By:  Shannon Shull

A bit odd to think of music being powerful, heh?  If you really stop and think about it though, you’ll know what I’m talking about.  Music has the ability to strike emotions in us humans that are indescribable.  Have you ever listened to a particular song and it moved you to tears?  Have you ever listened to a song and it literally causes you to move your body?  Have you ever listened to a song and instantly a specific memory is recalled? If you answered NO to any of those questions, then I’m terribly sorry, but I’m afraid you’re not human.

Seriously! There is great power in music. And different styles of music speak to us individually on many different levels. Some of us love all kinds of music, some of us only love very specific kinds of music.  But either way, for each of us, there is bound to be a song out there that fills our hearts, ignites a special memory or fantasy, or just causes us to rock it out and experience sweet release of some sort.

In my case, my collection of tunes is very broad. I’m a lover of everything from Bach to Bon Jovi, Ella Fitzgerald to Enigma, Gavin DeGraw to Guns-n-Roses, Florence and the Machine to Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr. to Heart, John Legend to the Jackson Five, Katy Perry to Keane, Led Zepplin to Lady Gaga, Louis Prima to Luciano Pavarotti, Mary J. Blige to Meatloaf, Otis Redding to One Republic, Powerman 5000 to Peter Gabriel, Queen to Queensryche, Ray Charles to Rihanna, Sade to Shakira, Tenacious D to t.a.T.u, U2 to Usher, 30 Seconds to Mars to 311…..  and that’s barely scratching the surface of my range of musical tastes!

I don’t know about you, but there are times in my life when music literally fills my soul.  It sometimes can be an out of body experience for me.  My life would be devoid of true living, I’m afraid, if music did not exist.  No matter what mood I’m in, it comes to my rescue, whether I want to grieve, celebrate, remember, release anger, feel sexy, groove or simply rock it out!  Music is a great power in my life.  It inspires me on more levels than I could begin to describe.

I hope that there are some of you out there that can agree with me. Does music captivate you?  Does music take you places?  My playlists range something fierce – one week it may be all dance inducing Zumba type music, one week it may be a playlist that I sing my heart out to, another week it may be emotional and sentimental taking me places in my head… you get my drift.  What’s your latest playlist? I would love for you to share the playlist that is currently inspiring you – the songs that lately have been captivating your heart, mind, body and soul in some way…

The latest playlist rocking my world is…

• LA Woman – The Doors
• Pictures of You – The Cure
• Can’t Get You Off My Mind – Lenny Kravitz
• Crazy – Seal
• Put Your Hands On Me – Joss Stone
• Deep Inside of You – Third Eye Blind
• Sex is on Fire – Kings of Leon
• Mystify – INXS
• Strings – Young the Giant
• My Body – Young the Giant
• Never Gonna Leave this Bed – Maroon 5
• Heartbeat – The Fray
• I’m on Fire – Bruce Springsteen
• The Sweetest Taboo – Sade
• Faster – Matt Nathanson
• Animal – Neon Trees