Music to my ears

It’s funny the random places that you tend to discover new music. It always sneaks up on you. You’re in the midst of doing something else, something totally unrelated and you hear something you like and that’s it, you’re hooked. It’s amazing the power that music has over you that way, it has the power to take over a moment, and to make you remember a moment just by the song you were hearing at the time.

I remember several specific moments like this. I discovered India Arie’s music for the first time while shopping in Contempo Casuals before it turned into Wet Seal. I was just browsing the tank tops, and “Brown Skin” was playing over the sound system. Luckily there was a video to match, so I could identify the song and artist.

Although all the lyric databases online have made it easier than ever to find a song that has caught your ear when you’re on the go. All you have to do is remember one line, enter it into google in quotes, and bam, the mystery is solved. I remember when making mixed tapes when I was younger how difficult it was sometimes to identify songs unless the radio host happened to come on directly after the song you liked was playing. Even on MTV, back when they used to play music videos, they would often cut off the beginning or the end when it showed the artist and song title.

I discovered Gavin DeGraw from watching One Tree Hill on the CW, and getting its theme song stuck in my head. I also found out about Citizen Cope from watching One Tree Hill, which while a stupid show, has excellent taste in sound track. The CW has even gone the extra mile for you, and will list the song title and artists from recent episodes of its show. Or, for those of us who watch tv with their computers on their laps, like me, it is instant google gratification.

I learned about Kings of Leon from Gossip Girl, and Ingrid Michaelson from an Old Navy commercial. I heard a song by A Fine Frenzy while drinking at Off the Wagon, and managed to remember the song thru a text message to myself. And lately, I’ve been listening to K’naan due to a recommendation from a co-worker. It’s funny the ways that good music can find you.