Sixteen Music Memes for Sixteen Years

This week I celebrate 16 years of being Cantor at St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Normally a reflective piece of writing might be called for, something that waxes nostalgic - but I've decided to forgo that and do a fun post of some of my favorite music memes!

First, what is a meme? Memes are a social media phenomenon. According to Merriam-Webster, a meme is "an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media."

Memes seem to fly about social media without any copyright information. I intend no such violations myself. If something is copyrighted, let me know and I'll remove it.

So here are some of my favorite musical memes (in no particular order), some with comments and some without. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 
 

Meme 1

I love this woman's enthusiasm! I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to take your choir music home and practice!

Meme 2

Sometimes you just can't get a song out of your head!

Meme 3

This picture is used for a variety of memes. I think I read once that the original title of this meme is "First World Problems." The person in the photo is always having an emotional moment over something that isn't that big a deal. (Hey, we've all been there!) BTW, finger prints on a handbell are serious business, but not THAT serious!

Meme 4

I'm not sure why Captain Picard is picking on the altos, the same goes for any section at one time or another. This meme is also great because I love Star Trek too!

Meme 5

It's not just old people! To be honest, the most copies I've ever found of a single anthem in a single folder is three. We have a numbering system now, so it's not likely to happen again.

Meme 6

She's back! This one is a classic!

Meme 7

Judge much, J. S. ?

Meme 8

Yes. We play by the rules! (That's not to say there aren't exceptions to every rule!)

Meme 9

I say this to people all the time. "Send me an email. If you tell me something an hour before church or an hour after church, it's a conversation that never happened!"

Meme 10

Here's another meme from "The World's Most Interesting Man." Years ago, while working for an Episcopal Church I visited a Methodist service. As is my practice, I sat down and listened to the postlude. When the pastor greeted me he said, "You must be an Episcopalian or an organist."

"Turns out I'm both," I answered.

Meme 11

This meme is fun because I'm also a "Game of Thrones" fan (which is where the picture comes from).

One of my favorite musical jokes:
How many first sopranos does it take to change a light bulb?
Two. One to screw the bulb in while the other asks, "That's a little high for you, isnt' it?"

Meme 12

It's funny because it's true.

Meme 13

Technically this probably isn't a meme, but there is a group of church musicians that likes to take classic art and add captions. This is one of my favorites. And it's nice because I can give credit! I laughed at this one for several days!

Meme 14

I wouldn't suggest that a singer date a piano major to get a free accompanist, but I have recommended to choir singers that they date other singers. We are always looking for new people and we are always recruiting!

Accompanying is hard work! Those people are worth every penny!

Meme 15

I've never cared about any sport really, but Julie Andrews expresses beautifully what I'm thinking while football teams are recruiting and other people are building their fantasy football teams.

Meme 16

This one feels like a personal attack! When Covid started and we were recording services I would practice something and play it perfectly. The second I hit the record button, it became a total disaster!

This one's a bonus!

Dear People of St. Mark's,
Thank you for 16 wonderful years! I look forward to more!
Cantor Tony