Friday, Friday, Friday!!!

Happy Valentine's Day everybody. But in Oregon today is also the day that we became a state Feb 14th, 1859. All bow in honor of the birth of our glorious state. Our state flower is the Oregon Grape. Our state bird is the Western Meadowlark and our state motto is "Alis Volat propiis"  which in English means "She Flies With Her Own Wings". I think that is pretty right on for my beloved state.

Now that all of the formalities are out of the way lets get back to talking about me and what I like okay.

Child of Nature - The Beatles

You will get very few Beatles songs from me and this is an unreleased demo that was written by Lennon. It is fine I suppose but I am just not a big Beatles fan. I am sorry but they just do not work for me. If I need anything I need an emotional connection and this band eludes me. 

I Remember California - REM

It seems that my music player remembers California rather then Oregon. Oh well, I think Oregon is better. That said I really do like this song. REM rarely disappoints me.   

I think Valentine's is a funny day. I am never really sure how I am supposed to feel. Am I supposed to feel sad if I am not in the midst of a relationship? Because I am not feeling sad. I am feeling pretty good about that stuff right now and I suspect that were I dating I would be feeling much the same. The truth is that I am in the midst of lots of relationships with several very beautiful woman and I love them all. They may not be aware that I love them though. :)

Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees

This is a little more disco than I like my Bee Gees to be but this is a great song and such a catchy tune. So easy to bob your head and tap your feet to. Try it you like doing a little dancing in your office space. 

I mean, don't get me wrong. I like candy and hearts and that kind of stuff and I am as prone to the emotional outburst as the next guy if not more so and this is a day that is geared for such a thing. But I am just as likely to do something extravagant and emotional and dramatic on any other day of the year as well. That is just who I am. I am wired that way. But I am also not trying to make light of the fact that for some singletons, for want of a better word, this is a hard day. It just has not particularly been for me. It has never been that big of an issue for me if I am single or not. I just love people all the time. I can't help it. That is what I am about free love and hugs for all. YAAAAAAY!!

Chasing The Rainbow -  America

I can't say I am thrilled by what the ol random machine is giving me today. It is just not feeling like a day for America. It isn't that I dislike their music I just have to be in the right mood for it and today does not feel like that kind of day. 

Let us see, is there anything else going on that I can get myself worked up about?

Frank's Wild Years - Tom Waits

Nothing says Valentine's like a little Tom Waits. Now we are talking. Well done Tom, you beautiful, beautiful, freak. 

It looks like that is going to be it for me today. Be nice to each other. We are all taking the same journey and it is hard for all of us. Remember these words and live by them "FREE LOVE AND HUGS FOR ALL"

Keep on dancing folks. 

Thursday Music Mix

Welcome back to this post holiday Thursday that feels like a Monday. It is nothing special. I have always felt that the days following the Christmas and New Years Holidays are odd ones. They just sit there all alone and in this case it feels odd because it is a Thursday and just sits there ahead of the weekend.

Turn The Page - Rush

Well this is a nice treat. I like Rush but I haven't listened to them much lately. They are always worth listening too as far as I am concerned though I should probably give their newer stuff a listen too now and then.

Then or Than? A pair of words and spellings that I am pretty sure I use incorrectly. I am pretty sure that the correct way to use both of them has been explained to me and I for the life of me have the hardest time doing it. There are times when I feel bad about that but most of the time I really don't. I have never been all that hung up about grammar which I am sure is a gross failing on my part.

Cat's Squirrel - Jethro Tull

This is a nice little treat. Almost jazz like in its meanderings across the musical soundscape with a little blues thrown in for good measure. I really like it.

But, back to the matter at hand. I do not mind being corrected when I miss use words or use them incorrectly. But I would rather that I was corrected in a polite and private manner. To me that is the way things need to be done in a civil society. There are a few and really it is a sad few who feel the need to correct people in a public way on the many public forums that people of today use to communicate with each other on the internet. Often Facebook feels like a minefield rather, then or than, a place for people to communicate or entertain each other.

Marathon - Rush

It looks like the music player has locked into some prog rock what with two by Rush and one by Jethro Tull. We shall see what the future holds.

Back to Facebook. I like Facebook but there are times when it feels like the town square is full of crazies and each one is standing on their soapbox and trying to shout over the top of all of the other crazies. You may have one guy talking about a movie that he liked or didn't like. While in another corner you have some jackass screaming about some pizza company and their television commercials that he finds totally annoying. It would actually be okay if it was just that but it isn't, instead the people who disagree with the soap boxers engage with them by using often their only tools which are ridicule and abuse. It is hard to have reasoned debate on Facebook and often, I suspect, reasoned debate is not the goal and that is sad.

Whistles The Wind - Flogging Molly

Well, the blackness came on quickly. Flogging Molly was a special band to me and my friend Eric and now Eric is gone and he is not coming back. His life is gone and I will not be listening too or seeing this band with him ever again and that makes me sad. I miss you brother.

Touch - Daft Punk

This is a really good album, There are some great songs on it.

Reasoned debate? Is that really a thing? Has reasoned debate ever really existed? I would like to think that it did but I also think that I am probably wrong about that. Information travels so fast now that people rarely take the time to think about what they are saying before they send off a response and I think in the times before the internet the sheer amount of time it took to respond just allowed people to cool down. Taking some time to respond is not a bad thing. I lost a job once because of a quickly worded snappy email. I was totally out of line. So it doesn't bother me all that much now but at the time it was pretty upsetting.

