Spring Has Sprung, The Grass Is Riz
Picture it: it’s 5:10 on a random weekday morning. My son and I are in the kitchen, silently but companionably together. I am drinking coffee and typing, and he is drinking his breakfast smoothie and staring off into space. Suddenly, I hear something I haven’t heard for a long time: birds chirping.
There are birds everywhere here in the winter; every day I see countless ducks and very scary Canada geese on my walks, there are families of quail cutely scurrying around our yard, there are magpies and hawks flying overhead and little chickadees darting around, there is even a bald eagle that I will sometimes see near the lake. There is no shortage of bird life, but last week was the first time this year that I heard the birds chirping in the early morning. I listened to them while I finished my coffee and rolled out my yoga mat, and then I watched the sky brighten into morning, and it felt very Mary Oliver.
But Now They Only Block The Sun
I always have a song running through my head, although it’s never a birdsong. Last week I had Jump by the Pointer Sisters stuck in my head for days. Days! And there are not a whole lot of lyrics involved in that song, and so my brain kept saying “Jump in! And feel my touch. Jump! You want to taste my KISSES in the NIGHT then” over and over, including, weirdly, the key change. This was a weird and sudden change from the song that was in my head previously, which was Total Eclipse of the Heart, thanks to astrological current events, but not the Bonnie Tyler version, the version from the Old School wedding scene.
The eclipse itself was a non-event for me; we aren’t in the path of totality, but even if we were, it was so cloudy and overcast that I didn’t see the sun all day. Clouds got in my way, people.
Girl, Put Your Spotify On
“Hey Mom,” my older son said the other day, “You know all those old hippies who left Spotify for moral reasons? They’re back!” I knew exactly what he was talking about, because Both Sides Now and Carey suddenly reappeared on my favourite Nicole Karaoke playlist. I have no judgement about this, only gratitude, as a) we all have a price and everyone needs to put food on the table, and b) I have no other way of listening to music anymore, and I really did miss Joni Mitchell.
As mentioned last week, I have been awash in nostalgia lately, and one of the things I was thinking about was how my – and all of our – music listening habits have changed over the years. There are many things to miss about the past, but I do not miss paying $20 for a CD to listen to one or two songs. We have a family subscription to premium Spotify, and so I listen to anything I want, all the time.
The only problem is that if Spotify ever goes down, I am going to be at a total loss. I have no backup. I have hundreds of hours of music and podcasts downloaded, I have mood mixes and workout We still have some CDs; they actually survived my purging and the move, but I do not know why. I have no way to play them, even if I did want to listen to all of Hall and Oates greatest hits. No shade to Hall and Oates, obviously.
Whoa Here She Comes
I thought I had shared this story numerous times, and perhaps I have, but I cannot find anything in the archives to indicate it, so I shall share it again. Many years ago my husband and I were hosting a dinner party. The guests were his work colleagues and their wives, and after several bottles of wine we pounced upon a topic of much interest to me, and that is that if you were to have a theme song that would play every time you entered the room, in the manner of Darth Vader, what would your theme song be? My husband chose Welcome To The Jungle and one of his colleagues went with Gangsta’s Paradise; the company that they worked for was quite a formal and conservative one, which made their answers all the more amusing. I imagined Slash’s wild guitar riff screaming as my husband entered a board room in his suit, and Coolio’s beats playing as his colleague swiped his card key to access the 33rd floor. One woman suggested Lose Yourself, which would be a great entry song for anyone, really. My choice was Maneater, and to this day every time I hear the start to that song, I lift my head a little higher and strut a little more. My song! I think, as if it’s actually happening, as if suddenly the world over hears Maneater every time they are in my vicinity.
We had a dinner conversation about this the other day, and my younger son said that he’d put a lot of thought into this very question over the years, and his theme song of choice is Come Out And Play. I agreed that it was perfect; my older son chose Pretty Fly For A White Guy, but was now questioning this, because could we really have two Offspring songs in the same family? My feeling was that it would be natural for two brothers, especially those that are close, to have songs from the same band, particularly since those songs exactly suit each of their very different personalities. The conversation got quite involved and a little heated, as if this is something that is really happening, that we are really living in a world in which music automatically starts playing each time someone encounters us.
Rex is indifferent to music, it seems, and I had unimaginatively assigned him Who Let The Dogs Out, but I think the more appropriate song is Are You Ready For This?
Weekly Reading
The Berlin Stories. Continuing on my nostalgia streak, and prompted in part by last week’s reading of The Women In The Castle, I dug out my old copy of The Berlin Stories, which was written in the 1930s, based on Christopher Isherwood’s time in that city. I first read this in 1994, if the stamp from the university used bookstore can be believed, and it was for a German history course I took, which was hands down one of the best elective courses I took in university. In 1994, though, a lot of this book was lost on me, and I have found now with more life experience (“my thesis is on life experience”) that I was fully able to appreciate this book, which requires a LOT of “between the lines” reading. It is a fascinating book on so many levels. If you don’t know, which I did not know in 1994, Berlin during the Weimar Republic was a city of personal freedom and expression, and a haven for what is now known as the LGBTQ+ community, of which, of course, Isherwood was a part of. In all of Europe, Berlin was open, welcoming, and accepting, and most of the book is about the people who Isherwood met and knew at the time. The cast of characters is wild and really shows what life was like at that time: from poverty due to the massive inflation to earned and unearned wealth, from showgirls and prostitutes to bartenders and yodelers, from expats to hustlers, this book really runs the gamut. Throughout the book are brief and passing references to political changes and the Nazis, and then near the end, those changes really ramp up in a pretty terrifying way. One of the most chilling anecdotes concerns a Jewish man whose family owns a very successful department store; he dies of “heart failure,” and there is a line about how there has been a lot of heart failure in Germany lately, hearts are known to fail when there is a bullet put through them. The book ends in 1932, and the last thirty pages or so are absolutely terrifying, not in the least because there are some really uncomfortable parallels that could be drawn between this period of time and the present. Listen, we all know I’m not an alarmist, or a politically dramatic person, but it is undeniable.
Woof, that is a pretty bleak note to end on, so I will tell you that I just had the loveliest weekend – it’s been warm and beautiful, and we hosted a barbeque to celebrate my upcoming birthday. What could be better than friends, wine, and cupcakes? Nothing, that’s what. xo
What a great party game, Nicole! I’ll have to find my song immediately!
I’ll just “JUMP IN!” Haha!
Your “I watched the sky brighten into morning,” IS very Mary Oliver, I love it! Happy upcoming birthday! I noticed elevated birdsong this weekend too… just in time for your birthday!
Jump in! I can’t wait to hear your song!
OMG: “the pressure of a name!” (Do you remember this movie?)
How can I pick just one song, Nicole?! What I am going to do, however, is come through in a couple of days and read through all the responses. Can you imagine what an awesome playlist that would make?!
It would be such a fun playlist! A real blogger mashup!
I both use that theme song question in the workshops I teach at work AND somewhat live by it as I listen to my hype song before intense meetings, presentations, or even tasks I just don’t want to do (even if it means hiding in a bathroom at work with my headphones on), haha!
Lindsay! Don’t leave me hanging! What’s your hype song??
Oh, I’m so situational with them haha! Before a big presentation in front of a large group, I usually do I’d Rather Be Me from Mean Girls the musical or the finale from Into the Woods or The Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine (or most anything by The Killers or Green Day). Before intense meetings, I do more of an internal strength vibe like Killer Queen or Rebel Rebel. When someone says something ridiculous to me and I need to calm down, I listen to Move On from Sunday in the Park With George or Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway. Oh my stars, I feel like I’m so random!
This is so fun, Lindsay! I love your hype songs!
Hmmm! A personal theme song… I’ll have to think about this. I like all your choices, and I feel like the bar has been set very high. I’ll get back to you when I come up with mine.
i read the Berlin Stories years ago, when I was actually living (temporarily) in Berlin. It’s interesting- and surprising- to know what Berlin was like in those years before Hitler. You wouldn’t imagine it being so liberal! And I’m just “bleeping” over the part where you drew parallels to our current situation- I’m already stressed out enough about the upcoming election, and I can’t handle it!
I’m excited about your upcoming birthday! I love birthdays and I know you do too. I hope it’s an especially happy one!
Jenny, my copy has a foreword by Isherwood, where he visits Berlin in the early 50s and talks about how different it is. I’m assuming you were in Berlin in the 90s, so after the wall? What an interesting time of life.
Crap, I just left a super long comment then my internet pooped out!
Short story – you left the story about the theme songs as a comment on my post recently, which is why you probably can’t find it in the archives! I love that both your sons have songs from my era; why is that? Were you an Offspring fan?
Yesterday’s theme song for my life is Dust in the Wind by Kansas, but each day will be different! Sometimes my theme song is about the lyrics, or the title, or the beat, but you can’t pin me to just one!
I know I told you about it, but I thought I had written about it here, since it happened like a decade ago. Well, better late than never. I do like Offspring but I would say that my taste does not at all affect what the boys do – they are definitely their own people with their own musical tastes, and those tastes really run the gamut.
