Live music is an interesting thing. When I hear people live, I love the energy. Even if I don't usually listen to that kind of music, I am drawn in by their stage presence. Today, Bill Mallonee came to play for us at youth. He's an amazing songwriter, he's written somewhere between 700 and 800 songs. He said that when he hasn't written a song in about a week, he gets nervous that he's lost his touch. I comforted him by letting him know that I haven't written a song in about a week. When he asked if I was a songwriter, I told him that I actually haven't written a song in about 17 years. That got a chuckle. He then told me that it was time to break the habit or something. We'll see about that. I asked him how he goes about writing songs, and if it was hard. I was very impressed with his answer. He got really into it. He told me about how he used to write in a very linear way at first, but he likes Bob Dylan and the way he piles words on top of each other, like a collage. It was cool. I really liked the way he sounded when he sang. He had a very solid voice. And he could play harmonica really well. I was impressed. He was a cool guy.
It just got me to thinking about how much more I've started listening to live music this year, compared to all the other years of my life combined. It's so cool. I used to not know how to conduct myself when listening to people play, but now I know the fine line between taking pictures and remembering what they play and watching their expressions and listening to the words... it's a skill- being a listener/observer of live music.
Music has such an affect on me these days. It's weird. It enforces my moods and adds a richness to the every day experiences. Lately I've constantly had songs stuck in my head. I'll just start singing the choruses. And I have enough choruses floating around in my brain that I can pull one out and start singing it and then move on to another one when I tire of it. It's really fun. I was singing "Freakish" by Saves the Day all yesterday, even at Ziggy's. I was talking to Preston and Christian and some girl and I just started singing the chorus and she was like "I think I know this song, keep singing it!" And then later I started singing another random song, probably something by the Old 97's. It was funny.
I was thinking, I wonder what it is like listening to CD bands live. Because I know what it's like listening to live bands on CD. And I wonder if it reverses for CD bands. Maybe you don't know what "CD" and "live bands" are in my mind. A CD band is one for which I developed my taste by listening to their CD. Relient K and Switchfoot are two that come to mind. A live band (or live person) is one for which I developed my taste by seeing them live. Copeland, Jerry Chapman, this Bill Mallonee guy, pretty much anyone I've seen in concert. The live versions of "live bands" are so much better than their CDs, like you can see a much wider range of their talents. The CD is merely a snapshot of the whole landscape of their talent. If such is the case for Relient K, I don't know if my senses could handle seeing them live all the time. Because that means that I've only seen a glimpse of their awesomeness. Same for Switchfoot. I think I need to see those kids in concert. But I don't like huge concerts. I like small ones. Intimate ones. Even seeing someone Live on VH1 is better than seeing them in a huge place, to me.
Well, anyway. I'm going to go listen to some good music.
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