Music with Lyrics

I've been thinking about music the past few days--how different music really can change my mood. Like the other day when I pulled out Everclear, and it was so nostalgic I almost cried. And it's funny, I swear I haven't listened to them since high school, but I still knew most of the words to "Wonderful." It's crazy how things can stick in your brain...

...which makes me wonder about the things I fill my head with. I mean, I have absolutely no memory for Scripture verses (word for word)...I can paraphrase a quite lot and know generally where to find it, but knowing verses off the top of my head to quote to people is SO hard. I think even the Ding kids know John 3:16 better than I do (they are ALL <7).

It's hard to be discerning about what to listen to, what to spend my time on, and in general, what things I allow to fill my head. I listen to music whenever I can--in the car on the way to work (so about an hour every day), during my prep periods, after school, while working out, seriously whenever I can. Lately, I've been listening to Fort Minor, mostly because I really like the way Mike Shinoda raps. He used to have a rule for himself that he never wrote raps with vulgar language (or swearing) because he felt those words have no meaning and he wants to use words that have an impact, not just shock value. In Ft. Minor he does swear a little, and you know, it really jars me. It's funny because it used to not bother me at all, but now my sensibilities have changed so much that I really hate hearing those parts of the song and tend to block them out completely. It's funny though--Linkin Park and Mike aren't typical rap. In my brother's words, "I feel less ignorant after listening to it." I think a lot of what Mike raps about (whether or not this is his own experience), my kids last year went/go through, and I really like feeling like I know a little better what they are going through. I mean, I grew up in a very protective bubble--I can't really empathize with most angry songs, but I can understand where Mike is coming from because he's very articulate. On the other hand, I also know that listening to Fort Minor in the car makes me want to turn the bass up, wear dark glasses, and drive 90 mph down 85 to work. Sound like a good influence? Not really....

It's interesting, and I'm still thinking through this. Some days (like today), I only want to be surrounded by songs about God, simply because I want/need the comfort of lyrics and music that encourage me to turn to God. Other days, I love digging through old songs to reminisce through all the memories I have tucked away in each song.

Hmm...I don't know how to conclude this, so I'll leave it with that.

I am better today than I deserve to be. =)