In our latest column The Game Changer by Durban’s own Oscar Anderson he delivers his weekly editions of love, life and everything in between. Check out this week’s feature entitled Music Laundry…

Music is one of the few constants in my life. Although I don’t want this to become a column where I’m constantly relating issues to songs or the music that is currently influencing my worldly perception from the front loader in my car. I guess another constant would be girls, but then again they change as often as the tracks do. And like girls and certain songs, several things in life seem to stay on repeat, get skipped as soon as I recognise the beat or get replaced when over played.

Music seems to make sense in every situation; it is almost like a sixth sense. It has the power to change moods, express emotions and even unite entire nations from different ethnical and cultural backgrounds at the sports stadium. It defines us. Perhaps not a full definition but maybe as if it was an extension of ourselves, like another limb.

Now I am not going to walk up to a girl and compliment her on how her house music fits in her jeans or the set of rock and rolls staring at me from her top; well, maybe if I have had a few drinks and she happens to be wearing them particularly well, but you get the point.

You can take a club full of girls, of all sizes, ages and classes. It doesn’t even matter whether they know each other or not, but two things are certain; they will all be gossiping and scrutinising each other inside and out, and secondly, when the DJ happens to play Rihanna’s “We Found Love”, every single one of them will scream and rush to the dance floor as if the song was dedicated to them personally. It isn’t. Personally, the way some of them move on the dance floor they will never find love. Music does not generalise or discriminate. If you happen to be the ugliest animal out on the dance floor and if you happen to connect with the music, then you have something in common with everyone else who is moving and shaking to your beat.

I run quite often along the beach and pass many other runners along my route, most of them, like myself, run with earphones. I load my player with mostly house music as I find the beat is constant for longer runs and I feel as if it carries me. I also find that I catch myself smiling as I run, not because I’m smirking at the fact that I’m running faster than you, but that music allows me to focus, clear my head and feel content. The same song could also prompt my body to do a number of other things in different places such as close my eyes and let go as I unwind after a long day or double arm fist pump in rush hour traffic. I wear the music through how I react to it; there is no right or wrong way to feel about it. There is however a wrong way to dance to it. When people dance badly it is as if they are wearing music that has come out of the dirty laundry basket and they forgot to iron it.

We can’t always have life go our way, there will be certain times when it sounds as if you have a speed metal rock band screaming at you, but just breath, most songs only last three to four minutes and then it’s the next track. If you feel that your life requires some classical or panpipe variation, then I suggest that you find a lift somewhere, press all the buttons and ride it up and down. Then step out and face the rest of the day. Be sure to turn up the volume when life plays your beat, call your friends to join you on your dance floor and enjoy it. Wear it well. You do not have to be wearing designer labels to fit in, it is the music that is the fashion, try it on for size.