Parodies in Music

I love videos such as the one above created by Raamayan Ananda, a man I know from the spiritual community in Vancouver. It addresses GMO's (genetically modified organisms), rather, it is an anti-GMO music video that was created to support Prop 522 for GMO labelling.

This first video entitled "Don't Eat It", a parody to Michael Jackson's (MJ's) "Beat It" with partial imagery of MJ's "Thriller" dance routine, has the following storyline: "GMO executives Have Taken Over the Food Chain, a group of dedicated citizens march to face them off in an epic battle, but something nefarious and unexpected happens..."

The lyrics are as follows:

They Told Them Don't You Ever Grow Around Here
Don't Wanna Eat your food, You Better Disappear
The Fire's In Our Eyes And Our Words Are Really Clear
Don't EAT It

You Better Run, You Better Do What You Can
Don't Want no GMO's, You better ditch your plan
We'll fight you to the end, We're making a stand

Don't EAT, If you wanna stay allivee

(CHORUS)
Don't Eatt it (eat it), don't eat it (eat it)
g-mos will to be defeated!

Show em, its funky, show'em its not right
It DOES matter, who's wrong or right

Don't EAt it..(eat it... eat it... eat it....)
------
(Monsanto Execs Speaking)

We've got the politicians dealing our hand
You've got no right to know what's in your fruit and bread
Be like a good sheep, and just do what 'sam' says
JUST EAT IT

(GMO Activist Speaking)

Were Out To Get You, Better Leave While You Can
Our kids won't be no lab rats in your business plan
You wanna stay alive, Get GMO's Banned

Don't Eat It.... Better Do What You Can!

(Chorus)-

The short video below, "Plastic State of Mind" is a parody of JAY Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind." It is about the ramifications of plastic waste in the form of bags. (Both videos are brilliant in my opinion and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Please feel free to share and circulate them as they are important messages.)



These two videos are an example of only one idea (of many) that I have for my non-traditional, co-creative children's/youth choir. Co-creative in that we get to play with ideas - theirs and mine - in creating our own music, rhythms and yes, even rap.

Rap can be especially effective on matters that are close to one's heart and/or the heartbeat of Mother Earth. The results need not be as sophisticated as these videos and that's totally ok. It's the intent and the words and the message that is important.

What are causes close to your heart? Do you take action on them? If so, how often? Do you or can you do so in a creative or artistic manner?

To Give and Receive

I recently attended Mollie Nye's 100th anniversary on the North Shore in Lynn Valley. There I shared conversation and tea with Jane Thornthwaite, the Liberal MLA for the District of North Vancouver, after having won a new and shiny copper kettle full of bright, autumn-coloured flowers. (See the pot to the right of me.)

The supposed winner of this floral arrangement had missed the call of the draw. I insisted she accept the prize that was meant for her as her number had been drawn. After all, she was busy manning the booth right next to it.

However, since she flatly or politely refused, I graciously accepted her offer. But then did I, really?

When I returned home, I immediately went to my landlady to bestow the gift upon her as I had thought she was sick; her daughter was though so I insisted that they both enjoy it.

It wasn't till a bit later that day when I wondered what message I might be giving to the universe (God), that is, in giving a prize away that I had won and rather quickly too. Was I giving the message that perhaps I wasn't worthy to receive a gift or prize? Or not worth receiving at all? Hmmm.

I realized, or rather relearned that it is truly important to not only give - a great quality of course - but to also receive, and to do so graciously. After all, a giver requires a receiver and vice versa. You cannot have one without the other.

Whether we are speaking about receiving, i.e., accepting the weather (which the forecast initially predicted as rain and cool temperatures, yet later greeted us with bright sun and warmer degrees instead), or serving tea, or winning a gift or prize, it does not matter. The principle applies to all indiscriminately.

Are you willing to give? If so, what are you willing to give? And are you willing to receive? Are you limited to what you will allow yourself to receive?

Part 2: The (Healing) Power of Music

The words I believe that came to me were “The healing power of music” as I listened in stereo sound to the words and music of “Anchor Me” by The Tenors from their album, Lead with Your Heart (www.tenorsmusic.com/music).

The initial few lines reminded me of Josh Groban whose voice I fell in love with back in 2004 over stereo headphones – how could I not?! – with a similar themed song “You Raise Me Up” the first piece of music of his that I heard: WOW!

Here is a rendition of “You Raise Me Up” with Josh singing with the famous African Children’s Choir: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OOhd6R2EiY. (If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend you hear this choir sing live as they are beautiful and amazing fireballs of energy and love.) Here is another version without children http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Beloi9yluaI if you prefer. (I would love for Josh to sing this with David Foster playing piano, especially since David was instrumental in having Josh sing this song in the first place. Both are so talented and musically inspiring.)

It wasn’t till I listened to variations of these two songs a number of times that I realized why they reminded me of each other. In “Anchor Me,” the line “will you come and anchor me” resembles the words and musical notes of “until you come and sit awhile with me” in “You Raise Me Up.” Also, I find these songs similar in nature in their meaning (at least to me) as well as the emotional theme of sadness/despair, and someone – a particular someone – to buoy one’s spirit.

Both had such a powerful effect on me as they both reverberated strongly within my body sweeping an emotional tide of inner strength and confidence.

How do you find these songs affect you?

Part 1: The (Healing) Power of Music

My choir director said singing in choir is like mindfulness. It took me a moment to comprehend her statement - I thought she meant meditation - while contemplating instances where music brings me to the present, to the sheet music, listening to others sing, hearing harmonious notes, and the like as she said, namely being aware and present. (My apologies for this outdated picture; however, it's the one that best captures the essence of this posting!)

I believe that dancing and walking, at times, are my primary forms of meditation. However, I can see that singing can be as well, during choir at least for me, as so often I sing while doing something else. For example, I may sing while I work (more so in past) or walking or bathing. This is why it took me a moment to understand her comment.

I have always loved music, have felt its deep and powerful influence – it’s no wonder I didn’t become a music therapist – as music moves me figuratively and literally, the latter as I have a hard time sitting still while listening to music, whether I am part of an audience or not. My body cannot help but to move while I sit, even if it is only my head nodding slightly or one foot tapping. I question how people can sit like a rock, especially when listening to infectious or contagiously happy music.

Does your body feel inclined to move when you hear music or not? (There is no right or wrong answer here by the way.)

Music moves me emotionally as well, primarily to the two seemingly extreme opposite emotions of joy and sadness. I say that as there is actually a fine line between the two. (One place I experienced this was in David McMurray Smith’s clowning class, www.fantasticspace.com/about.htm). If you haven’t experienced this personally, you probably witnessed it. For instance, young children and infants in particular can cry one moment and then laugh the next, and vice versa.

I have been moved to tears more often than not as a cathartically healing expression of music, sometimes to tears of joy as a result of such exquisite ethereal-sounding music, usually instrumental or classical. At other times lyrics strike a resonant chord within me, especially when they imitate my life which fuels teary eyes.

What I have come to notice over the years is that I tend to, almost always if not always, hear the music first. If I like it – I’m drawn to the beat first and foremost – then I’m inclined to listen to the words. It’s rarely the other way around. Besides, quite often music drowns out the words in songs.

Do you find that you too tend to hear the music before the words in a song?

Music is so healing, isn’t it?

It can be a vehicle for emotional catharsis whether you are releasing or uplifting your spirit. And it is such a collective universal soul experience: one common language we have as a race of people on planet earth.

What types of music do you find healing? Is there a particular genre that soothes and calms you? Settles and grounds you? Inspires you? Buoys your spirit?