Oscar Peterson

There are certain pieces of music that - I am convinced of this - actually alter your body chemistry. You listen, your skin tingles, your eyes tear up, your hair stands up a little bit, and you are flooded with the absolute knowledge that space and time are illusory, that all existence is merely the manifestation of God's Inifinite Goodness, and that your own physical container is an antenna desinged to beam this knowledge out into the Oness of Humankind. Oscar Perterson's "Gravy Waltz" is one such piece of music.

I hit the studio early this morning to get some design revisions done, and I've got an iTunes shuffle going, and then it happens. Oscar cranks up and everything else just falls away. I have to take off my glasses, put my head in my hands, and just let it happen. Something about 3/4 swinging that hard just knocks my socks off.

Makes me feel all funny inside, like climbing the rope in gym class.

So if your day is all suckage, if you're wondering what it's all about, why we're here, what the point of all this suffering is - just go get some Oscar. An easy fix is The Essential Oscar Peterson, on Verve Records. You'll be glad you did.