IN TUNE
IN TUNE
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February 13, 2021
It just dawned on me that shortly after reading In Tune with the Infinite, by Ralph Waldo Trine, I began hearing lyrics that suddenly made more sense to me. I’ve listened to these songs countless times before and I understood their overall meaning. What I’m discovering now is that there’s a whole layer beneath the surface that can be experienced when we pay attention. It’s as if all the senses are amplified in that moment. But, the timing of it all is what gives me pause. Like, DeVotchKa’s “How It Ends” playing in the background when I’m seeking evidence of divine intelligence in order to stay afloat. Some people call it a coincidence, others call it synchronicity. Whatever it is, let’s put it on repeat.
February 9, 2022
You’d be surprised to see how many music videos are set in a convenience store. Yours truly tried searching for “All Night” by Big Boi that way. I had the urge to listen to it the other day—without a name of the song or artist. It was heard maybe a few times and forgotten. Thought I could find it by using Google Images and retracing my steps. Overwhelmed, I moved onto something else. This morning, I had all the best intentions to be productive. Instead, I let happiness win and it led me to this song. It reaffirmed the belief that the answers we seek are out there and that feeling good is the best way to receive them. Today, all I needed were some tunes to get attuned. “Ain’t gotta worry ’cause it’s all right, it’s all right.”
June 11, 2022
Stepped into a car and the song on the radio was “There’s Only One Way to Rock” by Sammy Hagar. Only a few minutes after snapping [a] photo [of a ONE WAY sign]. What a sign!
September 10, 2022
I don’t always wake up in the morning with pep, but when I do, it's a big deal. Only because that’s when I have “the ability to act on a sudden hunch” and “nerve to tackle the hardest thing,” per DEVO. Yesterday, I followed an impulse to share “That's Pep!,” in video form. Then another to listen to The Apples in Stereo, a band I hadn’t listened to in over twenty years. Their songs, “Energy” and “C.P.U.,” got my attention because I’ve been feeling a bit disconnected and the message was loud and clear. “You know what it’s like when you’re out of range of your satellite / You know you feel blue when you’re out of sync with your C.P.U.”
September 17, 2022
Two notes. It took two notes of Rilo Kiley’s “My Slumbering Heart” to figure out my approach to playing music and life in general. Earlier this year, I requested a synthesizer for my birthday. It seemed random at the time, but I’ve decided to follow my instincts more. Having lost the ability to read music, I’m feeling my way...toward harmony. It sounds obvious now, but that semblance of harmony was heard and felt before. Often played over and over again. Each one, becoming a member of my subconscious. While the brain may not remember, the heart does.
September 18, 2022
There was a TV show, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, in which the protagonist hears the innermost thoughts of those around her through song. It was a comedy drama that made me feel all the feels. There were more tears than laughter. Something that surprised me because I was prepared to just sing along and be entertained. Taking the time to mine meaning in everything, I now see that hidden messages are littered everywhere. Songs like “Four Leaf Clover” by Badly Drawn Boy make much more sense to me today than the first time. I didn’t understand these aha moments before. It turns out that I simply needed more life experience to relate. Still, it does feel extraordinary when something strikes a chord—as if the universe is orchestrating it all.
September 19, 2022
The Concord grape was lined up for today’s [Sustenance Table] post, before I chose to reference Henry David Thoreau earlier. A choice that really stumped me. Then I remembered that he also hails from Concord, MA and I thought about the definition of concord. [A state of agreement: HARMONY; a simultaneous occurrence of two or more musical tones that produces an impression of agreeableness or resolution on a listener]. It makes the synthesizer post seem less random. Scripted, even.
June 29, 2023
It’s strange how you can hear something over and over again and it rings true all of a sudden. I guess the same could be said about seeing something repeatedly and it looking more radiant than ever. Well, I’ve been looking and listening like I have all the time in the world to seize those moments. I just can’t figure out when they will occur. Since it’s been awhile, I’ll share the latest, from Blondie: “Dreamin’, dreamin’ is free.”
February 16, 2024
Lulled myself to sleep last night with the song “Come Softly to Me” by The Fleetwoods and woke up less than six hours later feeling rested and motivated. How much I slept and how little I accomplished days before is worth mentioning because there were no notions of ease then. As much as I love action, I love it even more when it’s effortless.
