There's a song by Carole King that starts "Music is playing inside my head, over and over again, my friends there is no end to the music" Fine for her,she was WRITING it. Me? I'm just earwormed. Some of the songs are really annoying and there has to be a way to get rid of the song in your head without replacing it with another, equally annoying song.
I recently found a CD I had tucked away in my collection, by my friend and amazing musician, Cindy Alexander, The CD dates back to the time of my divorce. There is a song "Warrior" which used to buoy me up and I would sing along with her ( "I'm the warrior, I'm the king I am my own hero") It made me feel better and somewhat powerful. At the same time, my kids ( Kate and Frances, my "borrowed child") dedicated Christina Aguilar's "Fighter" to me. This got me thinking - probably again- about songs that inspire us and give us the strength we need at the time we need it. Songs that currently do that for me are ( in no particular order):
The Peanuts song (real title Linus and Lucy) I play that in my office when I am frustrated by someone or some event. By the time it gets to the break, I am feeling happier.
Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel. Almost 30 years ago, I was working at a job where I was miserable; not just unhappy, but to the point where I had to YELL at myself in the shower every morning that I needed to go to work. I was needing a change and was unsure how to go about it. I saw an opening at the Library and was wondering if I should go for it. On the ride home one day, I heard this song, about making a difficult decision and listening to the voices inside you to find your way home. Well.. the rest is history- my history anyway and I credit this song with empowering me.
Two songs by Corrinne May "the Answer" and "Everything in His time" She is a Christian musician, I don't really go for religious music, per se, but her voice is so lovely and her songs are like a prayer. Sometimes, I just need a prayer to lift me up in my day.
What songs are YOUR go-to?
I have really stopped listening to the radio. Seriously, how many times a day do I really need to hear "Stairway to Heaven'? I am bored with the Classic Rock stations that play the same ten songs- ALL the classic rock stations play the same ten songs. I have fled to my CD collection and the library's books on cd for my drive-time. I just got a copy of Gerry Beckley's new solo work Carousel and will try to listen to it this week and write a review. Its been a while since I heard and reviewed a new piece.
My go to songs - Thunder Road and Rosalita by Bruce Springsteen - always. Plenty more by him that I am always happy to hear, but those two always make me feel better. Anything Gershwin. Brass in Pocket by the Pretenders. Ten Years Gone by Led Zeppelin. There are more, but I could listen to these five on a desert island and not go crazy :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is a trick question, isn't it , Robyn, like that name your ten favorite songs a year or so ago,a nd you said unless I had been educated in the new math, I could NOT list 12! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Sometimes something I had heard inadvertently sticks in my head, sometimes a song I HATE gets stuck in there - this morning the songs from the musical "The Pajama Game" are in there because I watched it last night in honor of Labor Day (you know, the pajama union trying to get their seven and a half cent raise?) So a lot of "Hernando's Hideaway, Hey There, etc." Could be worse.
ReplyDeleteTom