Tuesday, October 18, 2005

If music be the food...


If music be the food of life then bring on the all you can eat buffet 'cause I wanna be obese! Music at least within my life is extremely important. I can’t last more than a few hours without it. If I’m not listening to it I’m singing or humming it. It can make me laugh; cry etc you know the rest.

I’ve always said that my life has a soundtrack. All I have to do is hear a certain song or CD and I can tell you who was in my life, what drama was going on and what I was doing the year that song came out. I swear I can even recall a perfume or cologne if the first time I smelled it there was music playing. I will forever associate that song with the smell.  I know I’m odd but what can I say it works for me ya know?

This morning I heard a piece from Swan lake and it took me back to the days when my little cousin was 3 or 4 years old and he'd love to pretend he was a professional ice skater. He’d put on a pair of socks and come sliding out onto our waxed floor and do a whole routine. He’d pretend to leap in the air and so double axels and all the stuff he’d see on tv.

We’d all sit on the living room sofa and my mom would have to introduce him. She’d say something like, “Ladies and Gentlemen direct from NYC it is our pleasure to present the world’s greatest professional toddler ice skater Pico!! Then we’d all clap like crazy and my mom would hum the score from Swan Lake…lol as Pico would skate around the living room. He’d end his routine with a big finish and we’d give him a standing ovation and yell “Bravo, Bravisimo!” and “Encore, Encore!!” My mom would always rise from her spot and present him with these artificial flowers she had in a vase and he’d take a great big deep bow !

The other day I read a post by The Don that had a really old song on it and it moved me to tears. It was my grandmother’s favorite song and one of the first songs we were ever taught in Spanish. Funny how music’s always held that power over me. It can evoke memories so powerful that’s it as if an IFC flick were playing in my head. The song was about a man grieving the loss of his loved one and how he dies of grief only to come back to their home every morning and sing to their empty house waiting for the return of his loved one. Powerful stuff , eh? Never mind that the song is older than Jesus’ tennis shoes. It’s still a powerful song.

It’s like every time I hear the song “Don’t Fear The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult I envision Christopher Walken and “ more cowbell!” because the first time I ever heard that song it was on SNL and Walken was doing The More Cow Bell sketch "The song is great, but it could use more cowbell". Guess what... I got a fever. And the only prescription, is more cowbell.” I love that sketch…lol

The thing with me is if you judge me by my age, or ethnic background you’d be twisted out in terms of what stimulates me musically.  Although I am an urban youth hip hop and gangsta rap are not my particular thing. I like some of it but it’s not like I’m downloading the stuff. I like classical, opera, oldies, Latin, Arabic, bolero, tango, salsa, merengue, techno, freestyle, old school,trance, techno, heavy metal, alternative, show tunes, Cole Porter, swing music,there’s not enough space on this blog to list the stuff that appeals to me. It all depends on my mood. As I get older my tastes in music continues to expand however the one thing that never changes is music’s ability to affect me.



Posted by @ 12:05 PM
1 comment from:  Mia,