Years ago, I purchased the dogs mug from Fishs Eddy for a friend. (All the common commands for a canine are on display: come, sit, stay, fetch, and so forth.) A few years after that, the same mug was gifted in a game of white elephant at the office party. My co-worker wound up with the dog mug, while I got a cat mug. It was clear to almost everyone in the room that it should have been the other way around, considering the pets we owned. So, we traded. I remember feeling as though the mug belonged to me, not realizing that I allowed myself to get closer to it and made it apparent to others. I forget how much easier it is to bring things to us when we embody what is rightfully ours.
June 18, 2024
Should have known that Oprah held the answers. Had a listen to her Super Soul podcast, “The Climb,” in which she reveals the inspiration of the song, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” as told by Valerie Simpson. Nick Ashford, an unknown at the time, saw the skyscrapers in Manhattan as the mountains he must climb in order to become a professional songwriter. I’ve suspected for some time that not all love songs are about love. Sometimes the hardest thing to express is not our feelings, but our beliefs. The subtext, only audible when we’re ready to believe.
In 2007, I took a day off from work to see The Oprah Winfrey Show at Madison Square Garden. My friend and I were mild fans, compared to the number of people who showed up before sunrise. Though, you would have thought I was much more, given the time my husband and I spent trying to score free tickets. I tuned Oprah out for a few years after that, when the show ended. It wasn’t until one of my authors appeared on Super Soul Sunday, that I paid attention to her again. No way around it since she was affecting my job, by driving sales and making me work harder as a result. As I listened to her journey and those in her network, I became determined to go after my goals differently.
Upon seeing the tallest ladder I ever saw after the podcast, all I could think of was the climb. How daunting it must be. Yet, thrilling to reach the top. To overcome.
September 25, 2024
Messages keep gettin’ clearer when I tune in. And when I listen to “the Boss,” apparently. “Dancing in the Dark” has been on repeat for two days straight. Bruce Springsteen was not listened to a lot in my youth, so my husband noted the odd song choice too. Our friend, a big fan, went to see him twice recently, so I knew that played a part. But, I know now to dig deeper in these moments. A few months ago, this same friend recommended Chappell Roan to me. I became obsessed with her song, “Pink Pony Club,” the next day. Yes, it’s catchy. Still, I couldn’t pinpoint why I had to play it non-stop. The following day, the studio I go to announced a special Chappell Roan themed dance class. I happened to see the notification right when I was about to sign up for my usual classes. It couldn’t have been better timing and a more perfect song to lead me there. Going back to “the Boss,” I recalled giving a copy of Bruce Springsteen’s book to this friend years ago. Wondering if there was a hidden message there, I found the following passage in his autobiography, Born to Run:
The primary math of the real world is one and one equals two. The layman (as, often, do I) swings that every day. He goes to the job, does his work, pays his bills and comes home. One plus one equals two. It keeps the world spinning. But artists, musicians, con men, poets, mystics and such are paid to turn that math on its head, to rub two sticks together and bring forth fire. Everybody performs this alchemy somewhere in their life, but it’s hard to hold on to and easy to forget. People don’t come to rock shows to learn something. They come to be reminded of something they already know and feel deep down in their gut. That when the world is at its best, when we are at our best, when life feels fullest, one and one equals three. It’s the essential equation of love, art, rock ’n’ roll and rock ’n’ roll bands. It’s the reason the universe will never be fully comprehensible, love will continue to be ecstatic, confounding, and true rock ’n’ roll will never die.
I had already decided that musicians deserve to be worshipped. “The Boss” summed up why. You can’t start a fire without a spark and that spark is more obvious when we’re dancing in the dark. For me, The Killers nailed it in their song, “My Own Soul’s Warning,” a while back. I just needed a reminder because it’s hard to hold on to and easy to forget.
P.S. Bruce Springsteen’s birthday was two days ago, on September 23rd. Is it possible to be more in sync?!
November 22, 2024
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to “The Book of Love” by The Magnetic Fields (or another song) before it felt transcendental. Even now, it doesn’t elicit the same awe. That’s the thing about peak experiences—they’re temporary, and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs may pop up. (Have to thank Robin Tran for showing that I’m not the only one to make that connection. My office job also gave me a lot to think about!) The good news is that peak experiences are available to everyone, anywhere. I asked ChatGPT to explain why we think they’re rare and how to make them more accessible. We also had a deep discussion about song interpretation since it’s excellent at reading in between the lines. I could’ve used the validation before, but I wouldn’t have had the urge to write.
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