Guest Post Feature: Why Frank Sinatra Keeps My Fingers Safe by Roje Augustin

Why Frank Sinatra Keeps My Fingers Safe

by

Roje Augustin

Is music a source of therapy? 

The knee jerk response to that question is that for the most part it is.  But I think it safe to say that, really, it depends.  For me, music is basically about two things: dance & memory.  When I’m alone, I rarely listen to tunes just for background.  When I do, it’s for dancing.  If it’s not for dancing then it absolutely must be music that has no memory.  And by no memory I mean, music that does not remind me of a time, place, or person in my life.  Otherwise I get terribly distracted and I can literally find myself standing at the kitchen counter, knife in one hand, sausage in the other, lost in thought over some boy I once loved, or those times I narrowly escaped death, or that euphoric night at the Palladium when I danced for like nine hours straight.  What comes next is a slice, not through the sausage, but through the middle finger of my left hand.  I have cut that finger, in the same exact spot, on three separate occasions, people.  And each time I was listening to music.  If you were to look at my finger today, you would see one scar that was thrice fixed.  So…is music a source of therapy?  In my case: not always.  That’s why I listen to Frank Sinatra when I’m alone.  I love Frank.  I love him because his tunes have no memory, nor do they inspire me to dance.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautifully melodic, but it comes to me completely unfettered by personal associations and for that reason I keep a handy playlist on one of my many igadgets.  I could listen to Frank all day and not once draw a drop of blood.   

About Roje Augustin

Rojé Augustin (pronounced ro-jhay) has more than fifteen years experience in television production.  Born and raised in New York, Rojé began her career at the New York Daily News, where she wrote for the lifestyle publication BET Weekend Magazine.  She then moved to television, first at CBS New Productions where she cut her teeth on hour-long documentaries, then to 20/20 with Barbara Walters and John Stossel, Primetime with Diane Sawyer, and Good Morning America Weekend Edition as a writer and producer for ABC.  She has also produced for The Tyra Banks Show and E!  In the summer of 2006, Rojé moved with her husband and two daughters to London where she began work on her debut novel The Unraveling of Bebe Jones.   Rojé also established Breaknight Films shortly after her move to Sydney in 2009 to develop and produce television series.  Rojé has lived and studied in both Paris and London and she is an honors graduate of Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature & Writing. 

Connect with Roje!

Website: rojeaugustin.com

Blog: onewomansmeat.wordpress.com

Facebook page:facebook.com/rojesbook

Twitter: @rojeaugustin