Music For Inspiration

I remember a movie, maybe in the late Sixties, in which Patty Duke played a track athlete.  (Might not have been Patty Duke.  Might not have been late Sixties) 

Well Dave, I see we are enjoying total recall this morning.

This character discovered that if while running she could start grooving to an inspirational song, she could actually run faster.

Grooving?  Oh buddy, think ya might be able to bring things forward, say a half century or so?  Please don't tell me it was the Archies' songs.

I first began to use music for inspiration when lifting weights.  Crank it up, sync it up and push it up.

Let's see if we got this right.  "Macho, macho man, you're a macho man."  Bet that increased your bench press five pounds.

That was a long time ago.  Today I try and let music inspire creativeness in my writing.

"The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout.  Down came the rain and washed the spider out."  I can see it now, "Spider crawls inside CEO's head.  CEO devours compliant drones and stores them in web.  Yes-men are now at beck and call."  You're a regular ol' Dr. Seuss buddy boy.

I especially like lyrics that are different from anything ever heard, supported by anthem like melodies.  The song White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane inspires freedom to express through your soul's eyes:

"When logic and proportion
Have fallen slowly dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said:
Feed your Head
Feed your Head!"

We know what's feeding your head, Fred.  What're you, caught in a time warp?

I think personal music has the potential to lubricate creativity.  It can put your mind on a plane; a plane between what you think is expected of your writing, and what you want your writing to be.

"And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,
shine until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be."

Let it be, let it be, .....

Cloudy?  Oh, you got your head in the clouds alright!  Let's try this Elvis.  Take a couple of Prozacs, lay down and get a good nap.  When you wake up you'll feel better, then you can get to business writing us up something worthwhile.  Hey, before I forget, what did you do with our Steppenwolf album?

Update:  Thanks to Wayne Turmel of achismarketing.com we no longer have a movie mystery.  Patty Duke played Billie in the 1968 movie titled Billie.  Jim Backus played her father. 

 

Comments

[Joy Des Jardins]

Wonderful post Dave. Music...I retreat to it sometime every day, and I love all kinds. It kind of transports me to a different place for a while...a state of fantasy. I'm trying to get into walking more, and have found it helps to listen to music. Doesn't seem so much like work to me then. I have to thank a couple of my kids for that suggestion; which is hardly anything new for most people who walk, jog or workout. Sometimes I feel like such a relic. Thanks again Dave.

[Deb Estep]

I am certain in our youth, my brother Dave
and my younger brother Mike and myself
suffered through our parents choice of music.

In our home we listened to the 50's crooners,
Mitch Miller and the Gang, Dad's opera and
classical choices. Every Sunday morning Dad
tuned into an AM ethnic station where
you could not understand a single spoken
word of the 'disk jockey', only the
commercials were in English.
Though not of our family heritage, polkas
and Slovenian tunes floated through
the house.

We also had our very own portable
record player. Mom just gave me a stack
of 45's this past summer.
Red and yellow vinyl records who's
titles include these songs, Camptown Races,
Oh Susanna, The Big Rock Candy Mountain,
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow and last but
not least my bro Davy's favorite....
'The Ballad of Davy Crockett'.

We also have our Gramps William Rothacker
to thank for our music appreciation.
He gave our parents a player piano and a
few thousand piano rolls. My parents added
to that collection to such a great extent they
had the largest private collection of piano
rolls in the Cleveland Ohio area.
Boy are we ever good at name that tune. !
The player piano played every weekend.
Sometimes so late into the night on the
weekends, that we were able to meet
those from our local police force. :)

This eclectic mix of music that they SO
enjoyed would later on undoubtedly become
the foundation for our love and appreciation
of all kinds of music....

So NOW you know the rest of the story.

Deb