Influential music.. by Kelly McGill

So, whilst sitting at home on a Friday night with my fantastic new earphones on, listening to my catalogue of nearly 5000 songs (so as not to disturb the male of the house who is enthralled with the Ashes) , I got to thinking.. “what songs touch you so deep in your soul, they bring out a feeling in you?”.

Music is a huge part of who I am. It brings me to the ground, it calms me down, it inspires me, it lifts me up. Without it in my life, I couldn’t survive. The louder the better. Often when I am bored, I get in my car and drive with the music on. For no reason, other than to be in my own space and with music that feeds my soul.

Do you have songs that mean something special to you? What are they? Can you share them?

These are a couple of really inspiring songs that I currently have on high
rotation because of various lyrics and my interpretation of them etc but I’d love to hear what music currently moves you, and why.

1. Make You Happy – Josh Pyke

“Every now and then, I get a little too close, to a kind of truth that’s not worth thinking about, But you can’t stop the mind from wandering, you’ve gotta slow it down, maybe get yourself under control”

: I over think everything! Josh Pykes puts it beautifully for me. Love him!

2. Heart – Bertie Blackman

“So listen up, Punch through the truth…I’ve been tricked, I’ve been poisoned, mislead, In what I’ve been told”

: I struggle to deal with people who are less than honest with me. Perhaps because I see the fault in myself ..?

3. Chase That Feeling – Hilltop Hoods

“And I’m a chase that feeling, Take that pain and replace that feeling,
And I’m a take that healing then, Stand so tall they’ll have to raise that ceiling man”

: Wow, this one is just amazingly true to life. I’m constantly chasing a feeling. What it is, I am not quite sure, but I know I don’t feel what I want. I strive for more, something else, something better.

4. Love Letter To Japan – The Bird & The Bee

“From the west to the east I have flown to be near you
I have come all this way to be close, to be here with you
And now, all my heart I will lay down precisely at your feet’

: This completely embodies the way I am about relationships.. I perhaps give way too much.

5. What You Want – John Butler Trio

“Tell me how you feel, For I am lonely too, Need you to know, I’m just as cold and numb as you.”

: Who hasn’t felt this? I have often been moved to tears by this song, especially these lyrics in particular.

6. Chase The Sun – Planet Funk

“I’m flying away, Running like the wind, As I chase the sun, Up spinning around, Circles in my mind, Sailing over ground”

: I get lost in the simplicity of this song. These are the only lyrics, but the driving beat, the memory of listening this with a friend and the feelings come rushing back to me. It demands nothing but provides so much.

7. You Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette

“Cause the love that you gave that we made, wasn’t able to make it enough for you, to be open wide, no, and every time you speak her name,
does she know how you told me, you’d hold me until you died, till you died, but you’re still alive And I’m here, to remind you, Of the mess you left when you went away. It’s not fair, to deny me, of the cross I bear that you gave to me, you, you, you oughta know … And every time I scratch my nails
Down someone else’s back I hope you feel it, well, can you feel it?”

: Ouch! Anyone who grew up with me, would know that Alanis Morissette totally influenced me beyond belief. This song to this day still makes me feel angry and think about some of the unrequited love I’ve experienced!

8. Vibrations In Air – Josh Pyke

“And nothing breaks the heart, much more than looking at old photographs, When you can taste the moment, and worse still, if it’s passed, they’re gone now to the future, but you still can’t deny them,
like a song that’s sung. Regret, is like a filter, that colours all your endeavours, and once put on becomes a feature of your current works, what i fear, is that all of these things I hold dear, never become more than vibrations in air. "

: A hauntingly beautiful melody, brings out all my thoughts of the things I regret and wish I’d said and done when I should have. Instead of playing it safe.

9. Return To Innocence/Set A Drift Remix – Enigma & PM Dawn

Return To Innocence: _"Dont be afraid to be weak, dont be too proud to be strong, just look into your heart my friend, that will be the return to yourself, the return to innocence.
Set A Drift: “Baby you send me… Set adrift on memory bliss of you”

: I get so moved and find myself daydreaming of being completely myself, yet filled with warmth, comfort and relaxation, all neatly combined together in one, with this song. It’s also wonderful that this remix goes for 9:49! Enough time to escape the world perhaps?

10. Stranger In Moscow – Michael Jackson

“Then a begger boy called my name, happy days will drown the pain
On and on and on it came, and again, and again, and again…
Take my name and just let me be. How does it feel (How does it feel),
when you’re alone, and you’re cold inside”

: My favourite MJ song by far and large. Andrew had never even heard this one until I came along – so perhaps not one of his greatest hits, but one that had me lost in the words and the emotion and the beautiful tune. It makes me wonder if what might seem completely good from the outside, is perhaps completely flawed on the inside.

Cheers, love and much more..

xKel

P.S You might have picked up on the fact I’m only slightly infatuated with Josh Pyke :P