It was the first time you heard a particular note, drum beat or electronically created sound that made your ears tingle, your heart skip a beat and resonated with your soul. This is “My Song” – a series where the music that makes the person is spotlighted. James Bullock writes about a song that is synonymous with his memories of two very important family members.
2004 through 2006 weren’t the greatest years for my family and me. Death proved to be an overwhelming force that took several lives of people very close to us in mostly unexpected times and manners. Two of the hardest losses were my grandmother in the summer of 2004 and aunt the next fall (both on my dad’s side). Their deaths proved to be emotionally and mentally distressing to the point of depression for yours truly. Little things would remind me of them and I wasn’t at the point where my thoughts of them didn’t center on their mutual passings. Some ten years ago this week I was still coming to grips with the reality that I would never see my loved ones again in this world. Then came one of the beautiful and inspirational reminders of what they meant and still mean to me.
The band Tool released their fourth LP “10,000 Days” on May 2nd. After fourteen minutes, the album moves into, arguably, the most transcendental pair of songs the band has ever released named “Wings for Marie (Pt. 1)” and “10,000 Days (Wings Pt. 2)”. Dedicated to lead singer Maynard James Keenan’s mother and her passing, the songs enveloped me like very few had before or after. What made the song even more meaningful for me was the fact both my grandmother and aunt’s middle names were/are Marie. Over the years, these songs have become synonymous with my memories of a painful, yet evolving time, and the pride of having people in my life that I did nothing to deserve such a blessing.
