Turn It Off!

Okay, this one is a little rowdy. It's a harder rock approach to drive home the message of the song. Ever sit in a restaurant, or any gathering for that matter, and observe that many people (most, if the crowd consists of teens) are paying more attention to their cell phones than to those around them? There is a growing body of studies addressing the concern of a psychological shift on the part of phone users... and I'm not referring to neck strain. The lack of feedback through visual expression, the elimination of the give-and-take negotiation that happens automatically in a face-to-face conversation, gives a "texter" a scary amount of freedom to say what he/she may not say otherwise. As well, it isolates the "social networker" from the world around him/her.

This song was inspired by a well-produced video currently making the rounds depicting a variety of scenes where the people around the cell phone addict turn invisible. Eventually the addict realizes what's going on and turns off the phone. Life begins anew with everyone reappearing. Very touching.

This song has a very easy melody line as well as a rap section and a two part "yelling" section. (Part 2 is very exposed, so we did not feel it needed an isolated web extra for teaching.) There is also an optional percussion part that consists of a simple cowbell and tambourine rhythm. Once it starts, it just repeats till the end of the rapped section. Here is what it looks like:

Though I think it will be a fun song to perform, the message, obviously, takes center stage. So enunciation is of supreme importance. - MW