Matthew McConaughey Listens To Sturgill Simpson To “Find His Frequency,” AKA When Life Feels Off Balance & Out Of Rhythm

Matthew McConaughey, Sturgill Simpson are posing for a picture

Matthew McConaughey didn’t make waves when he joined Instagram late last year; he set off a damn tsunami. I don’t know what the record for to a fastest million followers is, but if it isn’t him, he has to be close.

Previously a fairly private man, McConaughey has let us inside, giving backstories on some fan favorite roles, posting pictures of wild nights, showing his Texas Longhorn pride and opening up on some of his inspirations and artistic favorites. This is when we learned he was a Big Sturgill Guy.

For the past week or so, McConaughey has been on a media tour to promote the release of his new book Greenlights. It’s a memoir of sorts that takes you through his lifepath with stories, jokes, mistakes and lessons that got him to where he is today. He also released a show on Spotify by the same name.

The first episode is themed “Finding Your Frequency,” specifically through music. I’ll let the man himself give you the details:

“You know, a theory that has helped me out and I think it can help us all out sometimes is “Finding Our Frequency.” Daily, with ourselves, with others, in life… Sometimes our differential is split, or off balance, out of rhythm, out of tune… and we do not hear the music of our own lives… What do we gotta do? We got to find our frequency, balance the EQ, get rid of the treble, bring up the bass… What I’m about to share with you are some tunes I have found my frequency too the last 50 years… All songs that got me back in line and on time, so I could find my frequency again…”

If you didn’t read that in his drawl, you’re a liar.

The artists range from U2 to Dwight Yoakam, John Mellencamp to Ali Farka Touré (a song sung in the African dialect of Bambara), Bob Dylan to Mishka (who he actually made a couple albums with. What talent doesn’t this man have?) and none other than Sturgill Simpson.

McConaughey intros Sturgill with:

“Time to put your seatbelt on, bring your chin strap and your mouth guard cause we got scars to earn in this rodeo called life.”

“It Ain’t All Flowers” was the song, and I have to say it’s the perfect choice for finding your frequency in tough times. Sturgill writes about the requirement for pain while searching for life’s beauty, inner peace and the balancing of your wavelengths, a theme McConaughey believes in strongly and has talked about at length. The first verse might as well have been written with the theme of Finding your Frequency in mind…

“Cleaning out the darkest corners of my mind
Taking all my full circles, and making straight lines
Been getting to the bottom of the bottom getting to me
Holding up the mirror to everything I don’t want to see”

Absolutely beautiful.

Sturgill and McConaughey have a similar charm. A wild behind the eyes, physically reserved but spiritually expressive. They don’t raise their voice, they let the words speak for themselves. Hard to sum up but, when given the time, easy to understand. Two heavy souls with an open heart, rebels done with running.

It makes sense that McConaughey draws inspiration and peace from Sturgill’s music. I hope he gives us some in-depth commentary down the line. Maybe a podcast or interview or even just an Instagram video. A man can dream right?

Until then, we just gotta keep on livin’.

“It Ain’t All Flowers”

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