disordered chords and discords

challenge accepted!

I got into geek rock when I dated the lead singer of a local band. Together, we would listen to Hum, Promise Ring, Compound Red, Elevator to Hell. We used to listen to the yammering guitars, and I would watch him try to pick out The Pod on his shitty strat fake. He struggled with the fucked up chords and I would struggle with the lyrics, hoping to get it down so that the band could practice it for a cover. In those days, we were a team, deciphering music and living for each other.

Discord came in the form of the groupies, cheap teenaged girls in their baby tees making eyes at my rock and roll superstar. I held on with teeth and nails to that relationship far longer than I should have. I wanted stability, he wanted the girls. I let him have the girls, and now I listen to Neil Young.

A different approach.

Usually....

Usually, our bodies and minds are in perfect time and tune and we are playing from the same libretto.

We build to the same crescendos, our diminuendos and our largos correspond. First movement, second movement, we play a symphony on each other, to a rapturous, if private, ovation

But sometimes, just occasionally, it seems that I am playing Gershwin, smooth and lyrical, while you are caught up in the heavy thunder of Wagner, or you are seeking the calm dignity of Pachelbel while I am yearning for the fun and lightness of Strauss.

We screech to a halt amongst disordered chords and discords, losing our place in the score, momentarily losing our enthusiasm for making music.

But not for long, ever.

We retune, and explore the possibilities, each playing a hesitant note, a tentative quaver here, a trembling minim there, until, again we find the key and discover a tune that pleases us both.

And harmony returns.