begins with a low crescendoing snare strikes over the low melodic rumble pulses of bass notes underneath..

What I hear….."Our lives, regimented, but meaningful"

The line slowly resolves into a drone and the melody reigns are then handed over to an eagerly waiting oboe, which then delivers that same recognizable melody pattern.

The melody becomes a newer version of itself and continues that same pattern until other instruments grow around it and eventually join in.

What I hear….. “Ambition, change, camaraderie”.

Maybe it's my poor attempt at metaphor…?

It's the best way I can accurately illustrate what takes place in my mind when the music means something to me.

I hope we all experience that.

As much as possible, and without guilt.

Sometimes musical influences roots deepen at the same time you’re growing up, as illustrated in "And So It Begins.."

Other times, the people are as new to you as the music they bring into your life as illustrated "Shut Up, Listen"

And yet, there’s still other occasions where music heightens the moment and brings two souls together…

Those Moments

I lived Oregon, OH, and she hailed from Monroe, Michigan

We both shared an affinity for the outdoors, British Columbia Blueberry cannabis, and music, lots & lots of music...

We were kindred spirits, nevermind the outward attraction, at least on my end..

With the long the long Memorial weekend quickly approaching, we agreed to meet up and hang out over in Clear Lake, Michigan.

I was lucky enough to know someone with a fully heated, barracks style cottage.

There were 8 other couples staying there as well.

Funny thing was…that she and I were only a “couple” in that there were two of us..

Prior to that trip, we had lunch twice, and a few brief conversations over the phone…..

I can still hear the crackle and hiss of the damp yellow birch wood hitting the already smoldering coals just underneath.

There's something about a late May night in Michigan.

The slow warming morning and the coolness follow in the evening.

Its campfire weather.

It's that waffle blue long sleeve she’s wearing with my flannel draping over her shoulders.

We spoke ad nauseam between beer sips and bowl tokes.

We talked about growing up listening to Hall & Oates, and the conversation somehow morphed in whether I was on “Team Garfield” or “Team Heathcliff”…?

The light and heat coming off the small, intense fire were nearly perfect.

All of this happening while Rusted Root’s "When The Cat Turn Blue.." poured the from the cottage garage, only 20 yards away..

There were 8 other couples in and around that fire that night.

We were blissfully oblivious to anything and everyone.

All that I remember in the moment was Rusted Root's music, her laughing, and myself; content in the moment…

Me: “I’m die hard ‘Team Heathcliff’.

As mentioned before in the earlier, it’s challenging sometimes for most of us trying to navigate through peaks and valleys.

If we're lucky enough, we can take a few minutes now and then…

Hit "Play".. listen and remember when, where, and…

"Who with?"....

If we're lucky enough, we can look back on the last few decades and remember the time I was with her at her first Prince concert and she got onstage and danced…..

….Or that time I went to the IndyJazz Fest” with my Dad , and ended up standing within 6 feet of Ray Charles and his keyboard.

We somehow made are way to front.

That show would turn out one of the legendary artists' last performances.

I paid $21.00 bucks to get both my dad into the festival to see anyone with an instrument or microphone.

We watched and listened intently to this legendary artist while eating smoked turkey drumsticks….

We looked like 2 black vikings, an older and a younger one, slurping down water'd down mixed drinks through smiling lips.

That crisp red tuxedo jacket.

That long black Yamaha keyboard.

Those shiny black shoes tapping, keeping time.

Ray’s voice, now waning from the cancer ;running on the fumes of soul and heart.

Dad and I are taking it all in.

I remember it like it was yesterday and not 20 years.

That’s what music does.

Milestones & Such…

I just turned 49 a week ago and like everyone else, I'm still enjoying milestones moments.

Specifically milestones of the musical kind.

Those musical happenings or releases that are shared by multiple generations concurrently.

Last weeks Pink Floyd's 50th Anniversary "Darkside Of The Moon” release comes to mind.

Music is still as much of a refuge now for me as it was when I was sitting in the class with Emily or sitting in the living room, at age 7, watching Soul Train with my family.

Music provides a background for me to contrast almost anything I try to bring to the forefront, usually words within ideas.

But I have to admit to…

From time to time I assume the guise of a juvenile and resort to playing Metallica’s "And Justice For All" at high volume while driving real slow in a predominantly upscale suburb…just to get a reaction or at least, in nothing else…

Some material to write about..

Again, it’s a juvenile act, I admit it, even to the point of being a little sadistic maybe…

But at least it's sincere……

I think they're were more freaked out by the fact that I know all the words and instrument queues, rather than me being African American…

All in fun…

Good Music…

All that said, Ive learned over the years to trust and understand how different life can be like in that 3 to 5 minutes of melody and harmony.

The people affect us, and the music infects us.

What is “Good Music?”

I define "Good Music" as any music that conjures up imagery of people I know, or have known.

All of which, I still love.

Sure, it’s subjective to the individual in the same way your explanation of a Basquiat piece is likely to differ from mine, or even an added third actor.

I've heard it said at music festival convo tent:

"We're all part of different generations that try like hell to show one another that their generation's music is the be all,end all before shit went corporate..."

Sounds funny and a little cynical…..

I always defer back to those lyrics from Stevie Wonder’s song “Sir Duke” when it comes to how I feel about people in relation to music:

“Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand…”

Thanks for reading

Eugene Nell 2023