Tom Petty: A Reflection

This isn’t a memorial piece.  I don’t feel there’s anything I can really say to memorialize Tom Petty.  His music will forever speak for him and they way it makes us feel will forever speak to what he meant to those who loved him.  Nor is this a piece that explores his place in music history or his contribution to the world of music.  I’m certainly not qualified to write a post like that.  Rather, this is just a thought, that’s been going around and around in my head since I heard of his passing.  Well, that and a few of my favorite songs of his too.

Guardians Of The Galaxy and the Importance of an Awesome Mix Tape

It’s a looong weekend ladies and gentlemen so let’s pop in a good mix, consider what our music says about us, and appreciate some tunes!  Yes, the music in James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy films create an unbelievably fun, catchy soundtrack we all want to play on repeat forever BUT it’s ALSO as unique and important to the plot as the crew of the Milano.  More than most films, the Awesome Mixes give Guardians Of The Galaxy its soul.  It makes sense!  Our music is an intimate part of who we are and, as a result, an honest, heartfelt mix tape is a gift where we share something deeply personal with another.  In the films, Awesome Mix Vol. 1 and 2 are gifts to Peter from his mother, Meredith Quill.  In sharing the music she loved with him she also gave him a beautiful part of herself.  So, in the Awesome Mixes, we aren’t treated simply to a fun soundtrack.  Rather, we see a picture of who Meredith Quill was and we find an important part of what shaped Peter Quill into the man he became.

Mourning, Healing, and Bruce Springsteen

Last Tuesday, my grandfather died.  He wasn’t sick for any length of time nor was he a sickly man by nature.  He was in the hospital for just under two weeks when he passed away so it was certainly a shock to all of us.  Such a sudden death is never easy for the family but, relatively speaking, it was certainly a blessing for Grandpa.  As the dual waves of reality and sadness washed over me, I did what I always do in times of great mourning and pain.  I sought solace in the comfort of family, friends, prayer, memories…and Bruce Springsteen’s 2002 album The Rising.