The power of music

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We have a lot of chaos going on with deck work and tree planting. I’d love to say that it doesn’t cause my innards to get stressed, but it does. Big twisting and turning. I learned to take that innard feeling and transition to my outer body where I can shake it off!.

For the past few weekends, instead of listening to the news (a lot of political ads these days) as I prepped dinner, I asked Alexa to play some tunes. At first it was my favorite artists. Then I moved to Billboard hits of a specific year. That opened up a whole flood of memories.

As I swayed to the oldies (really oldies and I did more than sway) and remembered every single word, I could feel any stress melt away. I felt just like I did in high school when these songs were popular. It was better than any antianxiety medication I could take. For a brief period, I was young and carefree. I didn’t have things I had to pick out or decisions to make. There was no wondering where my contractor was when he should have been here.

The best part was when a tune came on that I didn’t particularly like, I had Alexa skip it. No CDs or album covers to contend with or fiddling with knobs or buttons.. Just sweet music. Balm for the soul. Alexa and I are getting to be friends.

Afterward, when I looked in the mirror I was abruptly taken back to the present. Ding dang mirrors don’t lie. Still, I smiled having relived that younger me for just a bit. (I’m also available for “Dancing with the non-Stars!”)

Whoever said youth is wasted on the young was right. I enjoyed my youth but with the benefit of experiences under my belt, it would be a different ballgame. For now, I’m concentrating on being the best old cat lady I can be. That will have to do.

Sure hope I didn’t “Ramble on.” That should be my new theme song. Or maybe I should Shake it off!

66 thoughts on “The power of music”

    • She had me flummoxed on Sunday. I always ask for collections (Billboard hits of a certain year or a specific artist). She kept playing the same song multiple times in a row. I had to lecture her about that!

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  2. Dinosaur here doesn’t have Alexa and didn’t know she was this obedient and smart. I like the Led Zepplin tune – I listened to them a lot back in the day, but did not know Taylor Swift’s tune (perhaps I am a relic after all)? We have an oldies station I listen to sometimes – in fact today when I did housework (for a change) and it’s funny, if you hear a tune you’ve not heard in years and remember all the words to it. When I first got Amazon Prime, I played the “Simple Dreams” album by Linda Ronstadt. I almost wore that album out after it came out in the late ’70s … happy to say I remembered 99% of the words to that album.

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    • Zepplin was a favorite of one of my best friends as a young adult so I became very familiar with their work. I listen almost exclusively to oldies stations which keeps me in the dark with current music. Much like my mother, I prefer the music of my youth but there is some young talent out there. We just don’t know where to find it. 🙂

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      • I shared some YouTube clips of Michigan’s own Greta Van Fleet (who sound amazingly similar to Led Zepplin) with a fellow blogger when she wrote about LZ a few weeks ago. Even Robert Plant approves of them. They were just local, now touring nationally – even internationally. I’m not up on a lot of new artists anymore because I only listen to news/news talk or oldies. Give Greta Van Fleet a whirl sometime.

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  4. Oh Kate, when I feel bad and sad or anxious music is my savior. In the car is the best! 70’s and early 80’s for me. I also like smooth jazz guitarist. And then there is Glenn Miller and the big bands. Music for me is even better than wine! Loved your post.

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  5. I went through a phase starting about five years ago when I finally o.d.’d on classic rock. If I heard “Hotel California” one more time I was going to scream. But lately I’ve been listening again and enjoying what I hear. Some songs bring up memories I’d rather not think about, but in the main they’re all like old friends coming back for a visit. Love “Ramble On”; that was an inspired choice for this post. – Marty

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  9. I didn’t recognize the name of that Led Zeppelin tune but all it took was hitting play. Good music soothes the soul in so many different ways. I have issues getting Alexa to play the song/version and too often she insists it doesn’t exist. Mostly, she’s a timer for me. If I could get her to do what I want more often I’d use her more often.

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    • She plays from Amazon music and sometimes when I ask for a specific artist she plays my least favorite tune first. That’s how I learned “skip.” My husband got her to play a song by an artist who didn’t originally sing the song and she found it.

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  11. I have only used Alexa for Christmas music, but I love that you can skip over songs. 🙂 Glad you found a way to destress without meds.

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  13. Music is great therapy. I am so ‘mature’ I can remember buying 45’s and leaving the top piece off (I can’t remember the name) so that it would play over and over again. Yes, sometimes I look in the mirror and can’t reconcile that person with how I feel inside, not counting my aches and pains though. 🙂

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  14. I love classic rock (was listening to it when it was just “rock” 🤣) and I love the new stuff too. On the weekend I went to a concert with my daughter and son-in-law and am happy to report that (as always happens, when attending a music venue) I was STILL not the oldest person there. Yay us! Keep enjoying music and rocking on, Kate!

    Deb

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  15. Music from “back in the day” can really transport us in time. I posted a story about when I first moved back to my hometown area. I drove around the streets where I used to hangout in high school with the radio on a classic rock station and, whoosh, I was seventeen again. But dang that glimpse of me in that rearview mirror. Yep, and youth surely is wasted on the young. But as long as I can stand, I’ll dance with you. 🙂

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    • I like to play the real rockers when I have to get thing done. It gets my motor moving. Then other times just to unwind I play the rest. Always good. Sadly the current tunes don’t calm me like that although there are some I like.

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  18. All I have to hear is Dancing Queen or I Heard It Through The Grapevine and I start moving. Have had some interesting looks as I move along to the beat in a store or two 🙂

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  20. Oh yes…….I love listening to my old favorites – Fleetwood Mac, Doobie Brothers, etc. and I particularly enjoy being in my car by myself on a long drive listening and singing along. For those few hours I’m BACK THERE, memories and all. I really love those little shots of feeling like I’m right back there for a while. I think it’s good for us to FEEL that way for a little while from time to time – at least that’s my excuse! LOL

    hugs, Pam

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  21. I remember when the music my parents listened to was considered the oldies (think Johnny Mathis as an example) and now the music I grew up with is considered the oldies (Chicago, Bread, Air Supply, Three Dog Night as examples).! Then again, if I’m doing my math correctly, if Taylor Swift recorded “Shake It Off” in 1989, the song is 33 years old already. To me, that’s still “new” music in sound!

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  23. As my mother declines, the 50’s station on Sirius radio has been a godsend. I have it in my car and at home. As soon as the music is turned on, she comes alive. She can’t stay still! The therapeutic benefits are powerful for both of us as well as my father.

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    • I’ve heard that before. My husband’s brother has alzheimer’s. Diagnosed almost 10 years ago. His memory is best with music lyrics. I know how young I feel when I hear the music of my youth. I’ve seen those videos of your mom bopping to the tunes! Wonderful!

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  25. That’s exactly what happens to me . . . I put on some 70’s tunes . . . the years melt away . . . I dance like a teen . . . I feel young . . . AND THEN I SEE MY REFLECTION which causes an abrupt return to reality. 😀

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  27. I recently heard a story about a lady who trains service dogs, and also uses the services of Alexa. She was training a dog with a similar name (Alexis?), and things were getting so frustrating that she expressed herself rather colourfully to the dog. She then had to laugh as Jesus Christ Superstar started playing!

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