Learning Lessons from Liking Sheryl Crow
This may not be news, or even of interest, to you, but I find it fairly revelatory. Read on to see why…
This past weekend, the city of Philadelphia had a huge free concert to celebrate Independence Day. The headliner for the show was Sheryl Crow.
Though I live a mere five minutes away from where the concert takes place, I have never been to a 4th of July show because I have either been doing something else or I didn’t care about the headliner. This year I was in town and free. I am not a hug Sheryl Crow fan (because a) she’s got of a country twang to a lot of her songs, and I like rock, and b) I’m…you know… a dude…) but I like a lot of her songs (or so I thought)
The concert starts, and frankly, the first half was kind of boring. I turned to my friend at one point and said, “you know, she has a lot of slowish songs. Even her up-tempo songs are kinda slowish.” Turns out this was for two reasons: 1) she was saving her “up tempo-ist” songs for later (makes sense) and 2) she followed the Roots, who just had a ridiculous amount of energy. Richard Simmons would seem sluggish compared to these guys.
It was a nice show, just a little dull for me. The second half picked up a bit, but then I got annoyed when she performed a song I didn’t know (yes dang it! she should have cleared her set list with me…) I’m sitting there thinking “you have a big enough body of work with enough hits that you don’t need to play some obscure crap that I don’t know.” But that changed as you’ll see…)
To top it all off, for the second song of her encore she performed a cover of “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin. This…confused me…I mean, it was an ok version, but wow, that’s a hell of a thing, covering a Zeppelin song. Plus, the main lyric of the song is “Been a long time since I rock and rolled.” All I could think of was, “yeah, you’re Sheryl Crow. I think the last time you ‘rock and rolled’ was…you know…never” It wasn’t the worst cover in the world (for that you need to watch Celine Dion covering ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ by AC DC)Putting all this together, I left the concert saying, “eh, it was just ok.” If anything, I left feeling like I was less a fan of her music then when I went in. This is probably not the response you want as an artist to one of your concerts.
Than a strange thing happened. In the following days, I found myself singing Sheryl Crow songs to myself over and over.
What.
The.
Heck?!?
I thought I didn’t like the show. Why on earth am I singing Sheryl Crow to myself?!?
The biggest song I keep singing, and what turns out to have been my favorite one from the concert? The on song I hadn’t heard before. You know, the one I was annoyed she played.
Take a listen (but be warned: if you get to the catchy chorus it may get stuck on your head FOREVER!):
In addition, I have caught myself singing bits of “Everyday is a Winding Road,” “A Change Will Do You Good,” and “Are You Strong Enough to Be My Man?” (and yes, I am a strong enough man to admit that…)
I’m not going to run out and join the fan club, but I can now say that I like Sheryl Crow not only more than when I left the show, but also more than I did before I went to the show in the first place. Yes, with no external stimulus, I have made a 180 degree shift in my opinion. All that happened was that a little time passed.
Here are two takeaway lessons from this experience:
Lesson #1: Take time if you have it
Being able to improvise doesn’t mean you have to make snap judgements. If you have the time and luxury to think things over, do so. Studies have shown how emotions can alter logical decision making process. The step by step process to improvising with anything can help making quick decisions and taking immediate action, but don’t be afraid to take a little time (the step by step system is a great tool to run ideas through when you have time too). And don’t get fixed on your initial answer – it’s ok to change you initial answer if you have thought things through properly.
Lesson #2: Keep an open mind
Taking some time to think doesn’t do anything if you don’t keep an open mind to alternate possibilities. If I never even considered the chance that I would like Sheryl Crow, my opinion of her would not have changed after the concert. Thoughts, feelings, and intuitions will pop up; don’t fight them. Let them arise, and be open to the fact that they may lead you to a much better place.Remember, I was very closed minded about her playing a song I had not heard before. And now I find myself playing that danged YouTube clip over and over and over…
The next time you are about to make a quick judgement and write something off – or someone, as I did to one of my closest friends when I first met her (you can see the story in the video here: – pause, breath, and take some time if possible to think about. You may find yourself changing your mind. And as they say, “a change will do you good.”
About
By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+