I used to think Planet Fitness for $10 a month was the best deal in the world! It was a small price to pay to move along in my journey to get strong and healthy.
Now I’m just as enamored with the Apple Music app, an
amazing find for $11.99 a month, with unlimited access to music for just 40
cents a day! It is astounding how much joy this app brings to me. Calling it an
app doesn’t do it justice; it feels more like a companion as I move
through my day.
I open it the second I get in the car, whether for short, mundane
errands like food shopping, doctors’ appointments, heading to the gym, or for
longer rides to meet friends. These little pockets of time throughout the day
are perfect opportunities to explore Apple’s immense library of music, in
multiple ways.
For starters, choosing the soundtrack for whatever mood I’m
in at the moment – with just a voice command – is awesome. I can opt for a song,
singer, record label, instrument, genre or decade. If I’m too lazy to come up
with a request, I ask it to “Play music,” and it will generate a playlist that
is curated for me.
Sometimes I’ll compare versions of songs performed by
different singers, such as “Both Sides Now,” by Joni Mitchell or by Seal; and
“The Phantom of the Opera” song “All I Ask of You” by either Emmy Rossum and
David Wilson or Josh Groban and Katy Perry.
I like to pretend I'm hosting contests to determine the best
person in various categories: Which woman has the more powerful voice, Jennifer
Hudson or Adele? I'll give that to Jennifer Hudson for “And I Am Telling You.”
Which man's voice is mightier? Josh Groban. More sultry? Barry White. Sweeter?
James Taylor. You get the idea.
Another fun feature is the ability to put songs “on repeat”
if I want a second…or third…or fourth…dose; I often listen multiple times. Not
only do I like hearing some songs till I am sick of them, but singing along has
made me realize how many of the words I’ve been getting wrong.
One of the cooler components of the app is that I can ask it
to play music by the decade and, so far, I’ve gone back to 1920! It is fascinating
to hear how the instruments and lyrics have evolved over time, in addition to
the themes, with some subjects more prevalent than others in certain time
periods. Everyone sings about longing and heartbreak; some terrific singers
like Tracy Chapman also delve into societal unrest, poverty, war and more.
These are topics I can sink my teeth into on long drives.
Whether it’s the beat - take “But it’s Alright” by J.J.
Jackson, “Ants Marching” by Dave Matthews or a thousand others, the first five
seconds of some songs are like magic, changing the way I feel instantaneously. The
words can be transformative as well; take Carly Simon’s “Anticipation,” which
inspires me to appreciate each day for tomorrow I will see today as “the good
old days.” Carole King’s line, “At night the stars put on a show for free” in
her song “Up on the Roof” delights me, every time.
I am so happy David knew about this app to get a
subscription for me. I’m sure he wishes that I would want to play The Grateful
Dead when I’m scooting around town, but that hasn’t happened…yet. However, I am
adding some wonderful jazz music, such as John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things”
(yes, from The Sound of Music) that he has introduced me to, now earning its
place in my rotation.
Most of the time I am in a better place when I get out of
the car than when I get in. That may be the greatest gift of having all this
music at my fingertips: it gets into us, touches each of us differently, and
can make an ordinary day feel special.
