Tuesday NYE Music Mix

I hope the day finds you well and that the evening this evening treats you well.

Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac

This a classic song and on that I enjoy greatly. I enjoy both versions of this band both the Peter Green era and the Stevie Nicks era but their sounds are totally different. That being said I think that I am a big enough man to be able to enjoy both versions.

So, today is New Years Eve, and anyone who has been following this blog knows that 2013 has been a pretty rough year for me. I am not going to rehash all that now. But trust me when I tell you that it has been pretty shitty at times. That being said. I am still standing and I am still by and large functioning and I have a pretty tight knit group of friends and family around me that allowed for that to happen and for that I am profoundly grateful. My existence in the world is very much all about the community that I have around myself and I feel that the close society that I am involved with is a good one.

Well All Right - Blind Faith

There is a line in this song, 'Well we'll live and love with all our might' and I like to think that this is true of me. At least I aspire for it to be. I want to live and love, fiercely and with strong feelings. I want those that I care about and for, I want them to know how much I do love them. I do not want anyone to feel like they are alone in this world. I am not always sure what form this takes or how I am supposed to implement these feelings but they do exist for me. I want 2014 to be a year of that for me and for my friends. I want it to be a year of big hugs and meaningful eye contact and intense conversation. I want to know my friends and I want them to know me.

Sunrise - The Who

This is a great song. One of my favorites.

The Power of Thy Sword - Manowar

This is a pretty typical Manowar song. It is about swords and fighting and being a barbarian and is 8 minutes long. Embrace it in it's majesty.

I do not make New Years resolutions but if I were I suppose that one of the things that I would resolve to do would be to continue to meditate and to do Yoga and hopefully do more of both. I have had no ill effects from doing either and in fact when I remember to start my day with those things I do just feel better on both a physical and mental level. I do think that is a bad thing at all.

Doghouse Blues - Bill Monroe

A little 1941 blue grass for you by the master Bill Monroe.

I show love by touching and those of you who are reading this I just want you to be prepared because depending on my mood, if you are around me you are going to get a hug or an arm around you. It will happen. It will be a big hug or heavy hand with a squeeze but it will happen and you will know that I am touching you. Because I love you and you are special to me and because human touch is important to living a healthy life.

Winter Winds - Mumford and Sons

 I love this song so much. The whole album is one that I enjoy on a regular basis.

Alone - Trampled by Turtles

A bonus track for you guys because Mumford and Trampled By Turtles go great together.

Have a great day folks. I love you. Be good to each other. Love each other. Tell someone that you care for them today. Dance with a friend.

How About a Little Traffic

I have lately been listening to a band from the late 60's that I have really been enjoying. I think that probably the most famous name in the band is Steve Winwood. But the Steve Winwood that I was familiar with is not the Steve Winwood that I am listening to when I hear Traffic or Blind Faith. Some would argue that Eric Clapton is the more famous one and they may be right but for this exercise I am going to address the change in sound and musical stylings of Steve Winwood. So lets get it started with a little Blind Faith. He formed this band in 1969 with Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton along with Ric Grech. Though Clapton did not stay in the band very long.

Blind Faith - Can't Find My Way Home

Blind Faith - Well Alright

There was some upheaval after Clapton left and Winwood decided to reform the band Traffic with  Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. There is some overlap and things are kind of muddled up so I may have things reversed as far as the timing goes. But, I don't really care. Just shut it and enjoy the music.

Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die

Traffic - Light Up or Leave Me Alone

I do not know if I can even adequately explain to you how much I love the sound of Traffic. I would go so far as to say that I like and enjoy both Blind Faith and Traffic more then I enjoy Cream and I probably enjoy Traffic most of all. There is just something about their sound that works for me.

But now that we have listened to what kind of music that Steve Winwood was putting out in the late 60's and early 70's I think you will really enjoy what he was putting out in the 80's.

Steve Winwood - Back In The High Life

Steve Winwood - Higher Love

Now, I have to be totally honest with you. I can barely stand Higher Love or Back In The High Life. I think they are horrible. They are very nearly unlistenable for me and I can listen to anything by Blind Faith and Traffic over and over again. So what do you think the problem is? Did my taste change in 5 minutes? Did Steve Winwood change? Did his talent go away? Or did he make a calculated effort to write and play songs that he knew would sell the most albums and garner him the most radio play? I do not know. The only thing I know is that I do not like his solo work at all. Those are my thoughts.

I hope you enjoyed Fridays musical musings and I hope that I helped you discover some music that was new to you. Now "light up or leave me alone"

Well All Right ...

Anyone of you that have read this blog in the past knows how much I enjoy music and knows how much it is an important part of my existence and its presence in my life has been  very helpful in times both good and bad. One of the things that brings me the most peace or pleasure depending on the mood I am in is when I can create a playlist to listen to in The Van.

I have a CD player in the their and that makes it pretty easy to burn things from my computer to disc. Though it would be sweet if I could get a system in their that lets me play MP3's. The playlists that I could make would be so awesome. But anyway, before I get to off track I wanted to share with you the latest and in some ways the most personal playlist that I have made in a long time. So please give it a listen, hopefully Youtube has all of these. and let me know if you enjoyed it or not.

Blind Faith - Can't Find My Home

Blind Faith - Well All Right

The Allman Brothers - Whipping Post

Too put it bluntly the last 3 nearly 4 years have been pretty shitty. Oh I am sure that there are plenty of people who have had it far worse and I am not claiming that my life is horrible. But there have been moments of time where things looked and felt pretty bleak. But I have some very, very good people around me and them along with the music that I can listen to has really made a difference as far as things go. There are times though when in the midst of whatever emotional dive I am in that things look pretty bad and I wonder what is the point. Sometimes the music helps pull me out of that and sometimes the music helps me to kind of swim through it. It is kind of hard to explain if you haven't been in the midst of that kind of emotional wave.

The Lumineers - Hey Ho

Lynrd Skynrd - Simple Man

Kansas - Carry On

There is not much to say about these songs. They bring me some comfort and some peace as I listen to them. They also bring me sorrow but it isn't a bad kind of sorrow. It is the reality of things gone that can never return but at the same time good memories of things that I wouldn't have traded for the world as well as relationships that have formed who I am today.

Montgomery Gentry - You Do Your Thing, I'll Do Mine

Lynrd Skynrd - Free Bird (Film "Devil's Rejects"

These are songs about being true to yourself. True to myself and experiencing this pain honestly and not numbing myself to it. But letting it flow through me and not letting it overwhelm me or define me but acknowledging its existence and trying to use it to make myself a better person on the far end of it. However long that takes and I have no idea at all how long it is going to take.

Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Neil Young - Old Man

Neil Young - Needle and the Damage Done

Neil Young - Running Dry

Sometimes you feel like you are at the end of your tether and these songs help me. I know that isn't the case for everyone but hearing someone put what feels like my feelings into words does amazing things for me. Through tears and sorrow can sometimes come cleansing and healing.

O' Death - Down To Rest

The White Stripes - One More Cup of Coffee

Ralph Stanley - Oh Death

Mumford n Sons - Whispers in the Dark

It is pretty obvious how this ends and it ends the same way for all of us. I can fight it and not be honest about it or I can acknowledge it and understand this is something that happens to all of us and just accept that. I think the older that I get the less fear there is of it. This will happen and I do not know when or how and that is fine with me. This playlist leaves me with a feeling of hope and I know that may not be the case for everyone and some of you may not like it at all. But I hope that you enjoyed at least some of the songs that are hear.

Blind Faith (Discovering Music Series)

This is a band is really nothing like the first artist that I did in this series, Billie Holiday. This band was arguably the world's first supergroup, they were called Blind Faith and consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Ric Grech and Stevie Winwood. I first became aware of Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker from listening to Cream. But I have not really ever given Blind Faith much of a listen at all.

Can't Find My Way Home - Blind Faith

Wow...there are some songs that hit you hard and some songs that don't and this song is leaving me just a little bit gutted. Holy smokes. I have heard this song before but something about it during this time of my life is really working for me.

Presence of the Lord - Blind Faith

This is a song that I have literally never heard before and let me tell you I am digging it. I think part of what I am enjoying with this music is just the craftsmanship of it. Now, I have never claimed to be a musician at all. I have a few piano and guitar lessons under my belt and I sang in several choirs over the years. But what I do have is a great love for music and for what I think of as good music. By that I mean music that it takes some skill and the use of actual instruments to play.

Sea of Joy - Blind Faith

This is just a lovely song and the violin in it is amazing.

That is it for today, I hope you guys enjoyed the trip back into the musical past and are looking forward to joining me as I continue to discover music.

(Discovering Music Series)