Kyria! The daily theme song is a different thing to your “walk in the room” song, but I will give you more time to think about it (Dust in the Wind always reminds me of the funeral scene in Old School – “You’re my boy, Blue!”)
Oh no, I did it wrong! Walk in the room; does that have to be like a Right Said Fred kind of thing? I want to say Cherry Pie but that is totally a stripper song. I do need to think about this — does the title have to represent me or can I walk in with a sweet guitar riff? You know I am very literal, right?
PS Dust in the Wind makes me think of Bill and Ted. “All we are is dust in the wind, dude.”
I think you should have Cherry Pie – I mean, why not claim it for your own! It’s got a GREAT start! I mean, I am not a literal maneater, so why not?
My husband and I have a “song” – Right Down the Line by Gerry Rafferty.
We walked down the aisle to The Imperial March from Star Wars. My mother was horrified.
I listen to Spotify every single day and I think it has a piece of my soul on loan because if it goes down, a part of me WOULD DIE.
I’m trying to think what My Song would be. I listen to songs I love until they morph in to hatred. One of my all-time fav songs is Everything’s Not Lost by Coldplay. It’s one song I never, ever tire of. It’s melancholy and hopeful which pretty much sums me up. I also love a good Miley C tune…
I did not know that about your wedding, and I am so charmed, you can’t even believe it. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Right Down The Line is such an interesting choice, this made me smile. I like your Coldplay theme, I think that’s a great choice!
PS Elisabeth, I just gained a newfound respect for you. Imperial March! You guys are the coolest.
Rex is such a happy boy! I just love how he’s always smiling.
We still have multiple CD players in our house and when my husband is out of the house and I am cleaning, I will BLARE 90s country as if the world needs to hear Garth Brooks. I’m pretty sure my song would be “She’s Every Woman,” but I have a strong feeling that perhaps it’s actually more “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” complete with too many exclamation points.
ENGIE OMG ENGIE THAT IS PERFECT!!! I just had a vision of you sashaying into a room with duh duh duh duh duh DUH DUH “Let’s go girls.” This is the best vision I have had all day, and I’m so excited for you to adopt this new theme song in my world where everyone has a theme song.
Dorothy’s jazz team is performing to Man! I Feel Like a Woman this season, and the audience LOVES IT SO MUCH.
Let’s go girls!!!!
Friends, wine, and cupcakes – yes, perfection! And birdsong!
I also frequently have a song playing in my head. Currently, it’s I’m Just Ken by Ryan Gosling, which is a welcome respite from the previous song — Me Too by Meghan Trainor — that had been whirling round my brain for several weeks.
A theme song is such a fun idea! The only one I can think of (not I’m Just Ken, although that pops immediately to mind) is Susanne by Weezer, for obvious (but misspelled) reasons. The big benefit to having that play whenever I walk into a room is that it would hopefully put an end to people calling me Susan. But one never knows.
Oh YES to Susanne, I love it, even misspelled. It’s funny how people call you Susan. There is SUCH a difference between the names. My friend Joanna was telling me her pet peeve is when people call her Joanne, and I can understand this – I like both names, but you want to be called BY YOUR NAME. That said, I called a friend’s husband Steve for years before he told me he really dislikes it and only wants to be called Stephen, and wow, did I feel like a jerk.
Hubs and I like to take “Youtube breaks” when we’re watching TV to play old music videos. Yes back in the day we had to wait for MTV or the radio to play our song, but now we can listen to whatever whenever. I also do not miss physical media.
I need more time to think about my theme song. I approve of Maneater for you and Are You Ready for This for Rex.
My sobering Weimar story is that I’m a fan of old movies, and there was a spell when I was really into old German silent movies from the 20s. I’d get interested in the actors and look at their profiles on IMDB. I quickly learned that if someone made their last movie in 1933 that their story did not have a happy ending. And yes I’m sure that the changes ramped up quickly and uh…things can happen quickly to us today.
Woof, that is a very sad thing to think about. I imagine there were a lot of not-happy endings.
MTV! Here it was MuchMusic, and wow, did I love music videos. I should take a Youtube break too!
Think about your theme song and get back to me!
If you’ve ever watched professional baseball, they have a walk-up song that is basically each player’s theme song. So I have thought about this a lot! Mine is “Unstoppable” by Sia.
Sarah! I haven’t watched baseball since the Blue Jays won the World Series, so I had literally no idea. NO IDEA AND NOW I’M DYING. That is so charming and I love it. I love your choice of songs!
Nicole, they do all have themes songs and sometimes you can be surprised. Like it will be a gangster rap song and this skinny white kid from Alabama will step up to the plate and you are like “what?!” It’s very fun.
