Play On
“If music be the food of love, play on.”
I’ve been re-reading Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare this weekend, and it really is one of my favorite plays. Maybe because it features twins Olivia and Sebastian, adorable creatures like my own twin daughters. It also addresses the interplay between power and love, using the always-entertaining Shakespearean construct of mistaken identity.
Shakespeare and twins, Viola and Sebastian
The twins, Viola and Sebastian, immediately find those who are drawn to help and protect them after a shipwreck (another favorite Shakespearean construct), just like my own two beautiful twins. Viola must disguise herself as a man to help Orsino woo Countess Olivia, and Sebastian is befriended by Antonio, who accompanies him to the city and cares for him.
Music, including love songs, is another prevalent part of the play, right from the beginning line, where Orsinio says, “If music be the food of love, play on.” Music, like Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, often speaks to the interplay of love and power.
My college years, those days where I was trying to figure out my place in the world, was filled with music. That idyllic time of widening horizons, meeting new people, thinking new thoughts, eating new foods, and experiencing new emotions, is punctuated by the music of the era. Whether it was because we listened to it half-delirious from staying up all night talking and studying, or just because of our young age and open hearts, that music struck us to the core and never left.
We couldn’t get enough of R.E.M., Dreams So Real, 10,000 Maniacs, and U2, among others. R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs played on campus several times during my four years of higher learning, and they even played together - it was a treat to hear Natalie Merchant and Michael Stipe singing live on the same stage. I was wearing a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers t-shirt that night (see what I mean about being struck to the core and never forgetting?)
My favorite band from those years was a local band called The Connells. To say I was a superfan is putting it mildly, so to speak. Driving guitars, minor-key led chord progressions, aching vocals and beautiful harmonies gave their music an ancient flavor while fitting perfectly in that college radio band lane.
We often saw them play at a local bar called Cat’s Cradle (on Franklin Street at that time), and my favorite song was the Scottish-inspired, “Scotty’s Lament.” I apologize right now to my roommates who were forced to listen to that song all of the day and all of the night for the better part of a year. Since I’m apologizing, I also apologize to my eardrums for subjecting them to Walkman volume on 10 those days when I spared my roommates from the boombox.
Click on the video link below - you will be transported to the late 1980s!
The Connells played for several years, but then, like many of us, abandoned dreams of artistic pursuits in favor of more stable jobs and raising families in the suburbs. (There are lots of blog posts that could be written on that subject, but I digress).
The muse has returned to The Connells, who released a new album this year, after a 20-year hiatus (or disappearance). The album is called “Steadman’s Wake,” and although more introspective than the early records, it transported me right back to the era of college radio bands.
Take a listen.
And if music be the food of love, play on.
Do you have any favorite music memories? Does music transport you to a past place or time in your life?
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