sweet haze

LOL

I've always loved how music speaks to me... sometimes you'll just stumble across an old riff in an old notebook... or a scrap of lyrics on a random sticky note... and you'll just know exactly what was going through your head, and what was happening when you wrote it... maybe it's a certain girl... maybe it was a movie... maybe it was the weather... sometimes it feels like a song writes itself, as if it was born from your heart before your brain can even think about it

And somehow, you can listen to it year after year, and sometimes find something new... maybe a new meaning, or a new way to play it... music never stops speaking to you... you're constantly hearing new stuff, even in those old riffs, or those old lyrics... the feelings linger, and somehow always stay relevant... even if you're not aware of it at the time

Sometimes it'll change after time, and you'll realize the song is different... it's not quite the same as when you first wrote it. Maybe you wrote it when you were angry, and now you listen to it, and it just feels sad, not angry. And that can be a beautiful thing too, because somehow, something you created is more than just words and notes, it has layers and dimensions, and it can mold and transform and grow with whoever listens, wherever they listen.

Even if they haven't gone through what you did when you wrote it... they'll still feel something. The music speaks to them in a different way than was meant, and that's the beauty of it. It's like you've given something to the world, that can take on it's whole own life... and even the ones who haven't experienced it first hand, can still appreciate the honesty in it. You can still feel that honesty, even if you can't relate to it directly.

But then, there are those people who experience what you've created, and it speaks something real to them... the song is suddenly new again, it has a whole new life... and every time they hear it, they know exactly what you meant, and why you wrote it... and they suddenly know you, because you've told them part of your story, in the creation of something beautiful

Sometimes it's a love song, and maybe you created it for your own selfish feelings... but then there are the people, those special ones, the ones who hear it, and it means something to them, maybe more than it ever could to you... maybe you were just pouring out your heart, writing to a girl... but this person, this one person feels like you wrote it for them, and they love it, they worship it, and your song has now become beautiful, for an entirely different reason

The first time they hear it, or read the lyrics, they have no context, no history, they were only just introduced to it... but the song is suddenly their anthem, it becomes their favorite... and they go their whole life, remembering the first time they heard it, and thinking how it was a piece of them they never knew existed

Their eyes are opened, their lives are changed, and they now feel a kinship with someone they've never met, because they've been let in on a private detail of themselves, that they would've never have known... that they have a soft spot, a soul that is not so thick-skinned, and they find themselves sobbing... over a stranger... one that wrote a song for a reason they couldn't possibly understand

That's why music is so incredible... it's almost supernatural... the connection it has to the soul... to the heart... maybe it is just a combination of notes, words, melodies... you can't see it or touch it, but you can feel it, in your heart... it stays, no matter what the song was written for, or where it was written, or how important the person was to the author... it becomes sacred... it becomes a time capsule of raw, unbridled emotion... and even a stranger can feel a part of themselves within it

It's like... if you write a love song, and you write it for a girl, and you put it out in the world, you don't know who is going to find it... you never know who is going to stumble across it, and be just overwhelmed by the feelings and emotions that are put into every little word and note of it... that's why you can always look back on it, and connect to it, because someone else is now experiencing it as your own creation, and you can always go back and listen to it for the first time with them

And they feel it just as intensely as you had felt it when you first wrote it... they don't know you... they don't know the background... but they feel the same weight behind it, they feel the same emotions that you had, and that's why the love song you wrote for a girl, becomes... a song about love...

And they find themselves obsessed, obsessed with these feelings, with the lyrics, with the song, and they feel a strong connection with you, even though they don't know anything about you... you could've died fifty years ago, and they still feel the connection with you, like they've always known your heart, your story, even if they don't know your name... it's almost as if the music itself is a living, breathing being, and it's reaching out to these people and saying 'This is important'...

And that's something so special, that music can do that... it's almost as if it's possessing these people... these random, unknown people... and you become important to them... they feel a connection with you, even if it's one way, even if they know nothing about you... they still feel the love song you wrote for a girl, the love song you didn't even consider making it public until someone convinced you otherwise...

Maybe the girl was a part of it too... maybe she inspired the song, but she was only the spark, and now, she has moved on, and is probably married, and has kids... maybe someone else is telling that girl they love her, while that same, random person is still listening to that song every day... while your song is still making people feel something deep inside... something they've longed for... and that's why music is more important than just being something to sell... the music itself is a living, breathing thing, and it reaches out to whoever needs it... and maybe no one did for a long time,

maybe someone finds it years from now... twenty, thirty, fifty... when you're long gone, and the girl you wrote it for is long gone... and that song, that same song... still has a power... it still has a message... and it still captures people, and touches them... and makes them feel something... something deep... an aching... an ache in their chest for a love so far in the past, and somehow the music still speaks to them... the words still have an intensity to them... the notes still are as relevant, as the day you wrote it...

That's the real reason the music keeps going, it speaks to the people it needs to... it's almost as if every song that was ever made, was made for someone... someone who would need to hear it, at just the right time... it doesn't always happen the second a song is made... it can happen over ten years... over fifty. The song has its own timeline. The music is the soul, it doesn't have a time limit, it goes on as long as it needs to... it has its own life, and every song has a purpose.

Every song is going to speak to someone, it's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of when a person will stumble across it, and feel something... anything, really... but maybe they feel sad, and that song speaks to their sadness, and makes them feel like they're not alone... or maybe they feel happy and it helps them see beauty in their life that they would've never noticed before. The song, no matter what time it was written in, has a meaning, and it speaks to people... it speaks directly to whoever needs to hear it.

And that's the most powerful thing, when someone connects to a song that was made decades before... or even ten minutes before, and it has a message that speaks to them, and maybe they'll never be able to tell you that it speaks to them, but somewhere in the world, a person is listening to your song, and they feel something... maybe some people can't understand it... but music isn't for them. Music is for you. It's for whoever needs it.

That's why it's so important to me... to any musician... because people find it, and they listen to it... but even if no one had ever heard any of my old, or my newer music... I'd still be making music. Because the music isn't just for people to hear it, it's for me to create it. If no one ever heard my music, I'd still write it the same way... I'd still write every word with the same passion... my life isn't about fame or money... it's about making music.

That's how it should be for any musician, and I don't understand how anyone could look at music differently... because no one should ever be creating music because they want to be famous, or they want to become rich, those things are always secondary... because a true musician, just creates and creates, no matter how big or small of an audience they have. A true musician, is just passionate about creating their work, and the music they make has a purpose, it's not just for fun, it's a way of life. And for me, it was a matter of survival.