I hope what I am about to say, doesn’t in any way take away from this song. It is beautiful, but as I listen to it and read this post, all I can think of is legacy. In a way, every time we teach it’s an act of self preservation. I wonder if teaching these classes is a way for JM to keep the legacy of his own music and his own self alive and I wonder if the answer is “Yes,” whether he knows it to be the case. I can’t say, as a fan, that I would think this type of selfishness isn’t welcome, but it’s interesting to think about the legacies we hope to leave behind and maybe ask myself is that what I’m trying to do with all my tangueros?
Want to hear a great song? (I mean a REALLY great song?)
I taught a songwriting class at Berklee College of Music in Boston in March where I heard so many talented songwriters play some really great songs. Very few of the students have yet to record the songs they played for me, but Ken Yates wrote a tune called “I Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” and posted a live video of it on YouTube. This song moved me when I first heard it in the room and it still does today.
I love teaching at Berklee because I get to meet the artists that are going to keep the music world going strong before the rest of the world does.
Enjoy, two years early.
(lots of love to everyone else that day who fearlessly played their songs for myself and the rest of the room.)
-JM
