Mood changing music

Wake up with Vintage Vinyl.

Generally my blogs follow a standard pattern: I come up with an idea for a show, I write about the show, and then it’s posted before the show. I admit I was bad this week and slacked off on writing about tonight’s show (Wednesday the 1st) but recent events have inspired me to jot a little something down.

Part of the reason I slacked on writing a blog is because this semester is kicking… my… ass. For real. I consider myself someone who is good at school since I get high grades and feel an infinite amount of guilt for not going to class, even if I’m disgustingly sick. I’m usually really good at staying on top of assignments and readings, and my planner is always filled with due dates, appointments, test dates, and so on. That being said, this semester is already giving me a run for my money. For one thing, I have always thought spring semester is way more difficult than fall. Maybe it’s just me, but I always feel more motivated to get things done when the year is winding down. Anyhow, the point I’m trying to make here is that I have been stretched to a new level of thinness and, like the say, “Something’s gotta give.”

Today was probably the hardest day yet. It was one of those days that I woke up feeling totally ready to go, and as the day wore on I just got exhausted. I mean, it was to the point that my choir director asked in the middle of rehearsal “Emily, what’s wrong?” to which I replied “I’m just… tired.” A later glance in the mirror explained his concern; I looked like I hadn’t slept in weeks.

So after a day of literally nonstop classes from 8 in the morning until 3, a KJHK meeting at 5:15, and knowing my show was tonight at 10, I had to make a decision: get things done and run myself ragged or take a nap? I went with the nap. When I woke up at 8, all I wanted was to sleep. I weighed the pros and cons of just staying in bed, and after a minute of deliberation I got up. I walked zombie-like upstairs to the kitchen and got a huge glass of water. I sat at the computer doing online jigsaw puzzles in an attempt to get my mind active. 8:45 came and I still wanted to crawl back in bed. Realizing that my haggard appearance wasn’t helping matters, I jumped in the shower to try and wake up. The hot water was putting me to sleep.

At this point it was 9. Exactly. I knew I needed to just.. keep.. going.. so I sat down by my boxes of records and started pulling things I wanted to play. I figured that I would do a sort of spring show, since this weather has been so gorgeous, and something amazing happened. As I started flipping through 45s and reading titles, I could hear the songs in my head (which isn’t a new occurrence by any means), but this time something was happening. With each song I put in the box, my mood was elevating. My attitude was better. I was waking up and dare I say it, I was growing excited to jam records on the air. By the time I had finished I felt completely perked up and ready to take on the world.

With this new sense of confidence in myself, I realized that music has such an amazing capacity to change someone’s mood. You know when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and everything pisses you off, and you hear an obnoxious song on the radio? For me at least, that has the power to practically throw me into a rage. Conversely, when you’re having a rough day and the world has kicked you down, hearing that one awesome song can change the course of the rest of your day. That’s what happened with me tonight, and I was reminded of how thankful I am for the opportunity to share my music with you all.

So thank you again to all my listeners out there. You make what I do worthwhile. And keep it locked!

by emily scholle
tune in to vintage vinyl every wednesday night from 10 p.m. to midnight