I like how everyone was so serious about the question of theme songs, as if it was actually going to happen. It sounds like something we’d do, as a family.
Things get SO SERIOUS around here – just like this is a thing that will happen. I think you should do that, as a family, figure out your theme songs!
I’m very much in a ‘both sides now’ frame of mind. And I am kind of leaning into the melancholy… but I did just board a flight so I won’t lean into it to the extent that I cry on the flight. I hope. I have done that on several occasions (have you read ‘When Breath Becomes Air’? If not please do, but do not finish it on an airplane!!) and wow is that an embarrassing look. But I am glad you have Joni back in your play list. She’s a gem. I need to think about a walk out song. My employee has asked me this question, too. He has one in mind but I think it’s heavy metal kind of music which is so not my thing so I kind of just smiled and nodded. I loved the walk in song for our wedding, though, which was ‘just say yes’ by snow patrol. It has a really fun beat to it.
Oof that Berlin book sounds intense. I would like to read it but need to be in the right frame of mind. I’m reading ‘come and get it’ which has had such polarizing views. But I am enjoying it so far. It’s is solidly character driven lit fic.
Just Say Yes is a great song, and how perfect for your wedding!
I don’t blame you for feeling melancholy, you have had a heavy weekend. I haven’t read When Breath Becomes Air but I just looked it up and woof. That looks like a very sad book, so I’ll wait until I’m in the right frame of mind for sure.
Happy Birthday to you! I had to chuckle at your family’s choice of theme songs! I love the whole concept and I’d have to really give it some thought to come up with my own. Unfortunately, thanks to Sirius, I now have Mexican Radio on repeat in my head. It’s an annoying song, if you’re not familiar.
Wasn’t Pretty Fly For a White Guy a fabulous video, back in the day?
It sure was a fabulous video, and the entire song just makes me laugh. It’s kind of perfect for my son, too.
I was NOT familiar with that song, but I just listened to it on Spotify – lol, I can see it being a bit annoying!
Tell me about that tree with all of the birdhouses in it…
“Hey Mom,” my older son said the other day, “You know all those old hippies who left Spotify for moral reasons? They’re back!”
I knew who he meant, too. 🤣🤣
Kari, I think of you whenever I see that tree. I don’t know what the story is behind it, but it’s a tree in a public green space. Where did all the birdhouses come from? I have no idea, but they are just all so cute and charming.
Joni and Neil, welcome back to Spotify!
I love that you think of me! 😘❤️
Rex’s song is SO much Are You Ready for This! I love it.
The birds have been completely quiet over winter and now? Chirping all the time. I also love that.
I love it so much! It’s such a lovely way to start the day.
This is a wonderful post, and the comments are a TREAT. I want the old Ethel Merman warblers NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS to be my song.
SARAH YESSSSS!!!!
I love this game for a dinner party. So fun! Of course, I suck at thinking of music, or names of songs, or artists, as we all know. I was born this way. I have had “I’m being followed by a moon shadow, moon shadow, moon shadow,” going thru my head for several days. I do enjoy Cat Stevens. Maybe my theme song would be Brown Eyed Girl, but that does feel too easy. I might have to ponder this longer. Hmm.
Rex’s Are You Ready song is perfect. Love it. Friends and wine and cupcakes sounds like a wonderful evening.
Brown Eyed Girl is a very fun song! Did you have moon shadow in your head because of the eclipse?
I love the tree with all the birdhouses in it! Ha! Ha! I don’t have a theme song! I need to find a theme song immediately! I love that you and your family have theme songs!
But I do always have a different song in my head every day. It plays and plays until it makes me want to scream! Today’s song is Celebrate good times – Come ON! Let’s celebrate.
Isn’t that tree neat? It’s on one of our walking routes. I’ve never seen an actual bird in it though!
Ooh Celebrate is a really good song!
“Me wonders where the flowers is!”
Thanks for reminding me of that; my Mom used to say that all the time.
My song would definitely be a Barenaked Ladies song. They are my favorite band of all time and I’m a little obsessed with them, so there’s no way my theme song could be by anyone else. I have no idea how to decide which one. One Night? Lookin Up? Crazy? LOL
I have also heard “but where the heck the birdies is?” That cracks me up.
Oh, I love the Barenaked Ladies. Gordon was the THEME of my grade 11/12 year. I still love it.
Oh, this is a fun discussion! My theme song to walk out to would be Flood by Jars of Clay – you probably don’t know them. They’re a CCM (contemporary Christian music) from the 90s/early aughts, and I ADORE them. This song has such a fun beginning to it.
