Choose LIFE

(No, it's not what you're thinking...)

Sorry to disappoint, but this isn't a piece about Wham! and George Michael's "Choose Life" shirt from their "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" video.

This is about another song and another band.

And let's forget for a moment that it's a hard rock song. Let's forget that it's a stadium song. Let's even forget that the inspiration for the song is both racy and hilarious. (And there's nothing wrong with any of those things, but let's set them aside for now so we can focus on what's really important here.)

Why?

Because Van Halen's "Dance the Night Away" is fantastic. It's a celebration of LIFE. The good, the bad, the young, the old, the wild and the tame. It's buoyant and jubilant. With so much life bursting from its seams this song has the power to make you want to dance even when dancing isn't your thing.

This is because "Dance the Night Away" is controlled chaos-- it's the same high yellow note that buzzes and zings with energy when yin and yang are in a state of perfect tensegrity. It's that feeling of balanced tension between creation and destruction, ultimately expressing both and neither of them at the same time because they’re blissfully humming together with life instead. “Dance the Night Away” is simply in the groove...

I'm a fan of both incarnations of Van Halen-- the David Lee Roth era and the Sammy era (but my personal preference is DLR)-- and both versions were effervescent and fun, probably because the core of the band remained the same. However, Van Halen went beyond being playful and entertaining. They created and performed their music in a way that embodies positivity, inspiring us to remember that we're alive, even when our heart is breaking. Even when our leaders choose war. Even when we're facing potential annihilation.

They remind us to celebrate life right now.

So hit "play" and dance. Dance the night away.