importing old country music cds borrowed from a friend, you know, one of those people whose dark living rooms, dusty kitchen counters, and torn down trucks carry a treasure of music legends and brilliant unknown artists, all of which you've never heard of.
maybe because you're a foreigner, and you were busy with your people's music legends. (to my Lebanese friends I will now admit, I have seen maybe two Fairuz plays, and can only hum the well known classics). none of that "b-sides for the elect" superior attitude.
maybe because you grew up without itunes or pandora.
or with overworked parents trying to raise kids and carry a household of fourteen in war time. sharing delicate Arabian notes floating on exquisite love poetry or the musical anarchist themes of the seventies would have been Ultimate Irony.
maybe because you just learned to ask when in ignorance. maybe you just reached that magic point, not of the illusion of absolute self-assurance, but of serene security in a mixture of worldly and Christ-grounded identity, where you are not terrified of other people's opinions. asking for musical recommendations is now acceptable.
i am making up for time lost in musical education by borrowing cds, stalking people's musical tastes on social media, and most importantly learning to listen. ha! because acquired deafness is probably at the root of all ignorance.
loudly turning music on, and wandering about the house pretending to do chores, or studying, just adds a layer of noise to the roaring cerebral to-do lists engines in my head.
music was not intended as an instrument to drown your thoughts or numb your co-existing experiences. for people who need "something in the background" let's just admit that this is merely where it is: in a background where the arrogant brilliance of your musical choices doesn't matter anymore.
hey! my thoughts are dangerously tipping to bitter jealousy..
true. i envy you, respect and admire you, sometimes don't comprehend your taste at all. i don't know how you did it, how all these names and cassettes and endless spotify lists became knowledge to you.
so i will keep borrowing. and learning to listen, trying to make up for lost time.
so i have a few tunes to introduce my children to, in an era where justin bieber will likely be the classic of the time.
maybe because you're a foreigner, and you were busy with your people's music legends. (to my Lebanese friends I will now admit, I have seen maybe two Fairuz plays, and can only hum the well known classics). none of that "b-sides for the elect" superior attitude.
maybe because you grew up without itunes or pandora.
or with overworked parents trying to raise kids and carry a household of fourteen in war time. sharing delicate Arabian notes floating on exquisite love poetry or the musical anarchist themes of the seventies would have been Ultimate Irony.
maybe because you just learned to ask when in ignorance. maybe you just reached that magic point, not of the illusion of absolute self-assurance, but of serene security in a mixture of worldly and Christ-grounded identity, where you are not terrified of other people's opinions. asking for musical recommendations is now acceptable.
i am making up for time lost in musical education by borrowing cds, stalking people's musical tastes on social media, and most importantly learning to listen. ha! because acquired deafness is probably at the root of all ignorance.
loudly turning music on, and wandering about the house pretending to do chores, or studying, just adds a layer of noise to the roaring cerebral to-do lists engines in my head.
music was not intended as an instrument to drown your thoughts or numb your co-existing experiences. for people who need "something in the background" let's just admit that this is merely where it is: in a background where the arrogant brilliance of your musical choices doesn't matter anymore.
hey! my thoughts are dangerously tipping to bitter jealousy..
true. i envy you, respect and admire you, sometimes don't comprehend your taste at all. i don't know how you did it, how all these names and cassettes and endless spotify lists became knowledge to you.
so i will keep borrowing. and learning to listen, trying to make up for lost time.
so i have a few tunes to introduce my children to, in an era where justin bieber will likely be the classic of the time.
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