When you get out of your car and walk into your home or office, chances are you are going to be humming, whistling, or at least thinking about the song you just heard while you were driving. But how does one explain, say, when you are getting out of bed in the morning and, all of a sudden, “Georgy Girl” (The Seekers – Georgy Girl-1968) pops into your head?
A music bed is the music you hear on television and radio programs or videos. No quite a soundtrack, a music bed is more routine; it’s what you hear at the opening and closing of programs just before or after advertisements, or during voiceovers. It is not to be confused with “musical beds,” which I learned doing some research for this page, is a slang term for the practice of having casual sex with multiple partners in short succession.
I think our lives have a sort of music bed. At least mine does. It seems somehow I always have some song going on in the back of my mind. Mostly I’m not aware of it. But it’s there. I know it’s there. And what music bubbles up into my consciousness is often as spontaneous and inexplicable as the weather. It might be “Georgy Girl” when I wake up in the morning and “Ave Maria” (Pavarotti – Ave Maria – Schubert) when I’m brushing my teeth at night.
As spontaneous and inexplicable as it seems, I tend to think there’s some grand scheme going on in our lives over which we have no control. And the songs seem to spring to mind to make us think about where we are in our lives, what we need to do or get out of. The songs are like messages from our unconscious, smoke signals from the gods.
I’ll be making occasional posts on this site, offering up the songs that come to mind and some sort of exploration of why. Songs will include links—when available and when it seems appropriate—to youtube.com, various music sites, and others.
Got something—er some song—on your mind? Email me and let me know.