Videos, But First Some Dreaming

Though some people may find it hard to believe, I was impressionable once upon a time. I remember being in sixth grade, and the teacher, the-one-and-only Miss Henion (then), came up with this idea of our class doing a dance number to The Human League’s “The Things That Dreams Are Made Of.” Of course, at first, everyone grumbled, especially the boys who did not want to hit the last note in the line, “Take a cruise to China…” But in days, the song started to really resonate in my young mind. On one level, it opened the world of synthpop to me, so I have to give credit to my sixth grade teacher among the few that really molded my taste in music. But on another level, it was the actual words: “…like fun and money and food and love and things you never thought of…” At a young age, she taught me to dream, and what is life if you cannot dream? Where would anyone of us be if we did not dream? How could we imagine a better world for ourselves, or even the world, if we did not dare to dream?

We recently reconnected via Facebook, and this was something that I shared with her. She made this awkward, square peg in a world full of round pegs feel comfortable and made me dream. But what is amazing about this story is that she was not only paying lip service; this is something she believes in whole-heartedly. My evidence? Her son, you see he was told to stop dreaming by his educators, but she insisted that he keep on dreaming… the sky is the limit… even for trumpet players! You see she encouraged her son to continue to dream and to play that trumpet, and in turn he has learned to dream. And in his dreaming he remembered Haiti and the earthquake and all the heartache that came with it. Unlike the press and the general public, he did not want forget and he wanted to do something about it, and he did. Together with a friend, Joey Soriano, a high school student, composed “Shed a Tear,” featuring Liz Rosa, and uploaded it to iTunes. All of the proceeds from the song will go to Project Haiti. This is an important cause, so before watching those videos below, click on this iTunes link and purchase the song for under a buck. And spread the word, for at once you are helping those who are in greater need than us, while helping Soriano to continue to dream.

And now for some videos.

Fyfe Dangerfield’s “Barricades” from his YouTube Channel: fyfedangerfield.



Foals’ “Blue Blood” from their YouTube Channel: wearefoals.



Steve Mason live cover of Madonna’s “Borderline” from the DominoRecords YouTube Channel.



Pulled Apart By Horses’ “High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive” from their YouTube Channel: PulledApartByHorses.



These New Puritans’ “Hologram” from their YouTube Channel: thesenewpuritans.



Skunk Anansie’s “Over That Love” from their YouTube Channel: SkunkAnansieOfficial.