pipe organ

It’s that time of year again where Spotify gives your listening stats of the year. I listened to 30,478 minutes of music this year which puts me in the top 82% of listeners in the U.S. That’s a lot of listening. I listen to more music than everyone I know my age. I probably listen to music more than I actually listen to people talking.

Over the past year, I listened to 72 different genres. I honestly didn’t know that many genres existed. Here are my top 4:

Rock
Rap
New Romantic
Alternative Metal

I would have to agree with this with the exception of new romantic. What is that??!? I am a huge hater of romance. I hate romance books, movies but apparently not music. If you are talking about moody mournful songs of unrequited love reminiscent of ’80s hair bands I am all for that. It probably has something to do with my new found obsession with the band Lake of Tears. But romance in general makes me want to gag. Sappy Hallmark movies, yuck! Honestly, I think that is why I never got into Christian music. They all sound like sappy love songs to me. I was mortified when my mom would drive around crying to that kind of music. I always felt a little guilty because I hated that kind of music. But lock me in a room with hymns playing on a pipe organ and I could listen all day.

The pipe organ is my favorite instrument. I always joke that someday when I am independently wealthy, I am going to add a pipe organ room to my house. Apparently no one else is a big fan of that idea. What is absolutely amazing to me is if there is organ music in heavy metal. It’s an acquired taste. My music is very personal to me and it’s a huge compliment if I am willing to share it with others.

I’m grateful to live in a time where I can listen to the music I want to. My gosh how many hours I waited for a song to play on the radio so I could tape it. We had such limited choices then. I wish I had the opportunities my kids had when I was younger. Maybe I would’ve done something more with it. I don’t talk about this a lot but two of my kids are musicians. My daughter Angel graduated with a music degree in 2020 and is employed as a recording artist. She spends somewhere around 30 hours a week singing and another 10 editing music. She has a studio set up in her house.

My son Alex spends most of his free time making music. He is also very talented and waiting for his big break. My kids have utterly ruined music for me because I am incredibly picky when it comes to other performers.

According to Spotify, I start my morning with melancholy, sorrow, and moody music. Then I spice it up a little in the afternoon with sorrow, mayhem, and moody music. Then I end the night with fun, hype, and relaxing music. Gotta save the mayhem for the middle of the day.

My top song of the year is Wanna Be a Baller. I’m not really sure what a baller is but I guess I want to be one somehow. I will have to ask my kids about this again. Yes, I am one of those crazy adults that likes rap music. Not to worry, I prefer the clean versions of songs. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit to the young folks I like some of the same music they do. As a parent I would really worry if my kids listened to the kind of music I do. I’m not worried. Music is a great way to express feelings. I understand that.

This year my favorite band is Pink Floyd. I am in the top 0.5% of listeners. I’m not sure if you noticed this or not. Recently I watched the documentary Died Suddenly. I was very, very pleasantly surprised that the documentary opened with Pink Floyd’s song Sheep off the Animals album. Brilliant, just brilliant.

I’m so grateful for music and how it has enriched my life. Here’s to another great year of listening.

On our free evening in Salt Lake City, we decided to go to the Mormon Tabernacle to hear the choir practice. The most impressive building shown in the picture above is the Mormon Temple (not where the choir practiced). The practice was held in the dome shaped tabernacle. Before entering, there was a group of kind elderly ladies that searched our purses. People were sitting informally in the pews to listen. It attracted an international audience.

By far my favorite instrument is the pipe organ. This was the largest pipe organ that I have ever seen. The sound was rich. Too bad I couldn’t fit it in my suitcase!

The tabernacle was inside of Temple Square which was surrounded by a large wall. Once I passed through the gates, I felt like I was in a different world. Everything inside was green and lush. There were immaculate gardens. It was peaceful and beautiful.

There were several statues in Temple Square, one of a seagull. Our Salt Lake tour guide said that when the original Mormon settlers came there was a cricket plague. The seagulls swooped in to devour the crickets. Now the seagull has a monument erected in its honor. It is also the state bird. Who would’ve guessed?

Right upon leaving the grounds, there was a young group of Christians evangelizing to the people as they exited.

Outside the gates there were several outdoor fountains that at certain times of the day had a water show, but I didn’t see that.

Down the road from Temple Square was a place that had a lot of signs for tourist photos. It seemed like a traffic hazard more than anything. It was something different.

Like major cities, there was a homeless population. There were kids that came by on skateboards asking for money to buy drugs.

The city itself is very clean. It was hard to find a cigarette butt or a candy wrapper. It would be nice if such care was taken towards preserving the polluted Great Salt Lake. Although it is nice to know that they weren’t serving fish from the Great Salt Lake at local restaurants since the lake is much too salty for fish.

One major misconception I had about Salt Lake City before visiting was that it was a dry city (as in hard to find alcohol, not as in climate). I didn’t find that to be the case, although the beer on tap has only 4% alcohol. Some of my local favorites are the Moab Brewery Porcupine Pilsner, Squatters Arnold Palmer Ale, and Wasatch’s Polygamy Porter. The good thing about less alcohol was that I was able to sample more. Although Utah law says that you can only have two drinks in front of you at a time, even if those drinks are 2 ounces each.

I was surprised at some of the restaurants in the city. I had an unbelievably good burger at Fat Jack’s Burger Emporium. I built my own and it included some unusual ingredients like Spam, avocado, cilantro, and a fried egg.

Even though we didn’t have a lot of time to explore the city, we were able to see a lot of the major highlights.

Outrunning my demons

Outrunning my demons one step at a time.

Unwrapped

Salt Lake City, Utah