7500 Miles

One of the people I’ve reconnected with recently is my beloved cousin Nicholas, who is currently serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

We’ve been through a lot together, Nick and I.  He’s definitely someone I’d want to have in my life even if we weren’t related and didn’t have dozens of blackmail-worthy stories to tell about each other.

Nick is a music lover, through and through, and has even played me a song or two on his guitar whenever we’ve gotten together, without me having to twist his arm too very hard.  When I confessed that I only just came into possession of an ipod, he  stepped up to the plate to help me fill it.

And by the way – that is exactly the reason I haven’t bothered to get an ipod until now.  Choosing songs seems like a daunting task, especially for someone who doesn’t have a lot of time to browse through the millions available on itunes.

Each day, Nick sends me the lyrics to a song, I read it, YouTube it, and if I like it, I buy it from itunes and download it to my ipod.  Sounds complicated, I know, but it’s really not.

Let me just say, this is an amazing way to discover music.

For the most part, he sends me songs I’ve never heard, which makes the lyrics read like amazing poetry.  Some of the songs can make me cry or laugh or say, “Fuck yeah!” before I’ve ever even heard the words set to music.

And then once I do hear the songs, I feel like I appreciate them in a way I wouldn’t have, otherwise.  Especially since Nick and I have very different tastes in music.  Or at least we did, before he started schooling me on the art of “real” music.  Although, to this I say: Whatever, dude!  Top 40 is music whether you like it or not!

I’m so glad Kellydropped an ipod in my lap, and that I’m filling it in such a unique way.  And I love that even though Nick and I are 7500 miles apart, he can still brighten my day with music.

So tell me: Are there any songs y’all think are an absolute must for my music library?  Help a girl out!