I suppose I *could* have made a *"Music Monday"* post, but I am one of *"those people"* who annoyingly tends to strike out in my own direction! And since the **#HiveBloPoMo** prompts are just *helpful suggestions,* I'm going to follow the music theme somewhat loosely. 

![0978-JoshuaTree.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23zkptBZYMiH7DZQ8Nkf9qmjGPfZQUvWgvbjQvgQkqYsusmpydjXH7Gztkbz3je9suNui.JPG)
*Joshua Tree*

## *The Soundtrack of Our Lives*

It's interesting how much *variation* I encounter when someone tells me *"they really like music."* It means *so* many different things!

For some, it means they *love* going to concerts and live music venues, but then I'll discover that they *otherwise* barely listen to music. One friend — from back in my 20's — used to say *"I just don't feel CONNECTED to the music unless it's being played live!"*

Interesting enough, I'm pretty much the *opposite.* I think the *studio versions* of most music sounds better than live versions. There are some exceptions, of course... 

Again, what's *important* to us? My focus tends to be on the *aural* experience more than the *event* experience. 

![0978-ElTajo.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23vi1sf9X4Ud7chvkHEXbcz4wbcaDbpejDF3XWqPyNg3fDVNgHauRNEr8JLorUcpUKiFb.JPG)
*Terrace of our house in Spain; 1976. Scan from an old snapshot*

## *Music as Anchor in the Insanity*

I grew up in a largely *"silent"* house. I honestly can't remember *anyone* in my family *listening* much to music when I was a kid.

Sure, there was music... meaning that my dad would would turn on the big reel-to-reel tape recording and run a *"background track"* of largely non-descript *"elevator music"* during parties. It wasn't music to *listen* to, it was just *atmosphere.*

It was a strange and solitary life, my childhood. I often look back at it, and it reminds me of a surreal *book* or *movie,* not of an actual kid's life...

Aside from escaping to nature, I also found an oasis of sanity in listening to music, from about age 12 onwards.

![0402-JoshuaTree.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/244eGTYPjznyWs25ic9ryBcx3HRDfc8h9q5NMp4NsSXV17gZSp2ApaEpaM7jKRzXmHvLu.jpg)
*Joshua Tree National Park, California*

When we moved to Spain in 1972, I got my parents' old Bang & Olufsen Beolit transitor radio, and for the first time connected to something other than background elevator music. 

I sat in my small room and listened to the *(sadly)* long gone **[Radio Luxembourg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Luxembourg)** English transmissions at night while doing my homework and writing in my journals. 

Hard to describe what Radio Luxembourg really *was,* but in a Europe dominated by *"national"* broadcasting services, it was a form of *"pirate radio"* that broke the mold. 

For me, it was a window to a world I'd never known.

![0978-Harmony.JPG](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/245caVRpY1hSHgSR7nbuTFGryELzMPr7AhjF1nWEWB7rPqJpPq5BsKk2LUnMUFETtVBJJ.JPG)
*The Harmony Motel in Joshua Tree, CA; circa 2008*

## *Places Have a "Sound"*

As the years have rolled on by... it has been 50 of them, I'm alarmed to say... music has always been a consistent tapestry or backdrop to everywhere I've been.

To this day, I always work with music; it's one of the things I share with **@cosmictriage;** and our tastes rather miraculously overlap. Which is a blessing.

The tribute to Joshua Tree that's woven into this place is also music related; the Harmony Motel *(pictured above)* is one of our favorite spots to stay when we visit the California high desert; it's also where the band U2 stayed during the video filming for their 1987 album *"The Joshua Tree."*

Small world, and all that!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vye_tNZYL8

The soundtrack has changed, over the years, and it continues to change. 

Early on, it was Punk and Ska; then it became Post-punk and New Wave; gradually it became more techno and trance mixed with occasional modern jazz and folksy *"chirps;"* these days I'm often listening to Progressive House, Synthwave and a fair amount of Dreamhop and Lofi. 

Never much got into mainstream pop/rock/top-40 or country; never went through a *"metal"* phase. In one of those oddly humorous manifestations of life, if it's *"popular"* and on the radio, chances are I haven't heard it; if I'm listening to it, chances are it has never been played on the radio!

And such is life!

***Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!***

![0000-HiveBloPoMo.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/23wqY3EiE69qeDv6s4V3oT1jTTENcriCnTa6RzyQb2F5HcdYAeRrXUJvgDm3McTVSGxqr.jpg)
*Graphic by **@traciyork***

![HivePanda.gif](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/denmarkguy/nnhCakFg-Hive-Panda.gif)

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*(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT posted anywhere else!)
Created at 2023-11-06 20:44 PDT*
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