Colors and sounds have a great effect on our perceptions of ourselves and life. This is just one take on some of this perceptions.
Rock My World
A Gay Opinion 8/28/01
by R.A. Melos
A current theme in pop psychology is, well, claiming your own theme song. The
purpose of this is to choose a theme song which makes you feel empowered and
will motivate you to reach for your goals and eventually achieve you aspirations.
I'm all for empowerment, achieving goals and reaching aspirations, but I want
more than a theme song, I want a life score.
That's right, I want my own personal soundtrack, just like Ally McBeal, without
having to lose 60 pounds and look emaciated. I want to walk into my office and
hear Dolly Parton belting out "9 to 5." Okay, so what if I don't work
those hours? It's my soundtrack and I want Dolly Parton!
Sorry, I had a star moment there.
Anyway, I want to look up from my desk when a customer enters the real estate
office and hear Cher singing "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves." I want
to turn on the television, see George W. Bush talking, and hear "Liar!
Liar!," blasting over his, well, lies.
I want to drive in the city of New Brunswick, New Jersey, through some of the
less inviting areas, and hear Moby's "Southside." I want to drive
on Route One, and hear the Wiseguys song "Start The Commotion."
In short, I want my life set to music, and not just hearing Peggy Lee sing "Is
That All There Is," every time I open a paycheck. I want the full John
Williams, Oscar winning, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind treatment. I want
Melissa Etheridge and Jim Steinman to write the music of my life soundtrack,
and the London Philharmonic playing backup.
If life is supposed to be enjoyed, I think a personal life soundtrack, something
to fill in the dull moments with a nice selection of incidental music, would
be comforting. So, the next time I drive past a construction site with shirtless
hotties working in the noontime sun, I could hear Queen's "Somebody To
Love." When I see a nice pair of tight buns, in a nice pair of tight running
shorts I can hear George Michael shouting "I want Your Sex."
Oh, there are many times when the soundtrack of my life wouldn't be filled with
suggestive images of lust, especially when I'm at work, sitting in my real estate
office, bored out of my skull, dealing with a customer on the phone, when U2's
words "stuck in a moment, and you can't get out of it," would drift
through the background, giving me the clue I'm not enjoying the moment. Maybe
hearing it in music would make it that much more enjoyable.
Granted, if we all had personal soundtracks filling in the incidental moments
of our lives, the world would be a very noisy place, but maybe the noise would
drown out the boredom in the lives of many. It would add some excitement to
everyone's life, and maybe some musical appreciation.
So, the next time you see me dancing to the tune in my head, know I'm enjoying
life on a whole new level, thanks to my own personal soundtrack. Hell, if a
theme song can make you feel empowered, think what an entire life score will
do for you. I know what it does for me.