NOTE: At the end of this post...click "play" and you can hear December!
Many of you are unaware that after years of dabbling, about three years ago I finally picked my favorite band of all time - Collective Soul. And guys, I picked well.
The band is out of Atlanta, GA, and two of the members (lead singer and guitarist) are brothers. They are so versatile, seem so down to earth (I stalk them on Twitter...and you should too...since they follow back), and they infuse the music with what has got to be a spiritual background and belief system. I have found one word that would not pass the censors in their library of music...and it in a song that is inconsistent with the rest of their work anyway...which leads me to believe that they didn't write it...or someone was totally ticked off when it was penned or whatever.
An added bonus is that they are all good looking or as my daughter would say..."hot." I'm really past all of that, though. I just adore their music. And I admire their spirit.
My favorite song is "December" and if you've listened to the radio during the past ten years or so...you've heard it. This song struck me the first time it hit my ears and I never tire of it. Here are the lyrics:
Why drink the water from my hand...contagious as you think I am...
Just tilt my sun toward your domain...your cup runneth over again...
(Chorus)Don't scream about...don't think aloud...turn your head now baby just spit me out...
Don't worry about...don't speak of doubt...turn your head now baby just spit me out...
Why follow me to higher ground...lost as you swear I am?
Don't throw away your basic needs...ambiance and vanity...
December promise you gave unto me...
December whispers of treachery...
December clouds are now covering me...
December songs no longer I sing...
I wish you'd just go to iTunes and download it or better yet, buy a CD...but I've digressed...
So, why am I writing about this song? Probably because as I listen to it, I am also writing this and simultaneously trying to tune out Big Dave's Caddyshack on the big screen. Because I love it...I just want to share it. I also feel compelled to write to you how I actually became a fan. Because if I support something or someone...it's pretty much all out.
Several years ago I heard this song on the radio and thought instantly that I loved it. I had no idea what the name of it was because unlike when I was a kid...nobody tells the name of artists and songs anymore. You are pretty much on your own figuring that all out. Unless, of course, you couldn't care less who the artist is...then they will tell you ad nauseum. But I often have to call Jill and ask her or the "virtual jukebox" - Brian - what the name of the song is and/or who sings it. Brian can even recall the lyrics to any song he's heard once...and this ability crosses all musical genres. It is quite fascinating, actually.
Before the arrival of Pati (my iPod), I'd just get in the car and head to WalMart (or Target back when I was banning WalMart because their stock price fell and ticked me off) and buy the CD of whatever song I liked that much. I'd then play the song 800 times and learn the lyrics. Not the whole CD...just that song. Normally, it would just end there.
Well, I did just that...I went and bought the Collective Soul CD...but I found that I actually liked other songs on it. A lot. Granted, it wasn't hard when you have "The World I Know" and "Gel" on the same CD...but I still liked more than just "December."
So a while later, the acts for our local music festival over Memorial Day Weekend - Jubilee - announced that Collective Soul was playing. I paid a ridiculous amount of money to get tickets, dragged my 6 and 8 year old and husband specifically to hear this band. This was a true test of my devotion since it is hot as blazes in Alabama in May and the thought of two whiny kids at nightfall - when the more inebrated were walking about - and a billion people - was not fun. Jubilee was in that rare category of events I dread including the annual mammogram and the Easter cantata. I refer to anything that is a hassle factor of "10" as the third circle of Hell.
But the risk was worth it...
I still remember holding Jill up and telling her that "December" was my favorite song then...and it still is now. The crowd loved it, she and I loved it, and although I was pretty far back, and it was nearly dark, the show was great. That concert continued my love affair with their music.
Fast forward a few years...it is December 2005...Jill is now nearly 16...and her boyfriend at the time, John, was sitting with us on the couch. We had DirecTV on and came across this amazing concert. It was Collective Soul playing with the Atlanta Youth Symphony.
Let me repeat that...Collective Soul...a rock band...and the Atlanta Youth Symphony. We sat there and watched the whole thing amazed at how much we loved the music but also loved the way that they were...um...MUSICIANS. If you listen...and I do...a lot...you'll hear the appreciation for classical music and the spiritual themes throughout their music. A-W-E-S-O-M-E. They don't have to resort to yelling...they don't have angst...they just entertain. Can't ask for more than that. And while I'm a fan of Linkin Park (the King Daddy of angst...even Mark Levin uses part of this band's "Somewhere I Belong" as his theme music...no lie) Collective Soul is just ABOVE all that.
I immediately went to the computer and ordered all of the CDs that I could find...and got them for both Jill and John as well. I honestly listened to them non-stop in the car. Now, THIS was nothing new...but the fact that I was looking for more of their music was a little unexpected for me. Remember...I'm 43 years old at the time, busy as all get out, and I've gone into obsessive-mode.
A few months later I got an excited call from Jill who told me that Collective Soul would be in Atlanta in August 2006...and she wanted to go. So, we gave John tickets for his birthday and the three of us found the place that they were performing (with the orchestra again...which was cool). Ironically, it was the night before John left for college, and it was really tough...but we all tried not to think about it. Looking back, I cannot think of a better send-off...especially in light of the way things have since worked out.
In 2007, I started playing with MovieMaker on the computer with my Europe pictures from the 2006 trip to London and Paris. The soundtrack was...you guessed it...Collective Soul. "December" is in the background as we are boating down the Seine River in Paris. Other songs by Collective Soul..."Shine" (at the Arc de Triomphe), and "Run" (at Notre Dame). Since then, I've used the songs in videos for family ("Home" for the end of a travel video and "Better Now" for Ireland), "Reunion" for a rehearsal dinner video, and "Better Now" (again), "Satellite", and "Counting the Days" for Jill's senior year video. (Yes, these are for personal consumption...so I hope they don't sue me for royalties.)
This music is the soundtrack of my life. And as such, I wanted to tell you this.
I now follow Collective Soul on Twitter and hope that one day I'll actually win a signed picture or say something clever enough to get a direct message. But if I don't...it really is okay. It is enough to have accepted the gift of music that they offered and are still offering me.
In analyzing "December", I honestly have NO idea what was in the mind of the guys who wrote it...but I strongly suspect that it had to do with a girl.
Don't they all?
I mean, the way that I interpret it...after listening to it two trillion times...is that I have absolutely no idea whether she's a real heifer or what. My second guess is that she's a reality show queen that just HAS to have the spotlight on her. Either way, it can't be good.
But..I love love love this song. I'm currently listening to it on Pati. It is the perfect blend of guitar, voices, drums/percussion, strings, tempo changes, and everything else.
But even more than the words, it is what I now hear...
My cup runneth over again...sounds like somebody was in Sunday school.
Spit me out...like Revelations...Jesus spitting the lukewarm out.
Makes you think.
I love that two are singing together the same notes (as opposed to harmony) an octave apart during the verses. But my very most favorite part is this...
At the very end...the lyrics about December are being sung...
And then just as you are used to that...the "don't think about..." part comes back. And they are sung together.
Kind of reminds me of my life at this moment right now. In the past, I have also connected it with how you start onto your Christian walk. You start out singing the world's song...hear the new one...and then you have to make them co-exist...kind of being "in" the world but not "of" it. I am now experiencing it in another application...
As of the past few weeks, I'm in touch with people who know the old tune of my life. And while I sometimes still hear it, I've been singing the new one since age 20. But you know, much like the end of "December"...I'm finding that having them co-exist has been so much richer.
Thanks for allowing me to give you some backstory. And do yourself a favor...look into the band. If you tweet...follow them. They have a new album coming out August 4th. Just go to iTunes and sample away. Trust me...you'll love 'em. Later!">
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