Oldie...but goodie

These days I find myself listening to old music—music that’s not only older than me, it’s often older than my parents. It was not always thus; I used to stay on the cusp of the new, always aware of whose album was coming out next week. I think it was Harry Nilsson who first sent my tastes reeling backward when he recorded an album of songs from the 30s and 40s. Later, singers like Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, Manhattan Transfer and others produced their own versions of classic songs from decades earlier. As a budding songwriter, I was intrigued to make connections between names I had vaguely heard and songs that I now learned were clever and catchy. So that was a Gershwin song...and that one came from Johnny Mercer…or Hoagy Carmichael. When I unearthed some of the original versions, I was enthralled by the energy, the sheer joy present in the performers. Now I mostly listen to music that was old before I was born. And I’ve learned something.
I learned that a good, well-written song can live on for many, many years…while that great-sounding record which sold a million copies last month may sound dated in a year or two. It’s the difference between a good song and a good record. The record is frozen in time, showing all the earmarks of the era in which it was committed to tape. But the well-crafted song can be revived again and again, in different styles, by different generations.
I think of my faith in a similar fashion. There have been flashy digressions along the way which briefly caught my attention. But I keep coming back to the simple, perfect song of Jesus’ message. “Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.” It doesn’t need a flashy video or dancers or pyrotechnics.The message is extremely simple…yet it can’t be improved.
Music to my ears.