Music Video Friday: Ode To A Butterfly By Nickel Creek

I was first tuned in to Nickel Creek by one of my best friends when I visited him in Maine for a week. The styles of music they play and the artists they've covered, both live and in studio, varies a good deal. It's difficult to pigeon-hole them in a specific musical genre, though I suppose "Progressive Bluegrass" is as good as any.

Initially, I balked at the band. Yes, my best friend played me "Smoothie Song" and, yes, it's a very good instrumental piece. But I was still rebelling against the music of my father. See, every Sunday morning as we kids would be getting ready for Sunday School, my parents would blast Stained Glass Bluegrass from the living room stereo system. For two hours every Sunday morning we woke up, brushed our teeth, put on our clothes, combed our hair, and ate our breakfast to bluegrass music.

When I started becoming my own man, I wanted to move as far away from how I grew up as possible (without killing my parents with stress). I pushed bluegrass music to the most nethermost regions of my brain and life.

It's only been in the past five years or so that I've begun to embrace some of those things that I grew up with, even to include bluegrass music.

Before you even think anything, my bluegrass library is teeny-weeny. Like, almost non-existent. But I do have Nickel Creek's three albums. They've all gotten extensive play, and I cannot find fault in any of them.

One of the biggest gems is the first song on their first album. It's completely instrumental, so you're going to be robbed of their rich vocals. But the mastery these three had on their instruments at such a young age would have made Bill Monroe blush with pride, I'm sure.

So here, for you, is Nickel Creek performing "Ode To A Butterfly" live on Austin City Limits in 2001.

Random Music: "Murder In The City" by The Avett Brothers

I've been doing a lot of introspective analysis the past week-ish, evaluating my place in life, where I've come, what I've still to face ... typical "getting older" stuff. This has all been sparked by my impending birthday in the not-too-distant future.

Those who know me well know that I enjoy my age and I look forward to getting older. I've never thought much on what it actually means to get older, what it actually is to be old. So it came as quite an unpleasant surprise when the reality of age hit me hard recently. With each passing second we each draw closer to the end of our life and it is that fact of mortality that inspired my song selection this week.

I'll have a post up sometime tomorrow or Thursday that will delve into the last paragraph in a bit more thoughtful detail. For now, enjoy this song by The Avett Brothers.