What Are Words Worth? Theme Songs part 2

Two weeks ago I posted about finding my theme song and asked what’s your theme music–what’t the music that gets YOU going and that you identify with.

Unfortunately, at rehearsal on Monday, I found out the Style Network chose the song “Walking on Sunshine” for me. While it’s not a bad song and it certainly wasn’t a song I’d ever choose,  I hammed it up appropriately and danced so convincingly across the stage during the rehearsal that the other women were encouraged to take after me!

Since I had planned on doing a blog post post-conference about my theme music, I am going to anyway–the Style Network might have been able to take away my blond hair (temporarily!), they can’t take away my theme music!

I chose Tom Tom Club for my theme music for the reasons I talk about here, but also because of a video I found two weeks ago (above) and because of an interaction I had with Tina Weymouth.

I have an eclectic fashion style. I have lots of vintage clothes and fun hats and scarves and I enjoy dressing up and going out dancing, to parties or on bike rides.

So when I dressed to go see Tom Tom Club ten years or so ago at the Ventura Theater, I went for a wonderful 60s black mini dress with tight sleeves and amazing long droopy creme handmade lace at the collar and on the ends of the sleeves. I went with chunky heeled ankle boots and a bold black bowler felt hat with a wide velvet band. I loved that outfit and I felt great.

I was having a blast dancing. There weren’t too many people and Tina kept smiling at me and I smiled back. Finally she came over and complimented me on my outfit!

“Yes, it’s vintage,” I remember telling Tina.

“Love the hat, too,” she said, and then she went back to playing.

What a moment for me!

So I was particularly pleased when KCRW started playing  “Tom Tom Club – “Wordy Rappinghood” regularly. It was on their original album released in 1981 and which has been recently re-released in a live version. It made it an even more obvious choice for my theme music.

Searching around for a youtube link to send to the Style Network, I came across the video which tells the story of how “Wordy Rappinghood” came to be.

In the video, Tina and Chris tell the story of how Island Records sent them and their friends and family to the Island to record some music and see if they had an album.  They laid down some tracks for what became this song and sent Tina off to come up with lyrics. They also told her she would be singing (obviously David Byrne usually does the singing for them when they play!)

Tina responded that she wasn’t a singer or a writer. But as she describes in the video, with some help from her sisters, she came up with the question “what are words worth” and a song about that idea.

Next time I feel like I can’t do what I need to do, when I feel like I can’t write, I’m going to watch this video. I can only imagine the voices in her head that told her she couldn’t sing or write–David Byrne is a tough act to follow!

If Tina Weymouth could go from not seeing herself as a writer and singer to coming up with some of my favorite lyrics and songs, what’s stopping me? Or you?

And please share–what’s your theme song? What music do you listen to for inspiration?

Tags: how to find your voice, Tina Weymouth, Tom Tom Club, Wordy Rappinghood back story