Cat Stevens…I Love Cat Stevens!

Besides Harry Potter, P also made me a mix CD for my birthday. Back when were just coworkers and friends, he created RA soundtracks and made copies for the entire staff. Now that we’re dating, I get my own personal collection. I loved his mixes then, and I love them even more now. The RA CDs personified our staff in some strange way; if you mix The White Stripes with The Who with Tom Petty with Jorge Ben with Cat Stevens and David Allen Coe, you get the inside jokes and subtle (and not so subtle) references that characterized our staff. My personal volumes personify a side of P I didn’t know when we were just friends. Willie Nelson mixed with Wilco, mixed with The Beatles, Dire Straits and Marvin Gaye reflect our own inside jokes and references (subtle and not) that have become our relationship. Maybe that’s why these CDs remain in constant rotation on my MP3 player and stereo at home and work. They aren’t just groups of songs, they’re groups of people, memories, new beginnings and lasting relationships.

There are a good number of songs from all the mixes that I’ve never heard and it makes me realize my musical knowledge is very small. On this most recent mix is a remake of George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord. I’ve heard the original plenty of times and have always liked the song (George is still my favorite Beatle, after all), but this particular version, recorded by a group called Girlyman, is, for lack of a better, more deserving word, absolutely beautiful. The harmonies and the clarity and simplicity of the entire song brought tears to my eyes the first couple of times I listened to it. I haven’t been moved by a song that much since hearing Pines of Rome live in Ft. Collins a couple of years ago. (And as a side note, if you only see one orchestral piece performed live, I would highly suggest that be it. Truly amazing…surround sound and stereo in its original form.)

I love music, but since graduating from college I feel more out of touch with it than ever. Listening to My Sweet Lord in P’s pickup driving back from dinner with our former coworkers, I somehow felt a little more connected again.

I’m sure I’ll never hear that version on the radio (even if the radio station I listen to here kicks some major ass), but I will add that to my list of songs that must be turned up and sung along to.