Waking Up with Brandi Carlile

I wake up with Brandi Carlile every day. She makes me smile first thing every morning. I wish I could say that I sleep with her, too. But, the fact is, it is only her voice on my wake-up CD that brings me into every new day. And, her version of Bryan Adams’ Heaven is my song of choice.

We all have people we admire. People we crush on. Those we can only dream of meeting. Like those on your Hollywood-Who-Would-You-Do? list. Besides my old favorites of Jodie Foster and Angelina Jolie, Brandi Carlile is a relative newcomer that has joined the top 3…and they are in no particular order.

One of my album covers. Lots of great tunes.

As far as an ideal woman goes, Brandi seems to be very ideal. She’s so easy on the eyes, she just melts your insides (well, mine anyways). She has a smile that, well, melts my insides. She’s funny and personable. Gosh, can she sing! With a voice that also melts my insides. And, to see her play guitar and piano is just a bonus.

I’ve seen her 4 times in various venues. Biggest was at LL Bean in Freeport, Maine when she opened for the Indigo Girls. I was also lucky enough to see her perform a few songs with just a handful of people at WCLZ’s Studio Z in South Portland. I was so close to her, I know I breathed her air.

This is my one clear photo of Brandi leaving the WCLZ studios.
She didn't have time to stay for photos and we couldn't take pics during the performance.
For a slide show of that performance, click here.

Even though I had the biggest grin every time I saw her, I am not a stalker. Brandi, if you’re reading this, I am definitely not the stalker type. I rarely get all in a tussle about celebrities. I’d like to think they are just ordinary people like us. As an outsider we don’t know what they are truly like; what makes them tick. I like to think that I’m a good judge of character and can see the good in people. She seems like good people.

Anyway, back to waking up with Brandi… with a soft and almost haunting guitar, she sings Heaven to me every morning. It starts off with ‘Oh, thinkin’ about our younger years, there was only you and me, we were young and wild and free…’ until the chorus of:

Baby you’re all that I want

When you’re lyin’ here in my arms

I’m findin’ it hard to believe

We’re in heaven

And love is all that I need

And I found it there in your heart

It isn’t too hard to see

We’re in heaven

It’s a song of love. Of hopeful love. Of love that is so true and caring. Like being in Heaven on earth with the one you’re meant to be with. There is that one special person out there for each of us. The one, that when we find them, we feel like we can live on just the feeling of love alone with them. So, until she comes along and until I can wake up with her everyday, I’m just going to keep waking up with Brandi Carlile. For now, she's my little piece of Heaven.



@Ybbeige
http://facebook.com/barbarabeige
www.barbarabeige.com

Music for Vegetarians, Music for Beauty, Music for Life

Sometimes weird things pop into my head. When I opened the fridge and saw some fresh beets looking back at me, the song, "We've got the beets, we've got the beets" popped into my head. That's the vegetarian version of the 80s Go-Go's song that I used to love and play while in a girl band.

Whether it's a made-up song in my head or a real song, music is so important to me. I couldn't imagine a day without music in my life. I am grateful to the universe for also giving me the gift to hear that music.

Music is like a dear friend. You know that friend that you can go to and literally lean on when you're together? That friend who you can share anything with? That friend who you pick up with right where you left off no matter how much time has passed? That's how music feels to me.

I wake up every day to the song, "Heaven" sung by Brandi Carlile. To me, it's such a beautiful song. It's also a song of hope. Why would I not want to start my day with hope? And beauty? (I couldn't even imagine how my day would go if I woke up to a blaring alarm...)

Music has invoked many feelings in me. In yoga last week, Sarah McLachlan's acoustic version of "Answer" made me cry. It was playing softly in the background while we were in half pigeon. Could have been the hip opening that released the flood of tears, but I believe it was also the music that had me thinking.

I've used music to help with the natural delivery of my youngest child. Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach on his cello took away all pain of a very difficult delivery. I've even used the same CD (my favorite is the 1st in the set of the 2) to have dental work done without novocaine. Even where the dentist repeatedly and strongly suggested I use something to help me through. I didn't need anything more than the music.

I do have my favorite music that will circulate in the 5 slots of my CD player at home before I try out another favorite 5. Or, the one slot in my car. They have to fit my mood, though, too. And, that's the good thing about music...there are so many choices and styles and options. I can always find some type of music that speaks to me and is a reflection of how I feel (or how I want to feel). Thank you to all the musicians and singers who make that music. You make my world a better place.



@Ybbeige
www.barbarabeige.com
http://facebook.com/barbarabeige