So many things in the air. Between the economy and the stress that brings it brings to so many of us and people you care about. Then adding on the normal annual Christmas season tension and scheduling. I also am trying to finish my dissertation for my doctorate by January 12th and it doesn't look too promising in getting it all finished by that date, which means graduating later than planned. So amidst all this sort of pressure and as I was scanning tunes to listen to while studying, suddenly there was ABBA. Not the 'abba' as in "father" and how we can see God as "abba" (Romans 8:15) - but ABBA as in the Swedish pop band of the 1970's. The name "ABBA" is an acronym formed from the first letters of each of the group member's name (Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid).
In a very surprising emotional connection, which I fought at first but then gave in - I found ABBA music just the thing to mellow out by. Their music is so sort of over-the-top happy yet at the same time very serious and also uplifting. Their outfits are so bizarre and often angelic in their design looking that it is almost hypnotizing looking at them which adds to the whole experience as they seem like angels singing. I have listened to ABBA Gold about 3 or 4 times now the past couple of days.
Waterloo. Fernando. Dancing Queen.
I never listened to ABBA before in this way. Perhaps it is but a stressed out and crazy neurobiological response to too much adrenaline, lack of sleep and too much coffee in a too many condensed time periods. Perhaps I shall regret confessing about this experience of seeing ABBA as soothing relief music that I just experienced the past two days and be ashamed of this post. But for those stressing at all during this season, perhaps some ABBA would soothe you and you be taken away by the music as it soars and the voices of Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid relaxes your mind to calm and beautiful waters. If somehow I have been brainwashed by some Swedish weird thing secretly embedded in their music, please let me know and help me out of this.
