Independence Day – a love story

Are the liberators here?

Well, tomorrow is Independence Day. As some might tell from my writings I am in perpetual awe of the magnitude of what our country represents.

Unique among nations, we exist due not to random events, actors or actions – most nations being formed as a result of wars, seizure of land and the vagaries of personalities – but rather due to the deliberate intent to found a country based on an idea and because the men who founded the United States had had enough and had grown weary of tyranny. The risks they took and their willingness to suffer the consequences amazes me. I am thankful that I was not among them, deciding whether I would take on that risk for myself.

Psalm kind of wonderful

from google images

At times, say when a loved one has passed or we’ve just been offered that long expected big promotion, have been through a horrible break up, or just need a shoulder to lean on, we turn to music for distraction, to think, or to sob. Have you ever been having a thing and just when you needed it the most heard the song that helps you muddle through or to sing with unapologetic happiness? Perhaps even a whole string of em back to back, like some Perfect cosmic playlist from who knows where shared just with you at that exact moment?

When Hunter tunes in to songs which move him, he’s listening to life’s soundtrack at a finite moment in time. In that moment he can almost hear the soft, melodic voice (or the pained ‘no!’ screams) of His Maker communicating with Hunter’s stubborn psyche.

Crap songs or crap tastes? Song lists

Image via CrunchBase

Ever listened to a tune and, feeling that gut deep desire to cover your ears and scrub your brain, thought some equivalent of “I’d rather raw dog a beehive than hear that crap again”? Dramatic, si’, and yet…

Hunter spent several hours he will never get back listening to a top 100 ‘worst songs ever’ playlist from Songza today. The list was compiled by AOL.com. *Sigh*, poor AOL. Anyway….

So he spent the time assaulting his better sensibilities with crap ass tunes, originally as a distraction, but halfway through open questions lurked in the back of his protesting mind.

Just what makes an individual hate (or love) a particular song? Aren’t musical (or, for that matter, all aesthetic) tastes subjective, despite our obsessive music-geek debates over styles, genres, and quality of a sound or lyric?

What purpose do ‘worst…anything’ lists serve? Do they exist as some critic and fan ‘fuck you, you suck. We’ve kept a record’ smackdown of shittier artists or of good artists occasionally dropping on we the fans a lump of compositional/lyrical shit?

What’s the frequency, really…..? (Part 3 [the soundtrack])

The songs we love, songs we hate, songs we fuck to, chill with, break up to, argue about, share with friends – the soundtrack to our lives – helps to define who and where we are in life. Hunter just broke with a joy sucking, relationship trashing, life stunting psyche hate-fucking obsession with politics. In keeping with a longstanding tradition, Hunter shares the love.

Here’s your correspondent’s current soundtrack, a paean to self-affirmation; letting go of self-doubt and old pain. Standing strong. In no particular order here are Hunter’s (currently) top ten (+ one) “I’m feeling awesome, gonna be fine” tunes. With lyrics and (very brief) commentary.

1) Metallica – The Unforgiven

Uncompromising refusal to allow the shit heads who bring you down to get away with an ounce of absolution. Complete with an (unfortunate) self negating sense of giving up. Imagine that, frustration and resignation in metal.