Music is

I talk of this often- my love/affinity for and obsession with music.

It began with my Pops, bled into the people I chose to surround myself with as a teen, culminated with me marrying a musician, (also with the initials MP...insert interesting observation here), and writing this blog, which almost always includes music in some fashion.

But what I want to talk about today isn't just how great music is or how much I love it, (*yawn*), I am talking about something deeper and more powerful: the songs that go beyond "getting" you. These are the ones that you don't just feel, they feel you. Even more so, they let you feel whatever it is you are feeling so you don't shove it into a box in the corners of your mind. Whatever feeling it is, it needs to be felt, to be moved through, and music has that power- it takes you by the hand and whispers, "Come with me. Trust me." And you do, because you can and you must.

Here are mine, in no particular order:

1. My Bloody Valentine- Soon. This one requires a car, a long and windy road, the window down and the sound to be turned all the way up. What I love about this song is that the voice is second stage and the lyrics are barely audible, but the music...the music is like a wall of sound that washes over you and cleanses your soul, much like an ice cold waterfall; heightening all your senses and reminding you that you are present and indeed alive. *For when you are feeling overwhelmed*
    
2. Big Time Sensuality- The Fluke Remix. This song not only urges me to dance, but makes me feel full of childlike wonder and anticipation for adventure, merriment, and whimsy as well. Picture getting dressed up in ridiculous clothing and perfourmance dancing while embarking on a scavenger hunt for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but the pot is not full of gold, and instead includes a virtual reality headset that when you put on, you become Bjork in this very music video. Check and mate. *For when you seek adventure*
    
3. Prince and The Revolution- Let's Go Crazy. This song has a direct line to my thespian, art-nerd-soul-bone. When played in my presence,  I am Prince. It is that powerful. Much like a role in a play or a movie, this song has the ability to swallow you up, whoever you are, and spit you back out as a short, curly haired, purple-suede-suit-wearing musical genius with moves that will seduce your heart and gyrate on your soul. Try it sometime. *For when you need to feel like someone else*
    
4. Bruce Springsteen- I'm on Fire.  As soon as I hear that guitar plucking sound, I am thrown back in time to memories of this record spinning in the player, Bruce's jean-covered butt on the cover, and my Mom and I dancing in our living room. Much like the warmth of your lover's voice as they whisper in your ear, this song draws you in, wraps you up in it's tender and safe arms, adding just a dash of sadness and deep thoughts. *For when you need some warm introspection*
    
5. Outkast- SpottieOttieDopaliscious. Let's just stop right here and cut to the chase. Unless you live your life as a celibate human being or are a corpse, this song will call you to engage in it's one sole purpose- sex. *For when you need to feel sexy, want to have sex, or are already having sex, in which case, you need to stop what you are doing and put it on*
    
6. Gustavo Santaolalla- Apertura, from the film, The Motorcycle Diaries. Much like the movie, this song calls you to travel, but not by car. Try a train, motorcycle, boat, bike, or on foot. You need to feel the sun on your skin, the wind whipping through your hair as you walk or ride upon a path, smelling the dank earth seeping into your nostrils. This one calls you to travel not for the sake of traveling, but because you yearn to discover more about our world and your tiny, but significant role within her. *For discovery- first outward, then inward*
    
7. Modest Mouse- Night on the Sun. Most Modest Mouse songs illicit a traveling feel to them, and this one is no exception, but there is also dirt and grit here. This one perseveres. It has backbone. It endures and reminds you that you too are made of steel, determination, and resolve. *For when you need a kick in the ass*
    
8. HAIM- Forever. Whether you are a fan of pop music or not, this song will call you to move. Seriously. Put it on and will yourself to remain still. I triple dog dare you. This one is particularly fun to listen to after you have hiked up a mountain, as you make your descent down. *For when you need a little pep in your step* (As an added bonus and a special shout out to my love, once you ascend that mountain and you are at the tippy top, sweating, full of adrenaline and the feeling that you can do anything, this is the song for you: Painted Highways- Up on the Mountain.)
    
9. The Cure- Just Like Heaven. Oh, man. Much like #5, does this one need much of an intro? There were at least 5 Cure songs I could have picked for this piece, but I kept coming back to this one. No matter my emotional state, this song moves me to feel something even greater than hope- a promise. A promise that there is love in our world. So much love. For you. For me. Even for her. *For when you need the promise of enduring love*
    
10. The Smashing Pumpkins- 1979. Everyone has that one song that reminds them what it felt like to be an invincible and carefree, angst-ridden adolescent. This is mine. And in that regard, it is very grounding as it allows you to remember, (both as a human being and perhaps as a parent), what it was truly like to be that age. I will have to keep this one in my back pocket for when my kids begin this stage. *For when you are feeling nostalgic*
     
11. The Sandpipers- Glass. This one is very personal as it is performed by none other than my Pops. Funny thing, I discovered this song after he died via a picture of stained glass and some song lyrics hanging in his hallway, probably been there since the dawn of time. No one in the family had ever heard it before, and when we listened to it, we just cried. A beautiful, cathartic, and necessary cry. *For when you need to grieve or just need a good cry*

This was a difficult list to make and there are many, MANY more that I could add, but for the purpose of being succinct and starting somewhere, that'll do, pig.

What are your feel me songs?

*For those that are into just listening and not having to click over and over again, here is the playlist of the above songs on Spotify. Minus Prince of course, cause even though he is a sexy, MF, his little red corvette ain't down with Spotify*