Music is very important to me. I was raised in a musical family. We played instruments and sang together. We were a quirky VonTrapp family at Christmas with our wee group that included the accordion, piano, cello and saxophone! 
Yes, it sounded brutal, but heck, mom and dad paid for our lessons so we had no choice but to all play together! Kara and I grew up singing and playing together. She would play the piano and I would sing. Old show tunes were our forte. A favourite of ours was West Side Story - and the songs from that film. I rocked it with my Mexican accent - however, my hips didn't move so well for the dancing....still don't!! Today my own girls sing show tunes ...albeit, they sing along with the dvd's they are watching as the lyrics come on screen. I am not fussy - they are still learning songs I grew up with and adore. I listen to music lots and enjoy loads of different types. I love the Organ! Yes, I said it, the Organ. I also dig some serious Swing, Beethoven, Basement Jaxx, Cure, Billie Holiday, Nirvana, Depeche Mode, Blue Rodeo, Mika, Cake, Mozart...I have an eclectic palette which keeps getting added to! One thing music does for me is take me back to memory lane. The other day I was cleaning out the van (after a winter of being ignored - GROSS!!) and had on my ipod. I had the Tragically Hip cranked and was loving listening to the songs that took me back to University. My kids kept trying to get my attention, but I ignored them...I had my ear buds in and they simply ceased to exist to me for a few songs! I felt young and alive listening to favourite songs. The Hip reminds me of being 19, skinny and cute and of my days of hanging out with the soccer boys at University. Lots of dating took place with the Hip. Certain songs and groups take me back years! Whenever I hear Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac I am in Phukhet, Thailand with my family. REM is all about Andrew Middleton (my first "boyfriend")in Bangkok. I am 16 and happy with REM. Their song "Its The End Of The World As We Know It" was a favourite and I memorized all the words - now that was a feat! I used to sing in a choral group in University and we did concerts with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. One season we sang Mozarts 9th. I recall I could hardly sing it as I was also so choked up by it...not just the fact that we were singing in throaty and foaming German, but the power of the music always overcame me. That is the music I want played at my funeral! It's amazing stuff! Fast forward to being a mom and the song I sing to each of my girls when they want a lullaby is U2's MLK (recently noted the MikkaLuciKamrin song). I have sung that sweet song to my babies since they were making me all fat and round in my belly! When they ask for a song - that's the one they want. I love it. I also have another song that I've sung to them since they were school age - it's their good morning song...."Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning, It's time to rise and shine, Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning, I hope you're feeling fine. It's time to get up and get out of bed. It 's time to wake up you sleepy head, Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning, it's time to rise and shine!" My mom used to sing that one to us and well, the tradition continues. After I sing that loudly down the hall, I usually yell, "Get up you lazy bums". They always smile when I say that. It's awesome. Music can make you reflect and can also be hard to listen to. My big brother Bryan's favourite group was Cold Play. After he was killed I couldn't listen to their music. It was so bad that even in stores if it came on I had to leave, and leave fast! I've left restaurants due to their songs being played. It would cause so much pain to hear them. Time heals and I can now almost enjoy them again. But I know that I will always feel sadness when listening to Bry's group. I am not one to listen to the radio lots in the car. Life is so crowded with noise, I like the quiet of the van - as quiet rarely happens at home. Therefore, I am not too up on my modern music. The girls are helping me out a bit and I want to be sure they enjoy as much different music as is possible and be as well rounded in their enjoyment of it. Kamrin is getting a new song for her new skating solo. She will be dancing to Mendelssohn - a piece that my sister, Kara, played for her piano ARCT. Whenever we play that song Luci breaks into wild dancing and smiles spread across all of our faces. It's a special song and we'll be listening to it lots for the next few years on the ice! My kids love Michael Jackson, Queen, Madonna, Ray Charles and Johnny Cash - they are old souls. I quiz them when songs come on the radio to see if they know the artist. They rock! When they are older I know they'll look back when they hear a certain tune and be flung back to a memory that with either make them all warm and fuzzy or creeped out!
Music can tell someone you love them. It can be a hug. It can remind you of friends and loves, of happy days and days of sorrow. Just now Kamrin started singing, "My Little Buttercup" from the movie "The 3 Amigos"...and I feel like a torch has been passed on. All of a sudden I am in Penang at boarding school singing with my girlfriends! My memory will be very different from hers, but we'll always share the love of that ridiculous movie!
Ahhhh, Music... creating the sweet sounds of life.
