Music plays an important role is someone's life. For myself, a huge role. I could not live without it. So, what music make your heart warm?

I have very eclectic tastes. I would have to say though, for me the band that holds the no.1 spot is the heavy/progressive/art rock band, Tool. They are heavy, yes, in some parts, but also provide a huge deep and spiritual landscape on which they paint their amazing music. They heavily promote further learning of one's self and the world, and about furthering your journey of knowledge. They are involved with the artist Alex Grey, who has collaborated with them on their album artworks. if you haven't heard of Alex Grey, I highly (highly!!) recommend you visit his website, its awesome. He is an amazing artist.

www.alexgrey.com

(For some amazing pictures of his involvement with tool, click on archive to your left then 'tool' on your right).

here is a picture a friend took at their concert.... amazing....http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o218/mikizee/Tool.jpg

Here are some lyrics from their track 'lateralus' which shows what kind of angle they are coming from. If it weren't for them I wouldn't be here today.

Black then white are all i see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see.
as below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.

Black then white are all i see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see there is so much more and
beckons me to look thru to these infinite possibilities.
as below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn outside the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving opportunities behind.
Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

I embrace my desire to
I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired to fathom the power, to witness the beauty,
to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
to swing on the spiral
to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human.

With my feet upon the ground I move myeslf between the sounds and open wide to suck it in.
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out. I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.


As for other music.. George Benson rates heavily, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, I could go on and on.......

Anybody else want to contribute?

Mikizee,

I had no idea that such lyrics as you've been posting ever existed.  I really love them !  thank you!   :)
Unfortunately I'm old and cannot hear so well so I don't tune into heavy rock. Maybe if they sang it like the troubadors of the 17th century did..... ;)

How can someone in my situation find out about this poetry? What groups also have such lyrics that I have missed?  :'(

Bets

Woops, forgot,----

I am a huge Alex Grey fan though!  Not only his work  but his gallery choices too.

Have you ever been to NY to go to his physical gallery?

Maybe I couldn't take it in life size, as I have to leave the virtual gallery in about every half hour and come back later.  Sensory overload again. Enjoy it while you're young.

Bets

The lyrics I have posted are from the album Lateralus, which was made after the band met and had many meditation sessions with alex grey. You can really see his influence.

Here are some pictures from their concerts involving Alex's artwork-

http://alexgrey.net/2l/19.jpg

http://alexgrey.net/2l/16.jpg

http://alexgrey.net/2l/18.jpg

If you think the lyrics are good, they are but a small part of the music. the music from these songs speak to my soul like no other can. It takes my breath away still. so deep, so many levels, so beautiful. They are like no other band on the planet.

Since you liked the lyrics so much, here are more!!!!! excuse me while I self-indulge.

Here are some that talk about how destructive holding grudges can be -

     Wear your grudge like a crown of negativity.
     Calculate what we will or will not tolerate.
     Desperate to control all and everything.
     Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen.

     Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
     Justify denials and grip it to the lonesome end.
     Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
     Terrified of being wrong. Ultimatum prison cell.

     Saturn ascends, choose one or ten. Hang on or be humbled again.

     Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
     Justify denials and grip it to the lonesome end.
     Saturn ascends, comes round again.
     Saturn ascends, the one, the ten. Ignorant to the damage done.

     Wear your grudge like a crown of negativity.
     Calculate what you will or will not tolerate.
     Desperate to control all and everything.
     Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen.

     Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control.
     Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper.

     Defining, confining, sinking deeper. Controlling, defining, and we're sinking deeper.

     Saturn comes back around to show you everything
     Let's you choose what you will not see and then
     Drags you down like a stone or lifts you up again
     Spits you out like a child, light and innocent.

     Saturn comes back around. Lifts you up like a child or
     Drags you down like a stone to
     Consume you till you choose to let this go.
     Choose to let this go.

     Give away the stone. Let the oceans take and transmutate this cold and fated anchor.
     Give away the stone. Let the waters kiss and transmutate these leaden grudges into gold.

     Let go.

I'll post one more, this was from their latest album, 10,000 days. It was called 10,000 days because it was dedicated to the singer's mother, who had recently died. She had had a stroke, spending the last 27 years (roughly 10,000 days) in a wheelchair. She was a fierce Roman Catholic, which Maynard (the singer) often struggled with, since he doesn't agree with Catholicism AT ALL.  Its called 'Wings for Marie/10,000 days". Every time I listen to it its difficult for tears not to well up in my eyes. You can feel his immense love that he had for his mother, and the music is so beautiful that you can tell the other band members were right there with him, feeling his pain and grief as a collective.

You...
You believed ...
You believed in movements none could see.
You believed in me

A passionate spirit
Uncompromised
Boundless and open
A light in your eyes
Then immobilized.

