Music that Goes the Distance

May 10, 2023

Today, we’re going to talk about the lasting impact of music, and how we can recognize and harness it.

Music has a way of transcending time.  This is regardless of style or genre.  But it’s my conviction that music that has certain qualities and characteristics has the potential to go the distance.  Track with me here through a few musical vignettes I’ve chronicled for you.

Born to be Alive

Patrick Hernandez, a French singer, released a song called “Born to be Alive” on a disco album by the same name in 1979. 

I discovered the song in 1986, seven years after it was released…but in a very unusual way.

I was hanging out in Boston, Massachusetts, touring that city with some family, and I stumbled upon a mixed cassette tape on the side of the road with no one’s name on it but the words and letters “The TT Mix PL” written in thick purple felt pen. 

I had no idea what those letters stood for, but my curiosity was piqued, so I put the tape in my backpack and brought it home to Washington State. 

I spun through it multiple times, but “Born to be Alive” stood out way beyond all the other songs in the mix, and my father and I enjoyed listening to it over and over on road trips for a couple years after that.

23 years later, this same song was included in the soundtrack for the Russell Crowe political thriller State of Play, presented in a new techno version performed as a cover by the Flugel Horns.

I heard it in the background about an hour and 19 minutes into the movie, just as supporting actor Justin Bateman pulled up in a Cadillac.

The song had reemerged on my radar for the first time since 1986.  Whether that song had longevity is open to discussion.  But it had definitely made enough of an impression that even after 23 years of not hearing it, I was able to instantly recognize it.

That Voice Again

Another song, “That Voice Again” by Peter Gabriel, was released in 1986, the year I had discovered the mixed tape. 

It begins with a harmonic Major 3^rd between the notes B and D sharp, to start the opening chord sequence for the intro before the song settles into Db Major.  This is a song that has been a favorite of mine for a while.

While putting gas in my car at the local Costco recently, I heard a car horn honk those exact first two notes – B and D sharp.  “That Voice Again” was instantly brought to my mind. 

I had to double-check and make sure that that’s what I had heard.  I had my daughter pull it up on her phone, and sure enough, my mind had instantly been transported to the song.

I still listen to Peter Gabriel and have appreciated the ways he has reinvented himself, especially with his symphony orchestra arrangements.  

Cast Away

Speaking of orchestra, Alan Silvestri wrote some beautiful music for the 2000 movie, Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks.  But the music only took up 24 minutes of the movie, which ran a total of 2 hours and 23 minutes.  That’s less than 17% of the film that had a film score under it (there were several well-placed Elvis songs as well.)

But with only 24 minutes of film score, Silvestri had to choose his notes carefully, so as to make the most impact.  And per the Internet Movie Database, he chose to go simple.  Really simple. 

The only instruments he used in his score for Cast Away were an oboe, a piano, and strings.  And the music was hauntingly beautiful. 

The movie made an impression on me when I saw it many years ago, simply because of the loneliness Chuck Noland had to endure on that island for over four years.  It was punctuated by the mournful music that swelled after he left the island.  And again, per the IMdB, there is not one single note of written musical score in the film until Nolan leaves the island (1 hour and 43 minutes into the movie).

The timing of the music was very, very deliberate.

In fact, even while my daughter was watching it with me, she commented that there wasn’t any music under the island scenes.

Robert Zemeckis, the director, was very intentional about the timing of the music.  Go with me here.  I think there wasn’t music under those scenes, so that when there was music, it meant more.

Several years after that film had made such an impact on me, I was leading worship as a guest worship leader at a church in Wenatchee, Washington, when I heard the worship leader from that church, whose name was Isaac, play those haunting orchestral notes on the keyboard as we were dialing in our levels.

The music was unmistakable.  And it brought up a surge of emotions as I heard it.  I turned to Isaac and simply asked, “Is that the score from Cast Away?”  He nodded, appreciatively.

That music still impacts me today.  And it’s music without words.

A Medieval English Round

The summer I experienced the tragic loss of my sister, I attended a music camp.  The experience was a bit of a blur, but it was healing in a way, as I got to sing with people I’d never met, while enjoying the language of music that we had in common.

I can remember many of the songs we sang, nearly 30 years later.  One of them was a traditional Medieval English round called “Sumer Is Icumen In.”  It’s believed to have originated in the mid-13^th century. 

We sang it jovially, and enjoyed discovering how to sing in old English.  It basically means “summer has arrived.”

That same year, a film about the life of C.S. Lewis was released.  It was called Shadowlands.  I saw it a few years later.  And guess which song was sung by the choir on May Day morning in that movie?  Sumer Is Icumen In.  I recognized it right away.

Fast forward 30 years, and now I’m working with the choirs at my daughters’ school as a volunteer vocal coach. 

In sifting through some of the music folios, guess what greeted me at the top of one of the pages?  The very same old English round.  Word for word, note for note, the music leapt off the page and greeted me like an old friend.

Bringing it All Together

What do Born to Be Alive, That Voice Again, Cast Away and Sumer Is Icumen In all have in common?  Not much, except for the fact that they each impacted me in different ways…across time.

There may be songs that have had an impact on you as well.  And these songs could go the distance in your life. 

They may bring you back to an earlier time, whether sweet or sad.  They may have spiritual significance, or they may just be rich in musical composition.  They may have words, or they may be instrumental. 

But these songs can travel alongside you through life.

How do we create music that goes the distance?  I would suggest three things.

First, decide the distance you want the music to go. 

Is it for all mankind?  Maybe that’s a bit ambitious, but don’t be afraid to aim high.   Write or create music that speaks to peoples’ hearts.  Let your faith in Christ be an inherent part of what you do as you compose.

Maybe your songs will impact a close circle of friends or family, or maybe they will bless your church family.  Maybe they will travel to people whom you’ve never met.  I’ve had the privilege of impacting lives through my music ministry that I may not cross paths with this side of heaven. 

Second, be content if your life is the only distance.

Sometimes, songs are personally significant to us because we have a special connection with them.  That may be enough.  Personal expression and personal worship are very, very significant.

Third, think about why a song has endured.

Some of the great hymns of our faith have been around for centuries, and will likely endure long after we pass away.  There’s something about their rich content, often scripture set to music, sometimes encapsulating the gospel in a single song…this has staying power.

I’d say that some music out there is just fun to listen to, but is rather temporal and temporary.  Can we still enjoy it?  Sure.  But the music that will likely go the distance will have something extra about it. 

It doesn’t have to have words, or it can.  It doesn’t have to have carefully-crafted lyrics, or it can.

But listen for music that goes the distance.  This may require you listening more closely.  That’s a subject we talk about on multiple levels inside GuitarSuccess4U.

If this sounds interesting to you, please join today at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com/join. 

We could help you discover the music that’s within you, that may also go the distance in your life and in the lives of others.

You and I are only on this planet for a little while, so let’s keep our ears open for the songs that move us, including songs in our heads that are waiting to be expressed…and shared.

I hope this was helpful.  If there are songs that have impacted you over the years, please let me know in the comments.  And if there are topics I can discuss here in Guitar Serious Fun, please also comment.

Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.