Jesse Sample’s Freak of the Week Airs EVERY WEDNESDAY at 5pm EASTERN ONLY on RadioRadioX.com
This is Jesse Sample. Today, I got a little math on my mind. 24 times 7 is 168. 168 times 52 is 8,736. 8,736 times 80 is 698,880. That’s around the number of hours the average American gets in one lifetime. Some folks get more and some folks get much less. It’s an average, but seeing that number makes me think. Damn, that’s it? My whole romantic and interesting story takes place in around that many hours? All my problems, heartbreaks, triumphs and greatest love exist in this relatively small amount of time. And within that, we gotta knock off around a third to account for sleep. Damn.
When confronted with the fact that I’ve already spent a heavy fraction of these hours, I feel a need to check in and make sure I’m getting the most out of the experience. It seems clear, that I should always spend the money, and get that great mattress. That good sleep pays dividends. I’ve eaten almost everything that has been offered to me, and I have never not finished a beer. I’m good about saying what I need to say to my family and friends when it’s poignant. I love hard and sincerely and freely laugh and cry in communion with my people. The match is lit under my black denim clad ass to make as many rock albums as I can before I exit into that great question mark. But still, I don’t know. Will these things be enough to qualify my life as well-lived?
The Spanish word for “fun”, is “divertido.” It shares a Latin root with the word “divert” as in to “turn one’s mind away.” Yeah, that makes sense and there are industries built on this instinct. But I pose, what if we brought the word fun to bear on the most important things in life? Making something fun, gives it life and excitement. I do better work when things are alive and exciting. Making things fun is a way to enrich these precious few hours we get. Laughter can turn some really challenging times into gold.
This week, Ben Zoleski gave the prompt. He said, “Make it Funky!” Rosa and I, being the fun-loving folks, we are, accepted the challenge and went to work. Jim Dooley from Jimdooley.net provided some funky drum tracks and Rosa and I started writing parts and laying tracks. We put down guitars, vocal tracks and keys, and fired the project off to Ben. This morning, Ben, popped and slapped and laid down that mean groove. Rosa just finished the final mix and master.
And as I reflect on this week’s process, I notice that the word “Fun” appears in “Funky.” And I smile, because we had a lot of fun making this week’s track.
Thanks to all of you tuned into RadioRadioX. This is the Freak of the Week, “FunBoy.”
