It's Been a Wild Ride, I Wouldn't Change a Minute.

 Welcome Back!

If you read my last blog, thanks for following along and I hope I can keep your interest with the first actual entry about the music of 311 from the ears, heart and mind of an excitable.

This month I put Uplifter on my turntable and set the needle to play the first track on the album, "Hey You".  In my opinion, Uplifter is such an underrated album.  I could listen to it on repeat again and again, but we'll get to the rest of those songs another time.  Today is about "Hey You".  

"Hey You" is a hidden gem.  When I hear a song for the first time, I listen to the beat and the mix of all of the instruments together.  I was a pretty involved music student through all of my school years, I studied music in college and I really grew to love the different types of music that stream through my headphones day in and day out.  I listen to 311 more than any other music in my library, but there are many out there that are 311 Music Experts!  The lyrics and songs that 311 puts together on their albums just speaks so loudly to me, well to all of us really...  trying to explain it to anyone that isn't a fan or hasn't been a fan for a while is hard to do and I think "Hey You" is the best place to start.

Every single day I listen to music.  Every. Single. Day.  My day begins with music.  When my alarm goes off in the morning, 311 is screaming "Creatures" in my ear to start off my day.  There are days when I'm tired or sore from a long week, or maybe I am not feeling well.  I pick my music based off of my mood.  Lately, "Full Bloom" has been playing on repeat because it really hits everywhere. 

"Hey You" lets us think through the entire song that Nick is singing to us about his friend, unless we really listen closely and then.. boom!  At the end of the song Nick reveals to us that his constant companion is MUSIC.

WOW.

So, sit on that for a minute and rewind the song.  Go through any particular day in your life and put the lyrics to "Hey You" side by side with your day.  Now, how does that look?  Pretty crazy isn't it?  Man, those guys from 311, they sure know how to write a song that speaks to you. 

You've changed your tune many times, since we met
But I always recognize you, you are part of me
I feel you whether in Jamaica or in the angel city
You're such a gift to me

Hey you
I gotta tell you my long time friend
I think of all those years you saw me through tears and the good times that we spend
Hey you, you're my constant companion
You always let me explain just what I am sayin' and we've just begun...

Since I started listening to music when I was a little girl I have always listened to a variety of music.  Music has been a large part of my life, you could find me dancing around in my bedroom or in my dad's pickup on the farm.  Sometimes it was country music, pop music, or rock music.  I remember my first cassette tape was Blue Oyster Cult.  My Uncle gifted it to me when I was 5 years old, and we played "Godzilla" on repeat until I wore that cassette tape out.  Through the years I've had songs that I play to dance to, songs that I like to sing along with and songs that I listen to when I'm sad.  When I go for long drives I have a playlist that gets me from Point A to Point B.  Music is my constant companion, every single day for as long as I can remember.  It really is a gift to me.  Music IS our constant companion.

I've got one wish for this music to be an uplift

And I need an uplift to deal

And there are few songs all the people can sing along

And one song, come along and sing it for real

Hey you

I gotta tell you my long time friend

I think of all those years you saw me through tears and the good times that we spend

Hey you, you're my constant companion

You always let me explain just what I am sayin' and we've just begun...

Music IS an uplifter.  What a great name for an album!  Like I said before, the album is so underrated.  I think there are some really deep rooted 311 fans out there that may realize this too and have listened to Uplifter front to back over and over again.  If you haven't, please do.  You're really missing out on something special.  People use music to deal with so many things in their life.  We use music to celebrate.  We sing "Happy Birthday!" and music is played at weddings and graduations, and at the same time, songs are played at funerals to remember our loved ones.  We all use music to deal with situations in our lives.  Music IS our constant companion.  

As I wander around

Town to town

Lost and found

When so many others come and go

Your sweetness pulls me through

Hey you

I gotta tell you my long time friend

I think of all those years you saw me through tears and the good times that we spend

Hey you, you're my constant companion

You always let me explain just what I am sayin' and we've just begun...

We go through life and things change every single day.  Some things stay the same, but people come and go... we move to different towns, we get new jobs and our families and grow apart.  The one constant thing that is always there for me is music.  Once in a while "Don't Stop Believing" will all of the sudden play on the radio, and instant thoughts of my best friend who passed from cancer on 311 Day in 2016 pop into my head.  That lady was my ride or die, but that was OUR SONG.  When the bands at the street dance downtown would play that song we would rush the stage with our beers and sing at the top of our lungs until our voices gave out.  Music brings out the best in us.  We can hear a song and instantly be reminded of a memory, a time in our past of when that song was playing in the background.  Maybe it wasn't the best memory, but music was there.  Music IS our constant companion. 

Hey you
You never turned your back on me
When I gave up on myself
Hey you
You never turned your back on me
When I gave up on myself
Hey you
What would the world be like
Without you around
Music
You're my constant companion.

People have left me behind, but music never has.  Often times I have wanted to give up, but music is always there to pick me back up and get me moving again.  I can't even imagine what the world would be like without music.  Music IS my constant companion.  

Thanks everyone for reading that SUPER long blog post.  I've been writing this since about September in my head.  Someone really close to me gave me the idea to use "Hey You" as the first song to highlight on this journey and I really think it fit perfectly for what I am trying to accomplish.  I did a little research as I was prepping my post and I found out that 311 toured for the Uplifter Album release in 2009 and actually played on my 31st birthday AT Red Rocks with Ziggy Marley!  I also found the POSTER for that show online AND they still sell copies of it !!!!  Jeez, I slept on that for sure.  Check out the video below that I found on You Tube from the show... and the poster from Red Rocks (pretty different now huh? 😂).  Look at that MySpace address ya'll!  

I hope you really felt the same way I did about "Hey You"...  shoot I even put it on the back of my jersey!  I can't wait to wear it OTMFB!!  I hope to meet even MORE of you on the Cruise, I'm ready to set sail in 48 days.

It's been a wild ride, I wouldn't change a minute.  

P.S.  Shout out to Lin Chen for another GREAT Jersey! 👽