Thursday, February 21, 2008

Music Makes the People Come Together

It's very quiet where I work. It might even be much more quiet in the building where I work with about 3000 (literally) other people than it was when I worked from home by myself all day.

Oh sure, there's some noise. Someone the other side of the enormous room that I cannot see honks very loudly when he blows his nose. At least I hope it's a "he". There is a constant hum and murmur of voices talking quietly broken by the occasional cough, sneeze or laugh.

I mostly don't mind it, but I've already had a few moments when I've been tempted stand up from my chair so fast that it rolls backwards and bangs into my credenza, raise my open arms to the sky, or the dropped foam ceiling, and burst into song. Possibly including a little modern interpretive dance number where I gyrate all sexy-like.

Especially because the man in the cubicle next to mine has a name that makes me think of a song every time I hear it. I want to butcher his name with music. He's a nice man who has been very helpful and supportive of me during my first week of work there. He's an older man who has worked at this company for almost 30 years. His oldest child is the same age as me.

I find myself humming the song or singing it under my breath when he answers his phone, so cheerfully, "Hello! This is So & So!" Still, I don't know that he would appreciate me singing

Hey Mister D.J.
Put a record on
I wanna dance with my baby
Do you like to boogie-woogie
Do you like to boogie-woogie
Do you like to boogie-woogie
Do you like my Acid Rock?


at top volume, like I want to do, in his sweet, silver haired, old man face.

I don't even like Madonna that much, but his name demands that this song should be sung. In his face.


I'm a singer. Did you know that?


I sing constantly. In the shower, in the car, in the kitchen, this house is constantly filled with noise. My noise. My singing. I didn't realize just how often I was singing until I chose to go to a place every day where it really isn't appropriate to make noise all day. People are trying to work. It's very serious.

Which, naturally, makes me want to sing Big Noise From Winettka at full volume.

BTW - My best friend Amy is also a constant singer. She's really good at changing the words to songs. Most recently when I was down for a visit she was spouting out that old Ace of Base song All That She Wants Is a Baked Potato. Catchy, eh?

Another of my favorites for you Who fans out there:
Welcome back my friends to the butt that never ends
We're so glad you could attend
Come inside, come inside
You have to use inward waving hand motions with this one for the "come inside" part.

23 comments:

WendyB said...

The Who should rerecord that song. Your version is much better than the original.

- said...

my mother loves to make inward waving hand motions when she dances.

that is all.

Anonymous said...

I work in an office of 450 now and that place is so quiet. Coming from the noisy din I used to work at, I find the quiet rather nice. I just have to watch the volume when I have my tunes on.

Tara said...

Singing helps reduce stress. I hum or whistle at work and then break out my singing voice in the car, at home, sometimes at the grocery store (it's their fault they have some good music playing sometimes) and of course in choir. There's always a song stuck in my head that I have to sing.

Keep on singing!

Gwen said...

There's a gal who sits next to me at work and her name rhymes with "Flava Flave." I have to bite my tongue to keep from yelling, "Yeah, boyyyyy!" every time she answers the phone.

dmarks said...

I love both The Who and ELP... but "Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends" is ELP. If the Who covered it, I'd sure love to hear it!

Unknown said...

The inward hand waving usually works, unless you are in a fancy club in Ny, then you need to gesture with your middle fingers. I love The Bette. My dh sings all the time around the house but won't do karaoke. Something wrong with that.

Anonymous said...

I'm not so sure this working outside the home is for you.?

SkylersDad said...

Could you do me a favor and install a web cam if you plan on gyrating all sexy-like?

Thank you.

Claire said...

I agree with WendyB. I'm also a constant singer, and a few years ago, we hired a guy whose name could be perfectly sung to "Hey! Macarena!" That guy's been gone forever now, but I still sing the name whenever it pops up in a report.

Linka72 said...

I WISH it WAS quiet where I work..people here have NO problem with the "interpretive dance" thing here..I call it Song Tourette's"..I swear, just last week my co-worker (a seemingly straight, married man) burst out with "Ya betta shape up..cuz I NEED a man, and my heart is set on yoooo"
and yes, almost like we were stuck in a bad episode of FAME, the whole cube farm shot back: "You're the one that I want!!! ooh ooh ooh...Talk about awkward..

