The Radio Decision

At first I wanted to get an mp3 player. I feel like I’m the last person in North America without one anyway, and then I could listen to the music I like while I twirl. But I have this little radio that clips to my belt and holds 10 preset channels. With the press of a button I switch through the preset stations (there are about 10 stations in Vegas that I listen to anyways). Turns out, I’ve found several benefits to using the radio while I twirl.

First, it connects me to “the crowd.” While I realize that a lot of people probably don’t listen to regular radio in the car (they’ve got their own mp3s, sat radio, CDs, etc.) and there are several popular stations for the regular radio listeners to tune in to, I’m sure someone out there is listening to the same station as me. And I like to imagine that once in a while someone is waiting at a light, listening to a song on the radio, and they see my graceful twirl followed by a slow double point forward…and it clicks. “Hey, look, she must be listening to 94.1 too! She’s twirling along with the song. Let’s see if she twirls faster when the next song comes on. Yep! Ooops, the light is green!” And since I’ve noticed I tend to get a lot of “repeat” customers (they drive past more than once), maybe when that driver passes by the other direction, they will look through the traffic to see if I’m still listening to that station and they will wonder “what’s her sign for anyway?”

Secondly, it lets me dream. Sometimes I’ll see a radio station’s van drive by, and I’ll imagine that they notice me spinning along with their broadcast and they’ll stop and next thing I know I’m backstage at a concert, getting interviewed on air…. If I see a limo, I wonder if maybe Fergie is in town for a concert and for some reason has wandered quite a bit off the Las Vegas Strip, and when she sees me twirling Big Girls Don’t Cry she’s sure to tell the driver to pull over…. Who knows? Maybe she'll decide to put some sign dancing in her next video (you'll know who to thank)!

Third, I like the radio because it keeps things spontaneous. Between 10 channels, it’s rare for no music to be on. Occasionally I may not like any of the music that’s on, but there’s always another song on soon! Time goes by fast with the radio. Sometimes I’ll feel like taking a break, but a good song will be on. And then another. And then I’ll check the other channels quickly and find another good song. When I finally force myself to go on break, I’ll realize there’s only an hour left on my shift!

Sometimes I’ll hear the DJ promise 10 in a row coming up, and it’ll be a challenge to switch channels during the commercials and try to make it back to that station for the 10 in a row. There’s the thrill of gambling, because you never know if there’s a better song on another station. There’s nothing worse than twirling to a song that’s just okay, then changing the channel and hearing the last 15 seconds of a really great song. But when I hit that button and an awesome song has just started…Jackpot!!

It’s fun to hear songs that I’ve basically forgotten exist! And then to sing along with every word! Or listen to songs that I knew as a kid, and only now I understand all the words and realize the meaning that I never really thought about before. It also helps me think of songs that I want to download. And it’s fun to listen for patterns. Like in one day, I heard 4 or 5 different Prince songs (he’s had a lot of really great hits!). Since then, the most in one day has been 2. And I don’t know when the last time before I started twirling I heard “American Pie” was, but since I started they play it fairly often, and I have a new appreciation for it. Which brings me to my fourth reason.

The songs I might have on my mp3 player may not be the best twirling songs. My favorite songs tend to be good to sing along with, but a good twirling song is something different. Songs that I never liked, the ones that were (and probably are still) standards for school dances and wedding receptions, are great for sign dancing. In the car I will quickly change the channel if Mony Mony or Shout is playing. But on the corner, I can finally appreciate these classics.