Sometimes sharing really means more than caring....

It has been said that journeys are often more enjoyable when you have someone to share it with....... 

Now, whether or not I agree with that statement is questionable. I think it really depends on what kind of journey one is taking. If it's one of self-reflection....maybe that's better left for just yourself. Sometimes, it's important to keep some experiences just for yourself, so you can remember just how hard you worked alone on that solo path to reach the destination. But not all journeys are better left for one person. When there are those moments that you watch a sunrise or see something mind-blowing occur, it's always nice to be there with another person who takes in that very moment with you. 

So far, my music experiences have been best shared with friends and loved ones. I can remember excursions in college to many live shows, being handed an album by a band that I had never heard of (and being told to listen to it), even educating those around me about new music for them to include in their own collection. 

As I continue down this musical journey that I started, what I've enjoyed is that even though I sometimes take the path alone, I have even more points along the way where I can share more than just my feelings on the music with everyone....I can share the experience itself.

While Matt has contributed a few suggestions of his own, he became interested in my project when he read a few of the suggestions that I had come across....especially one that he had given me on a whim. During the summer, while performing a solo show at a country club, one drunken bar patron had requested to hear the song Taxi by Harry Chapin. Not knowing the song and still in the middle of performing Cat's in the Cradle, Matt tried to appease the patron to the best of his ability, assuring he would learn it if there was time. 

Later on, as we drove home, that very request came up in conversation. I had never heard the song before. Hell, I knew next to nothing about Harry Chapin! His music has never made it onto my ipod, nor did I care enough to learn more about him. Then again, a lot of the music that has been given to me so far has been music that at one point or another, I didn't really care to know more about. So in an effort to continue expanding my musical education (as well as learn more about Harry Chapin), I added the song Taxi to my list. Hopefully, I'd get the chance to have a listen within the next few days or so. And then the funniest thing happened....

Matt offered to be there to listen to the song with me. I had spent so much time focusing on how I would react to the music that I forgot how others would interpret it. And so, on a day off from all shows and work, Matt and I sat in our apartment as I located the intended track and hit play. 

The song itself is about a cab driver who inadvertently runs into a past love as his last cab ride of the night. While at first she claims not to know who he is, when she sees his face, they reminisce and talk about their lives. As Chapin continues singing, he realizes that in going their separate ways both of them changed so much in the process that years down the line, there was no hope for any reconciliation....small price to pay for pursuit of their own disillusioned dreams. 

It was touching, realistic, and sad....the way most romantic relationships do end. There was no talk of closure, no epic moment. Just the idea that when you do see someone who used to know you so well, you may as well have been strangers for all the time that has passed. Because when it's all said and done, what else is there to share? 

I don't know if Matt truly looked into the song for deeper meaning, but I do know that both of us really enjoyed the song at face value. Chapin's storytelling ability is quite simple and moving, which is exactly how most songs that tell a story should go. Music should not always be complicated, but sometimes share a moment with us. It can be so hard to follow and appreciate a song that doesn't have real meaning, no structure, and no sense of connection to the audience. But a story....always goes a long way. 

~Jenny Rockstar