Archive for February, 2011

Have you ever pondered music?

I don’t mean thinking about the notes or the beat or the even the instrumentation.

I mean have you pondered it?

To ponder: to weigh carefully in the mind; consider thoughtfully: He pondered his next words thoroughly.

Think about what music is. It’s intangible. It’s really indefinable. It has no shape, yet it shapes thoughts. It has no function of its own, yet somehow helps us function.

Music has the power to stir emotions…

…And of its own accord can’t fulfill any of them. It isn’t needed in order to perform our daily duties, but how many places of business do you find with no music. I certainly don’t remember many. Music can’t comb your hair, brush your teeth, or tie your shoes, but it can ease you through those mundane tasks and make you forget about the time.

You don’t need words to enjoy music. You don’t need status. You don’t even need people around. It isn’t poured from a bottle, shaken from a cannister, or even dolloped from a 5 gallon bucket. Still; it can be as refreshing as champagne, spicy as cayenne, and rich and decadent as gold ring homemade vanilla ice cream. (you Texans will really know what I mean by that last reference)

Music appeals to fewer than our five senses, but it also appeals to more than our senses. When you study musical structure, it makes perfect logical sense. But when you try to explain why it “moved” you, very often you can’t quite convey it satisfactorily.

It wasn’t because it smelled, tasted, felt, sounded, or looked so good. It was what it did to your cerebral cortex. Or maybe it hit you in the “gut”, but it didn’t actually hit you, and it wasn’t actually your “gut”. See what I mean? You can’t put your finger on it. In fact you can’t touch it at all. You just know. You know?

Music is the best marketing tool. It’s an almost perfect way to ingrain an idea into the minds of your target market. Because without exception there has always been this common chord. (like my musical metaphor?) People love music! No surprise… It’s extremely versatile, dependable, believable, and yet inexplicable.

I’m a singer songwriter. I take the same octave countless other musicans use and create my little piece of semi-immortality to satisfy…what? Me? An audience? A paycheck? All of the above? None of the above? The answer is yes to all the questions. I’ve written tunes for each of those purposes. And each one was satisfying in its own way because each one involved the intangible little friend of mine. Music. I’m not sure why I’m so moved by this unseen companion, but I do know this:

Music is a gift from God. It, and your thoughts, can never be stolen from you, forced out of you, or driven away from you…as long as you want it; you’ve got it. How incredible is such a gift. Yeah, we could live without music, but

It wouldn’t be nearly as joyous an existence.

Stay tuned,

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When You Tell The Truth…It Makes People Mad

If someone said to me, “Tony, you’re a stick-figure-cartoon-character”…it wouldn’t make me mad at all. I simply know it isn’t true. I’d probably laugh.

However; if someone said something true about me that I didn’t want made known…or that I wasn’t proud of…I’d probably get at least a little mad. Truth just has that effect on us little human beings. And it’s not just truth, but also telling the truth in a way that’s unapologetic and to the point.

Maybe you’ve seen R. Lee Ermey on one of those funny GEICO commercials. Well, here’s a video of him telling the truth about our “current administration”. And it made some people mad. But I think he made an exact point and told the truth. What do you think?

Check out the video…

Stay tuned,

P.S. Click the button below and you’ll have 10 love songs (MP3′s) in your computer faster than you can say “I love you”. Well, maybe not that fast, but fast.

Thanks for your support. Easy to use your credit, debit, or PayPal account to give the gift of LOVE!

Tony Funderburk’s “All For Love” digital download

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