Your Personal Anthem

If nations have anthems, why shouldn’t you? I mean, what’s the difference between a large united aggregate of people organized around something in common and all the united aggregate stuff of you? Very little, if you ask me.

So what’s holding you back? Today is the day, my loyal readers. Focus on that deep internal pool of self-centeredness and pull out your personal anthem. If you’re the type to create something from nothing with musical instruments then take that route.

But for the rest of us, luckily there are plenty of previously created songs for us to steal choose from. (You’re dying to know mine, aren’t you?) First, there are several things to consider when co-opting a musician’s creative endeavor for your own self-indentification. Let’s begin.

• Decide whether the identity of the artist is important to you or not. If you feel like Thriller expresses the deep juices of your soul, but you just don’t want to jinx yourself with a life of psyche-bending fame, then keep looking.
• Decide whether your anthem needs to be from your defining genre/style, or whether it can come from any style or genre of music.
• Decide whether you want an anthem which describes you as you are now, or as you wish to be, or as you want to be remembered.
• This isn’t your senior song. Sure “Life is a Highway,” and “Friends are Friends Forever,” but we’re talking about your life here, not high school! Think harder.
• Determine whether you wish to go with the lyrics of a song, or the mood/emotional energy of a song.
• Is there a defining moment in your life that narrows down the content or feeling you are looking for?

Once you’ve worked your way through this list you should be near a decision. If you end up with a playlist of options, listen to them casually for a few days until the right one surfaces. This is serious business, so don’t be hasty. We’re talking about the music that will be played every time you enter a special occasion or host a sporting event. So make sure it works for you before you broadcast it to the world via the comments below.

Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for. (Wait, please don’t stop reading. Love me.) Yes, the personal anthem of David Mark Brown/The Redneck Granola is short and sweet–the one and only Ballad of Serenity. As you listen to my anthem, I bid you adieu.