People talk a great deal about comfort food. Chicken soup for the soul and all that. But what of comfort music? When life has really beat you down and you need to indulge the deepest of your emotions, forget chicken soup. Give me John Denver and Cat Stevens! Never mind that these men are not from my generation. Never mind that it has never been cool for me to completely adore them. Their music is cathartic, healing, and sweet to my soul.The strains of their music can instantly bring me to tears. It conjures heartache, sweet memories, sentimentality and everything in between. As a child, their music is what filled our house. As a teenager, it was one of the strong and strange commonalities I shared with my friends. As an adult, it represents a refuge and a reminder.
Yes, it's true. I have been openly laughed at for loving John Denver as I do. Especially considering my age. In high school, my friends and I took every opporunity to see him in concert. The most memorable trip was a very small and intimate concert at Teton Village in Jackson Hole. We were literally the only people under 40 in the venue. Such a rare sight, in fact, that we were interviewed by the local newspaper. Sure, most other teenagers were listening to over-produced and fabricated, sappy pop or indulging their teenage angst and anger in grunge and punk bands. Not me, I love the simplicity, honesty, purity, and poetry of John and Cat. 