"When it hits you, you feel no pain."
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I’m not one of those people who will say, “I remember exactly where I was when I heard this or that song,” because chances are, I have forgotten. What I remember is how I felt the first time I heard some of my favorite songs.
That’s as clear as summer rain.
The soulful and evocative “Scandalous” mesmerized or enchanted me by the legend himself, Prince. I was happy and at peace when I first heard “We Are One” by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. I was head-over-heels in love with Chaka Khan’s voice. My mom played “Do You Love What You Feel” on our hi-fi record player, and I could not believe the range that woman had!
I wanted to continuously replay the distinctive voice of Michael McDonald when my ears met The Doobie Brothers’ “Minute by Minute”, and the list can go on.
But where would that lead us?! Well, here . . . of course. Into the mind of a music lover who still gets giddy when Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” bursts through my car’s speakers or The Roots’ “Break You Off” slides in from being queued on Pandora or Spotify.
Music can shift a melancholic mood into one of unadulterated bliss.
The dark cannot hold you when music is the light.
I have been in some dark places and have had my mind blown at the right moment by the right song. There is something to be said about a thing that can move you from one state of being into an entirely different one.
It’s calming. It’s healing. It’s titillating.
“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” ©Bob Marley
He was right, Bob. Music can send a wave of emotions through you and summon the healing work of angels and shamans to get you back on the good foot if you are feeling flighty.
I am sure everyone has a music story–a melodic testimony of their bygone moment (s) when music changed them for the better. If you do not have one, live longer. It is coming.
I am not as visually sound as I used to be decades ago. I have an eye disease known as keratoconus, and I struggle to keep my eyes intact. My hearing is still sharp and enhanced when it needs to be. With music entering those drums, sound as long as I can hear it, will be my guide and inspiration.
Growing with music as it shifts with time.
Some artists can do no wrong about their sound selection. And some artists can be hit or miss. The similar thing for both is their need for you to listen to what they have produced.
And if it’s a hit, you will eventually tune in and probably become a fan, too.
I have traveled to my fair share of places, and upon my jet-setting adventures, music has accompanied me. I would not be myself without it.
From Jill Scott to Hall & Oates to Brownstone to Eagles to Erykah Badu to Patti LaBelle to Tears for Fears, and Commodores, I have a friend in the soothing sounds birthed by these gifted individuals.
They gave me music. Some still do. Others have fizzled out into a world of contentment outside the industry, or they have passed on—no longer delivering sounds that soothe.
But as long as artists share their artistry with the world in the form of beats, harmonies, and gripping lyrics, peace isn’t too far away.
As long as there is music, I’m gon’ be all right.
A North Carolina writer, Tremaine L. Loadholt has been published in literary journals, anthologies, and magazines and has also published three poetry books: Pinwheels and Hula Hoops, Dusting for Fingerprints, and A New Kind of Down. She’s editor and creative director for Quintessence: A Literary Magazine of Featured Medium Writers. Her artistic expressions are at A Cornered Gurl, Medium, and Instagram.