warm sound

a song that reminds you of being warm

Warmth has a very distinctive flavor within the way we perceive things.

Those things that are cold are hurtful and painful, especially when you're being offered that cold shoulder or dealing with someone who is cold as ice. Cold constitutes what we don't want: a cold wind, an icy chill in the air, a frosty attitude, or a frigid sex partner. Cold is reactionary. Cold is an answer to a problem. A cold drink or an A/C drop after getting much too hot. Using cold towels to pat down a feverish body. Freezer burned food after being ill-packaged.

Things that are hot are uncomfortable and quite tempered. It tends to be the warm places that are welcoming. So, like a Goldilocks of sorts we seek places of warmth. In another's arms we receive a warm embrace. We choose to drink beverages that are warm, but not those that burn. A little perspiration is sexy, but running over with sweat constitutes work. We become uncomfortably drenched from a muggy rainstorm, but enjoy running through light raindrops on a mild day. We are pleased when the ocean air hits our skin and enjoy the warmth of the sun, but not the resulting sunburn. A little warmth in our touch is much more pleasurable than a hot poker. We take kindly to the warmth of company and less so to heated debate.

The middle ground is where we find warm and I contend where we find the most comfort. What occurs in the extremes sometimes remind us what's most important. They might provide balance, but often the best things come in warm packages. Immediately I am drawn to folk music and the sunlight that surrounded San Franciscan heavy sixties style music. Maybe this is due to its easy to digest nature - when done right - or perhaps it's because I am so quickly reminded of Indigo Girls' songs on church trips in my youth and other times when someone with a guitar could offer us simple moments of solace.

But this is not the warmest of all to me. I have thought long and hard about it, and decided that Earth, Wind, & Fire's "September" shall take that title. Nowhere near as mellow as the wide reaching acoustic storm, but nonetheless I think this tune hits just the right notes for me. Most of Earth, Wind, & Fire's music of this period sounds as if they invited everyone they knew to play on the track, so their songs are so often filled with so much energy and spirit, harnessing the warmth of their well-known horn section, heating up the vocal line with simple lyrics and easy to learn vocal exercises, and intensifying the mood of anyone in earshot.