I love this post! Even though I studied singing and songwriting at Berklee, I didn’t wind up pursuing it as a career. However singing is part of my nature. I sing ALL the time. No matter where I am. Whether I’m doing the dishes or just walking down my hallway, I’m always bursting into song. Sometimes, I’ll write silly songs on the spot based on something I’ve seen on the news, and my family will laugh about it. Singing and music soothes the soul. You are so right in saying that literally everybody sings whether they think they can or not!
Yes! I listened to all of “Weird” a month or so ago! After I read your reply just now, I re-read the lyrics to “Do It To Music,” and they describe EXACTLY what I do and feel! Singing literally saves me, just like in “Do It To Music!” :)
A couple of days ago, I was listening to Honeycomb by Frank Black. As I made the bed, I sang along to the refrain in the chorus in the title track; that quirky falsetto.
I have a voice that makes Will Oldham sound like Pavarotti, so I limit my public performances. The greatest of these was when I was working at a hospital in the UK, delivering medical records (paper notes were still in use). One November there was a very severe snow storm. All clinics were cancelled and the campus was oddly deserted. I was pushing an enormous cage of crated notes along a corridor that runs the length of the main building. The second floor was mostly admin - only a couple of wards. The acoustics were great, very flattering. I walked from one end to the other, from ENT to Maternity, bellowing Powerslave by Iron Maiden.
1. Juliana, I admire your composition. Your words carried me well with your thoughts. I like your articulation, the way you can find or make really interesting conjugations. My fantasy of winning the lottery so I can pay for your one-on-one time just sunk a bit further into the it’ll-never-happen despair when I realized I probably wouldn’t be able to keep much of your attention in an ordinary conversation since you clearly are a couple liters and a turbo faster than me. You’d find yourself holding onto a leash, pulling on every conversational volley I could come up with that would probably do no better than just be dragging behind your way of thinking.
2. I forget
3. XD” Climbing a cylindrical wall”? I don’t know much about dreams, but this seems very revealing. I don’t know how, but if I did, I’d be teasing you so hard right now. Haha
A few weeks ago, (possibly in response to something heard on the radio) I thought about what thing, what activity made me the happiest, and I was quite surprised when I realised that it was actually singing. There's just something so innately joyous about it - using the mundane function of exhaling air to produce something beautiful, something so mood-enhancing for yourself and, possibly, others. In that way, it is, I suppose, the easiest form of creative expression - you don't even have to pick up a pen. The only time I ever sung publicly was during karaoke competitions in the university bar and, though I had always done quite well, that first prize had always eluded me. Then one evening, I did a really good version of 'I Am the Walrus,' (note-perfect - everything went right!) and as I walked back to my friends, the DJ played some of it back (something I couldn't remember him doing before) and I 'heard' myself, as it were, for the first time (like as if it was on the radio) - and it sounded good! This is it, I thought! Finally, I, and a proper song, will prevail! And then Christina, the same damn girl who always won, rocked up and 'treated' us to yet another bloody Whitney Houston octave-a-thon and, you guessed it, I, and The Beatles, were vanquished once more.
Sixth grade school choral group. I have no recollection of how I ended up in there. Lasted one year as I was “liberated” by the clarinet. I did develop a fixation on other people singing around the same time, sixth or seventh grade. I built a Healthkit AM radio (on a small printed circuit board) and listened to Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsberg on WMEX under my covers at night. THAT singing stirred my soul
Long, long ago, my kindergarten report card rated me on "Able to carry a tune" as "Not yet". I must have wanted to prove them wrong and went on to sing in my church choir, my high school glee club and operettas, and now as an adult have close to perfect pitch.
This is such a great article. Another thing we can blame on 18th century Europeans, creating the idea of the concert hall to separate the those who “can” from the those who “can’t.” No one should be denied that joy of singing!
Hey, maybe if you send Sting a copy of your Police covers LP with a note inviting him to come sing and jam with you, he'll drop by next time he's in your town. It would be...synchronicity!
I sang I guess as soon as I sensed i could, or should, or wanted to...my(not-good) parents mostly discouraged it (sample comment from my father: "do you think that sounds good?"), but at some point I just kinda needed to. My first real inspir-er was the small collection of 8-tracks I was developing from age 4 or 5, which included The Cars, Billy Joel, Steely Dan, The Knack, Donna Summer, The Doobie Brothers, Blondie and REO Speedwagon.
I eventually got better and better, and from then on singing was as fundamental to my personhood as anything has been. My one kinda hangup about it is that I wish I had a more interesting vocal quality; when I think about all the artists I love, all the great bands really, the lead singers have very singular voices, with unique, idiosyncratic aspects, none of which were probably celebrated when they were young but which proved an essential element of their eventual fame and admiration. My voice is kind of straightforward, and I'm not organically given to the little tics and adlibs common to so many artists, things that really elevate a song from great to special.
Also, Jules, PLEASE record "Totally Platonic"! It sounds effin' adorable.
I started singing when I was too young to remember. Used to sing all the time. Nothing brought me more joy, and I developed a pretty good ear and voice. Got a full scholarship to a prestigious music program, even. But what I really remember is when I stopped singing. Sometime in my early 30’s. After about a decade working in my “career job” to feed my family had fully crushed my soul. I am nearly 50 now. Never sing anymore. Just ten or so more years of waiting around to die, then I’ll be free.
