Needles aside…

I wish there was a way to tattoo myself with music.

Nothing so simplistic as writing out the lyrics, or even musical notes. I want to mark myself with the complexities of a good song. There’s no way to capture this in ink… which is probably a good thing. Mere text, words, or pictures can’t convey it all.

I want to carry around the way David Gilmour makes a guitar cry out in anguish or sing in joy. I want to carry what John Bonham does to drums and what Jimmy Page did to arrange it all. I want Steve Howe and Brian May working out intricate and complex guitar solos.

A tattoo is just an image. It may carry memories, and some are certainly impressive, but in the end it’s essentially a doodle, glanced at, commented on, and dismissed. Music carries emotions and ideas, even without the lyrics.

But I guess that’s what an iPod is for, heh.