By Guest Blogger Auke Bijlsma

I bought quite a few albums recently, mostly via iTunes, out of convenience or laziness like some would call it. And that’s fine, because laziness is the effort one makes to be as efficient as possible.

Anyway, I bought stuff by the Isaacs, Hall & Oates, Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Charlie Louvin, Jesse Winchester, Little River Band, Journey, Simon and Garfunkel, George Duke, Starland Vocal Band, King’s Singers, Jenny Lewis, and Van Morrison.

Now, all of these are great artists and all great albums; some I owned already on vinyl, and some I didn’t.

I’m a real music-freak. I love shows like Elvis Costello’s ‘Spectacle’ where Costello has great in-depth interviews with all kinds of artists, who influenced who, and why; what songs they cherish, grew up on, etcetera, and what they want to say with the music.

Most of the interviewed answer to the last question was that they want to entertain people and that they need a creative outlet which they found in music. Outlet must equal input…..right?

I can relate to that; how miserable life would be without music. Of course there’s more to life than music alone, but Aldous Huxley once said; ‘After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.’ And that is true in my life as well, some emotions and problems seem only to be accessible, or solved, by a piece of music. By no means am I suggesting that emotional imbalance/struggles/problems will vanish. But most struggles/problems/worries/fears are deeply rooted in our mind or in the brain.

Our brain works in a funny way, sometimes it plays tricks, but above all, it’s our own. So a lot of things we struggle with are battles of our own making and we’re struggling with ourselves. We get all wrapped up in it and the windmills of our minds are sometimes making dazzling rpm’s.

Hearing the right piece of music, paired with a lyrical content that either match your suffering or place it in perspective, can make a world of difference.

Let me break it down: When a song’s lyrical content matches our struggle we feel recognized or validated and realize that we’re not alone, someone wrote the lyrics and thus must have had a similar experience. That realization alone works wonders for most of us – why do you think a lot of people love Blues music?

I think Neil Diamond sang a song that had the line in it that said, “I’m crying in my pretzels.” How weird it that picture might seem, that visual of sorrow. As outlandish as crying in your pretzels may seem it could have helped someone through a rough spot at one point, if only by laughing at the silly notion alone. Same goes for Ray Charles’s ‘Drown in My Own Tears,’ the epitome of self-pity in song.

Now it’s not only songs of sorrow that match our emotional turmoil that can set us free. Some light diddies like ‘Oblidi-Oblida (life goes on)’ by The Beatles, or a song with a message like ‘And Their Hearts Were Full of Spring’ by The Lettermen/Beachboys, or The Nelons’ ‘The Sun’s Coming Up In The Morning, ‘ can elevate our thoughts, make us smile about our so-called hardships and place them in perspective.

As a gospel music lover I am especially blessed and seem to have an advantage over folks who listen only to secular music, which is written solely from a human perspective, and deals mostly of our ways to solve the problems. Gospel songs are pieces of portable theology, as Gloria Gaither once said, and are mostly written by people who were inspired. But even worldly music can minister one way or the other…God doesn’t exclusively uses Christian artists per se.

Just remember that sometimes help can come from a complete stranger.

I love music and remember life goes on, even when it means you are confronted with soggy pretzels every once in a while…

By Auke Bijlsma

SGMRadio is delighted to post guest blogs from Christian writers across the nation and across the world. Some of these writers are musicians, some are photographers, some are philosophers. We hope that you embrace each one as they give a part of themselves to our world.

For this blog, SGMRadio welcomes guest blogger Auke Bijlsma, UK Gospel Artist, blogger and philosopher. We hope you enjoyed Auke’s take on music, his viewpoint and his humor. Please visit Auke’s website today and don’t forget to leave him a note to thank him for his contribution to SGMRadio and our world.

Website: http://vintage1966.wordpress.com/

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Auke Bijlsma’s Bio

Name:Auke Bijlsma

Occupation: Head of Operations for major airline

Born: Sept 21st 1966

Married to Patty Springer for 12 years

Father of 4 (2 boys 2 girls)

Dog lover

Southern Gospel nut since late 70’s

Love old trucks

Record collector

Religion: Christian

Favorite quotation: ‘Irony is the hygiene of the mind’ (Oscar Wilde)

Overall music freak

Favorite singer: Michael English

Favorite group: Weatherford Quartet