While I am typing this, I am listening to “Going the Distance/Fanfare for Rocky” by Bill Conti, from the original “Rocky”. You all know the song; this is what they play when suddenly, after getting his ass whipped, Rocky regains his inner strength and charges forward in the ring with his comeback, and pummels the always larger, meaner, more skilled, but cocky and arrogant opponent (take your pick-Apollo, Clubber Lang, Drago, Tommy Gunn, Mason “The Line” Dixon). This has the ringing bell and the building crescendo that always gives you goose bumps. Listening to the “Rocky” soundtrack got me thinking…while the experts say that the olfactory sense is one that most stirs the memories deep in your soul, music has an equally powerful impact on me. The memory triggers from music can run the wide gamut of emotions. When I hear certain songs, my mind takes me places-some places better than others, some places not visited in years…
Listening to “Dick Clark’s ‘Live’” (the theme from his old variety show on Wednesday nights), I can see myself standing next to my buddy Hugh, our saxes hanging from our necks, in the high school auditorium, for our first jazz band concert as Freshmen; hearing the theme to “St. Elsewhere”, I am in the television lounge at Van Meter Hall, a sophomore in college, watching the show with friends; hearing “Niner Too”, I am in the auditorium of Breed Junior High, rehearsing with the 27th Lancers; hearing “We’ve Only Just Begun”, I’m on one of the first dates with Elayne.
So when I close my eyes and listen to Sanjaya sing “You really got me going”, I am transported to a place where I am getting rolled by Malcolm McDowell and his band of thugs from “A Clockwork Orange”, or serving time in a Turkish prison for smuggling heroin, sitting in a dentist chair while Lawrence Olivier asks me “Is it safe?”, or watching “The Wizard of Oz”, all of which are much more enjoyable that watching this train wreck make it into the Top 10 on American Idol. Johnny Most sounds better than him.
By the way, Haley has taken over Antonella’s voting contingent of teenage boys in darkened rooms…
Peter Noone should go back to being a Hermit.
Lulu-Oh me, oh my, I’m a fool for you baby!
The judges seem to have chosen the worst possible guys, all of whom have no chance of supplanting Melinda “Dr.” Doolittle or Jordin Sparks (LeKeisha will be gone sooner than later). Do they watch the performances the next day? In hindsight, maybe they realized that Chris R., Sanjaya, Beat Box Blake and “Fro Patro” Chris Sligh (the only thing “slight” about him is his singing ability) all sounded worse than Maya“3 Pack-a-day” Angelou. But you know, even Telly Savalas cut a cover of “If”, by Bread. Who loves you baby…?
Music soothes the savage breast, unless you’re listening to Sanjaya.
Until next time America…
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