the golden girls

In my family, we watched a lot of TV. It was usually on from the time we got home from school until dinner time, when my mom demanded that we turned it off, and then turned on again to watch prime time TV.

My family was also musical. We sang a lot. In the car, on road trips, at school, at church, singing lessons, piano lessons, we had many musical options. My brother could sing his ABC's before he could even really talk.

The two of these things combined has given my brother, my sister and I the remarkable ability to sing almost any TV theme song from beginning to end in the exact key it would have been at the beginning of each show. And while you may not think is anything to be particularly proud of, let me tell you that it has come in handy on numerous occasions:)

First of all, it can become a fun game amongst my siblings and I, such as "Guess this song". However, more than this, it proves to be quite entertaining for people around us. Old tv shows often come up in the course of conversation which leads to discussion of theme songs and someone saying "How did that song go again?" and then we can say "I believe it went something like this" and we can start to sing the song or hum the song, duly impressing anyone within hearing distance. My partner has shaken his head over this particular gift many, many times...

And if you threw a party, and invited everyone you knew,
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say,
Thank you for being a friend!

Which theme song sticks in your head??

Clearly

Listening to "I can see clearly now" by the Hothouse Flowers

I have a co-worker who constantly comes to me with music to listen too and I never get around to it. Yesterday, he brought me the CD. It's amazing.

Also had a discussion about Sting with a friend. More on that later....

Eating Music...

As soon as I put this title up, I realized that perhaps it could be read two ways: either music you listen to while you eat; or music you actually consume, which may be a physical improbability, but who really knows. I did mean the former by the way, so if you were looking for a way to ingest music instead of food, you should stop reading right now:)

I like to listen to music while I eat. In fact, well-chosen dinner music can make you eat slower, chew your food more carefully, and actually aid in the digestion of said food. If you don't believe me, check out The Mozart Effect by Don Campbell. (It's been awhile since I've read this book, and I was in my first year of university and VERY impressionable, but some of the information is mind-blowing and has stayed in brain for the last 10 years, which to me says a lot about the impact of this info! Here's the website: http://www.mozarteffect.com/)

Now back to the original subject: dinner music. There are several points to consider when choosing music to eat to.

1. Nothing angry or aggressive - Music that has an angry feel will make people feel anxious, igniting a stress response which will likely make them eat fast and then leave. Plus no one wants to shout at each other over dinner:)

2. Nothing too fast. Sometimes, people like to choose music based on the genre such as Classical or Jazz. However just because music is instrumental, doesn't make it good dinner music. Anything with a fast tempo will sub-consciously make your guest's heart beat faster, making them want to eat faster, and then leave. Music with a quick tempo is great for parties and for running to, but not for dinner...this includes dance music, as well as some jazz and classical music...so beware. If you're not sure, listen to the music and tap the beat with your hands or feet, you can quickly see if it's a fast tempo or not.

3. Be aware of your guest's sensitivities. Maybe they love Lionel Richie or maybe they hate U2. If you know what your guest likes/dislikes, make your choices carefully.

4. Nothing too loud. This definitely goes along with point #1 but it is perhaps the most important point. People have different ideas about what qualifies as too loud, but my thought is, if you can't hear what someone is saying from across the table, the music is too loud. So unless you are trying to recreate a dance club atmosphere, keep the volume low.

As for what choices to make....a good mix of slow tempo jazz, easy-listening soul or blues, some classical music (but no opera!), even reggae, especially in the summer, all make good dinner music.

Let me know if you have any suggestions:)

J.

Tonight's gonna be a good night!

While I am not the hugest fan of the Black-Eyed Peas....actually, I am not the hugest fan of Fergie's solo career, the other guys I can totally handle:), I do love "I got a feeling". It sticks in your head for days and every time I listen to it, my heart starts to beat faster, I get a serious need to dance and I feel inspired. I know the song is about partying on the weekend and so my feeling of inspiration may seem a little weird, I just can't help it! It gets into your bones and your brain.

The last time I felt this way about this type of song (what I mean is: a dance-y, pop-y, club tune that all the bar stars are shaking their booty to at Whiskey Dix on Saturday nights, in other words, not my type of music) was "Hung Up" by Madonna. When I hear that opening riff, I still get that same feeling....I also usually attempt the dance, which I am terrible at, but it's good for a laugh at least:)

And I think that could be one of the marks of a good song. At least, in this genre. My music snob friends might be horrified at the thought of busting out the Black-Eyed Peas at a house party, but I think that everyone needs to have songs that they listen to that make them feel good, make them smile and make them happy to be alive. And while, the BEP's are not going to win any song writing awards for this particular number, there is something about the combination of singing/speaking, the beat and the energy of this song that brings a smile to my face. And on that note...

Let's paint the town
We'll shut it down......

And then we'll do it again!

Jamie

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton is a music icon. I have been aware of her since I was very small. My mom listened to the Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmy-lou Harris album that had little paper dolls of each of the three women. They each had two or three outfits that could be punched out and put on. One outfit was a casual outfit (jeans with cowboy boots) and one was a little more fancy, for performances. I loved to play with those tiny paper dolls and I think that my love of those ladies was born then. Dolly Parton was then and has become one of my favourite musicians.

Favourite songs include: Apple Jack, I Will Always Love You, Sparrow When She Flies, 9 to 5

I went to see her perform in November, here in Winnipeg and took my mom for her birthday. Dolly was luminous! At 64 years of age, she was young and funny, spectacular to watch and sang like an angel. Check her out if you can!

J.

Sing Along!

Some people love to sing in the car as they drive to work, on roads trips or on their way to pick up groceries....

Some people NEVER sing in the car, either because they hate the sound of their own voice, or they think that the person who sang the song in the first place does it much better than they could ever do.

Singing at the top of your lungs releases endorphins similar to those released when you laugh or see a picture of someone you really like. You feel good. It has something to do with the breathing required for singing and the memories that song can bring to the forefront of your mind.

I was on a road trip with some girl friends recently and we spent almost 4 hours going through our ipods looking for songs we could sing along to. We sang Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Alannis Morissette, Richard Marx, Black Eyed Peas, Sarah McLaughlin, and the list goes on and on....

Sing, out loud, at least once a day. And I don't mean whistling, or humming or quietly mouthing words to yourself while doing dishes or dusting. I mean full-out, gut-wrenching, heart-stirring, knock-your-socks-off, break-the-windows type singing. Some artists who can help you out with this are: Celine Dion, Mariah Carey (older stuff more so than newer stuff), any of the artists mentioned above, Whitney Houston, any rock ballad, almost any Broadway show stopper, really any song that stirs your soul. I promise that it will make you feel good, even if the song itself is sad.

I dare you to try it!

Happy singing!
J.

Playlists

I am the type of person who enjoys listening to an entire album of music (always with a few exceptions). The music on my ipod is varied and all over the map so I never set the ipod to "random". It would really confuse the flow of whatever I am doing, whether it's walking, taking the bus, driving or running.

However, I am going on a road trip later on this week and I am making a playlist. So far, there are 107 songs that have qualified for this list and yesterday, I realized there were a couple of artists that I had forgotten completely, so the list will grow for sure:)

This road trip is with some people I know VERY well. Some people I have met through friends, so I know them, but have never spent more than one evening with them. And there are others who I have never met. It should be interesting for sure, but picking music is hard! I want to keep it light, with a mixture of stuff that everyone knows and stuff that might be new to some people.

I will let you know how it goes:)

J.