BeckEye said...

I'm also a constant singer. Most of my conversations consist of someone saying something and me answering back with a lyric or movie quote. Yep, I annoy people.

I've been singing that song from Hairspray, "Welcome to the '60s" all day because I recently used it in a blog post. I kind of wish I were a man so I could dress up in drag and do it justice.

minijonb said...

i don't sing that much... but when a song gets in my head, i need to have it surgically removed.

Anonymous said...

I should sing to you one day my butchered rendition of "Paradise by the dashboard lights". It's fantastic.

Quiet one said...

I can't stand quiet work places, makes me nervous. I'm not a singer,though, I'm a dancer. Scary, yes, but I like it.

Churlita said...

My daughter's like that. once when she was singing at home, I asked her if she did that at school. She replied, "Not anymore..."

Chris the Hippie said...

Occasionally I'll be in the middle of a conversation when the other person will say a word that will flick my little brain off into another dimension where it HAS to finish the entire chorus of the song.

For example, if someone utters the word "phenomenon" to me, I won't hear another word they say until my brain is done singing the Manamana song from Sesame Street all the way through to the end. The word "mystery" sparks off a Frank Zappa song (Titties and Beer). "Bathroom" will have me humming CCR's There's a Bad Moon Rising half the day ("There's a bathroom on the right...")

Anonymous said...

That's not a Who song lady...it's an Emerson, Lake, and Palmer song. I'm a singer too....bet you never knew that. Just a casual word mentioned by someone sets a lyric off in my head, then it's stuck there all day long!

Leonesse said...

Damn you Mr. Radloff, now I have that song going through my head.

manamana dododooodododooo manamana

The Lady Who Doesn't Lunch: said...

WendyB - I had no idea it wasn't The Who, but either way the "butt" version is better

Player - I am old enough to be your mother, but I only make those hand waving motions when I'm singing the not Who Come Inside the Butt song.

Evil - I don't have speakers for my computer and bringing in a radio seems a little presumptuous at the moment, but I may bring one in anyway.

Tara - it must be true because I am the most laid back lady ever and I sing A LOT.

Gwen - there are some people who you can sing at, but it's hard to tell who they are by looking at them. And the ones you want to sing at the most are probably the ones who would be wht most offended it seems.

Dmarks - I get confused about songs and bands from that era.

AGT - Miss Bette is on my mind because I'm so excited to go see her in Las Vegas. MDH has got some special VIP thingy for us. (Scream!!!)

SRU - It is totally for me. I was the loneliest bitch. I'm a people who needs people. My coworkers are simply going to have to tolerate a little show tune now and then.

Skydad - I'm sorry. No.

CDP - That would be a really great name butchering song!! Upbeat and annoying enough to be kind of funny.

Linka - you work in IT support (right?) where it's NEVER quiet. I used to do that too, but at least my coworkers were just as noisy as me. We all entertained each other.

Beckeye - it's like I can't control myself, and even if nobody else is laughing it makes me so happy. And that's what's really important.

Minijon - If you sing them out loud I think your chances of them going away faster are improved.

Suze - that's one of my husbands favorites too! Especially the "Let me sleep on it" part. He sings that while he's getting ready for bed.

Michelle - I'll get used to it. I guess a lot of people have been on vacation, which has contributed to the hush.

Churlita - I was way too shy in school to sing except in choir.

Chris - that is a very catchy tune and it's easy to dance around all muppet crazy to it too. - now I'm singin' it. It's going to be a fun day.

Frenchie - you will be consulted the next time I write about a song or band from that era. I'm so lame when it comes to QFM96 playlists. All these years, I swear I thought it was the Who.

Leo - I know! Now I'm doing it too.

- said...

you're old enough to be my mother, but i love my mother very much, so that's ok lol

rak said...

I LOVE the visuals that this brought! I bet you're gonna get really tired of that song "hey mr. dj"... just a hunch. Also, I REALLY HOPE that you do in fact bust out in song someday... I picture the "quiet" banging down the door to your voice box until one day they just kick it down and out comes SONG!!!

paperback reader said...

Dance moves are crucial. Not for me, of course, but for people who can dance.