I thought I’d take a small break from writing about some of the heavy things that have been happening lately and talk about music.  Music has been in my life since before I can remember.  It’s definitely something that has helped me get through rough times and also to get through the day.

There is one piece of music in particular that I have listened to since I was very young that still sticks with me today.  I play it almost every chance I get.  Those of you who have talked to me on the phone already know what it is because you’ve probably heard it in the background.

It’s The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II.  Yes, a classical music piece.  For all of the heavy metal, hard rock, and synthesized 80s pop on my DVR system, I still go back to this one piece of music.  Ever since I first heard it in 2001, it’s been in the background of my life ever since.

The full piece is quite amazing to hear.  It has an almost ethereal, wispy quality, while also conveying what I can only say is “synchronized motion.”  When I’m programming, it’s almost always on loop because it doesn’t get in the way of things, and it also has a relaxing quality to it.  Even the more bombastic sections have a certain gentleness to them that makes you feel like you’re being carried rather than pushed or bludgeoned.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on classical music, but The Blue Danube certainly was a gateway drug for me getting into more pieces of the genre.  Gyorgi Ligeti, Aram Khachaturian, Gustav Holst, Antonin Dvorak, and Bela Bartok soon found their way into my CD collection.  And here I am, a professed metalhead that has thrown the horns on many an occasion.  What’s a headbanger to do?

And even with them all, I still go back to The Blue Danube.

It’s not a deficiency to like classical music.  Just find those pieces that you like and listen to them.  It took me a long time to find those ones in the genre that I do like, but there’s something in there for everybody I think.