Let’s see, I think it’s been a couple of weeks now that I’ve been listening to a song called "Beautiful Disaster". I first heard it when I found a website about the upcoming movie Georgia Rule. I love Jane Fonda and in this film she is complimented by Felicity Huffman and Lindsay Lohan. The film opens in theaters on May 11th, but you won’t have to wait that long to find out who sings one of the songs from the movie.

It’s Jon McLaughlin. The same Jon McLaughlin who released his debut CD, Indiana, last week. Indiana features “Beautiful Disaster” along with 12 other songs that chronicle Jon’s feelings and emotions on a plethora of topics. He has penned lyrics on subjects such as love, girls, faith, family, friends and music.

Before I finished listening to the entire CD, I would have told you that “Beautiful Disaster” was my favorite; now I’m perplexed and can’t give you a concrete contestant for the honor of first place. “Industry” is a powerful song that explores the business that Jon has chosen as a career and his hopes and fears on what it might hold.

“Indiana”, the album’s title track, is special to me because I’m a Midwest girl. I’m a native of Columbus, Ohio – a town with no real discernable geographic attributes – the largest body of water I’ve seen in Ohio is Lake Erie to the north and the nearest mountain range I’ve climbed is the one at the putt-putt golf course on the east side of town. Given the assignment, I don’t know what kind of song I would write about Ohio. Jon had no such problem when it came to the state of Indiana. He puts the geography of his home state into perspective with these poetic opening lyrics.

I’m glad I’ve never lived next to the water,
so I could never get used to the beach.
And I’m glad I never grew up on a mountain
to figure out how high the world could reach.

I felt that this piece was an ode, a tribute and a love song.

The third cut on the CD, “Just Give It Time”, inspired me. It was one of those moments when you think you’ve found something that could change your life. Now, come on, you all know that I’m not being over dramatic, we're all looking for a book, a poem, or a song that gives us rhyme and reason – the lyrics in this song did that for me.

Jon McLaughlin is creative. That may sound cliché – so let me explain. Not only does Jon have a crisp melodic sound to his voice, the music and lyrics to the songs were written and composed by him. That’s talent – a talent that fascinates and mystifies me. I can play with words, rearrange them on pieces of paper and shuffle them around on computer screens, but with music, it’s different. I’ve always held musical artists in extreme reverence because it’s as if they have magical muses that go beyond the meaning of the words and bring to surface the true understanding through sounds arranged in notes and chords. Jon has found that muse.

My hope for Jon McLaughlin is the best of success. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked every song on this CD. That doesn’t always happen for me and I’m sure it’s the same for many of you. This debut is so different. On Indiana, the music and lyrics are like a virtual blog of Jon’s life and I felt like I was listening to him sing the words in each entry.

For tour dates and more information on Jon’s CD, check out the links listed at the end of this article.

Have a great week and I’ll talk to you in a few days.

Chel