When I need a little pick-me-up from the rigors of daily living, I find that show tunes offer a good cure.
In fact, they’re sort of the ultimate feeling of positive reinforcement.
When I was in Middle School, I came to a theory that at the beginning of most musicals – there is what I called “the complaint song” – a song that outlines the “problem” that will be resolved or at least, addressed within the confines of the show.
This theory isn’t exactly rocket science and of course, I came to learn that good stories have a conflict and resolution. At the time though, I thought I was a freaking wunderkind.
So anyway, the showtune has become my way of acknowledging challenges and assorted bullshit.
Specifically, I draw frequently from Avenue Q – and not just the complaint song - “It Sucks to be Me”, which features the following verse:
When I was little, I thought I would be/
A big comedian on Late-Nite TV/
But now I'm thirty-two and as you can see/
I'm not. Nope. Oh well/
It sucks to be me. It sucks to be me/
It sucks to be broke and unemployed/
And turning thirty-three/
It sucks to be me...
Maybe I'm revealing a little too much of myself with that one - it's great, but equally good are
"There’s a Fine, Fine Line” and the completely perfect “For Now”.
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying? Well, from that show, my self-validation song is “I Believe in You”. Sung as often as needed. The day I resigned at Best Access, that played on the radio when I got in my car to go home. I sang that one a lot when I was at Imagination. My favorite lyric, “…and when my faith in my fellow man all but falls part – I’ve but to feel your hand grasping mine, and I take heart…I take heart.”
La Cage Aux Folles provides me the following affirmation, “Life’s not worth a damn, til you can say, ‘Hey world, I am what I am!’”
The two that keep coming to mind these past few days are from the same song in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: “Life is random and unfair. Life is Pandemonium” and “Where do we begin? The best spellers don’t necessarily win.”
From Wicked: “It's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed, so it's very shrewd to be, very, very popular like ME!”
There are others I love – from Annie Get Your Gun – “I Got the Sun in the Mornin’ and the Moon at Night” – the Ethel Merman version, of course.
From Into the Woods, “I Know Things Now” and “Any Moment”.
From Caberet, “Don’t Tell Mama”.
Everything from Drowsy Chaperone and South Pacific…
I miss the Broadway Channel on Sirius – we gave that up last year – but Pandora does a good job replacing it. Although – for GOD’s sake – not everyone just loooooooves Phantom of the Opera and Rent. Sheesh!
That’s all. For now…
Everything in life is only for now.
In fact, they’re sort of the ultimate feeling of positive reinforcement.
When I was in Middle School, I came to a theory that at the beginning of most musicals – there is what I called “the complaint song” – a song that outlines the “problem” that will be resolved or at least, addressed within the confines of the show.
This theory isn’t exactly rocket science and of course, I came to learn that good stories have a conflict and resolution. At the time though, I thought I was a freaking wunderkind.
So anyway, the showtune has become my way of acknowledging challenges and assorted bullshit.
Specifically, I draw frequently from Avenue Q – and not just the complaint song - “It Sucks to be Me”, which features the following verse:
When I was little, I thought I would be/
A big comedian on Late-Nite TV/
But now I'm thirty-two and as you can see/
I'm not. Nope. Oh well/
It sucks to be me. It sucks to be me/
It sucks to be broke and unemployed/
And turning thirty-three/
It sucks to be me...
Maybe I'm revealing a little too much of myself with that one - it's great, but equally good are
"There’s a Fine, Fine Line” and the completely perfect “For Now”.
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying? Well, from that show, my self-validation song is “I Believe in You”. Sung as often as needed. The day I resigned at Best Access, that played on the radio when I got in my car to go home. I sang that one a lot when I was at Imagination. My favorite lyric, “…and when my faith in my fellow man all but falls part – I’ve but to feel your hand grasping mine, and I take heart…I take heart.”
La Cage Aux Folles provides me the following affirmation, “Life’s not worth a damn, til you can say, ‘Hey world, I am what I am!’”
The two that keep coming to mind these past few days are from the same song in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: “Life is random and unfair. Life is Pandemonium” and “Where do we begin? The best spellers don’t necessarily win.”
From Wicked: “It's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed, so it's very shrewd to be, very, very popular like ME!”
There are others I love – from Annie Get Your Gun – “I Got the Sun in the Mornin’ and the Moon at Night” – the Ethel Merman version, of course.
From Into the Woods, “I Know Things Now” and “Any Moment”.
From Caberet, “Don’t Tell Mama”.
Everything from Drowsy Chaperone and South Pacific…
I miss the Broadway Channel on Sirius – we gave that up last year – but Pandora does a good job replacing it. Although – for GOD’s sake – not everyone just loooooooves Phantom of the Opera and Rent. Sheesh!
That’s all. For now…
Everything in life is only for now.
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