Gentle Rain

Why is music so powerful? Why does it move us? What is it about the combination of certain sounds that evokes such a physiological and impassioned response in us? 

I was watching the tail end of American Idol tonight and wondered. Lots of the kids were great singers but what makes them great? Then beyond that what makes the song they sing, in the way that they sing it transform my mood or alter my state of mind? Why do I feel heartbroken when I hear Diana Krall's Gentle Rain? Every single time. I didn't get my heart broken by anyone and cry my eyes out to this song so I shouldn't have any sense memory of it or equate it to any kind of pain. Listening to it now it brings me back to a place I've never been. Like a memory of a dream I've forgotten the moment I wake up but the glum and sully are all right there at the surface. What is that?

What is it about Botti's music that draws me to it? Yeah yeah yeah, he's cute. Get over it. That's not it. Is it because I am rediscovering it at a time where the temperament of his music fits the disposition of my life? I knew about Botti long before he dated Couric and made the beautiful people list but even then his music didn't resonate with me like it does now. Why now? 

Here comes the classic chicken or egg question: Do I like Botti's music because it brings back memories of the places I saw him live or do I go see him live because I like his music? I guess that's part of what this year is about - to discover that music, much like life, is all about timing. Timing of a perfectly placed note in the clef.