I love this post! Even though I studied singing and songwriting at Berklee, I didn’t wind up pursuing it as a career. However singing is part of my nature. I sing ALL the time. No matter where I am. Whether I’m doing the dishes or just walking down my hallway, I’m always bursting into song. Sometimes, I’ll write silly songs on the spot based on something I’ve seen on the news, and my family will laugh about it. Singing and music soothes the soul. You are so right in saying that literally everybody sings whether they think they can or not!
Do you know my song “Do It To Music”? Your message reminded me of it (I often forget about my songs!)
Yes! I listened to all of “Weird” a month or so ago! After I read your reply just now, I re-read the lyrics to “Do It To Music,” and they describe EXACTLY what I do and feel! Singing literally saves me, just like in “Do It To Music!” :)
A couple of days ago, I was listening to Honeycomb by Frank Black. As I made the bed, I sang along to the refrain in the chorus in the title track; that quirky falsetto.
I have a voice that makes Will Oldham sound like Pavarotti, so I limit my public performances. The greatest of these was when I was working at a hospital in the UK, delivering medical records (paper notes were still in use). One November there was a very severe snow storm. All clinics were cancelled and the campus was oddly deserted. I was pushing an enormous cage of crated notes along a corridor that runs the length of the main building. The second floor was mostly admin - only a couple of wards. The acoustics were great, very flattering. I walked from one end to the other, from ENT to Maternity, bellowing Powerslave by Iron Maiden.
First time I remember singing was in 2nd grade when our band teacher taught us that Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” actually has lyrics to it.
I’d like to say a few things…
1. Juliana, I admire your composition. Your words carried me well with your thoughts. I like your articulation, the way you can find or make really interesting conjugations. My fantasy of winning the lottery so I can pay for your one-on-one time just sunk a bit further into the it’ll-never-happen despair when I realized I probably wouldn’t be able to keep much of your attention in an ordinary conversation since you clearly are a couple liters and a turbo faster than me. You’d find yourself holding onto a leash, pulling on every conversational volley I could come up with that would probably do no better than just be dragging behind your way of thinking.
2. I forget
3. XD” Climbing a cylindrical wall”? I don’t know much about dreams, but this seems very revealing. I don’t know how, but if I did, I’d be teasing you so hard right now. Haha
Can "Totally Platonic" make it on an album? or a b-side?
A few weeks ago, (possibly in response to something heard on the radio) I thought about what thing, what activity made me the happiest, and I was quite surprised when I realised that it was actually singing. There's just something so innately joyous about it - using the mundane function of exhaling air to produce something beautiful, something so mood-enhancing for yourself and, possibly, others. In that way, it is, I suppose, the easiest form of creative expression - you don't even have to pick up a pen. The only time I ever sung publicly was during karaoke competitions in the university bar and, though I had always done quite well, that first prize had always eluded me. Then one evening, I did a really good version of 'I Am the Walrus,' (note-perfect - everything went right!) and as I walked back to my friends, the DJ played some of it back (something I couldn't remember him doing before) and I 'heard' myself, as it were, for the first time (like as if it was on the radio) - and it sounded good! This is it, I thought! Finally, I, and a proper song, will prevail! And then Christina, the same damn girl who always won, rocked up and 'treated' us to yet another bloody Whitney Houston octave-a-thon and, you guessed it, I, and The Beatles, were vanquished once more.
TOTALLY platonic!!
Sixth grade school choral group. I have no recollection of how I ended up in there. Lasted one year as I was “liberated” by the clarinet. I did develop a fixation on other people singing around the same time, sixth or seventh grade. I built a Healthkit AM radio (on a small printed circuit board) and listened to Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsberg on WMEX under my covers at night. THAT singing stirred my soul
Long, long ago, my kindergarten report card rated me on "Able to carry a tune" as "Not yet". I must have wanted to prove them wrong and went on to sing in my church choir, my high school glee club and operettas, and now as an adult have close to perfect pitch.
This is such a great article. Another thing we can blame on 18th century Europeans, creating the idea of the concert hall to separate the those who “can” from the those who “can’t.” No one should be denied that joy of singing!
Beautiful testimony/memory/description. It's wonderful to read this.
Hey, maybe if you send Sting a copy of your Police covers LP with a note inviting him to come sing and jam with you, he'll drop by next time he's in your town. It would be...synchronicity!
I sang I guess as soon as I sensed i could, or should, or wanted to...my(not-good) parents mostly discouraged it (sample comment from my father: "do you think that sounds good?"), but at some point I just kinda needed to. My first real inspir-er was the small collection of 8-tracks I was developing from age 4 or 5, which included The Cars, Billy Joel, Steely Dan, The Knack, Donna Summer, The Doobie Brothers, Blondie and REO Speedwagon.
I eventually got better and better, and from then on singing was as fundamental to my personhood as anything has been. My one kinda hangup about it is that I wish I had a more interesting vocal quality; when I think about all the artists I love, all the great bands really, the lead singers have very singular voices, with unique, idiosyncratic aspects, none of which were probably celebrated when they were young but which proved an essential element of their eventual fame and admiration. My voice is kind of straightforward, and I'm not organically given to the little tics and adlibs common to so many artists, things that really elevate a song from great to special.
Also, Jules, PLEASE record "Totally Platonic"! It sounds effin' adorable.
Did you ever get to meet Sting?
I started singing when I was too young to remember. Used to sing all the time. Nothing brought me more joy, and I developed a pretty good ear and voice. Got a full scholarship to a prestigious music program, even. But what I really remember is when I stopped singing. Sometime in my early 30’s. After about a decade working in my “career job” to feed my family had fully crushed my soul. I am nearly 50 now. Never sing anymore. Just ten or so more years of waiting around to die, then I’ll be free.
This is a fantastic observation.