Heart, Mind, Hips, Feet: Four Ways Music Moves Us.

With its mystical, transformative power, music is hard at work in and among us, drawing a better world ever more near.

That feeling when the hook grabs and won’t turn you loose. (Yes, we hear the Blues Traveler there. Sorry, not sorry.)

The music gets us. It’s sneaky like that!

It gets in you. You’re feeling it. Vibing. You’re on the wavelength. 

Music moves us.

It gets in our minds. Our bodies. Our bones. Songs become a part of our inner melody. They become a part of our own discovery, the new ways we’ve come to identify ourselves or the world around us.

Music beckons us. It calls us into action. 

Or, sometimes, we just can’t help but get our damn groove on about it!

Ascent Radio came to be out of our core conviction that music moves us. Personally. Collectively. And as we continue our quest to perfect our unique, craft recipe and process as a station, we keep coming back to these four ways that music moves us.

The heart.

Since ancient times, we’ve understood the heart as our core. Our emotional center. The space in which we discover connection with others and with the things that matter most to us in the world. Where our deepest passions and desires reside.

We all have those songs that hit us here, in that emotional core. Songs that tap into our hopes and longings. 

Who do we love? What do we love?

​What excites us? What are our dreams?

What angers us? How have we been wronged? How have we been hurt?

The songs that we find that tap into these core desires residing in us are songs that move us. These are songs that inspire hope in us, songs that speak to our longings, as well as the songs that speak into our wounds and have a transformative, healing power to help set us free from the bondage of trauma.

The mind.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” - Maya Angelou. 

Knowing better is an evolution. We’re all in the process of becoming. Our beliefs and what we know are ever growing and expanding and going beyond as our horizon intertwines with the horizon of others. 

Songs have a transformative power for the renewal of our minds. A great song can radically alter the way you see and experience the world. It can challenge your perceptions and convictions. Because music, like all great art, is like a portal into the horizon of another - a perspective that you hadn’t seen, and would never be able to see, on your own.

Music moves us because it opens up a uniquely beautiful opportunity for us to know better. And when we know better, we are challenged and inspired to do better. 

And thus, the world becomes a better, safer, more inclusive and loving place for everyone.

The hips.

Sometimes it’s just the beat. The rhythm is gonna get you! (Gloria knows what’s up.)

In a very real way, life is music.

Life is rhythm. We’re all moving to the music. To the beat.

Ever hear the beat when the dryer is running? When it gets into that perfect rhythm, and you find yourself moving and tapping along to it? How funny that we can get swept up like this - but it’s very real!

It hasn’t changed since our youth: sometimes it's just the beat! Music itself is just magical. We find ourselves on the same wavelength - and we have a physical response to it. 

We groove. We bob our heads. We tap the pen on the desk.

Or sometimes, we just have to suspend all other reality and we get up and dance about it! An all-out dance party - solo or with friends! We’re swept up. Drawn to the rhythm. 

And it’s so beautiful! So cathartic. So inspiring. When the groove hits you right, it elevates you, mind, body and soul. And you can’t help but respond.

The feet.

Finally, music is power to the people. The anthems. 

There may be no more powerful force in nature to rally us humans to take action and make a change than an artist that can tap into our collective social unrest and put it to amplification.

Songs change the world. 

Folk singer-songwriter protest songs. Civil Rights anthems. Anti-war anthems. Feminist anthems. Queer anthems…

These songs call us to march.

To vote. 

At the ballots. And with our dollars. And with our everyday lives and activities. We can make a difference. We can make a change. We can come together to right wrongs and build a better future, a better world for our children and grandchildren. 

Songs are an integral piece to move us toward these ideals, and to make the world a better, safer, more just, inclusive, and peaceful place for all.

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If you’ve been listening here at Ascent (and if you haven’t, please join us!), you’ve undoubtedly heard us saying, “Music that moves us. Onward and Upward. Music for a Better world.”

This is what we mean by that. Hearts, Minds, Hips and Feet. 

We’re about an uprising of love around here. Inspiring hope and change through the power of song.

As John says, “We hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.”

How does the music move you?! Let us know in the comments which songs, artists and albums move you - we’re always looking for new entries into our library!

Let’s radio together.

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