Simple Things

As I write this, I am listening to a CD of African music I bought a year ago while on a photo safari in Tanzania.

I know nothing about African music, other than I really like it. The music on this CD sounds more contemporary than much of the African music I have enjoyed. I haven't listened to this CD for several months, but hearing it again brought to mind some of the CDs I have bought while traveling in other countries. I have purchased music directly from musicians in Croatia (a wonderful a capella group singing in Croatian), Cuba (local musicians singing in Spanish) and Russia (a group of Russian Orthodox monks singing in Old Church Slavonic). 

Buying music CDs from the artists themselves does two things: It directly benefits the performers, and it allows me to bring home a reminder of my trips abroad. It doesn't matter whether I can understand the words or not. I enjoy the music and the memories it brings back. My photographs do the same thing, but music has a different dimension and uses a completely different sense. And the catchy tunes often get replayed in my brain even when I'm not listening to the music.

I know, many consider CDs to be old school, but they're still the best way for me to support local artists in other countries and listen to their beautiful voices once I get home. During times of stress (dealing with a damaged car, car repairs, etc., on top of the normal stresses of the day as I watch my country being destroyed by an incompetent, spiteful president who spends his time attacking a man who died seven months ago), listening to music is a great way to temporarily forget and enjoy the memories of a memorable trip to Tanzania.