When I was little bitty baby my mama would … push my bassinet up against our console stereo speakers. My favorite lullaby was Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. I fell asleep to Elvis each night, and I became accustomed to music of my parents' generation at a very early age. It was no surprise when my sister was born 3 1/2 years after me, and I decided that we needed to call her "Bo" for Bo Diddley.
As I grew older I started discovering music that I liked, not just what my parents liked. At age five I liked my 45's – A Spoonful of Sugar and other Disney classics. By the age of seven, I moved to 8 tracks - Joy to the World by Three Dog Night. By nine I had a mix of vinyl and 8 tracks - I was a huge Partridge Family fan.
While listening to The Partridge Family Notebook, I realized that some singers did not write their own music – in fact, only David Cassidy and Shirley Jones actually sang on the album. I started looking for singer-songwriters. I wanted to know who wrote the great songs. I discovered Mac Davis and Dolly Parton. I dreamed of one day learning to play acoustic guitar and writing songs like they did.
My anthem became Mac Davis' song, "I Believe in Music".
I went to college in the early 80's, so of course I listened to Culture Club, Rick Springfield, and Duran Duran - on cassettes instead of vinyl or 8 tracks. I carried my huge cases of cassettes from dorm room to apartment. Many nights I had to use a pencil eraser to rewind the tape onto the cassette.
My anthem became Mac Davis' song, "I Believe in Music".
Music is love, and love is music, if you know what I mean.
People who believe in music are the happiest people I’ve ever seen.
…
Music is the universal language, and love is the key.
To peace, hope and understanding, and living in harmony.
…
I, I believe in music.
Oh, I believe in love.
Fast forward many years, my cassettes being thrown in boxes under the bed as I moved to CDs. I discovered an entire group of female singer songwriters who wrote folk/punk/rock blends - Indigo Girls, Ani DeFranco, Dar Williams, Catie Curtis, Michelle Malone, to name a few.
Many people download music digitally, but I continue to seek out independent music stores to buy CDs. I love the liner art and physically holding the CD.
I love to attend concerts when the fibro allows me to, although I typically suffer for days later. Music helps me cope with my fibromyalgia. It calms me, reduces stress, and sometimes makes pain seem less painful. In the months to come I plan to tell you all about the CDs I am listening to, concerts I attend, and songs that make me ponder fibro. Do you believe in music?
Heck, yes. I was just talking to another friend last night that spent 20 years as a dancer. And then she was diagnosed with Lupus, ending her dance career. She said the only sense she could never survive losing was that of hearing, because she could still see and experience the dance through the sound.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered if I have a bit of kinesthesia, as music is a bit more palpable to me than seems altogether normal...