my favorite musical moment of 2008

Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Reeds drifting on by you know how I feel

Its a new dawn
Its a new day
Its a new life
For me
And Im feeling good

that's it. that's how it starts. acapella. that ghostly voice. the loud hush in the background, like the musicians can't sit still in their seats before they rip into that sultry riff. nina simone. 'feeling good'.

i used to go to the limelight almost every thursday night with jrod and the rose throat. it was nice. it was the first night of my weekend and i looked forward to it. i could relax a little and be with people i liked. and, as you all know by now, i had a huge crush on the rose throat. my pulse did, in fact, become rapid when i saw her stroll in behind jrod every thursday, around 7'ish.

so, this particular thursday, she brought her ipod. i think she might have been on a bit of a mission to play me something i hadn't heard before. she did. while i was a casual nina simone fan (which seems sacrilege. nina simone deserves DEVOTION!!), i hadn't heard this song before.

getting ahead of myself.

the bar was sorta crowded that night. strange for the 'light, which is almost always empty. my favorite thing about it. i had been there for a bit before they got there. the throat strolled in, waved, and headed straight for the bar. i fidgeted. y'know. the way i fidget. she and jrod finally got to the table. i, as usual, greeted jrod and immediately focused all of my attention on the rose throat. to my delight she threw headphones over my ears. said 'listen to this'. then that voice filled my ears. the quote above.

sometimes i get in a trance listening to music. even if it's in the background. we may be in a deep conversation, but if i hear something interesting from a ways off i will focus on it. hear every note of it. some of you may have witnessed this. i zone off. i'm gone. it's overwhelming! all those instruments! all those notes!! all of it coming together, constructing this beautiful whole! like how different colors and lines can create a masterpiece! y'know, it's magic. when you think about it.

that's the moment i had. i remember looking at the throats' quite beautiful face, and thinking 'i'll never be able to concentrate on this song'. then the drums hit. POP! Like a sledgehammer on a blanketed cinder block. and the horns descended, slightly sinister, slightly holy, totally soulful.

the room turned dark. i remember her face, and i saw stars, and i closed my eyes. if i was a better writer i could describe the rest of it.

i'm kinda glad i can't. it was perfect as it was.

next thing i remember was jrod ripping the phones off my head and being pissed we were ignoring him.

but it's ok. he got over it. i don't know if i did tho'.

it's been a good year for music. i got into alot of new, good stuff. enhanced my collection. saw some good shows.

but nothing matched that moment.

thanks, rose throat, for bringing magic back into my life.