Alright, Alright, Alright, Alright

April 3, 2017

When I was shooting hoops with my friend Jeremiah the other day, we got to talking about music. You know that my taste in music shocks everyone. Jeremiah had already found out about my obsession with love of hip hop, so I didn't have to wait for him to get past that before we could really talk about what we listen to and why. Like everyone before him, he brought up Toby Mac in an attempt to find some common ground. Later on I brought up Tedashii and to my great surprise he knew who that was. Why is it that nobody thinks to bring up artists like HIM when hip hop is mentioned?!?!

Anyway...We talked about hip hop and then we moved on to other genres. I've listened to just about EVERYTHING over the years. 80's rock, country, 90's pop, R&B,  and who knows what other styles were all "phases" that I went through.  Sometimes admitting the time I spent listening to certain artists feels like sitting in confessional. We always had music playing when I was growing up. My parents were into music. My Mom's parents were always humming or singing. I had so many songs memorized by the time I was 5 years old and I delighted in belting them out right along with whatever adult was in charge of the radio.
 
The conversation kept flowing as I tossed up shot after shot and I was thinking back on the role that music has played in my life. I'm NOT a musical person. Somehow, the songs were played and played and played. The lyrics cemented themselves into my brain and worked their way into my speech. And it got me thinking...

My taste in music has been wide and varied. There truly are very few genres that I've never enjoyed listening to at one point or another in my life up to now. The songs were played and they stayed with me. Long after each "phase" ends, there are lessons and lyrics that stay with me.

Outkast granted me a ton of my most used phrases...To name a few: "Alright, alright, alright, alright!" "Hey ya!" "I'm sorry Miss Jackson." "I am for real." "So fresh and so clean clean."

The Dixie Chicks and Shania Twain and She-Daisy taught me to stand up for myself as a woman. It may have been 90's feminism, but there were some nuggets of truth in there. We don't have to and shouldn't take disrespect. There are good guys out there. Put the cards on the table and be HONEST.

Creed and Matchbox 20 and 3 Doors Down and Mat Kearney and Jason Mraz and Train are the ones responsible for the songs that go with nostalgia. They told stories and their voices are capable of making me slow down in order to remember. 

There are others...So many others, but I think that'll do for now. The point is, I haven't listened to the music that I used to for soooo long that I forget about a lot this. And then, every once in a while, a song pops into my head and takes me right back. To the days when "Drops of Jupiter" was on EVERY SINGLE MIXTAPE that I made. To the years when my friends and I would sing "Kryptonite" and "Lose Yourself" and "Underneath Your Clothes" at the top of our lungs whenever we felt like it. To the summer when "Complicated" and "Soak Up the Sun" and "The Remedy" seemed to be on the radio constantly.

Making the shift to listening to guys that rap the gospel was a game changer. These men are responsible for helping me memorize Scripture. "There's a rap for that" is a saying at my house. I don't care what the topic is, there IS a rap and I WILL tell you about it.

Music stays with you. It's important to put some thought into what you're pumping into your car and your home and your ears.

What genre are you most embarrassed to admit having enjoyed?

What has stayed with you long after you move on?