Musicians: Autobiographic songs.
Consuelo introduced her guess, Sarah Pritchard Coleman. They have been friends since Sarah was eleven years old. They met in the town of Corvallis.
Sarah is an eclectic woman: musician, writer, singer, actress, teacher - Special Education Teacher of Autistic children in Qatar, at a non-profit Organization.
This morning the show focused on music memoirs, or musical autobiographies. It is almost a subgenre of autobiography.
Consuelo spoke about autobiographies by musicians who have been around at least since the beginning of the professional music industry that use modern marketing techniques as a way to promote music through the persona of the musician.
We started our selection of four songs with John Lennon and his song called "Watching The Wheels, in 1980. "People say I´m crazy doing what I´m doing(...) No longer riding on the merry-go-round, I just had to let it go". Lennon here is talking about leaving the music industry and dedicating himself to his family. His son was just born. Lennon was heavily criticized for his decision.
Sarah as a young girl had her journal. Consuelo asked her if she was still writing in her journal. Sarah, shared with us her experiences with writing since she was younger until today. Sarah recognized her voice as a writer. In spite, of time passing by and becoming a woman she emphasizes her voice is the same. "The voice is not different from the girl I was. However, the subjects of interest have changed. Today, my writing focuses on sociology and psychology". Her experience of living in Qatar, with her husband and daughter "brought to my writing a completely different perspective." "Now, I write for myself. I am the audience. I do not think about publishing". She encouraged our listeners to write their autobiographies as a way of thinking and analyzing their surroundings.
Written word is very much a part of her life. As a young girl she was a hungry reader, Consuelo remembered.
Consuelo mentioned the article written by Anne Lamott, "Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul..." Consuelo commented on this thought talking about our society and the sentiment of isolation. Books, change our lives open our spirits, provide us with knowledge, and open our curiosity.
We follow with our selection of songs. This time is Caught by The Fuzz (Supergrass), in 1995. This song tells us about his experience with the police. Fuzz in argot means "police". Gaz Coombes, leader of the band Brit pop era Supergrass, at age fifteen years old was detained by the police for possession of cannabis. This song is a great example of punk pop, plus a lot of teenage rebellion and a rhythm pretty much addictive.
As a teacher in Qatar, her work is Special Education Teacher with Autistic children. Sarah has done a lot of research and writing. Sarah encourages the parents of autistic children to celebrate small successes and stop comparing them with other children. The advice to their parents is to read about it, become knowledgeable, and see where it takes you.
Consuelo asked Sarah about the autobiography "Holy Land by Laureen Booth". The author a UK citizen tells her conversion to Islam. As a journalist and Tony Blair's sister-in-law, she had several opportunities to learn about the reality of Palestinians. Sarah follows Booth´s experience talking about her struggles, and challenges. Sarah asked herself about "inclusion or inclusivity". What does it mean? She wants society to open the door and our minds to all kinds of groups of people and thoughts. Bringing in people from varied backgrounds and considering various perspectives. Our own identity is crucial to understanding who we are. She identifies herself as a Western. She was born in the USA. She spent her childhood and college years in Oregon.
"It is not necessary to cut from our past". Consuelo, added, "We are our past. We bring our past with us and we accumulate new experiences and challenges". Suddenly, Sarah mentions her first international trip to Chile. She was fourteen years old when she visited Chile. Her narrative is interesting because Chile was still under Pinochet´s dictatorship. Seeing the military on the street with their arms, staying with people who politically had a completely different view from her family and Consuelo´s political view of her country. It was a terrific experience. At fourteen years old, she remembered "it was a touchstone experience for me". She did not value it at that time but, later on, she decided she wanted to live abroad. Consuelo laughed and said: "From Chile to Qatar is a long way".
Another song about own experiences is Bad Reputation by Joan Jett, from 1981. The lyrics of the song say "I don´t give a damn about my bad reputation"! Without any doubt, this is one of the most remarkable rock hymns of all time. In 2015, she was admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
At the end of our show, we have the song written by Ringo Starr, The Other Side of Liverpool, from 2010. Ringo's words "The other side of Liverpool is cold and damp. Only way out of there, drums, guitar, and amp". Consuelo added " Books, books, and more books".
It was an eclectic show talking about several subjects, including religion, poetry, music, and autobiography. We had an interesting conversation with our caller, who promised to share his autobiographical poems next time.
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- KBOO