music.

ok... i know some of you felt a little jipped after my fish bucket list. i mean all that reading (thank you for reading all of it) and there wasn't any real substance to it. so in lui of that, i'll make a real post. but it's gonna be a doozy. here goes...

i'm sure i've posted about music before. music is huge with me. massive. it's how i express myself. it's how i release emotion. it's how i relate to others emotion.

anyways, some of you may have seen this on my facebook already. i polled the masses to find out your 3 favorite songs. i also shared mine. they are as follows. in no particular order

1. johnny cash - sunday morning coming down.
2. eric church - sinners like me
3. dierks bentley - my last name

i have reasons for liking these songs so much. yes, of course, they are all country songs, but really, i'm sure that doesn't surprise you very much. i mean come on, really. i like country songs because they convey stories, messages, full thought process, not just stuff like stupid nickelback lets get naked and hump, or any rap artist poppin caps and then gettin naked and humping, or any stupid little pop starlet who gets naked and humps on stage. i mean really, i know that that's what our culture has come to believe is number one, great, and number two music. but i'm a little traditionalist when it comes to music. i think that music should come from an instrument. not a computer. therefore, jay-z, rhiannon, britney, sorry but you are all out of luck. anyways, i digress.

back to reason of liking these songs.

sunday morning coming down. this song does have a story to it. a sad one at that. i know yeah, what country song doesn't have a sad story. anyways, that's not the reason that i like it. i like it because of the story about the song. first off, it should be known that cash did not write this song. kris kristoferson is the man who penned it. not well known at the time, and having difficulties getting his foot in the doors of nashville execs, the young air force mechanic, after repairing a helicopter, took it for a test flight, landed on cash's lawn and said something to the effect of "mr. cash, i would certainly appreciate if you would have a listen to this demo." he handed him the tape, got back in the helicopter, and left. well, cash liked the song so much he decided to record it. while in the studio, the song again encountered opposition because of some of the lyrics. namely in the chorus where it says "i'm wishing lord that i was stoned". the execs did not like the thought of associating sunday morning with people being stoned. understandable. especially since the market that the record would be sold to were generally church going people. who wouldn't understand very much about it. it made economic sense. cash however, who had a long dark history with substance abuse, stood by the song, and demanded that it be recorded as written. because it speaks to many others. and that it reflects the life that he used to live. cash's protests of course pulled through and the song was recorded as written. this paved the way for people to be real with their music. not everything always had to be dip dee dip dee dip and ramalamadingdong and peachy keen. singers and song writers were allowed to now be real people.
that's why i like that song.

next song. eric church - sinners like me. this time i like the message that the song shares. the song illustrates the life of a man who's lived a normal life. he hasn't been a "perfect christian" if you will, but at the same time, he hasn't been a spawn of satan either, when it comes down to it tho, the last verse sums it up pretty much.
"on the day i die, i know where i'm gonna be.
me and jesus got that part worked out.
i'll wait at the gate, til his face i see
i'll stand in a long line of sinners like me"
it teaches that we're all the same. that none is better because he's at church every sunday, or the guy who maybe ties one on a little too hard on friday is any worse. i think the key is that we're all sinners. none of us are perfect. and that the only one to judge should be god. plain and simple.

finally, we come to dierks bentley - my last name. it's a song about roots, about you are where you're from, about not gettin above your raisin'. it's a song about being proud of who you are, and of your family. because really, when you think about it, people are fickle. and the only ones that will always love you are your family. it's important to keep them close, to care about them. whether it's going to your nephews 2nd birthday party, or getting together with everyone at christmas, or just having an uncle a brother in law and a cousin over to watch a fight. these are the times that matter more than anything. family builds character, and character defines a person. a person who comes from a family that cares about them, that builds them up and encourages them will be of solid character, a great person. they will have strong beliefs and convictions, and will not be easily waivered in these, because their family is there at their back standing firm with them. a person with poor family ties will do whatever he can to make things good for him. not caring too much about the damage it may cause others. his motives are primarily self serving, and his moral integrity will be easily compromised because he has no support structure. i know on facebook i said that family can be a number of things, mom and dad and brothers and sisters, grandma and grampa and cousins and uncles and aunts, husband wife and kids, or friends. well... in this list, i'm gonna remove the friends thing from the family thing. while friends can play an integral part in the support structure, they don't share the same ties that are shared with blood relatives. like i said, people are fickle. and quite frankly, i've experience this first hand. a while back my best friend of 17 years decided that he seemed to know what was best for me, and tried to tell my wife that she should divorce me. anyways, long story short, my best friend at the time, whom by all means i considered a brother, betrayed me, hurt me incredibly, and subsequently is now completely dead to me. so yeah. as good as friends can be, they aren't family. family is family. anyways.

yeah, so anyways, the reasons that i like these songs come together to form a great plan for living. and honestly, i think if people would live by these three lessons, the world would be an infinitely better place. people would (1)stand up for what they believe in, (2) not judge people and treat them the way that they would like to be treated, and (3) care about their families.

i have a hard time picturing a better world.

that's my opinion, but it's never wrong... so yeah... just sayin.