Broken
Fell at the hands of those movements that I wouldn't see
Yet it was you who prayed for me.
So what have I done
To be a son to an angel?
What have I done
To be worthy?

Daylight dims leaving cold fluorescents
Difficult to see you in this light
Please forgive this selfish question, but
What am I to say to all these ghouls tonight?
"She never told a lie,
... well might have told a lie,
But never lived one.
Didn't have a life,
Didn't have a life,
But surely saved one."
See? I'm alright
Now it's time for us to let you go.


Listen to the tales and romanticize,
How we'd follow the path of the hero.
Boast about the day when the rivers overrun.
How we rise to the height of our halo.

Listen to the tales as we all rationalize
Our way into the arms of the savior,
Feigning all the trials and the tribulations;
None of us have actually been there.
Not like you.

Ignorant siblings in the congregation
Gather around spewing sympathy,
Spare me.
None of them can even hold a candle up to you.
Blinded by choice, these hypocrites won't see.

But, enough about the collective Judas.
Who could deny you were the one who
Illuminated your little piece of the divine?

And this little light of mine, a gift you passed on to me,
I'm gonna let it shine to guide you safely on your way,
Your way home ...

Oh, what are they going to do when the lights go down
Without you to guide them all to Zion?
What are they going to do when the rivers overrun
Other than tremble incessantly?

High is the way, but all eyes are upon the ground.
You were the light and the way they'll only read about.
I only pray, Heaven knows when to lift you out.
Ten thousand days in the fire is long enough;
You're going home.

You're the only one who can hold your head up high,
Shake your fists at the gates saying:
"I've come home now!
Fetch me the spirit, the son, and the father!
Tell them their pillar of faith has ascended!
It's time now!
My time now!
Give me my, give me my wings!"

You are the light and way that they will only read about.

Set as I am in my ways and my arrogance,
(With the) burden of proof tossed upon the believers.
You were my witness, my eyes, my evidence,
Judith Marie, unconditional one.

Daylight dims leaving cold fluorescents.
Difficult to see you in this light.
Please forgive this bold suggestion, but
Should you see your Maker's face tonight,
Look Him in the eye, look Him in the eye, and tell Him:
"I never lived a lie, never took a life, but surely saved one.
Hallelujah, it's time for you to bring me home."

Music is very important to me both to listen to and to play. I have always been into heavy rock and metal types of music for the most part although in more recent years I have opened up to other genres. While I still listen to a lot of stuff in the rock department, I now listen to anything that sounds good and all types of music influence my playing both for my solo stuff and my band. For me, writing and playing music has also been a very therapeutic outlet for all the emotions that I would rather not affect my daily interactions with other people and many of the teens and young adults relate to my work very well. I would post links to those pages but both my solo work and my band's songs contain some lyrics that may offend some people. Still, I think it is a valuable output for self expression, for music can express feelings that words alone can not.
Peace
David

Music can shape a country, they play it in elevators and marketplaces, its subliminal information into the emotions and your very soul.

I'm a folk background singer for the most part, partial to the quality of the human voice as an instrument,  if the vocolist is difficult to hear above the other instruments I get disappointed if hard music has no softness or subtleness in it.  I like Enya's music, so celestial she takes me home. I will take a look at the band you love, just to see who is inspiring you enough to brag about them and to say that they saved your life! That is a wondrous thing to think about it.

I do love lyrics above a tune I think. I would like to sing you all a tune from the 60's which expresses my sentiment in finding this board to chat on and grow on. so lalalalalal!!!

Sang by Judy Collins:
anda one anda two anda...

Sometimes I remember the old days
when the world was filled with sorrow
you might have thought I was living
but I was all alone

In my heart the rain was falling
the wind blew, the night was calling
come back, come back
I'm all you've ever known
chorus
Open the door and come on in
I'm so glad to see you my friend
you're all like rainbows coming around the bend
and when I see you happy
you know it sets my heart free
I'd like to be as good a friend to you
as you are to me.

There were friends who could always see me
saying howRU, saying goodbye, saying hello
soon I knew that what I was after
was life, love, tears and laughter
hello my darlin' hello my good friend
what do you know?

Open the door and come on in
I'm so glad to see you my friend
you're all like rainbows coming around the bend
and when I see you happy, well it sets my heart free
I'd like to be as good a friend to you as u r to me.
_____
I haven't changed much what kind of music I like, I just carry
the 60's with me into the next decade!

love alysia

Neat thread, you all !

I'm thinking there are all kinds of windows we can open that will provide a better view of all that truly matters.  You MikiZee, Muzak, Alysia, and others, are very fortunate that you have music as a big window. I guess I'm just getting the shutters taken off mine now---thanks for the help !

Bets