This morning Carole King’s Tapestry album was the first thing I played. Why? Because last night I saw the remake of A Star is Born. The main character, Ally, has a photo of King on her bedroom wall.
Tapestry reminded me of the beauty of melodies and words which go right for the heart.
I felt the same way watching A Star is Born, but much more intensely. I spent the movie alternating between smiling like a loon and holding my breath.
The smiling part because I recognised much of what went on in my life as a rock journalist. The thrill of watching someone on stage totally plugged into a song over the wail of a guitar. The bone deep buzz of a kicking performance or hearing a song which just reaches in and grabs at every part of you. The thrill of hearing someone create art in real time, right in front of you.
The holding my breath part came not only from the drama of the storyline but feeling so deeply the desire to create and connect. Connect with someone creatively, making something and then being able to share it.
I drove home from the movie unsure of whether I was going to cry uncontrollably and have a mini meltdown. There was also something sitting heavily on my chest I didn’t know how to identify, but it sat with me for a while and still I didn’t know how to shift it. What eventually gave me relief was writing about it.
In the movie Jackson tells Ally that everyone in the bar has a talent for something. From memory, he goes on to say the talent and gift that is more unusual is turning it into something and being able to tell your story and find your voice.
I recognised that. I felt that. The need to write. The need to create. To speak my truth.