The power of music transcends the ordinary. According to a Harvard study, music has been proven to stimulate nearly all parts of the human brain, synchronizing emotional response and activating memories.
More importantly, music can captivate us in a way that is completely individualized to each of our experiences.
The rhythm and lyrical poetry of music is far more than just musical notes and words on paper. It’s an internalized emotional journey that allows memories to dance in your head.
Continuing the theme of looking to Quinn XCII’s music, the song that resonates with me the most is “Another Day in Paradise” from his first EP “Change of Scenery.”
This track dives into the “wavy” nature of life and how its peaks and troughs will always be present, but it reminds us to always remember to anticipate every new day.
Off the bat, I was drawn in with its mellow piano riff and mixed melodic singing that quickly drops into a faster bass rhythm. This creates the highly upbeat and sunny tropical ocean vibe as
hinted by the title.
The first verse continues setting the scene with “75 degrees and a dope sound; all you need to live fine.” Quinn goes on to add “a little sunshine” and “a dose of rainfall in the evening.”
I’ve always said 75 degrees and partly cloudy is the perfect weather with a light rain at night to
put me to sleep.
The picture he painted in my head was perfect, which explains why I really got into this song originally. Also within the first verse, “the more I slow down the less I get out” reminds me to maximize the time spent with the people I love, doing the things that I love with every opportunity.
Then, in the second verse, “I’ll be gone till November, and going through the letters that I send her,” refers to leaving loved ones for an extended period of time but knowing that “I’ll be back in due time.”
This line makes me more appreciative of my family and friends that I see less often and reminds me to check in on them, holding our memories close to my heart.
Digging deeper, I find that there are many more lyrics that speak volumes to me.
The main idea behind the song comes from the chorus where “all the good comes in waves, I bide my time by the ocean.”
The ocean waves represent a steady current of good as well as bad, but no matter what happens, I will cherish every moment. My personal ideals in manifestation have shown me that connecting to the continuous stream of good energy can bring you waves of joy.
However, deviation from this energy will cause an imbalance where the negatives begin to poke through, forming waves.
At the end of the second verse, Quinn says “it’s all about the scenery along the route; no fears and no problems, these moments are so kind.” Like him in this verse, I believe that the journey through life is far more important than the destination.
I also believe that holding onto memories willhelp me be able to maintain happiness throughout the journey of living.
The experiences that I’ve had and the growth from them guides me in my journey, eliminating any problems in the past and fears of the future, and allows me to simply look to the present moment.
In the bridge, Quinn says, “we’ll look back and say ‘some mistakes we made, they made us who we are, these games we play, they got us real far’” emphasizing that people make mistakes, but that’s what makes us human.
The mistakes I have made do not define me and life will carry on regardless.
“That s*** to most won’t ever mean a thing, but it got us here so I hold on” reflects on how unique everyone’s experiences are and how they mean various things to different people.
I hold onto memories that seem shallow to others but mean the world to me.
Finally, I will leave you with the end of the first chorus that nods to the importance of taking time to appreciate every single day when living life: “no need to leave, spend our whole lives,
another day in paradise.”