True Love Never Dies

I know you all missed me yesterday but I went to the music law CLE program at CMJ all day and it was awesome! I networked, I learned new things about the sexiest intellectual property concepts on the planet, I ate brownies- the day was a success! I didn't even have to pimp myself out because I was asked for my resume by an attorney who practices entertainment in a big firm AND, after asking a very good question for the panel on ownership of user created content on the internet (myspace, blogs, etc) a musician approached me about my blog. He gave me his demo CDs and I promised to write a review for all my readers! Yeah, I know, Im hot potatos!

Anyway, so today I got one of the best text messages I have ever gotten, and I would like to share it with all of you. The sender will be kept anonymous if for no other reason than to be mysterious and annoying!

"I had a very Talia moment last night. I fell in love on a first date. And I likely believe I will woo this person until they fall in love with me."

What do you suppose this says about me? I think its a pretty good indicator that my friends (and this was a very dear one) see me as a passionate, enthusiastic, romantic who sees what she wants in love and in life and goes after it with conviction. I agree, and therefore, I like that story!

I thought about this text message and then reached into my bag for my journal that I keep on me at all times. You know, in case I need to write down a brilliant thought on the subway, or at the grocery store, or anywhere for that matter. Well, I thought this entry from a few weeks ago illustrates this point quite nicely. Its kinda long and completative so beware.

I have been grappling with the notion of Pearl Jam being magic for a while now. I say it often, and initially I actually believed it to be true. There are thousands of people around the world who know what I’m talking about and I wont’ go into all the details right now because, for me, that topic could fill volumes of prose. But, it all boils down to the effect the band has on fans, or believers as I like to think of us.

There is a clear psychological and often physical affect on me when it comes to Pearl Jam which is strong, powerful, inspirational, and ALWAYS positive. So, I thought, Pearl Jam must be magic. What I failed to realize however, is that its not the band- five (six counting Boom)talented mortals who play beautiful music. Its is not even the voice of Eddie Vedder, which at times is the closest thing I can imagine an angel’s voice would sound like. If Pearl Jam were magic, they would affect a far broader spectrum than their large, but finite fan base.

What is magic, I have discovered, is love. It is my love for Pearl Jam that causes the magical effects on me and my fellow jamily members! Anyone who has ever truly been in love with someone or something knows what I mean. I’m not talking about puppy love or infatuation. Everyone knows that those emotions have an expiration date. What I am talking about is pure, unadulterated, unconditional love. It might seem odd to discuss those aspect of love in the context of a band, but I, and I believe a number of my friends, am a testament to its existence. Like I said before, I could go on and on for days about Pearl Jam and how my love for the band is magical but that is not my point at the moment. I am simply bringing it up as an illustration of love’s magical manifestation.

It turns out that my love for people is quite similar. Passionate people experience love passionately- plain and simple. What can I say? We feel things deeply and on a level that many fail to acknowledge or explore. To some extent this can be difficult because when love is that intense it can cause great sorrow.

The way I can tell that my love for someone or something is the type I am describing is by the reactions I have to certain interactions with the subject. Its either there or its not, and it never goes away, no matter what the circumstances. It takes various forms and its affects on me vary, but once the seed is planted, so to speak, it endures into infinity. To return to my Pearl Jam example briefly, this is how I know that long after the band stops touring (God forbid, and I do hope this day never comes, but just assuming that Ed, Mike, Stone, Jeff, and Matt are NOT robots) I will be a Pearl Jam fan until the day I die, (and possibly longer depending on your faith) because I have the type of love for music that never dies.

If I were to go deaf and never audibly hear another Pearl Jam song as long as I lived, the music would play in my head as loudly as I experienced it on tour this summer and the magical effects on me would be just as prevalent and strong. So, the point that I am trying to celebrate, and that I thank God for every day is that I experience true, undying love for a number of people and things in my life, and this, my friends, is magic.

If the unthinkable happened and Ed, Mike, Stone, Jeff, and Matt and good old Boom all snapped and became devil worshipping lunatics I would love them for the band that they were when the magic happened, for the happiness that they gave me in the past, and for the music they gave me which will forever resonate in my heart from the good old days.

You see, it wouldn’t’ matter that they changed and no longer invited me into venues to play for me. I love the band now and forever unconditionally. Because the magic is real for ME. In all likelihood, I would not follow their newfound devil worshipping lunacy, and I certainly wouldn’t change my life to fit the changes they had chosen for themselves, bu the imprint on my heart would remain and any time I saw or heard about the band, my heart would skip a beat, the butterflies in my stomach would flutter, and I would be warmed with intense feelings of joy because a true love never dies.