The Music of My Life

Friedrich Nietzsche said, ” Without music, life would be an error. ” I say, “A life without music is a life without joy.”

I can’t even imagine life without music. I listen to the radio in the mornings as I get dressed, in the car as I pray on my way to school and while I at school working. I don’t listen to talk radio. I listen to music. I grew up singing to the soundtrack albums of the various 50’s musicals that my parents enjoyed as they dated and in their early marriage. I sang serious songs. I sang silly songs learned at Pioneer Girl camp, I sang hymns, I sang Christmas songs. I sang at home and at church and at school and everywhere in between. I also grew up dancing or maybe I should say dancing around since my movements were neither ballet or tap or even a foxtrot. Sometimes there was rhythm to my dancing and sometimes, like when my Aunt Karen taught me out to do The Swim and The Monkey, there was just movement. As members of a Bible Church we didn’t have the “no dance standards” that many of my Baptist friends did. I danced alone, I danced with others, I danced as a member of the Arlington High School Arlette Drill Team. Singing and dancing are still what I do when I am happy or when I need a lift or when I’m with Karen Ruth or Caty and am just being silly.

As the hymn says

I sing because I’m happy
I sing because I’m free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me

A flash mob (or flashmob⁾ is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. According to Wikipedia, the term flash mob is generally applied only to gatherings organized via social media or viral emails, rather than those organized by public relations firms or for a publicity stunt.

T-Mobile in the UK has launched an advertising campaign with the aid of a flash mob dancing in London’s Liverpool Street Station. At 11.00 am, on Thursday 15th January, 350 dancers surprised commuters passing through the railway station. The three minutes of synchronized dancing was captured on ten hidden television cameras, edited and premiered during an entire ad break in Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 4, at 9 pm on Friday 16th January. Lysa Hardy, head of brand and communications at T-Mobile, said:

“‘Dance’ brings to life the fact that there are often unexpected, wonderful, exciting things that happen that you want to be able to share with your friends and family.”

Here is the link explaining more about this video.

Antwerpen-Centraal (Antwerp Central) is the name of the main railway station in the Belgian city of Antwerp. The station is operated by the national railway company NMBS/SNCB. It was built over 100 years ago and is considered one of the finest examples of railway architecture in Belgium.

Op zoek narr Maria (Looking for Maria) is a talent competition program that aired in Belgium on Vtm. It premiered on March 25, 2009. The premise of the series was to find a musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2009 Albert Verlinde and Roel Vente revival of The Sound of Music at the Efteling Theatre. On March 23 commuters were introduced to the recording of Julie Andrews singing the song, “Do Re Mi”, as recorded for the 1965 musical, Sound of Music. Two hundred dancers strategically placed in the crowd began to dance as a remix of the track came through the speakers.

All my life I’ve broken into song at odd times and places. Kristie and her bridesmaids did it the day of the wedding at Burger Box.

If at least one of these 3 videos doesn’t bring you joy there is no life, only joyless error, for you.