Some monks, nuns and lay people while away their days and nights in silent contemplation and prayer, often in austere monasteries or beatific mountain retreats. Smartphones, omnipresent social media, and the constant drip of notification blips and bloops are quelled, with the background noise (music, movies and TV) some turn on to distract themselves limited to whatever wildlife wanders just beyond the walls and/or, perhaps, livestock housed in nearby pastures. It’s just you, your unquiet mind and stormy soul.
The day’s news, too, is a nonstop flood of upsetting information, from natural disasters to war to the cruelty (and oft-unconstitutional actions) of the tinpot despot and his minions. Peace, both internal and external, often seems beyond our reach.
In short: We live over-stimulated lives, with even something as perfunctory as a grocery store excursion soundtracked by yesteryear songs that shower down upon us from the store’s sound system. We check and recheck the list of things we need to feed ourselves, all while checking in on social media sites, reading and responding to texts—and somehow find ourselves singing along to the piped-in songs, too.
Almost everyone multitasks, in other words—even when doing things we ostensibly enjoy, such as listening to music, watching TV, taking in a movie or play, or attending a concert. The overly bright smartphone screens light up almost every dark space, these days.
Truth be told, I resisted cell phones for the longest time, only relenting after my car broke down on the turnpike in the mid-2000s. I purchased a cheap pre-paid one and threw it in the glove box, where it remained for half a decade. I upgraded to a clunky Android in 2012 and an iPhone a year later—and now indulge in the very multitasking I decry, often hopping between Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Blue Sky while watching something on TV.
It wasn’t always so. In the pre-Internet days, it was customary to focus on the task at hand, be it large or small. As a teen, for instance, I often whiled away time while lying on the floor of my bedroom, listening to a new or old record. I came to know those grooves like my hand. The same was true for everything else, too: going to the movies meant focusing on the large screen, while watching a TV show meant doing the same with the small (20-inch) screen in the corner of the living room. I devoured books in those days, too, almost always in silence. And conversations were never interrupted by a phone notification.
Over the past few years, however, I’ve been attempting to return to the blissful days of singular focus. Just as I did in my teens, twenties, and thirties, I focus on what’s before me, whether it’s a movie, TV show, or song/album. It’s one reason why I began watching foreign-language TV programs, as a glance away from the screen means missing dialogue/subtitles. Likewise, with music, I spend time each day just listening—or watching YouTube videos.
And, with that, here’s today’s Top 5: performance pieces that epitomize the epiphanic qualities of music.
1) Maggie Pope with Eryn Michel – “Northern Girl.” As I type, Philly-area folksinger Maggie Pope shared this video a mere 15 hours ago. It’s sweet tranquility set to song, just about.
2) Mikaela Davis & Southern Star – Hear Here Presents. Davis and her Southern Star band delve into the mystic via a 30-minute set that includes “Far From You,” “In My Groove,” “Don’t Stop Now,” and the Grateful Dead’s “Candy Man.” Mesmerizing.
3) Amanda Whiting – “Spring on the Taff.” Jazz-harpist Whiting’s recent Can You See Me Now? EP has become a staple in my rotation since its release in June. This isn’t a song from it, however, but a stand-alone piece that she composed with Tony Robinson. There’s something eminently peaceful about it.
4) Lillian Leadbetter – Bell the Cat Broadcast. I’d wager that at least 100 of this 13-minute video’s views have come from me. It’s a hypnotic set that features three songs from her calm-inducing 2023 album, State of Romance.
5) The Castellows – Live Acoustic Sessions. Now released as an audio-only EP, along with two additional tracks, the sisters’ performance stop time. Their harmonies define heavenly.
(Incidentally, I answered this same Daily Prompt question, albeit in briefer form, last August. No surprise, perhaps, but I also mentioned music then—and Mikaela Davis and her band! Imagine that.)
The Old Grey Cat 