Edge Of The Universe - Bee Gees

This is a live track and a pretty good one. Though I am not sure about its place in the earlier songs in this mix. It is nice though.

Dark Paradise - Lana Del Rey

Wow. This is a sad song. I have not really listened to the lyrics before. Ouch.

Well, I am going to leave you folks on that somber note. Hang in there today and love each other okay.

Manic Music Monday

I am up bright and early so lets get the music started, shall we.

Alone - Bee Gees

As I have grown older I have begun to enjoy this band more. I am not sure what says about me. But I know that I  just plain enjoy music and most of the time despite all of the disco baggage that comes with ' Saturday Night Fever' I do enjoy the music that the Bee Gees put out. That and I enjoy the skit on SNL.

Selfless, Cold, and Composed - Ben Folds University Acappella Version

I am not a huge acappella fan but the album that Ben Folds put together has some just really enjoyable and very listenable versions of his songs on it. In this format I really do enjoy them. I know this kind of music is not for everyone and in most cases it isn't for me. But in this case I highly urge you to track this album down. 'Ben Folds - University Acappella'

There is something that I like about sitting in the dark of my room with my headphones on and writing. I just like the silence and the darkness. I like the feeling that I am all alone in the world and the page in front of me is totally free and empty. A wide open face that I can fill up with whatever words I choose to use. It is a feeling of total and complete freedom and one of the few true pleasures in my life. I think for me, that is the only real benefit to getting up very early in the morning because the feeling is not the same if I just stay up all night.

Seymour Stein - Belle and Sebastian

More Belle and Sebastian and I am sorry if you are bored of them. I am not and I have a lot of them on the music player and they really do bring some peace to me when I listen to them. It is music that rewards you if you actually listen to the lyrics as well as feeling the music and that is a good thing. It is well worth engaging.

Winter Winds - Mumford and Sons (Piano Tribute)

I love this version on the piano It is just beautiful and so nice to listen to. I enjoy their music anyway but their music in piano form is very nice to listen to as far as I am concerned. It is made for extended listening and closing your eyes and just letting it flow over you. Again and this time without the lyrics but it is music that rewards you if you engage with it and let it fill you. It is okay to feel and it is okay to have emotions when you are listening to music.

There are times when I complain about how emotional I can get about things. But, honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. It is who I am and I think it really does connect me to things and to people. I feel like really at my core all I want to do is to love others and to care for them. Our humanity is what makes us stronger and our compassion is what separates us from the beasts. I know that humans can for sure be beast like, there is no doubt about that. But really it is all about loving each other for me. It is about caring for each other and remembering that we are all just trying to survive in this world and that we are all human. And it would serve us all to remember that.

Royal Jelly - John C. Reilly

This is John C. Reilly as Dewey Cox from the film 'Walk Hard' doing his best Bob Dylan impression. I really do enjoy this movie and I enjoy the spoof songs on it as well. It is worth a watch.

I Need You - America

Not much to say, just sit back and enjoy this. That is all

Hey folks. Have a great day. I know that this can be a stressful time for some or all of us. But hang in there, love each other, take some deep breathes and care for each other. Be well and be compassionate.

I am pretty sure that this is going to be me on New Years Eve and probably several other times during this week. If anyone needs me, I'll be at the Coffeehouse.

Monday Monday

It is a cold one out there today and a little foggy in parts. I hope the music helps you to shake out away the cobwebs.

16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought Six - Tom Waits

I do not usually start off the day with Tom Waits but this is a good one. A real peppy beat and a nice tune to bee bop too. Snap those fingers baby.

How is the "War on Christmas" going for everybody? I am not sure which side people are fighting on. I find that if I ignore both Fox News and people commenting on Fox News I just feel happier about things this time of year.

Silver and Gold - Trampled by Turtles

This is a great song but I have mentioned before how much I like Trampled by Turtles. Do yourself a favor and give them a listen and if you get a chance go see them in concert. So good.

It isn't that I hate Fox News though I suppose I could be accused of that. I like to be informed but it feels like the way they inform is to loudly yell about the eventual collapse of America. I just don't see that happening regardless of who is the President and you can only yell so often about something that is going to happen and when that thing doesn't happen. Well the yelling just becomes noise.

First of May - Bee Gees

This is a great early Bee Gees song and I think really much better then the disco stuff that they seemed to really become known for in later years. It is a good song.

Settle Down - Kimbra

Kimbra is Australian and broke big in America singing backup on Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know". I think her solo stuff is even better. She has a very strong voice and she really performs well live. Just a great, great singer.

The job hunt continues for me as I diligently put in applications for job that I seem to never get any response from. But I suppose a miracle could happen. I wonder if I could start a Kickstarter to just fund my blogging and other writings?

Banks of the Ohio - David Grisman

Just some very nice Bluegrass guitar and this is a lovely song.

For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me- Jethro Tull

I can say that I have never heard this particular Tull song on the radio. But I like it.. I will acknowledge that Tull has its problems but I think that there is some good music and some depth to it underneath all of the things that people complain about. I like their style of prog rock.

That is it for this Monday folks. I hope the day goes well. I am out of here!