music saves

Music, as defined in one of the coolest tattoos I‘ve seen, is the "sounds used to symbolically recreate human biological rhythm."

I love thinking about that definition because it reminds me of that feeling you get when you hear a song that truly moves you. You’re transported, you fill with this indescribable feeling of completeness. I assume that it’s the same feeling the religious experience at church. Everything makes sense, if only for the moment.

This weekend, I was lucky enough to catch two documentaries during the Florida Film Fest about the power of music to help people heal, find their inner strength, bridge the gaps that isolate us and enjoy life to the fullest.

Young@Heart will probably be the best film I see all year, or at least the most genuinely moving and the funniest. The British documentary follows the seven weeks preceding the Young@Heart chorus’ May 2006 performance of “Alive and Well.” The average age of chorus members is 80, but you’d never know that from the vivaciousness of its stars.

Eileen, a feisty 92-year-old British woman, opens the film with her solo performance of The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” It’s a perfect scene, and it sets the tone for the whole show.

In rehearsals, Bob, who leads the chorus, attempts to teach the group songs from The Talking Heads, Sonic Youth and Allen Toussaint. It’s hilarious. And it’s also extremely heartfelt. The chorus members invite the film crew into their lives. We meet their families, see them at home and learn how many of them have survived illnesses that brought them close to death. But then, they’re old and fully aware that they’re living close to death every day.

These people live to sing and perform. In fact, I think it keeps some of them alive. There’s a lot I wish I could say about the film, but I firmly believe it’s best to know as little as possible about a movie before you see it. I will say that I won’t listen to Coldplay’s “Fix You” the same again, and I’m better for it.

On the other side of the age spectrum, there’s Girls Rock!, a documentary about the Portland girls camp that invites 8 to 18-year-olds to learn an instrument, join a band and perform in front of 700 people – all in one week.



Similar to Young@Heart, Girls Rock! introduces the audience to people who are fans of music but are ultimately unaware of the life-affirming impact it will play in their lives. These are young girls of course, and as the filmmaker points out, they are battling the media images of Britney and other scantily clad video vixens who make it nearly impossible to feel significant or even just good enough.

The camp counselors, who seem like some of the coolest girls you’d want to meet, help the girls find their voices, literally. I completely related to one of the admin ladies who said girls are always apologizing for their opinions and the space they take up – something our male counterparts do not. So the campers are encouraged to scream into microphones, talk through the problems they’re having with their new bandmates and … well … rock.

There are so many moments in both of these films that are hilarious because they capture the genuine innocence and honesty only kids and elderly folks allow you to see. Music saved me as a young girl, and I think it's going to keep me alive as part of the AARP crowd, too.