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Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Life needs a soundtrack


I've always thought that one of the things that is missing out of life is that it doesn't have a soundtrack like the movies and television. I think it would really help us cope much better with the screenplays that are our lives.

I've also thought that our lives should be like musicals, too. Think about it. Did you ever really see a musical that wasn't upbeat and had a happy ending? And being able to burst into song accompanied by a full orchestra would certainly help eliminate those awkward moments when conversation lags.

My iPod is kind of like having a soundtrack for my life. Sometimes I like to time songs with good beats for the moment I step off the bus. It's like I'm making a grand entrance into the world. Of course, I'm the only one who can hear the music and know how cool I am.

It's kind of like the opening sequence from Saturday Night Fever where all you see is John Travolta's feet and you hear the BeeGee's singing, "You can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm a lady's man, no time for talk..." Was that cool or what? I mean, I had to go out an buy one of those short leather jackets with the big pointed collars after I saw that film the first time. I loved that jacket. And if I was still able to wear a size 38 jacket without looking like a monkey in a squeeze cage, I'd be wearing it today.

But enough about my growth spurts.

Some of the greatest scenes in movie history would have been nothing without the soundtrack. Would Rocky have been so inspiring if he'd ran up those stairs at the Philadelphia Art Museum without his theme song? And sleeping with the fishes would be less romantic without the Godfather theme.

Maybe I long for music to help me navigate through life because I was a drum major in high school and got used to moving to music. For you band-impaired people out there, the drum major did not play drums. The drum major did not play any musical instrument (at least not during marching season). The drum major "orchestrated" the music. The drum major maintained the rhythm and kept everyone on beat...theoretically. It was probably the one time in my life people were actually marching to my inner drummer.

Bottomline is that life needs a soundtrack. I think Elvis said it best in an acceptance speech for the 1970 Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Award. He simple stated, "I learned very early in life that: ‘Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain’t got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend - without a song.' So I keep singing a song. Goodnight. Thank you."

The King has spoken.

7 comments:

Naughti Biscotti said...

You don't seem like the kind of guy who would watch "Ally McBeal" but... at one point Ally is seeing her therapist who tells her that she needs her own theme song. For the very same reasons you have mentioned. She chose, "Tell Him". She plays this song internally whenever she needs a boost. Great idea!!! I am still trying to find my theme song.
I also think that we should dance on ocassion.
btw: I also picture that scene with John Travolta when I want to strut a bit.

Time said...

Well, I was the kind of guy who watched "Ally McBeal" (and apparently so was Harrison Ford). I loved how quirky it was. It reminded me of how innovative "Moonlighting" (Cybil Shepard and Bruce Willis) was when it first came out. I remember Ally's theme song and I remember the head of the law firm used to rely on Barry White to get him through challenges.

Musicals always include dancing, so that's allowed in my world with a soundtrack.

I don't think you need to limit your theme song to one song. I vary mine according to mood and occasion.

Anonymous said...

I read a series of books which had as a main character an assasin who, through the use of total recall, would orchestrate all his kills in his head. But that's probably not what you had in mind.

Or is it? hmm...

Naw, not you. The Monkey playing cymbals though, maybe.

He'd make a good assasin I'd bet. Small, unobtrusive, stealty. You could probably put a wicked edge on those cymbals.

Hope you had a pleasant 4th.

Time said...

Lights,

Stop, you are killing me! No, orchestrating assassinations in my head wasn't quite what I did as a drum major. But I thought about it.

And if the Monkey Playing Cymbals wasn't such a coward, he would be a good assassin. But he is merely a feces flinger, not an assassin.

We did have a pleasant 4th, thanks. We made four trips to the dump (I was ripping out carpet and Tess contributed yard waste). I did get in a festive mood later and lit an M-80. My fingers are healing nicely, thank you.

Anonymous said...

I do a mean "Sound of Music" replete with authentic sounding Julia Andrews falsetto and flatulent accompaniment.

Most of the time the music I hear comes from the surrounding environment - for example by picking out certain harmonic components from the white noise (and the ever present 60Hz hum) generated by a fan or ventillation system.

Another music that fascinated me was produced in the warehouse where I worked. The combination of the hydraulics/motors on the forklifts and the tortured moan from dragging and breaking skids combine to make a strange symphony laden with the blue collar worker's bitter life.

I also like listening to lawn mowers. I like to imagine putting their periodic sweeping sounds within some sort of ambient structure.

-R

Anonymous said...

er Julie Andrews. Bah.

Time said...

R.
Let's not be hasty about "flatulent accompaniment." After all, I've been backpacking with you and your father and been privy (no pun intended) to your own sound of music.

And BTW, did you know scientists believe that herring communicate by farting?

It's good, though, that you hear music in everyday activities. Warn me if you start hearing voices, though.