OT: Do You Believe in Rock and Roll

My sophomore year of college, I took a writing class at NYU. I don't remember the name of the class or the teacher. All I recall is that the guy looked like Jay-Z and wore Nike high-tops, jeans and a 59Fifty hat to class every day. He would give us a ten minute writing assignment at the beginning of each class. Most memorable of all of them was the following: Pick a line from a song and write about it.

I chose the following:
"Do you believe in rock and roll; Can music save your mortal soul?"

This line, of course, is from American Pie and the answer to both questions was (and is), undoubtedly, yes.

I didn't chose this verse because I'm some huge Don McLean fan or even remotely because I'm a fan of 70's music. I chose it because of the honesty behind it.

Music is magical. The way it creeps into your soul and gives you goose bumps. It transports you to the past...or maybe to the future, if you can look at it that way. It makes your heart...not ache, but pulse. It is the co-conspirator of wanderlust. It is, in a way, serendipitous. Stumbling upon a genius song without having bothered to look for it is perfection. A good song can lift you out of the darkest of depths or push you to the highest of highs. It is an outlook modifier and a game changer. And best of all: music releases endorphins, you know.

Next time you're feeling sad. Or lonely. Or happy. Or excited/anxious/nostalgic/and so forth; pop on a song. NOT your favorite song. This is the key here. The song needs to not be overplayed or overly-popular. It needs to be a treasure; hidden and possibly forgotten about. This is where you dig through your iTunes library or, better yet, put it on shuffle (now that's dangerous). Keep clicking next until you hear that opening that makes your heart pulse and your goose bumps rise and your mind wander.

Found it? Enjoy the mortal soul saving.


(soundtrack: "to be alone with you" by sufjan stevens)