Taken Aback
Information:
- Source: The Wonder of Music Notebook
- Key: F Major / D minor
- Measures: 36
- Parts: Cello and Piano
- Duration: 2:25 min
- Pages: 3
“Sometimes life surprises you in the most beautiful ways, leaving you pleasantly taken aback by its wonders".
I NEED MUSIC
We live in a world that is NOT easy to figure out, different situations can be clear and bogus, all at the same time, or so we think, depending entirely on the perspective we see it. The gigantic, colorful puzzle that is in front of us, could be very complex, and therefore, difficult to solved; this in return, could affect deeply our self esteem shredding it in a trice, compelling us to do the unthinkable.
I need music to mitigate the confusion. Music guides me, and reasons with me, whispering that everything would be ok at the end of the day. Music never disappoints, it’s always there, ready to rescue me. Somehow, music puts the pieces together, helping me with the task at hand by keeping me closer to solve the puzzle of life.
MIX TAPE
Back in the 80’s, We _ my friends and I _ used a homemade compilation of pop songs from different sources that, when put together in a cassette tape, showed our own very naked, vulnerable existence; similar to a music diary with a vast variety of songs that meant the world to us. There were no limits,
no rules. Just music and our tender feelings.
These songs in the “MixTape” were all a life saver, these songs that had the power to solve our big problems _ so we thought_ were regarded as a fine possession. It was almost, as if they held magic powers that made us feel better once we listened to them.
WALK-MAN
The music in it, as if it was a secret that if reveal, it will show our most inner, shameful thoutghs, was part of our own existence. If the “MixTape” landed in the wrong hands, it could potentially destroy people’s lives, or at least our reputation.
I do remember fondly the times that I spent mixing songs at home, by and large from LP’s to cassette tapes, this in return, allowed me to bring music with me anywhere I’d go using the revolutionary player called: Walk-Man!
I’ve been listening to pop songs in YouTube from my youth, I decided to do a walk down memory lane, and make a list of songs that “saved” me, melodies that lifted me from the ground to assists me _ without the need of making a trip to India _ to FIND myself. Although, essentially, I did not have a difficult childhood, but, we all know that between the ages of thirteen and nineteen, life is a “bitch”.
THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE
The following songs, are a part of the soundtrack of my life. Even though, all these songs are from the decade of the 80’s, there were also the ones that made it into the “Mix-Tapes” that with such enthusiasm I made. I don’t know
if the 80’s were the best times of my life because of the music, but what I do know is that, the decade was a whole experience of synths, big colorful hair, and even bigger emotions.
Spanish Eddie by Laura Branigan
In the lyrics, Laura’s raspy, beautiful voice, captures the essence of a society in decadence. After forty years of its realease, the struggles, and the severe realities of life that this song paints are even to this day, very much present.
When someone asks: Do you remember the 80’s?, I always think of Laura.
Wanna Be Starting Something by Michael Jackson
It was the year of 1982 when Thriller made its way to the music world, and it took everybody by surprise. Wanna be starting something is still, my favorite song from the album. The energy of the rhythms make it an irresitable track.
The lyrics refere to people spreading rumors to start an argument.
Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen
The year 1984, marked a point in my life of which there was no return, I was 13, and Dancing in the dark took my breath away in a way that, even after all these years, my heart skips a beat eveytime I watch the video. The lyrics are an outcry to search for meaning in life.
Easy Lover by Phill Collins
This song from the year 1985, made it to one of my MixTapes, it is a blend of rhythms of Pop, Rock and Funk. With its energetic tempo, it is impossible not to react to it. The song is obviously about a woman. In my mind, it can easily be substitude for the word religion and it works just as well. It brings back so many memories.
The Look by Roxette
Singing along the catchy: nah nah nah nah naaa, she’s got the look! was and stil is, incredibly satisfying. The year was 1989 when it was realease, by then I was already out of high-school and I was trying to figure out my next move. It took time for me to decide what to do with my life, and while it happened, Roxette’s music was always by my side.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
MTV launched operations in 1980, it became the most important TV channel to promote music videos. In 1984, one of the songs they played tireless, was Girls Just Want to Have. The decade was full of wonderful music, but there’s been only one song that identifies itself as the 80’s most iconic song, that is Girls Just Want to Have Fun.
I Want To Break Free by Queen
Pop music is many times vague, some people may understand the lyrics in a different way that I do. I remember singing along and with those five words: I want to break free, my whole world ceased to crumble for the 3:45 minutes the song lasts.
What’s Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner
The video shows a glimpse of what life was in the 80’s in New York city, and watching Tina walking down the streets with such a style it was an invitation into that world, a world so exotic, diverse, and yet so inviting. A world so far away and yet so closed, so foreign and yet so familiar.
REWIND THE TAPE OF LIFE
It’s impossible to make a complete list. I am giving you an idea of the music that made my life meaningful at a time when the world, and my world were full of imminent change, and turmoil. The years rolled and music evolved, and even to this day, I’m still pleasantly taken aback by the full display of creativity and the real talent artist from the 80’s possessed. How I wish, I could rewind the tape of life. Go back and have a taste of my youth again.
The complete ideas portrayed into the music, the use of the lyrics to deliver a message, the image of the performers along with their dance moves, were all together an amazing spectacle. When I take a moment and look back at my life in the 80’s, I’m still amaze at the way I was able to used the melodies to survived my internal turmoil.
THE BEAUTY OF MUSIC
I’ve Included with this letter, a piece of music for cello and piano that I wrote impetuously. It was a cloudy day in Ensenada, I was feeling wishful, I thought about all those kids from school that shared the love of music with me.
We live in a world that we do not completely understand, a world where in any instance, there is almost always a need for some kind of interpretation. And perhaps that’s the beauty of music, one doesn’t need a full explanation to get the best out of it.