a weekly basis, is that the music is always blaring loudly. She said that she’d prefer to listen to people talk or watch news on TV or listen to any kind of talk radio. “Why are people so obsessed with music,” she asked?
When I was 11 years old, my favorite aunt was in the middle
of a break up. She enlisted me to keep
one song playing on the record player non-stop until she told me to stop. It was late in the evening, probably past my
bedtime, but it was a Saturday night, so I could stay up late. I was at her house to spend the night with my
cousin. She paid me 25¢ for the evening to
fulfill her request. My job was to put
the record player needle back on the record after the song ended. LOL Yes, that was a pretty long time ago. For those of you unfamiliar, music was played
on a turntable record player. The record
that I played continuously was called a 45. A
45 is a vinyl record disc that plays at a speed of 45 rotations per minute
(RPM). The turntable record player is now
considered a vintage relic. It is now called
a Vintage
Turntable Record Player and depending on the style, the price can range
anywhere from $100 or more.
I asked my mom why does she dislike music so much? She shared with me that music causes her to
remember things that she doesn’t want to remember. She continued by saying that she likes old music
but it’s just not fun anymore to listen to music. She finished by saying “you now know
something about me that you never knew.”
She laughed.
Music has always been the cornerstone of all my
memories. Toni Braxton helped nurse my broken heart,
several times. Anything Prince was for
dancing or melancholy moments and anything that life brings forth. Prince was everything! People celebrate with music. You select a wedding song. A song for a funeral. Let’s celebrate the birth of your child. You name the occasion, there’s a song for
that.
The history of music is wide and diverse. I’m partial to Pop, Jazz, and R&B. My workout playlist includes Starship by Nicki Minaj as well as
Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke and my workout rest period is sometimes Sing to Me by Walter Martin sprinkled
with Kelly Clarkson’s Piece by Piece
(by the way, click this link, it’s a heart wrenching performance by Kelly
Clarkson on American Idol.)
Instead of vinyl records, we moved to CDs and now it’s all
digital. Ear plugs occupy the ears of
most college age students and others that are not college age or students. The music in your car is most likely coming
from your digital device which was probably downloaded or from a music subscription
service. Echo and Alexa pushed out by
Amazon will play any music genre at your command. You can even have conversations with these
digital ladies. Google Home is your Smart
Speaker & Home Assistant owned by Google, of course.
Radio music stations plays music around the clock. Search and you will find a music genre to
your liking. For example, country music (my favorite as a teen), Elvis Presley radio station,
Rock, Heavy Metal and on and on.
Who wakes up to an alarm clock anymore? No, you set the alarm on your phone and, yes,
you wake up to music, not that blaring noise that cause you to throw that clock
radio across the room. Musicals are
still the most popular shows to see on Broadway. Mamma Mia, Cats, The Lion King, Les
Misérables, just to name a few of the most popular theater musicals. Movie musicals win awards. One top awarded movie musical of 2017 was La
La Land starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.
Music is universal, it’s not an obsession, it’s the story of
our lives. It’s a need, a want, a
must. One of my Playlist repeats Blue Blood Blues by Chris Blue, Pray by Sam Smith, and I don’t know
which one I love more by Childish Gambino, Redbone or Terrified.
Even though my mother doesn’t listen to music any more, it
is still the story of her life. A life forgotten,
perhaps. But I feel confident that she
hums a tune to one of her favorite songs every now and then.
©2018 Radiance Smith (aka Radiance Lite)
You took Me back with the needle, I remember as it wore down the coins became a very important part to hear the music until a new needle was purchased. The good old days. Music will always be the cornerstone of our lives. And in closing I bet not only does She hum along, She may even Dance.
ReplyDeleteAnd you could hardly wait to get that needle replaced because if not, it would scratch the record. HAHAHA good memories. I bet she does dance a little sometimes. I hope so. Thanks for your comment, Willie.
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