The Mystery of Rocking the Fuck Out
“Acid For The Children” is a memoir recounting the chaotic and drug fueled childhood of Flea, the eccentric bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In the book, Flea describes his experience listening to his step dad's band play a fast paced version of jazz called Bebop. 8 year old Flea was flung into a writhing ball of ecstatic energy, completely engulfed in the jaw smacking double bass and ear piercing trumpet. Bebop jazz was an injection of equal parts MDMA and methamphetamine straight into little Flea’s bloodstream, and his life was forever changed.
As a kid, I never achieved an experience of Flea’s intensity, but blasting Nirvana at bone crushing volume through my 1996 Buick’s tin can speakers gave me a better high than any stimulant I’ve ever tried. I’d walk into my first period English class feeling like I could lift a Ford F150 with my 150 pound physique, and all because Kurt Cobain was screaming in my ear.
And such is the power of music. With spotify and a quality pair of headphones, we have mind bending access to decades of humans screaming, crooning, and pouring their hearts out. John Mayer, my choice for the greatest guitarist of our generation, can accompany you on your drive to the grocery store with his wide ranging arsenal of ripping blues riffs and soft acoustic ballads. From the comfort of your own bedroom, you can explore the world of underground surf bands from Los Angeles and house DJs from the North of France.
Extending from our individual worlds, music festivals and live shows provide the rare opportunity to let our guarded selves go and connect with like minded people. The happiest, most interconnected moments of my life have come from being with close friends at festivals like Coachella and Snowglobe. I used to wrinkle my nose at the privileged powder and pill ingesting crowds of these first world music festivals, but one day I found myself mesmerized by a Kaskade light show on the shores of Lake Tahoe and my prejudice evaporated. People understandably have issues with the illicit drug use of music festival culture, but there’s something mystifying about the cathartic, friendship strengthening experience of a 3 day bender with your best friends.
The list of wonderful moments that result from music is long. A dry run-of-the-mill conversation with an acquaintance transforms into a sparkly eyed connection if you discover a shared love for an obscure band from the 70’s. There’s palpable electricity from bonding with the stranger next to you at a concert because you both know all the words to a song you’ve loved since you were 10. Working out, socializing, and sex are all enhanced from a soundtrack in the background, and that’s because music gives life that movie-esque glow only we can understand. As much as we have come to revere rationality and analysis, our lives are interpreted through stories. Each of us is living out our personal narrative, and despite our social tendency to deny it, we see ourselves as the main character.
And music is the magical ingredient that makes our cinematic valleys more bearable and our triumphant peaks more enchanting. Flea raves about how music brings him closer to ‘God’ and the ‘Universe’. He sees it as a ground breaking force that rips people out of their comfort zones and presents them with a better reality. To Flea, music is everything.
My grandfather, on the other hand, once answered on a questionnaire that his favorite song was The National Anthem. He wasn’t fond of The Beatles and saw the explosion of psychedelic rock in the 60’s as confused noise. One night after a family dinner, he and my dad were playing a game of pool. My music loving dad blasted The Rolling Stone’s “No Sympathy for The Devil” out of his massive Bose speakers, and as the groove picked up, I noticed my grandfather’s foot tapping to the beat. It wasn’t long before his grizzled 80 year old shoulders were dipping and bopping to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
God bless music and people like Flea who bring it to life.
Music:
Maybe // RICEWINE
Weak Hearts // Felly
Only To Live In Your Memories // Night Moves
