Esta Es Mi Vida

Long day at work today…..it’s one of those rainy dreary days outside that you should be spending inside your own dwelling not in an office on the first day following the weekend……on my way home with mild to light traffic, unseasonably cold and just all around dreary and gloomy day. Leave the parking garage (break out) after giving the man my 9+hrs, blow thru a few traffic lights to get onto the main road to take me home….while at the same time browse the local stations stored in the presents on my radio and what to I find? Garbage, straight up garbage.

Am I soothed, moved, motivated and liberated by the hypnotic sounds of instruments, melodies and smooth vocals?….Nope, my ears are assaulted by Mariah Carey belting about someone touching her body, Flo Rider talking about jeans and some girl’s boots, a drug addict going on and on about a lollipop, and User whining about getting some in a club? Seriously…..is this what we are calling music now? Disgruntled, and disappointed I cut the radio off, (didn’t even bother to look for a cd) and resumed the ride home.

I arrive at my destination tired, disappointed, and sapped of energy due in part because of the climate but mostly because one of the very art forms that i’ve come to love and appreciate above all others was utterly butchered and has at that moment failed me. I take it to heart just because of what it invokes in me, what I gleam from it….. the melody, dynamics, texture, structure of this art form just does something to me, especially on days like this.

Drop my bag, kick off the shoes, prep/begin dinner. Stop and take a second just as i’m about to turn on the tv, go for the Zune instead and put on some Marvin Gaye (1976; I Want You). This was 100% without question an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental and vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner. As I suspended the rest of my evening to absorb the mellotic tones of one of the greatest artists of our time one song inparticular comes on.

Track 1 (the device is set to shuffle, Track 4 ended up starting first) I Want You. The title track for the album, this is where my night stays….for the past four maybe five hours i’ve been absorbing art in it’s raw form from the soulful sound and equally romantic and erotic lyrics of this great song. I’m aware that not everyone loves this genre of music that I do, neither can the same song that impacts me in this very moment do the same to someone who might share my same love for this art form…but If you love, and know of what real music is then there’s no denying the greatness in this…Real Music, from this truly great artist.

I Want You (Vocal)

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-266196747943131850&hl=en]

I Want You (accapella)

Alright so i’m going to have to make a slight confession here…..I on occasion watch American Idol. Normally I only stick around long enough to see the carnage that takes place during the auditions, and like most of Americans get a big kick/laugh out of it. But it’s perhaps something about the contestants this year or maybe the utter lack of quality programming on TV due to the writers strike motivated me to watch….and watch like it’s season 2 I have.

So last night the contestant (already a star) David Cook did a cover of one of my favorite song by Michael Jackson called ‘Billie Jean‘, but decided to do Chris Cornell’s version of this legendary track. It was pure gospel, music in it’s raw form, this kid can blow. Not only did he own a song that isn’t really “his own” and was made legend by the King of Pop, but performed it for an audience of a lost generation of listeners that don’t have a clue what good music is and they loved it.

Hands down it was the performance of the season so far, and the best rendition out of many others. Even though he wasn’t the first to perform it, I think he took absolute creative control (unlike some of the other contestants) over his performance a made it his own.