Yes, it sounded brutal, but heck, mom and dad paid for our lessons so we had no choice but to all play together! Kara and I grew up singing and playing together. She would play the piano and I would sing. Old show tunes were our forte. A favourite of ours was West Side Story - and the songs from that film. I rocked it with my Mexican accent - however, my hips didn't move so well for the dancing....still don't!! Today my own girls sing show tunes ...albeit, they sing along with the dvd's they are watching as the lyrics come on screen. I am not fussy - they are still learning songs I grew up with and adore. I listen to music lots and enjoy loads of different types. I love the Organ! Yes, I said it, the Organ. I also dig some serious Swing, Beethoven, Basement Jaxx, Cure, Billie Holiday, Nirvana, Depeche Mode, Blue Rodeo, Mika, Cake, Mozart...I have an eclectic palette which keeps getting added to! One thing music does for me is take me back to memory lane. The other day I was cleaning out the van (after a winter of being ignored - GROSS!!) and had on my ipod. I had the Tragically Hip cranked and was loving listening to the songs that took me back to University. My kids kept trying to get my attention, but I ignored them...I had my ear buds in and they simply ceased to exist to me for a few songs! I felt young and alive listening to favourite songs. The Hip reminds me of being 19, skinny and cute and of my days of hanging out with the soccer boys at University. Lots of dating took place with the Hip. Certain songs and groups take me back years! Whenever I hear Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac I am in Phukhet, Thailand with my family. REM is all about Andrew Middleton (my first "boyfriend")in Bangkok. I am 16 and happy with REM. Their song "Its The End Of The World As We Know It" was a favourite and I memorized all the words - now that was a feat! I used to sing in a choral group in University and we did concerts with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. One season we sang Mozarts 9th. I recall I could hardly sing it as I was also so choked up by it...not just the fact that we were singing in throaty and foaming German, but the power of the music always overcame me. That is the music I want played at my funeral! It's amazing stuff! Fast forward to being a mom and the song I sing to each of my girls when they want a lullaby is U2's MLK (recently noted the MikkaLuciKamrin song). I have sung that sweet song to my babies since they were making me all fat and round in my belly! When they ask for a song - that's the one they want. I love it. I also have another song that I've sung to them since they were school age - it's their good morning song...."Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning, It's time to rise and shine, Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning, I hope you're feeling fine. It's time to get up and get out of bed. It 's time to wake up you sleepy head, Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning, it's time to rise and shine!" My mom used to sing that one to us and well, the tradition continues. After I sing that loudly down the hall, I usually yell, "Get up you lazy bums". They always smile when I say that. It's awesome. Music can make you reflect and can also be hard to listen to. My big brother Bryan's favourite group was Cold Play. After he was killed I couldn't listen to their music. It was so bad that even in stores if it came on I had to leave, and leave fast! I've left restaurants due to their songs being played. It would cause so much pain to hear them. Time heals and I can now almost enjoy them again. But I know that I will always feel sadness when listening to Bry's group. I am not one to listen to the radio lots in the car. Life is so crowded with noise, I like the quiet of the van - as quiet rarely happens at home. Therefore, I am not too up on my modern music. The girls are helping me out a bit and I want to be sure they enjoy as much different music as is possible and be as well rounded in their enjoyment of it. Kamrin is getting a new song for her new skating solo. She will be dancing to Mendelssohn - a piece that my sister, Kara, played for her piano ARCT. Whenever we play that song Luci breaks into wild dancing and smiles spread across all of our faces. It's a special song and we'll be listening to it lots for the next few years on the ice! My kids love Michael Jackson, Queen, Madonna, Ray Charles and Johnny Cash - they are old souls. I quiz them when songs come on the radio to see if they know the artist. They rock! When they are older I know they'll look back when they hear a certain tune and be flung back to a memory that with either make them all warm and fuzzy or creeped out!Music can tell someone you love them. It can be a hug. It can remind you of friends and loves, of happy days and days of sorrow. Just now Kamrin started singing, "My Little Buttercup" from the movie "The 3 Amigos"...and I feel like a torch has been passed on. All of a sudden I am in Penang at boarding school singing with my girlfriends! My memory will be very different from hers, but we'll always share the love of that ridiculous movie!
Ahhhh, Music... creating the sweet sounds of life.
check this band out. Chad and I love them. We (including Bethany and Curtis) have seen them in concert many of times.
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You gotta get the family band back together! I can play tambourine if needed.
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