"New Trend"

I've been listening to a lot of Jazz/Bossa Nova lately, which may be thanks to the influence of my dad. My dad would always be playing this type of music weekend mornings when both him and my mom were home, and it brings back a lot of pleasant childhood memories. When I came back from Europe, my dad and I were the only ones home and I heard him playing "The Girl from Ipanema," and I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sound. 

The other night I watched a movie with my mom, we saw And So It Goes. It was a decent, feel-good type movie - nothing special. But there was one seen, where Diane Keaton's character is talking about a song she heard when she first fell in love - "The Shadow of Your Smile" - and I thought about music today. The song some people probably hear when they first fall in love is probably some cheesy, uninspired pop song. 

When I was in Europe, I was surprised to hear American pop music playing. But that was only in passing, I suppose when I think about the music I heard in Europe I think about the woman on the Paris metro with her portable speaker and microphone singing a ballad in French, or the man with the stringed instrument with a horn attached (still can't figure out how the horn was supposed to be played...) singing a song, all smiles. I think about the mellow, French songs playing in the cafés. I think about the festival I happened upon in Barcelona, and the upbeat sounds of the drums and horns. I think about the bands in Pamplona, with their brassy instruments. And maybe that's why my ears were open to hearing something so different. Yes, I can't understand the lyrics to most of these songs, but I can feel the emotions with each note and each word being sung.