I’m thankful for music. I’ve been blessed quite a bit in life, but nothing quite competes with music for my fanciful wanderlust and attention. It’s my chief hobby. Sure, I’ll hunt and fish and I’m a diehard sports fan for my squads…but music consumes me in a way like no other entity. If there’s a free spot on my calendar, I’m looking for a show. And, there’s still nothing quite like the thrill that I get when I hear a song that resonates with me for the first time.
Music isn’t just good for the soul, it’s essential.
For many years, here at Galleywinter, we would compile an annual musical article of thankfulness. We would solicit responses from Texas Music stakeholders far and wide; household name and newcomer. They were easily some of our most read content ever. To be quite honest, they were a lot of work. Fulfilling work. But work nonetheless. Perhaps, next year as Galleywinter officially turns 20, I will bring it back.
This rambling preamble of appreciation has been strung together to talk about what I’m most thankful for with regard to music. It’s that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach at a live show when your favorite band plays your favorite song. It’s those goosebumps that pop up on your arms when someone performs a song so powerfully emotional that your body’s response can’t hide.
How about when you go to a show and have no clue who the opener is, but by the second song you find yourself at their ramschackle, unattended merch booth seeking out their schwag. Or the moment you get to tick off a band from your bucket list and they live up to the expectations you had in your mind. The times you’re driving in the car jamming your tunes and someone inquires as to who it is and you realize they’re liking it as much as you do.
It’s time spent in the driveway because you don’t want the song to end. It’s seeing a song on TikTok and then going to find it on Spotify. It’s being connected to the Bluetooth or aux cord and dialing up the perfect playlist for the moment. Musical gratitude can be found at weddings, funerals, homes, cars, bedrooms, fields, roads, rivers and beyond.
I’m thankful for the pervasiveness that music has in my life. I’m grateful for its reach. Sure, movies, TV, sports and apps are cool…but they’re not music. Music is the lifeblood, the clichéd soundtrack to our lives. Music scores our life’s moments both high and low. And for that I’m thankful, I hope you are as well.
MINOR CHORDS:
-Adele getting Spotify to remove the shuffle button is pretty rad.
-I’m fairly certain I’m the premier Retro Bowl player in North America.
-I’ve been more deliberate about my social media and news consumption…my happiness has increased. Recommend.
-It’s all about the dressing and pie…but give me some turkey too.
-I currently own two pairs of boots. One pair I’ve had for 24 years. The other pair for 12. I just picked up a new pair this week. I’ll grab another pair in 2033. And probably still be rocking the ones from 1997 occasionally.
-Seems wild, but already stitching together River Jam 2022.
-Also in the midst of compiling our year end favorites list.
-This month’s recommended album: Josh Grider – Long Way From Las Cruces. Grider has always managed to tread the line between folksy Americana and commercial radio products. He lives in a land all his own as a true original. A smart songwriter who also knows how to soften the edges when appropriate. He’s at his best on this new collection of New Mexican Americana Texas Music.
-“Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.” – Mark Twain