Soundtracks

One of the things I like about summer is that more people are outside. Today, I listened to a street musician on my way into/carrying through the window of my office. He has a speaker that he pipes a symphony through, and he plays along on his trumpet. I love music. All kinds. And listening to a symphony on my way into the office sets right a rough start to the day (left the house late, almost forgot my coffee so had to go back, hit every red light on my way to the train, made the train just in time). Street musicians, now playing on a street corner near you. Only in the summer. Sometimes, the bucket boys play on the bridge (they use overturned buckets as drums).

I often write to music, depending on my concentration level. If the concentration is there, it doesn't matter what's playing in the background. If the concentration is sketchy, I stick with instrumental. If the concentration is flighty, the music must be turned off. And did I mention eclectic tastes? I like everything from Scorpions to James Taylor to Handel (and just about everything in between). Over the weekend, I was sending an email to a friend and she asked what song I was listening to. (Quick - what are you listening to right now?) Timing is everything. The answer of the day: Marlene Dietrich singing Lili Marlene (in German). Yes, some of the song choices are "out there." Quiet coincidentally contains characters with German heritage, so even though the music choice wasn't conscious, it was appropriate for the current work in progress.

Music is often a soundtrack for our lives. I saw a movie a few weeks ago (Little Black Book, in which the main character grew up listening to Carly Simon, another of my personal favorites). The story was a little off for me, but the music resonated. The character's mother was a Carly fan, passing that on to her daughter, making Carly's music the soundtrack to both of their lives. Of course, at the end of the movie, Carly made a cameo appearance.

Is there someone that could write the soundtrack to your life? Quick! What song are you listening to right now? (Or, what was the last song you listened to?)