Drowning in music

Do you do this? I can't be the only one that does this. Though I may be the only one who does it in a Prius, and before you go hating on being fuel-efficient, may I say I drive it like a drag racer, so I'm really not saving much fuel and I'm trying to look cool in a very Mom-ishmobile, and it doesn't work. And it has a crappy sound system. So there. But I digress.

When life looks bleak, my favorite thing to do is really go trash the environment and DRIVE AROUND. It's the Midwesterner in me (I seem to be mentioning this a lot). So I get in my car (favorite car from the past a 79 Monte Carlo Brougham with a huge V-8 and no catalytic converter, birds just fell off the trees, I tell you, and it didn't look as good as this picture, by any means).


Why do I drive around? TO LISTEN TO MUSIC. What other reason would there be?

Nothing makes me feel instantly better than drowning in music. While I drive, I let it wash over me, through me, I let it go inside me. It could be Brother Ali, the Talking Heads, Lyle Lovett, or Lady Gaga, even Bach. The genre almost doesn't matter.

What matters is thorough cleansing. And music sucks out all the impurities, at least for the length of the drive. Best car for music drowning in my lifetime? My 01 Nissan Pathfinder with a Bose sound system. I was really sorry when we sold that vehicle.

I get brief showers on the way to work--it's only a four-minute drive, but it's enough to get me ready for the day, plus it makes me laugh when I pull into school with my Prius vibrating from the bass. It actually scares students, and that's not horrible. Really. : )

New year, new songs

It's that time again. Reality time. Sigh. Break is always so fast. But I am happy to see YOU, blog readers!

I did get to do a lot of research and writing while not bending my brain with teaching, so New Book is on its way! I also did some iMix-making for my novel BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FOR UGLY CHILDREN (basic plot: guy wants to be a radio dj. Paige and John are support system. Guy is complicated. Life is complicated. Both hilarity and horror ensue). The mixes are songs the characters like and songs Gabe would play for them on his show. The first mix is the show Gabe puts together for his big competition, when he tries to win a job.

My favorite new song this year (in the 5 days we've had a "this year") is "Home," Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, but it's followed very closely by Brother Ali's "Fresh Air" and Cage the Elephant's "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked." (And you can draw on their web site!) Though Brother Ali got left out somehow, the other 3 are in Paige and John's iMixes.

2010 . . . here we go. Yay for all the new writerly things to learn, all the book friends to make, and all the words to rearrange. Bring it on!

Gratitude post #10: the essence of life

No, blog friends, not blood, not air, not anything so easy: the essence of life is music, and every second of every day I am grateful for music. And yes, I am prone to hyperbole (!), but I am pretty damn serious about this.

A day is not complete for me without music (or carrots and my kid's smile). Music can change my mood, put my head back together, keep me current, and remind me of why I love my life. From my virtuoso pianist grandmother to my brother the guitarist (check him out here, in my book trailer) to my aunt & uncle with the ginormous music collection to all 3 parents, it was an everyday thing in my house. And it remains so today--in their houses along with mine. My kid can't keep a beat nor sing a note, but he loves listening. That's enough for me.

BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FOR UGLY CHILDREN is all about music, and I've started to make iMixes for Gabe's radio shows (Gabe, the main character, wants to be a radio DJ). For Gabe, music is escape. Granted, his life requires more escaping than mine, but I totally understand the feeling.

I can't work on a book without music, and I know I'm not alone in that thought--many authors make playlists for their books. And friends, I'd bet you also have soundtracks to your lives. Alas, my darling spouse does not, no matter how hard I've tried to convince him that music is essential to living. It's a good thing he has many more redeeming qualities.

What's on right now? "Radio," Flo Rida. Up after that? "Radio," the Corrs, then "The Nightfly," Donald Fagen. Check it out: iTunes home page, then click "music," then click (way down on the bottom right) "iMix", then search "Gabe's competition." If music is your lifeblood too, I think you'll like it.