Music Makes Me Smile

Heh, have you ever had a not so great day whereAnd also a fantastic concert by the original members
everything seems to be going wrong? Maybe yourof Fleetwood Mac. The encore numbers performed
wife backed the car into the garage door?by Lindsay Buckingham, Stevie Nix, John and Christie
Or the dogs ran through the house with mud on theirMcVie and Mick Fleetwood not only made me smile
paws right after you had the carpets cleaned? Thebut made me want to get up and dance. And if you'd
neighbor kid wakes you up at 5 in the morning andever seen my dancing, it's not a pretty sight. I'm a
you're not a morning person?bad version of Steve Martin's Happy Feet.
I once heard the definition of a bad day. You knowThe band surprised the audience with a drum
you're having a bad day if you're following apounding rendition of Tusk, that included the entire
motorcycle gang of Hells Angels and your car hornUniversity of Southern California marching band in full
gets stuck.parade dress. That made me smile real big. It's
You know you're having a bad day if you wake updownright inspirational.
and your waterbed has sprung a leak, except youIf that weren't enough, they performed their hit
don't own a waterbed. You know you're having asong, Don't Stop. It talks about jettisoning the past
bad day when. You fill in the blanks.and moving on with hope and optimism. A very
So you say you're having a bad day, eh? You flip onrousing anthem that reverberates with, don't stop
the radio and even though you're a conservative,thinking about tomorrow, don't stop, it will soon be
those right wing talk show hosts are giving you ahere. It'll be here, better than before, yesterday's
headache.gone, yesterday's gone.
You punch the FM button and start scanning the dialPerhaps the most famous rendition of this song was
for something interesting. Next thing you know,when Fleetwood Mac sang at the first William
you're singing at the top of your lungs with theJefferson Clinton Presidential Inaugural. Regardless of
Doobie Brothers, Listen to the Music.your political affiliation, you have to admit it was
Of course, at this point your windows are rolled uppretty cool. Okay, don't admit it. What do I care?
and people are staring at you at the stoplight. ButMaybe you're not a big music fan like I am, but can
heh, who cares. You just had an attitude transplant.you imagine a world without music? Every TV show
An inspirational quote says that Music hath charms tohas its theme music. The Superbowl commercials
soothe the savage breast, to soften rocks, or bendoften feature famous oldies and even CSI plays a
a knotted oak.tune by The Who.
That's from a play The Mourning Bride by WilliamMusic is woven into the very fabric of our society.
Congreve who lived from 1670 to 1729, right aroundEven sacred music ain't so sacred if you study it.
the time Ben Franklin was born.Another contemporary of Ben Franklin, Englishman
Think about this. The blind violinist touched the ragingCharles Wesley wrote a couple hundred religious
heart of Frankenstein's monster.songs that are still sung today. Guess what? Most
One of my all time favorite songs quieted the fearfulpeople are unaware that these holy songs were sung
trembling of a lost little girl from Kansas when sheto the tunes of popular bar songs of the 18th
sang, Over the Rainbow, in The Wizard of Oz.century. Surprise.
Or another favorite is the rock group Chicago'sYou may recall Charles older brother John Wesley
classic, Make Me Smile.had no small hand in starting the Methodist Church
Theres a lot to be said for the power of music. Ifollowing the great Wesleyan Revival of the 18th
happen to like all styles of music, classical, jazz,century.
gospel, rock, folk, country, even bluegrass. There'sHow is it that we humans have this inner compass
even a little Rap that I can slightly tolerate.that is drawn like a magnet to the North Pole called
In fact, my love of music and my childhood dream ofmusic?
being a famous radio disk jockey came into realityThe 1960's were full of folk songs whose lyrics
several years ago when I got to get paid for havingshaped political opinions. Lyricists have forever
fun doing a morning drive show in Kansas City.captured the climate of the current culture and
In my fifteen minutes of fame, I had the privilege ofphrased songs in a way that touched us and moved
playing the most popular music of that day over theus deeply.
airwaves and interview some people a lot moreSo my anthem for today would be this: Let the
famous than me.music in. Maybe for you it's been a long time since
My latest hobby is collecting music concert DVD's. Soyou let anything in to touch you in the deepest part
when I heard that a local music store was going outof your soul. Maybe it's time for you to turn a corner
of business, I rushed over to see what kind of dealsin your life.
I could get to add to my collection. Well, it just soMaybe it's your time to take the strong suggestion
happened that they had the vintage Lynyrd Skynyrdof Fleetwood Mac, don't stop thinking about
documentary, Freebird. So guess what I did? Itomorrow, yesterday's gone. Your future will always
bought it!be brighter if you let the music in.