I had Total Eclipse of the Heart stuck in my head all last week, too. Ahhhh.
I actually do know that song! I love the beginning and I love that for you.
I love starting the day with silence and nature sounds, which is why I prefer nature travel vs. cities (except Paris maybe). I definitely need to retire in a place with nature beauty.
My song listening has been up since marathon training, I’d curate my own list depending on the type of run, and now I have 2024 Paris marathon playlist.
I don’t play music otherwise, I prefer silence in general, but when I go to parties or to a cafe, I enjoy the chill music creating a cozy environment.
happy birthday in advance, please share how you celebrate it, big or small.
Hahaha maybe your theme could be Enjoy The Silence by Depeche Mode! I also like silence first thing in the morning, and I love listening to the birdsong.
I’ve had the ‘I dream of Jeanie’ song stuck in my head all day, and it’s been fun. I don’t want that to be my walk in music though. I’m not sure what my song would be though. Darth Vader was kind of a one note Johnny, always in the same grumpy mood. I wonder if we might need different songs for different moods? That’s probably breaking the rules.
Mulder had several songs, which I would sing to him and he loved it. “Just the Two of Us”, “Just You and I”, and “Beautiful Boy, Darling Boy”. I love Rex’s sweet smile, and think his song is perfect. Mulder’s walk on song should probably be a little rowdy as well.
That book looks really fascinating. So interesting to read about something written during that time and place. And sobering for sure.
Sometimes I make it out to our local park early enough that the sun is coming up, and the bird song is GLORIOUS. Hit it 15 minutes later, and they’re done. Sadly, I don’t feel very comfortable walking there alone in the dark, so I haven’t been in awhile. A couple of years ago we spent a week on Maui, and the birdsong there at dawn was amazing as well.
Oh Maui has the best birdsong in the world! It’s absolutely wonderful.
I love your songs for Mulder. I agree that I Dream of Jeannie isn’t really your theme song though!
I’m stymied by the personal theme song because mine would definitely have changed throughout the years. My dog’s theme song, however, would remain completely unchanged as Are You Ready For This. She is always SO EXCITED to be doing whatever we’re doing.
Unrelatedly I said to H just the other day that I’d be so glad when the eclipse was over because every time I heard or read a story about it I’d get Total Eclipse of the Heart stuck in my head for hours. Sigh.
Hahaha our dogs would definitely get along!
I always have something stuck in my head and Total Eclipse of the Heart is a strangely passionate one. Like, you can’t just sing it. You have to SING it.
I miss the days when I would buy a CD, lay on the couch with the lyrics that were always printed on the booklet/cover, and spend an hour listening to the album. It was like reading poetry. We are not Spotify people here. We still have a CD players and many of our old CDs and we have a record player and are slowly rebuilding our vinyl collection. We found an ABC album (At an “antique” store. Sigh) the other day. On Fridays, to close out our workweek, we have a cocktail hour and listen to one of the albums while we talk about the week past and our plans for the weekend. I wait all week for that magical time. I will need to think about my theme song, but it might be Dancing Queen by ABBA. (Or I wish it was. Maybe I’m thinking of a theme song for the person I want to be?)
ABC!!! When Smokey Sings!
I am in love with your cocktail hour and vinyl albums. This sounds like a pure dream! Magical indeed.
I think Dancing Queen IS your theme song! It’s perfect.
I always have a song running through my head also. I have a habit of getting stuck on one Broadway Musical soundtrack, or two – right now I have songs from Mean Girls interspersed with songs from Miss Saigon, and it is confusing.
It was SO annoying having to buy the whole CD for one or two good songs. When I could buy songs for 99 cents from iTunes one by one it was extremely exciting.
I’m laughing at the conflation of Miss Saigon and Mean Girls. Sometimes I will alternate between Hamilton and Evita, which is similarly strange.
Your photos show a peaceful world, beautiful in its simplicity. I do think that it’s important to notice the changes in our habits, like with music preferences. I’m with you about not paying $20 for a CD, that bugged me. We have SiriusXM which allows us to pick a station by genre, but not specific tunes. I rather like giving up control of what I listen to, just pick a station and go with it. Somehow that is the ease I need right now.
We used to have Sirius too, and I loved it. I like being able to listen to podcasts though, so I do enjoy Spotify.
Oh, I kinda miss CDs… I had a whole (army ammunition) box of CDs (they fit into it perfectly) that I would shlep around to parties. Sigh. The nostalgia.
Of course it’s awesome we have access to all music all the time now.
I have to think about a theme song… what a fun mind exercise.
Did you have mix CDs for different moods? I did!