Comfort Music
I came up with this idea the other day. There are certain foods that make us feel better if we’re having an off day. I reach for mac and cheese or mashed potatoes. Or chocolatey treats. It just gives you a little control after having a crazy day or sitting in traffic for an hour. Well, I think the same hold true for music for me. There’s music that just makes it easier for me to breathe deeper, to relax and let go a little. I have a cd of mixed tunes, comprised mostly of Steely Dan, mixed in with Joe Jackson and other assorted favorites. But Aja just does something to me. I hear it and I’m soothed. I’m calm. I can face anything. It’s my go-to music when I don’t know what I want to listen to. The huge jazz break in the middle is just like Valium for my soul. It slows my pulse. It makes my brain function clearer. I can remember figments of a dream I had when I was younger - maybe in junior high or so. It was one of those odd, stream-of-consciousness dreams that I just remember vividly:
I was trying to get somewhere or accomplish something that led me through these tunnels, but they were architectual, it reminded me of the long hallway in the mall that led to the arcade - brick-like flooring that was really vinyl, orange walls. But it wasn’t a linear hallway, it just meandered. And every so often these vampire figures would try to accost me. But I wasn’t scared really, so they got bored with me and told me to watch this little program on a nearby tv. And it was like some alphabet animation that you’d find on “old school” Sesame Street - kind of trippy. And the music that accompanied it was a cross between the jazz section of ‘Aja’ and the jazz section of ‘Zanzibar.’ So maybe I recognize something in it subconsciously. I don’t know. After watching the tv for a while I found that there was a secret trap door I could use to escape. It looked like one of those interchangable signs you see outside a church or a fire department - the white kind with the black letters you can change. Except this sign had little bulbs around the perimeter of it that looked like Good ‘N Plentys. So I pushed one and the sign popped open, leading to a slide. I slid down the slide and found myself in the waiting area of The Ground Round where my mother was waiting. I was safe. An odd dream, but every time I hear ‘Aja’ I’m reminded of it.