♫ To Shuffle or Not to Shuffle? ♫

I had the good fortune to grow up in house that was full of music lovers. As a child I was exposed to every genre from folk to classical and everything in between. Personally, I like music from all the genres except gospel. For instance, there are a handful of country songs I like; as well as a few EDM (electric dance music) songs. I have been to a variety of concerts: Aerosmith, Collective Soul, Eddie Money, Garbage, Leann Rimes, Great White, and Kiss.

There is always music on in my house. I like to have music when I cook, clean, write, and sleep; basically music is welcome as long as I’m not reading. I have a few songs that I listen too almost every day, from those I move onto the radio, YouTube, or Pandora. However, when I need to calm down I have two choices that can bring me back to my calm place, Pink Floyd and Robert Plant. Ah, but wait, the reasoning is oddly genius.

“Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd, not so much a playlist, more like a full album therapy session. For those of you that don’t know Pink Floyd is a British rock band that started in the ‘60s. The band members were: Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Syd Barrett, and David Gilmour. “Dark Side of the Moon” was released in ’73 and I was born in ’82. When I was a baby the songs from this album played in the car (both on the radio and cassette tape), while the house was being cleaned, and when gatherings were happening.

As I grew up and learned about music and lyrics I fell in love with Pink Floyd as a group, but “Dark Side of the Moon” is by far my favorite of their albums. By the time I got to high school I was listening to all kinds of music but I found that when I was sad “Dark Side of the Moon” helped. Now that I am an adult I use it to get my head straight, you know, for internal issues. By this I mean I the “Dark Side of the Moon” album to calm my anxiety, help me sleep, and to generally relax.

There are some great lyrics woven through the songs. These lyrics hit me hard every time I hear them. I think that is due to the truth they hold. For example,

“You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today. And then one day you find ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.” – “Time” By: Pink Floyd

To me this means that you go from child to adult overnight. The change happens so fast you don’t realize it. You graduate and things are fine then all of a sudden everyone you know is further in life than you. It’s like nobody told you to start acting like a grown up. By the time you try to fix your life it overwhelms you and you get stuck. As far as shuffle is concerned, on normal playlists yes I use it. On “Dark Side of the Moon,” however, listening in order is best.

Alright, time for a complete 180°. Where Pink Floyd is my Zen for my internal issues (things my anxiety and night terrors do to my head), Robert Plant’s “Now and Zen” album is what I listen to when someone else has caused an issue to my brain. So this is for the times when someone has hurt me, made me angry, or caused any other feelings.

Really quick, for those people that don’t know who Robert Plant is, here’s some basic information. Robert Plant is a British rocker that started as the lead singer for Led Zeppelin. In 1980 he left Led Zeppelin and began his solo career. In ’88 he released the “Now and Zen” album. I was only six years old at the time of release. Wow, I have been listening to this album for over thirty years; thinking about it, Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” is even older. For music that is over thirty years old it is still relevant and that rocks.

“The mirror tries to please me, The image wouldn't stay, The stranger is too perfect Take my breath away” – “The Way I Feel” By: Robert Plant

“Wide as the sky and deep as the ocean, Crazy with love and wild devotion, Feeling went cool when the touching stopped, Crazy with lovin', She's been looking for someone, He's been looking for someone, Oh - trouble gonna come someday” – Billy’s Revenge” By: Robert Plant

Personally, I see the first set of lyrics as a statement about vanity. Looking in the mirror, you age over the years, make-up only helps to a point, and then realizing that the make-up was a lie and your strangers. The next set of lyrics hits me in the feels because I see teens in love. So listen, wide skies, deep oceans, crazy love, and devotion all sound like first love to me. When the physical things stop the feelings stop. He looks for someone else. She looks for someone else. Now they’re cheating and trouble is coming.

I listen to this album because it helps me process how people can act the way they do. What makes people cheat and try to use love as their reason? Why are people so eager to change how they look? These are the kinds of issues people bring to me. Sometimes they want help and other times they just need someone to listen. Either way these types of issues bother my head. When it comes to shuffle on this album I recommend listening to it once in order for new listeners and after that feel free to shuffle away.

Well now you all the secret of my Zen. Inner Zen get Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and outer Zen gets Robert Plant’s “Now and Zen.” I think it’s hilarious that I use this particular Robert Plant album to center my Zen since Zen is in the title. I also realize that a “playlist” needs to be included, well, I have included two of them. I know that they are complete albums. I feel like they are a playlist already. Let’s be real, how many people still have a record, cassette, or compact disc that they can listen to from start to finish? Not many. These days it is all about the playlist and don’t get me wrong they have a time and place, I just prefer my type of playlist. It works better for type of Zen.