Music is Magic
DØVYDAS & Nipper
After recently presenting my first attempt at a multi-post “story” I found it reminded me of so many things I believe to be true. I guess that is a working definition of faith. The evidence does not exist to definitively prove that “music is magic”. Nevertheless, I believe. While not as extensive as a presentation from the Catholic Catechism, I think it works. Music, for at least some of us, has that magic power to simply redirect our minds, bring a smile to our face and just enjoy ourselves. For others, it can serve as background to drown out the noise. In either case, I remain committed to my premise that “Music is Magic”. Today’s image is that iconic image of Nipper listening to his master’s voice.
When I am restless and I cannot find peace, there are many options that I have come to discover what can work to relieve me. Whether prayer, contemplation, meditation, music or even redirecting my mind by reading a book, there are many paths to peace. I think that earlier in my life, music was actually somewhat of a ritual. Many of us assembled a complex array of wires, cables, and components in “our stereo systems”. I think once you exclude physicists and electrical engineers, these components were simply part of the magic. There is even a euphemism associated with what FM as in AM/FM stands for but I will not digress. I remember that once you decided you wanted to listen to music, you approached your collection. The album sleeves were very small text. Even with the eyes of my youth, it was always easier to slide them out and look at the art on the front. Ah album art, truly a lost art. One of my favorites (remember I love a good pun or play on words) was this classic.
Suffice to say I acquired this album and likely later the CD also. Even 40+ years later (yikes), I know my children know this song and still enjoy it. I believe that around the time when the album was released I was likely sitting in a physics lab in which were evaluating sound and harmonics. We had an array of tuning forks. Science melds with music and makes more magic. Enough said.
In only 10+ days of writing, I have already realized that I am transported to a different “state of mind” when I write. One of my first observations was that my mind's activated and I often think of music about my current topic. That seems pretty cool. What an amazing six-pound mass we balance on our brain stem. Having been encouraged in my youth to play piano, when I can witness live music or even see the creative process I am simply amazed.
This bit of writing has already informed me what I may write about another day. The history of music and its recording is so interesting. Until Edison, we were in the wilderness and that was only 150 years ago! In the meantime, back to today’s story. Time to get back to live music and creativity and the subtitle of this post. I do not know how all the rest of you (1) rediscover the music of your past, or (2) play the music of your present, or (3) find music for your future. For me, I use an array of streaming services and use the free tier. That brings with it some advertising at times, but oh well. As time goes by I do not use my stereo gear to play my collection as much as I did in years past. Rather, I have methodically placed more of it in my digital archive so I can listen to it anywhere. When I want that fix of album art, I often peruse YouTube and enjoy the video that might accompany the music.
We all know what browsing on a website can lead to. If the topic is engaging enough we can easily lose ourselves. That happens to be the case for me on YouTube when I decide to look for music. On one of those trips in search of music quite a while ago, I discovered a creative gentleman who possesses (1) a gentle disposition (2) an amazing ear for music (3) an ability to capture the essence of a song quickly, and (4) the ability to construct his own creative take on a song in a matter of minutes. You may be unfamiliar but his name is DØVYDAS (part of today’s post subtitle). He is of Lithuanian descent and his name translates to David. He simply loves the creative process of music and it shows. He shares this great vibe with everyone around him. He is gracious, not boastful, wants to collaborate with those around him, and easily deflects credit to those that join in his efforts. I happen to love his videos on YouTube. Many are structured around ad-hoc street performance. For those that enjoy the modern digital creation of music concepts, he is a master of Autotune and the drum machine. His guitar skills are amazing. Most of all, once the performance is done he is the most self-deprecating performer I might imagine. I feel bad that the climate of Minneapolis-St. Paul is not the best place for a street musician mindset to flourish. Here is a reasonable example that might whet your appetite and flit away an hour or two on YouTube before you know it. For me, once the request is offered, he shares “give me 30 seconds while I lay a beat down”. That is the most underrated part of these videos and keeps me coming back. In this request to play a song, a woman with a great voice explains she is not quite familiar and will need to look up the lyrics on her phone. This captures this wonderful time in history we all live. That such an amazing collaboration can occur on a street corner using the magic of a mobile phone and technology our grandparents might consider witchcraft is merged with the wonder of music and creativity. Quite amazing, as it happens to be one of my favorite songs from my youth. Even if the early 1980s is not your genre, this is a classic song we have all heard at one time or another. This is a fun interpretation.
I hope you enjoyed this post and might visit tomorrow or the next time I can write.
I totally believe music is magic.
The power of writing. You have now exposed this elderly man to YouTube and the creation of music.