[Post 2 of 10]

Album 2: Saturday Night Fever (by various artists)

Picture it. Springfield. 1978. Me, sitting on the edge of my parent's bed, turning the dial on my dad's clock radio back and forth until suddenly...

Emerging from the crackling waves, a disco beat...nn-ttsss nn-ttsss nn-ttsss nn-ttsss nn-ttsss...

Then at 20 seconds...BAM! The falsetto proclamation from angels on high:

"Listen to the ground

There is movement all around

There is something goin' down

And I can feel it

On the waves of the air

There is dancin' out there

If it's somethin' we can share

We can steal it..."

Goose bumps. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Bestill my pounding tween heart, WHAT IS THIS?!

The Saturday Night Fever sound track album, actually, this particular song, Night Fever, by the Bee Gees, stands out as the first time I can recall in my life having had such a visceral reaction to music. Okay, I know. Joe Morello, (see yesterday's post), other than that, I mean. 

It also marks the first time that there was something called, "My Music" - as opposed to "My Parent's Music" or "My Carpool Mom's Music". This was the first crack in childhood, my adolescent identity dancing now just beneath the surface; and by God, I liked it!  (Crikey, getting chills right now just thinking about it!)

This memory underscores the power of music. The right song at the right time is electric! It has the ability to pierce your walls and hit straight to your core with a magic that is transcendent. It can draw out dormant emotions or aspects of your personality that don't exist in the world of spoken language alone and let this part of your soul fly! (Wow, just  realizing that this is a wellness tool seriously missing from my daily life, and I intend to sow it back in.)

Occasionally these days, I do come back to this album. It's great to cook to and for dancing around the house while cleaning. Aaaanndd - in an emergency, it can even help you perform CPR properly if you do chest compressions while singing the refrain from Stayin' Alive! (See the American Heart Association for guidance and training.)

RSO Records, 1977

Music and the Psyche: Ten Albums

My husband just tagged me in a fun little Facebook challenge. Perhaps you've heard of it - Name 10 albums that have influenced your musical taste and had an impact on your life. One album per day for 10 days. No explanations, no reviews, just the cover art.

Sounds like fun, sure, but wait a minute - NO EXPLANATIONS?! You can't ask a blogger to just drop an album cover pic and scroll on my merry way.

No, dear friends! So for the next 10 days, I'm going to complete the challenge in Facebook, and then share the magic from the music with you here. Also, for good measure, I've decided to list them in chronological order of when I first encountered them along life's journey. 

So, without further ado, I give you, Music and the Psyche: Ten Albums.

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Album 1: The Dave Brubeck Quartet's, Time Out

Columbia Records, 1959

This first album differs from all the others on my list in that it was a musical seed that didn't germinate until well into adulthood. My dad has always been a fan of "West Coast Jazz", so I'd heard Brubeck in our home since the day I was born - before I was born, in fact. About a month before I was due, Dad took Mom to a Brubeck concert, and as the story goes, I "kicked wildly through a Joe Morello drum solo."

When I listen to this album, I feel warm and safe and loved. An image comes to mind - my dad standing at the hearth in a plaid flannel shirt and corduroy pants, stoking a crackling fire, Molson's ale on the mantle, shaking his head in time with the pulsing beat around which the instruments dance.

I listen to Brubeck now to conjure this feeling once again - the comfort of a happy childhood. I also listen to it when reading, for dinners, and for parties where I want sophisticated background music to enhance conversation.