Music Monday #8: Tell Your Folks!

Amongst my love of ska and punk rock music, I love folk music. It's random. But like most things, I like to blame it on my parents. They raised me on the blues folk music of the 70's. Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Janis Jopin, to name a few. While in college I discovered a local folk artist, Joshua James.

His music is beautiful.

In the past years I have gotten in the habit of listening to him when I need to calm down, or fall asleep. The music is very soothing and relaxing.

I called upon his magical powers this morning while I had a furious, depressing, stressful meltdown less than an hour in to my work shift. Wiping the tears away and taking a deep breathe because the shift must go on, I plugged into the ipod and beheld the Joshua James shuffle option.

Christmas 2012 Santa surprised me with a digital download of his album From the Top of Willamette Mountain. Santa might have regretted it afterwards because on the rainy, cloudy, dreary day, I listened to that album about 10 times all the way through. That album is my favorite, but in true Kristen fashion, i'm going to highlight a song from a different album.

"Lawn Full of Marigolds" is from his second album, "Build Me This."

I'm not going to break down the song bit by bit this time. I feel like his songs are so filled with emotion and meaning, darkness and hope, that it is better to get from it what you need.

I'll just leave you with my favorite bit:

"To death: I'm dying,

to love: I'm trying,

to God: I'm lying again.

And to my ma: I've failed you, 

to my pa: well I've blamed you, 

and to God: I have shamed you again."

I love the raw human emotions. I think many of us have felt at least one of these emotions.

What music genre do you like that would surprise people?