The True Sprituality of Music
or:
How The Flaming Lips Are Going to Save The World Someday
Dante
08.12.02
It's a simple truth of our being that each and every one of us has a deep-seated yearning to save our own souls... or at least for one simple moment, fully realize it. It's the absolute nirvana for our existence, and only through self-realization and the realization of life and being can we rise above our everyday being.
This level of existence is attainable, and it is attainable through music. There are myriads of emotional sound expressions which we refer to as music. Yet there are particular songs which give our bodies shudders, which make us stop - not to think about, but to realize - every facet of our lives. It's at these tonally-induced moments that we become aware of our place in the universe and our simultaneous importance and insignificance.
I'm here, my friends, to ease the discovery of this path. But be forewarned, by reading on you will learn of a level and mode of spirituality not delivered through any conventional system of church or religion. It's a dangerous path to take, but will ultimately allow you to save your own soul... or at least embrace it.
This is the task I implore you to fulfill. You'll thank me eventually, although I am really only the messenger:
If you don't already own it, go out and get yourself a copy of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, by The Flaming Lips. (It's a worthwhile investment, spiritual enlightment aside).
Now go and set yourself down in front of your stereo (headphones aren't enough for this). Place the cd in the player and skip ahead to track 10: "All We Have Is Now."
Start the track, then pause it and skip it back to the beginning of the song.
Turn off all the lights. A candle is optional.
Seat yourself in the absolute center of your audio landscape - the place where you get the most enveloping musical sound. You know this place, it's the spot where your heart warms while you sit there with music playing.
Now play the song. Don't just listen to it, but absorb it. It really is beautiful, isn't it? Experience Wayne Coyne's whispered words, imagine the situation being described. "We're not going to make it... all we have is now."
Let the music envelope you. It will happen by itself. Listen, there's the deep voice repeating the lines of the man from the future. Feel as the sounds swarm about you.
Somewhere along this journey you'll find yourself lifted to another place - the place where life still doesn't make sense, but the fact that it doesn't make sense doesn't matter anymore.
It will happen. Let it happen.
And once it's all over, you can do it again and again. That's the magic of music - and whether they know it or not, The Flaming Lips are one of the few spiritual healers amongst us; they are the truest of musicians.
We've said it before. They're going to save the world someday. Each one of us. One by one.