Music and Memory- La Vie En Rose

I was lying down on a lounge swing staring up into the night sky about two weeks ago. That day it had been 102 degrees in the Pacific Northwest and the night seemed to remember the heat. Not one breeze came to ruffle my hair. Not one. And the air seemed to vibrate with a dusky, warm energy and it smelled of dust and pine needles with a hint of blackberry. Every once in a while a mosquito would buzz by my ear.

It was a perfect time to sing. So I did. I hummed just as the warmth hummed on my skin. I hummed as the stars winked at me. The song that came from my mouth was none other than the French ballad La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf. I didn’t even think about it. The notes found me and the music fit that moment. Perfectly lazy and warm, buzzing with emotion. If that song could have a smell it would smell like that night.

It was a fateful day when I first discovered Edith Piaf’s music. I was working at the library and I was putting away the movie La Vie En Rose. I have a penchant for French movies (one of my favorite movies is Amélie) so I took it home and watched it. I loved it. The movie told the story of Edith’s life from her early childhood until her death in 1963. The best part the film, of course, was the music. I probably would have turned it off if Edith’s music had not spoken to me so deeply.

La Vie En Rose…La Vie is “the life” and En Rose is “in pink.” The life in pink. A change in how you see your life. A way of living your life and viewing the world with rose colored glasses…

Music, especially good music, often brings back memories that I’ve forgotten. Memories that I never thought I held until they surface to be relived in rhythm to a song. The memories are always small insignificant moments, but they always hold the most meaning, the most beauty, the most humanity. They are detailed, but simple things. I remember every sensation being awoken. The smell, the feel, the sight, the hearing, the taste. Everything comes into sharp focus. That night I made another memory. The feel of the rocking and the stars streaking as my body sways with the swing. The sound of my cat pawing through the dried grass. The taste of dust and smoke in the air and the feel of my dry throat hitting the notes of the song. There is beauty in those moments. For it is those small moments that allow us time to be in our own minds. They hold the most reality. I felt so alive, so apart of everything. I felt present with no past, no future, just the now.

Make your own memory and listen to La Vie En Rose…Dance…Sing…Look at the stars…

Let's Get Our Music On- My Search for Music Strange and Beautiful

There comes a time in everyone's life when the music that you listen to a billion times a day gets old (like Pink's "So What" that plays at least fifty times a day on my local radio station). It gets to the point that you feel physically ill and that you make a gagging noise every time the first five notes of the song begin playing. I listen to the radio whenever I commute to Portland and one day, I started my car and Adele's "Someone Like You" was on. I rolled my eyes. The song was good, once...but now every time it plays on the radio, I turn it off. I can't stand it anymore. They have played it and played it and played it to the point of exhaustion. If I hear it again, I may do something drastic...like take a baseball bat to my radio.

Anyway, during these times of my life, where music from the radio cannot and will not satisfy me, I search for new music. I take it upon myself to find a musician or just one song that I have never heard before. One that doesn't sound like everything else, but that is completely unique, sometimes odd and often times just plain bizarre. In my searches, I have stumbled across some keepers. One of my favorites is the sister duo band The Pierces. Quirky and hilarious, their music makes fun of fame and fortune and will leave you thinking, Huh? Their music can get a little dry if you listen to it long enough (like their songs Secret and Boring, both can get repetitive). However, I recommend you listen to a few of their songs, especially Turn on Billie. Not only is the song catchy, but the music video is entertaining.

The next one that I have grown to love is Katie Melua, a Georgian born Brit who has one hell of a voice. I wish that her music was heard more in the U.S. because she has a real talent for singing. My friend introduced me to "The Flood" and the music video totes half naked men bumping bellies, yes bumping bellies. Despite the strangeness of the video, the song is powerful, the lyrics are well written and the beat will make you start dancing. "I Cried For You" is another one of my favorites from her. Yet again, the video is strange, but the music is beautiful and Katie's voice always catches me and makes me listen. Two others that I enjoy are "A Happy Place" and "Two Bare Feet."



Janelle Monae is my last and best. "Tightrope" is my favorite song from 2011 and in my opinion nothing can top it. She has a voice that will blow you away and dance moves that will leave your jaw open. You'll ask yourself, How does she do that? I don't know, but she has got something special. The rhythm of the song is addictive. And months after first listening to it, I still catch myself singing and doing a little dance move from the video. Another one of her songs is "Cold War" and her message is simple, Do you know what you're fighting for? Her music has powerful lyrics that critique our society and show you another way of seeing the world we live in. She has a rare gift that is both entertaining and informing. I hope that you will love her music as much as I do.

With that, I will leave you now. Have a wonderful weekend and I hope this music makes your lives less droll.