It's been a wonderful day away from my life. I had a day off after 12 days of work. A lot of people will see my schedule and see gaps for meetings, late start at the salon and even Sunday blanked out, but what they don't understand is that I run my life according to two factors:
1. Hours dedicated to clients (45 a week to be exact),
and
2. Office time/ blog time/ time for meetings (approx. 10 more hours)
At the end of it, 60 hours a week or so is what I often work. Sundays I take a day to go shopping for salon and book keep and try to get my house back in order. I would hardly call that a day off. A true day off for me includes laying around in my Tashi-brand sweatpants and not even getting in the shower. Sounds gross to you, sounds like heaven to me.
On my day off, I sleep in late, read the NY times, sometimes I blog a little and I cook cook cook. If I decide to get ready, I go out for a cocktail or glass of wine in preparation of heading back to work.
Heading back to work in the salon or my office, there is one key factor I HAVE TO have: music.
As long as I have music wherever I am, I'm a happy camper.
So, you all asked me to talk about music and it's importance in our lives. I, of course, did my research and pulled up an article from USA Today and read about the health benefits of listening to music.
A few that I liked that really stood out were:
1. the fact that listening to music serves as motivation and increases endurance during a work out or activity.
2. Listening to ANY kind of music stimulates and uses the entire brain whereas watching TV or tweeting only uses like 10% of your brain capacity.
3. Listening to music can improve sleep quality and the depth of meditation practice.
4. Music is a natural stress reducer.
5. If you are depressed, don't reach for alcohol or chocolate, listen to your favorite kind of music. It elevates your mood.
All of the above reasons are true for my own life. I cannot imagine a salon or office, bar or restaurant without music. When someone or someplace lacks music, I ask, "what's going on?" or "WTF? They can't play music!"
In this edition of my blog, I don't have to consult the "Joshtionary" for a moral code or definition, but I would much rather transport you to Joshlandia and tell you what music means to me.
As a young child, I sang my heart out in choir and in many solo performances. Today, I can't croak an Amy Winehouse tune very well, but I love singing as much as the next American Idol. As a teenager, I was a dancer and competed in many talent shows and competitions as a solo act and often placed. Now, I won't even attempt to twerk; I'll sit with my drink and watch you. In my early twenties, I fell deeply in love with foreign composers and electronica as it enriched my yoga practice and spirituality. If you ask me about any Bjork, BT or Tiesto album, I will name all three of those artists are three of the most healing/spiritual people on the planet. They're not just musicians, they manipulate energy into something so sublime, it's like an orgasm in my soul erupting... yum!
Today, music for me enhances the salon experience, motivates me when I write and cook and often becomes the soundtrack to whatever I'm doing. Whether walking to work or dealing with a relationship hiccup, music gets me through my day.
I think musicians and producers are absolutely god-sent and talented in the most Divine sense of the word. I would never have wanted to be a popstar like Madonna or Gaga. I would have loved to be Bjork or BT. I think there are very FEW artists in popular culture that do anything with substance.
I love a good club record. I think those are underplayed and I think the club culture is a very spiritual culture. Dance music and EDM (as it's called now) is so spiritual. Each ripple, each vocal effect stirs something in us. There's something so primal about dancing to that kind of music.
I think the music of the 30s is laced in Gin-soaked microphones that harken back to when it was naughty to talk about booze and multiple affairs. You were supposed to Gershwin, not Billie Holiday! She was a renegade (if you ask me, so was Gershwin).
The music of the 60s brought up social issues and stimulated the sexual revolution that the world was going through. American teens said "Fuck the establishment" to many Dylan Records and lots of virgins lost their innocence trippin' to the Rolling Stones, Hendrix and Joplin.
The 80s was, by far, the decade of the one-hit wonder and had some of the funnest music to sing along to. The 70s had great songwriters and people loved embracing the art of poetry meets music. Songs meant something then!
I think everything past 1990 became very very very eclectic. It was an era when music became increasingly available in multiple formats and this is the era in which I grew up. Records, cassettes, CDs, Minidiscs, the creation of the WAV file and eventually the MP3 of the 2000s made it easier to love music.
Music excites. I personally can't play any on an instrument, but I can tell you style, producer and feeling behind each and every record on my iPod. For me, it's passion. It takes a simple glass of wine and makes it an experience whilst sipping it with my best friend. It takes cooking in my kitchen and elevates it to Food Network status. It heightens my senses when kissing someone for the first, second or thirtieth time.
That simple three-block walk I take every morning with my earbuds is like the opening credits to my HBO sitcom.
Music is powerful, friends. It takes any moment and makes it climactic.
Bopping my head now,
JRy
GOT A SUBJECT YOU WANT ME TO SOUND OFF ABOUT? TWEET ME @studiojry or email jcooley@fastmail.co.uk
