Music…. Passion….. Obsession…… Life. To me these four words are synonymous. I wasn’t born a musically gifted person. Nor was I gifted with the ability to craft something so beautiful, but through my upbringing, I developed this passion to seek out and enjoy music. To me, music is life and life without music is like watching a black and white movie. Yeah it’s still life, but it doesn’t have a soul (and all you movie buffs forgive me, I know they’re classics, but I’m trying to make a point). Music is just that…… SOUL.
Now I can all ready tell I’m going to be all over the place with this one. Not because i can”t articulate my feelings, but because music in it’s entirety gets me all jacked up. I actually told mi compadre who sent me this, ” I wish I hadn’t watched this video before bed, because all I wanna do now is “dig through the crates”. Nothing else in this world can give you this type of feeling… and I’m speaking from experience. Anybody who knows me, knows I’m a glutton for life. By it’s definition, that’s exactly what I am when it comes to this shit. A fuckin’ glutton.
So not knowing (due to my excitement) where to go with this, I guess I”ll kick a little bit of my musical history to you. I pretty much started out listening to what my parents listened to… or at least what I can remember. I recall listening to Patsy Cline, Travis Tritt, maybe some of the “BOSS”, Bruce Springstein for you fuckers who don’t know. Then my step dad came into the picture, and what I thought I knew about music was quickly replaced by what music was and is.
Through my stepfather I discovered the Pouges, 10,000 maniacs, Reverend Horton Heat, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Rancid, Nirvana, and countless other groups. Then I started getting into Blues and reggae with the likes of B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Bob Marley and the Wailers, and Peter Tosh (thanks to my mother). Dead Kennedys, Operation Ivy, Suicide Machines, Black Flag, Mustard Plug were all due to my good friends. I mean the list could go on forever and it should. That’s the beauty of music. Just like learning anything there is never an end. Thank god for that.
So in trying to keep this within the format I’ll end it with this( and awkwardly so) Are you having a bad day?? Put on “Don’t Worry be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin or “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley. If you’re ready to party, maybe put on some Push it by Salt N Peppa, (or for you Scotty, some “99 Red Balloons”). And for my hip hop heads (my true passion) I’ll give you my at-the-moment TOP 5: Anything off Nas’s Illmatic, “Ante Up” by M.O.P. “Beautiful Struggle” by Talib Kweli ( thank you Scotty), “Kick in the Door” by Biggie, and last, but not least, “Hellrazor” by Tupac Shakur. So Regardless of your taste, get in them damn crates, and loose yourself in the true gift to mankind…….. Music…..
-Ricky G-