Music: Saturday Songs

Sad songs are kind of my thing (although Sarah circa 2000 - 2008 definitely has me beat).  Of all the music that I really love, I'd say at least 70% is kind of (or a lot) heartbreaking in one way or another.  It's the same with my taste in books - it isn't good unless I feel something grave.  I used to complain about it in high school - we only ever read books about misery and heartbreak and catastrophe.  I thought it was so depressing/perplexing and I couldn't understand why learning them was so important.

But as I've gone through life (or life has gone through me), my appreciation for the bluer side has changed drastically.  Life is hard and full of obstacles and no one gets through it unscathed - but that's part of the allure.  After 15 years of making "grown up" decisions and living the consequences, I've come to believe that hardship (however big or small) and the choices we make in the face and wake of it, are what shape a person's character.  And to me, that's a really inspiring and beautiful concept.  The hardest and most harrowing experiences of our lives are the ones that give us the greatest opportunity to be the kind of people we want to be.

And long story short - somewhere in all the hurt of a sad song I find hope.  A little crazy, eh?

Whatevs, even if it doesn't make perfect sense, I still dig 'em.  And these are the ones on repeat today.

Making Pies by Patty Griffin



If it's the Beaches by the Avett Brothers



Widower's Heart by Trampled by Turtles



Oh, and I also love bluegrass.  But that's a different thing altogether.