Sunday, March 15, 2009

my inner rock star


I don't know if this is true for everyone, but there is just something about music that has such a strong influence on me.

When I'm sad, a song can pick me up. Or make me cry. Or just make me feel good inside.

I love to sing it loud in the car. And I love to belt out a tune in the shower, which has that amazing acoustic effect of actually making me sound good. And I love to grab a wooden spoon out of the drawer in the kitchen to use for my mic and put on a little lip sync act if a good song comes on the radio while I'm cooking dinner.

So, you can only imagine how happy I was this weekend when I got to release my inner rock star.

I got to go away for the weekend for a conference for Discovery Toys consultants. We were each assigned to a team, represented by a color. Our first task was to choose a name for our team, an outfit and come up with a song, slogan or cheer based on our company tagline: teach play inspire.

Our team was green, so we decided to be the green goddesses. One of our team captains had brought along a green dress, so we appointed her as our chief goddess and the rest of us, dressed in green crowns and accessories, frolicked around her, waving green streamers and making noise with a recorder, tamborine, egg shakers, etc.

It took a lot of teamwork, but we were able to come up with a chant and a dance routine that was a bit of synchronized swimming meets the Hokey Pokey.



Our next task was even more challenging.

At the end of the weekend, we had to come up with 15 tips we had learned and then present them either as a song, skit or story.

Our brains were fried after a long day of sitting in a conference room. So, I turned on a CD with a collection of dance music.

When we heard Last Dance by Donna Summer, we knew it was our song. The song has a dramatic beginning where Donna sounds pretty down and out. We composed a song about a Discovery Toys consultant who is in the dumps because her business isn't going well. As the song picks up in pace, all of the back-up singers cheer her up, singing "Let's Dance" and shouting their tips to the music.

I was so happy that the other ladies "let" me be the lead singer. This could be because I couldn't keep from bursting into song and dance as soon as I heard this song. I mean, seriously, who can resist when Donna starts singing the "ooooo-ooooo-oo-ooooooooooo, oo-oo-oo" at the beginning?

Last Dance is a favorite tune in our home. It's one of the songs on the CD that we use as our "housecleaning music". This is a collection of songs that includes my favorites, Make it Happen and All Star as well as some other great cleaning songs like Love Shack, Kung-Fu Fighter (the rap version), Car Wash and Boogie Wonderland.

When my 4-year-old daughter hears Last Dance, the housecleaning stops because she breaks into a dramatic dance and I can't help but join her. We've had enough practice that we have all of the words memorized and have perfected our Donna Summer dance moves.

It's funny, but this weekend when we did our little Last Dance, I felt like I was depriving all of the other women of getting up in front of a room full of their peers and doing a Donna Summer act. In reality, they were probably all relieved that they didn't have to make fools of themselves, and I was so willing to do it.

I can't explain or make excuses for this lip syncing diva who lives inside of me. But when she comes out, it is usually a ton of fun. I love it when everyone is laughing. I'm not sure if they are laughing at me or with me. But everyone is happy. And my inner rock star gets a moment to shine.

Does anyone else have an inner rock star? And if you do, what song makes you want to grab a mic and dance? Are you more of a car singer, a shower crooner, a kitchen dancer or would you sing and dance in public (regardless of lack of talent)?




9 comments:

Jenny-Jenny said...

Definately, Jenny-Jenny who can I turn to. But Love Shack is right up there. Also...anything by the Four Lads. I love them. No one knows who they are anymore. I love them. Oh... and show tunes, which almost everyone else in the house refuses to have on when they are home. And Xanadu..NO ONE will listen to that with me. I'm a lone girl in a Rock 'n Roll home.

Sarah said...

I sing in the car when I'm alone. That isn't often, of course. I've learned to sing in the car with other people in it.

I have a habit of singing "Let it Snow" during the first snow. I think I embarrass the kiddos, but eventually they sing along with me.

Lara said...

Yep, there are definitely some tunes that bring it out in me more than others. I hadn't realized how true this was until I was painting the bathroom this weekend to the sound of Abba. "Take a Chance On Me" is absolutely one of my favorites to belt out. So imagine my surprise when my voice came echoing (loudly) back at me in that empty room. Didn't stop me though, nor the fact that my daughter and her friend were playing in the next room (I have no idea what they thought of the ruckus I was raising).

everydayMOM said...

I love hearing your favorite songs!

Xanadu?!?! Just hearing the name of that song makes me smile. I haven't thought of that song in so long.

And "Take a Chance on Me"? Another good one that I really didn't like as a kid, but would love to hear now. So funny!

I literally spent hours as a kid making up a dance routine to "Love will keep us together". I need to add that one to my mix CD, too!

Jenny-Jenny said...

I love your blog and your comments on mine. You crack me up and I always hope to see a comment from you! Thank you! (I gauge my self worth on comment count you know.) Thanks for the extra dose of self esteem :)

Anonymous said...

ANYTHING from Janet Jackson's Control album. Whenever I hear one of those songs it takes me way back to the place I swore I never wanted to go again...high school. What about ABBA...you can't go wrong with Dancing Queen, although, I'm more of a dancing palsey. What's that saying? Dance like no one's watching you!
Emily, you rock!
:)Lynn

Anonymous said...

When I travel alone in the car I belt out tunes! Usually have them cranked too! (hides my voice better that way!) Sometimes it's rock, sometimes country & sometimes I even go back to some heavy metal (a little Ozzy can go a long way to cure a funk), sometimes Alannis too... really depends on the mood & if anyone is around... I haven't 'released my inner rock star' for awhile tho... hmmm... I have the house to myself for most of the day tomorrow... hmmm... time to dig out some tunes!
Thanks Emily!
Laurel

everydayMOM said...

Lynn, Dancing Queen... I forgot we had that one on one of our other playlists. The little dancing queen in our house love that one, as well. Oh... and Ms. Janet... I do need to find that CD. Nothing brings back more high school memories than that one!

Laurel, I hope you got to spend some time with your inner rock star!

Jenny, You're so funny... thanks for coming back! I was thinking you should change your husband's name to "Baby, you CAN drive my car" since he loves his bike so much. =]

Unknown said...

You did a GREAT job, btw. You were definately the right person for to sing lead!

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