Your strings are all I need

I realize I talk quite a bit about music in this blog, but you'll have to bear with me again on this post. Sometimes music just takes me to places worth sharing...

I stumbled across a really extraordinary guitar piece today on youtube, which as of late has been my place to find some great, quirky artists. It's a 4 minute, 35 second fingerpicking piece called "Red Hills" from a guy named Staffan Svahn (hold up, dont go onto youtube just yet. Wait until I tell you). Now, I'm always a sucker for a good bit of fingerpicking on guitar because it usually has that laid-back, pure feeling that only a handful of instruments can produce. This song, however, completely blew my mind. The guy playing obviously has a deep well of talent, and when watching the video you can tell that he's completely immersed in singular beauty of each pluck as it sounds off the polished sunburst of his guitar.

Whenever I hear a bit of music like this, my mind immediately connects it to an imaginary movie scene. It's always one of those moments where you pause and think, "the song would be perfect for when this happened," etc etc. So now, before I describe to you my *award-winning* film scene, go ahead and find the song on youtube. Then, once you've got it playing, come back and continue reading. Hopefully that will set the mood as I futilely attempt to describe the motion picture in my head.

*The song reminds me of a transition/traveling/collage-of-moments shot. Beware, this may get a little artistic/mushy for everyone out there*

The scene opens with a couple in a car, driving along a two-lane road that crosses some hilly, grassy plains. The road is empty save for them. Evening is creeping across the sky, creating a mix of brilliant reds and oranges to the west and a dark, deep blue to the east. A warm wind creates a gentle, steady sway in the grass, which is reflecting a glowing red along with its original greens and tans.

In the car, the windows are wide open along with the sunroof. Subtle reds and mellow blues kiss the interior and the faces of the passengers. All sounds of purring engines, rustling grasses, and flapping clothes have fallen silent to the steady fingerpicking by our own Svahn. Our character in the passenger seat sits with eyes closed and head resting on the seat, embracing the warmth of the wind on a sun-drenched face. They slowly open their eyes to stare into the seemingly endless road stretched before the car, yet there is no rush reach a particular destination. Any time-of-arrival is swept out the window along with the breeze.

The passenger turns their head slightly to glance the driver, who watches the road intently and wears an impassive face, as if a warm evening and an open highway provide the perfect environment for quiet reflection. The passenger continues to watch the driver, who eventually feels the stare and looks away from the road for a moment to return the glance and flash a small smile. The passenger chuckles inwardly, mind racing through the last few days spent in the company of the driver. Through the single, mind-blowing moment that connected the two in an indescribable way.

Switch to an overhead shot, which pans off the car that drives along the road and over the surrounding, hilly terrain. The few trees that exist on the plain move fluidly in a slow-motion dance with the wind. Several leaves are torn asunder and sweep across the plain into a burning sunset. Fade to black.

Alright, so that probably wasnt the best of descriptions, but I'm an engineer, not a writer. Pardon my use of "they/their" instead of "his/her"; I figured that guys and gals might picture scenes differently.

Anyway, I should get back to a real writing assignment: my english paper. Good times with plasma arc gasification. Nice.

By the way, everyone reading this should create a google account and COMMENT. Or I could just stop writing....



AHORA MISMO!!!!!