What I've Learned From Loreena McKennitt's Music

It's safe to say I'm a pretty big fan of Loreena McKennitt, both her music and herself. It's a pity that I didn't discover how true this was until after I saw her in concert several years ago. There is no one quite like her, and no music quite like hers. She is a true bohemian. She weaves stories of her exotic travels into her music. There's no musical genre to describe how she combines Celtic beats and hypnotic Middle Eastern rhythms with folklore and history. Her albums can be found under headings of New Age world, but they aren't really adequate descriptions. She uses many instruments in her songs that most Americans have probably never heard of, instruments that hail from the Middle East, Africa, and other places.

Before this turns into a fangirl rant, I'll get to my point: I've learned a lot, thanks to her.

"Night Ride Across the Caucasus" led me to research the Caucasus Mountains. I'll bet you don't know what they are and probably haven't even heard of them.

Her live album "Nights From the Alhambra" had me wondering what the heck the Alhambra was.  That's how I came to the dream of a visit to Spain, a country I had never given much thought to.

"Caravanserai" taught me about the way stations along the old Silk Road, now in various states of ruin, and crumbling in the hot desert sun.

"Mummers Dance", the one song of hers that has ever had any radio success in the United States, led to research about members. A mummer is probably not what you're thinking it is.

"Skellig" came to life when my favorite travel blogger visited the very location that must have inspired the song, a rocky island off the coast of Ireland, which houses a very old, weather-beaten monastery.

"Kecharitomene" had me googling the word. I still have no idea what it is, or what it means, but I love the song, and I hope someday I will figure it out. (If you know, I'd love to hear about it.)

"Beneath a Phrygian Sky" gives me visions of standing on the deck of a sailboat, in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Greece, staring up at the night sky.

I love it all. I'm a little bit of a bohemian, I love culture and music, and travel, and doing things that other people think are weird or crazy. (I have yet to meet someone else who thinks Sarajevo would be an interesting travel destination.) Loreena 
McKennitt and her music are a part of that. 

List-Obsession: What I Am

~mom
~wife
~LDS
~geek
~underdog
~doormat (sometimes)
~relatively open minded and non judgemental
~seeking a more Zen life
~novelist
~a former poet
~an actress on a long hiatus
~a fan of the Chicago Cubs
~travel obsessed
~collector of bags and luggage
~highly opinionated about the things I know a lot about
~pro life within reason
~accident prone
~very forgetful
~a big time procrastinator
~a little crazy
~A fan of genuine people
~musician
~mildly talented at a lot of things
~a wannabe nomad
~a little morbid
~a Dr Pepper addict
~somewhat antisocial
~very anti conflict
~imperfect
~overweight
~completely uninterested in politics
~a little OCD (but isn't everyone?)
~secretly harboring bohemian tendencies ~a dog lover
~intrigued by the idea of an unconventional pet like a goat, pig, hedgehog, llama, or armadillo
~a bank employee, but not a banker
~in love with Scotland in all things Scottish
~not especially tolerant of high maintenance people
~firmly convinced that people who don't want to travel are crazier than I am

Yes, There IS Something Fun To Do In Utah

Ok, so there isn't a big nightlife scene. So what? Unless you have absolutely no sense of adventure, you should be able to find something to do.

First of all, yes there are Mormons here, and no, they don't run everything. If you're so inclined, you can find smoke shops, bars, coffee shops, and the like. There are stores to be found that are open on Sundays.

The Salt Lake Film Society shows a lot of independant and foreign films at two locations. The Broadway Center Theater is the perfect venue for these films, and has concessions you won't find at a standard cineplex, like gourmet chocolate and a variety of coffee drinks. They also show some Sundance Festival films, which is how I met Steve Buscemi. (Too bad I can't find that picture.) The Tower Theater is a single screen bohemian paradise. The lobby hosts movies for rent (on VHS, of course) from every concievable nationality and almost every genre. Next door you'll find a coffee shop and a gay adult novelty store.

If you're into cultural events, we have the Utah Opera, the Utah
Symphony, Ballet West, Rire-Woodbury Dance Company, and various arts festivals in warmer weather. If you want family fun, we have Lagoon (amusement park), various
water parks, the Hogle Zoo, The Livng Planet Aquarium, Clark Plantarium, and the Natural History Museum.

The main activity in Utah, though, is anything outdoors. Virtually any outdoorsy thing you might be into, you can find here. Camping, hiking, rafting, kayaking, hunting, fishing, boating, four-wheeling, snowmobiling, rock climbing, and of course skiing and snowboarding... just to name a few. My favorite is camping, and I've done a lot of it in Utah throughout my lifetime. There are hundreds of campsite options, including one I took advantage of a year and a half ago: primitave camping, no fee, no reservation, not even a dedicated site. While it's safe to say this style is best left to more experienced campers, I still had a good time, and learned a lot.

My point is this: don't dismiss the opportunity to try somethng new, and try, to quote the Utah tourism commercial, "Life elevated."