Wise ole' Johnny Cash

Blaring from the car radio today was that characteristic dum ta da dum ta da dum bass line you hear in many Johnny Cash songs. Then that thick, flat, splayed out voice boomed, unmistakably Johnny. I'd never heard this song before (not really being a JC fan), but it really struck me as great wisdom. The song was 'Get Rhythm' and the lyric holds so true: 'Get rhythm, when you get the blues'! Go Johnny! One of the best things you can do if you're depressed is put on some music and start dancing! Bang on some pots and pans; make weird rhythms with your voice; use your body as a percussion instrument! To get yourself out of that blue funk, try singing! Even if you think you can't do jazz 'scat' singing, put on a jazz instrumental CD and sing along, pretending your voice is a trumpet, a bass, or even drums! It's all about having fun, and getting your mind off your problems. Remember that singing and dancing releases endorphins, and endorphins make you feel good! So even if you're not a fan of good old Uncle Cash, pay attention to his lyric and 'Get rhythm, When You Get the Blues!' Want more Tips on how to live more fully, sing like nobody's listening, and have a healthy voice for Life? Get my Voicegram Newsletter, Blissential Buzz, and FREE Voice Tonic Recipe!

Cheers, Beth Lawrence http://allaboutvoice.com

Remembering Michael Jackson

  

After seeing "This Is It" I was left with conflicted feelings and an overall sadness.  in the film, Michael Jackson is both brilliant, and at times, artistically incoherent.  At 50 he is still a more talented dancer than the  ensemble cast 1/2 his age.  He  was mesmerizing, yet failed to connect with his audience on an authentic level.  In life he was meek and soft spoken, while onstage he was a raging tornado of ambiguous, androgenus sex.  Beloved as a child megastar, we watched him morph into  a ghoulish character; fragile and troubled, who had legions of sycophants, but not a single trusted friend near him when he died.  He was a driven perfectionist, putting himself on a self-proclaimed 'King of Pop' pedestal from which he was doomed to fall.  Icons like Michael Jackson are destined to self-destruct because they simply can't live up to an inflated image that is never supported by a fulfilled, and filled life.

Looking at Michael Jackson's last swan song  was bittersweet, for not only did we see, after many years absence, a trendsetting artist making a remarkable comeback, but we witnessed the end of a life, the stilling of a voice that made us dance as we grew up together.  We look at 'Stars' and think that they have everything.  Michael Jackson was just another in a long line of megastars that were caught in an existence without grounded reality or inner substance.   Watching MJ, I couldn't help but mourn that darling, sparkling little boy who had such a bright future ahead of him., but who instead became a victim of the isolation and darkness that so often comes with fame.  I'm choosing to remember Michael as that uncorrupted kid, still fresh and untainted by a dream gone wrong.