Funny how music can do such a magical thing. Play an '80's song, and I'm back in High school. In the Locker room during football camp. In the dorm playing D&D with my brother's roommates. Or driving home for the weekend. Music can take your mind back to places you forgot. And even re-ignite those emotions you buried or lost in the process. Truly an act of wonder and mystery. Call it "Magic!"
But this song hits me on so many levels. It makes me long for the 2003 Full Metal Alchemist. ( The first one... Not Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 2009.) I will refrain from trying to explain the differences on the blog post and try to focus on the initial point. I watched that series several times. And we eventually purchased the CD set and the music. If anime could ever be described as an Oscar Winner for Best Series. ( I don't know what awards the entertainment industry uses to pat themselves on the back these days....) It would be Full Metal Alchemist. I have watched many Anime movies and series... and there is nothing that can compare to this story. Even the later Brotherhood. ( I said I was not going to compare them!) Could be classified into a different genre. More action, less story. ( Ok, I'm done comparing them now...)
But the main thing is how the music takes me back. Back to that little apartment in Iowa. Curled up on a couch from IKEA.... Watching the series on a DVD with a 15$ Old Tube Television that we purchased from Goodwill. Because we had no money to go out, and no money to buy nice things. We were forced to rewatch out limited DVD collection of Anime that survived the Trip to Iowa from Michigan. And although those could be cataloged as "Dark Times" in our lives... I actually remember them with fondness. A touch of Excitement, Romance, and Melancholy. A moment in time that is now lost to history.
When I went back to Michigan to see my Brother and Friend, I was forced to drive through Grand Haven. (And Saugatuck and South Haven, and Holland....) And all those Michigan thoughts came flooding in. I could feel the "Carving and Art Show Years" pounding on my heart like a hammer. The places had changed a bit, but enough was there to cause me discomfort while passing through. And one of the things I noted while on Long Drives: Your Mind tends to Wander towards those things in the past that you: "Should have..... Would have.... Could have" done better or different. Would the results have been better or worse? You will never know...
So why beat yourself up over them.
That is what your mind tells you. But your Heart is beating loud and strong.. Telling you that it all matters somehow. And maybe it is not always for the bad... Even though it may feel like that in the moment.
And so I listen to Avenue. A short, little instrumental song that is played only a couple of times during the entire Full Alchemist Series. A song that is nothing more than background when Ed and Al are on their Journey. And they look back on their Childhood... With Nostelgia.
And, like real life, they look back on many moments of their past with Horror, Fear, and Great Sadness. But it all works to shape their path towards the one that they are on. It takes them a while, but they eventually recognize that. A line I remember is when Al is lamenting that he and Ed do nothing but "Give to the Void" and get nothing back in return. Even though they wholeheartedly believe in the fundamental principle of Alchemy: "Equivalent Exchange." And then another random character will offer the explanation : "Sometimes that which is gained is not always what is wanted..."
Wisdom sometimes comes at a high price!
But this song brings back those good memories. Those soft moments of peace and sanctuary when our world was collapsing around us. And it brings back the person who shared those moments with me. Even though I no longer have that person, I still have the memories.
And those moments.
And all it takes is for a brief melody of music to bring them all back.
Like... Magic.
The music will mean little to anyone else who has not lived my life, And even less to those who have not watched the Anime Series. But here it is. Just to add some context to the thing that allows Time Travel, Nostelgia, Heart Restoration, and Peace. Enjoy.
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