Aren't you happy that we live in a time where movies, books, and music are so readily available? No, let me ask, aren't you ecstatic??? Well, I am. And today I want to focus on music.
I have been busily making cupcakes for Laurie's wedding (45 dozen in the freezer...everything from Cherry Marzipan to Banana w/Cinnamon Honey Frosting to Chocolate Cream Filled). They are not frosted yet and I don't know how they will turn out, but if they don't...we will just say, "Let them eat cake!" Wedding cake, that is.
Anyway, I digress; as I am prone to do. I could not have gotten through it (because making 45 dozen cupcakes tends to be a bit tedious) without music. Some of those cupcakes were birthed to Classical music from the movies including Opera, some to Motown Classic 60's, and most to the soundtrack of Mamma Mia. Yes, Emily sat at the kitchen table visiting with me, surfing Facebook, as well as various online stores and played her copy of the Abba inspired musical. I'm not a super Abba fan, but the music is just so darn danceable. And dancing while making cupcakes is a good thing to do. Honey, Honey....Take a Chance on Me.
From the time I was 8 and had my first transistor radio (a little boxy thing that ate up 9V batteries like a desert drinks up water) to now with music playing at work on my computer, at home on my cd/radio installed under the cabinet, to the old radio in my 13 year old van; I cannot imagine a life without instant music.
I rocked to that transistor and when it wore out, I rocked to others that followed. I carried them with me when I walked around the neighborhood. Music kept me company when I did dishes, when I went to sleep at night and even when I laid out (which was a totally 60's thing to do even though I never tanned).
I still love 60's rock and it always lifts any spirit. I must admit that I don't get rap. And for some unfathomable reason (for a girl who grew up in Utah) I cannot stand country. I think it has to do with the twang....or perhaps the sappy lyrics. However, I fell in love with Mozart when at the age of 18 I sat in a library listening to "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" over and over instead of transcribing the shorthand tapes I was supposed to be doing. I still love that piece of music. It's the last thing I want to hear before I leave this world. My kids have been told that as soon as the grave is dedicated, they are to play the best recording of that music they can find. My appreciation of Opera really grew when Sarah and I had the chance to go to the Utah Opera Company for their dress rehearsals when she was in high school and needed the concert for credit for her choir grade.
Now, that I'm old....I've learned to love crooners and even a little jazz, though I'm not fond of scat. Sarah gave me an Ella Fitzgerald cd a few years ago and she still laughs when she remembers my what-in-the-Sam-Hill?-quick-look-excited expression when I opened it. Who knew that Ella was so smooth and that she could sing "Someone To Watch Over Me" in a way that could make the coldest heart long for love?
I love musical soundtracks. I love the Beatles, who do not belong lumped in some 60's music category, but rather rock on their own. I loved the hours spent with the kids driving in the van listening to children's tapes with John Jacob Jingle-Heimer Schmidt and On Top of Old Smokey, primary songs; and, yes, even one odd tape that had tv show themes like Gilligan's Island and even Rin Tin Tin. (We can sing them all...even "Duck and Cover," which was some cold-war training song teaching what to do if an Atom Bomb hit for kids at school.)
And finally there was one song that came with a little story book. Actually, there was a whole set and the kids could read the book while the cassette told the story and sang a little song. "Three cheers, three cheers for the little red hen. She could do the work of ten." But the one that we all remember and no one can put their finger on which story it went to was, "Cupcakes and Lemonade...that me and my mommy made."
How apropros! Is there a way we can get a copy of that to play at Laurie's wedding? Anyone? Anyone?
Share, if you will, your favorite music memories with me. I mean, really. Aren't they the best?
Stocking Candy Cookies
8 months ago
2 comments:
im pretty sure cupcakes and lemonade went with Little Red Riding hood. And i never knew of these burial wishes...hopefully someone does!
I remember Englebert Humperdink when I was a young girl (my dad liked his voice). I remember the first time I realized there were words on the pages of the hymnbooks at church. I remember watching American Bandstand on Saturdays with my mom while she put curlers in my hair for Sundays. (my hair was so thick the pink foamy curlers had to be in forever.) I remember School House Rock. I remember Bread in Jr High. The first album I ever bought was The Carpenters, Close to You. Sheri Davis's brother, Russell, bought it from Columbia House Records by mistake--he thought he'd ordered Close to Home, by Grand Funk Railroad. I remember the Doobie Brothers at Stake Dances. I remember the theme song for every dance in high school seemed to be Color My World by Chicago. I remember loving The Eagles, Chicago, Grank Funk Railroad, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Cat Stevens, and Three Dog Night, which I saw in concert every year with my high school boyfriend, Kenny. I remember discovering Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, the blues, disco, and jazz, early in my marriage. I remember singing Christmas carols with my kids in the car every year and with my neighbors for other neighbors each year. I remember watching Disney videos and Sesame Street so often with my kids that the songs are still in my mind. Nowadays, I listen to Pink Floyd, Heart, John Mayer, the blues, Eric Clapton, zydeco, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, The Beastie Boys, and all kinds of music on x96. I don't think there is any music that i don't like, from Gregorian Chants to everything else. Two of my favorite songs are Let Me Call You Sweetheart and You are my Sunshine. Jack got me to say I'd marry him by singing a few bars of his best Barry White imitation. How could I resist that?
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