Musicians Are Weird

I spend most of my time with non-musicians these days so it occurs to me from time to time just how weird musicians are, compared to non-musicians at least. A friend and neighbor called me asking to borrow a hammer the other day and when she came over for it I said, "now you have to sing the song!" She gave me the oddest look: "song?" "Yes, you have to sing "If I had a hammer."

And aren't those the weirdest lyrics? Hammer out love? But yes, that is the first thing that comes to my mind if someone wants to borrow a hammer. Musicians are weird.

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I got to thinking this because of this item over at Slipped Disc:

Classical percussionist Alan Drever-Smith, from Kingston upon Hull, called the taxman. Like everyone else, he was left listening to the music.

For forty minutes.

‘Spent so long on hold today that I transcribed it before they picked up,’ he wrote.

Now he’s famous. More than 800 people have shared Alan’s transcription and the Telegraph have picked up the story.

Maybe he’ll get a tax rebate.

Here is the transcription:

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How do musicians get in touch with their feelings? It's easy. As we always have music churning around somewhere in our brains we just have to listen. If I find myself humming "Everything Is Beautiful" then I am probably in a good mood:

Humming "Don't Let Me Down" is a whole different story:

Your milage may vary.

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The "musicians are weird" story may help to explain why conversations with percussionists and drummers are so unfulfilling. Now, unfortunately I can't find the right clip, so this will have to do:

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Perhaps the best satire on musicians and their quirks is the movie Spinal Tap. Here is the famous scene where Nigel explains why he has an amp that goes to 11: