Don't Sing it again, Sam - Jadey Dragon reporting

This week’s review starts out with a question. A question every lover of live music in SL needs to really ask themselves. Are we expecting too much? I took some time from my usual busy schedule to step into a world I had been avoiding for quite some time. One of those “open mic” nights where anyone and their furry can grab a stream, and let it rip. I dread going to these because let’s face it; we’re going to end up hearing a whole lot of sounds that resemble cats being murdered slowly and painfully. I wasn’t disappointed when the shrieking began. I was down to my last nerve when the woman holding the mic began to tell her story.

“My grandmother is dying. It’s a slow process and the only comfort she or I have found is in song, and so I sing. I sing for her, and for me, and I turned on my mic to sing for anyone else who just needs to know someone is there, and maybe my song will bring you back to a fond memory in time that you can focus on.”

Another singer, who was just as cringe worthy as the last, sat down one late night to tell me his story.
“ I am in a marriage that seems dead.. for 16 years I haven't had relations with my wife.. most of it is my fault, But It's weird sleeping on a sofa for so long..” he went on to tell the same story many of us know by heart. How SL is his escape, how he can be a rockstar and travel the world touring and meeting people from all over the globe.

A couple years ago Ashford University did a study on music and the brain. I could get into all the specifics of dopamine and how research has shown that listening to music is associated with upticks in immunity-boosting antibodies and cells that protect against bacteria and other invaders, but do you really need to hear all that?

The question I posed is “are we expecting too much?” Does the sound really matter once you hear the story behind it? Can you overlook the nails-down-a-chalkboard sound when you know that behind their screaming is someone’s dream coming true. Or someone else’s broken heart finding a mend in a melody.

For me the answer is … NO FRIGGIN WAY! I love the stories, I love the over sharing. I love hearing why you do what you do in SL. But I have to ask another question, why don’t you have any real friends? People who sit you down and gingerly tell you that the songs you sing may be classified as many things, but “singing” isn’t one of them. Sometimes I show up to these concerts and I look around for the hazard sign because I’m certain what you think is singing has to be a danger to someone’s health, some where!
Look, I’m all for finding your passion in SL. Take a cooking class, learn to paint by numbers, go on a hunt, pose naked with your friends in front of a taco truck. I don’t care what you do, but for the love of bacon, stop turning on your stream and slaughtering “Purple rain” I beg of you!

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