Wacky Wild Wednesday

It is Wednesday and I am trying to keep the music coming for you guys. One thing that it is important for me to remember is that I do enjoy writing and I need to do it. It really doesn't even matter what reason I use to give me the push to write. I just need to do it. The reality is that the more that I do it, like anything really, the better I get at it. It takes practice to do anything.

Dancing Queen - ABBA

This is a classic number and I believe one of ABBA's biggest hits. It has been sampled numerous times over the years and even been redone in more modern ways but I really can't recall if I have ever heard a bad version of it. It has one of the classic tunes and has actually aged pretty well. A classic number.

Little Rock - Collin Raye

I honestly have no idea where this came from and why it is in my music library. It isn't a horrible song but I have never heard of this man before. He is having some real emotional problems in Little Rock. I do hope things get better for him.

Alice - Tom Waits

Tom Waits takes some getting used to. But I feel that he is worth the effort. There is a real depth to a lot of his music and sure some of the songs are very somber but some are also very upbeat and happy. This one is not one of the happier ones but it is a good one. It is thinking mans music.

Slip Away - Clarence Carter

Great just great, back to back for sad songs. Thanks a  lot music player. This song is on the Almost Famous soundtrack and is justifiably a great song. I think it is a classic soul tune. They don't make them much like this one anymore at all. They should because this is a good one.

Panic In Detroit - David Bowie

This is a song from one of my favorite Bowie albums 'Aladdin Sane'. The album came out in 1973 and just has some amazing tracks on it. But Bowie is a musical genius so it shouldn't be a surprise that to anyone that is a good song. Bowie had some misses over the years but very few of them and taken as a whole most of his music never fails to satisfy.

The Trooper - Iron Maiden

One of my favorite Maiden tunes. This one was written by their bassist Steve Harris and is a great one. MAIDEN ROCK FOREVER!!!

That is all folks. Have a good day and keep on rocking.

80's Wednesday

Thanks to a good friend named Joel throwing up the Dexy's Midnight Runners classic "Come On Eileen" this morning on Facebook I have decided to give you guys a little trip through the 80's and mainly the new wave music of the 80's. This is a type of music that really is one of my favorite eras of music. I just pretty much always enjoy it and some of the songs like the aforementioned "Come On Eileen" never fail to put a smile on my face. So I suppose it would be messed up if I didn't start us off with that song.

Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners

That song was the bands biggest hit but they were pretty talented overall I think. They were thought of as a New Wave and Northern Soul band and that was a type of music that didn't get all that much radio play. But there was some cool stuff.

Johnny on the Monorail - The Buggles

I know nothing about this band and I suppose that I should. but, I do know that I really like this song. It seems to hit a lot of the typical notes that this kind of music usually had. It reminds me of the Boomtown Rats song "I Don't Like Mondays" I am honestly not sure which song came first so I may be comitting some sort of horrible mistake by making that comparison.

Souvenir - OMD

This is another band that I do not think that I have really listened to all that much. I think that most of my listening to the New Wave stuff was pretty limited by the radio in my town. So it is nice to have Spotify, in this case, to bring me some things that I haven't really listened to before.

Glass Spider - David Bowie

Now this is interesting because I am almost positive that this album came out in the late 90's but perhaps I am wrong. I was wrong the album came out in 1987. I like Bowie and therefor I like this song. It really doesn't matter if radio or the ignorant mouth breathers didn't like it or not. Bowie is transcendent and always will be. BOWIE 4 EVA!!! 

Well this was interesting. When I decided to do this, I expected it to be a little more of the new wave that I think of when I think of new wave but I liked what popped on the random. I will have to try this again some other time and see if I am surprised again.

Tuesday...

I am honestly not sure what to write about today. Lately I have been watching the first season of the HBO show "The Newsroom". The show was created by Aaron Sorkin and I find his work very interesting. It is hard for me to quantify it, because while I often find his public persona to be very smug and really just pretty annoying in general, his writing on his shows often touch a chord with me and often it is a very emotional chord. I really do love things that can have that affect on me. I honestly do not care if that effect is good or bad but there needs to be something, otherwise why bother with it. What is the point of watching a show or listening to music or reading a book if there is not some sort of visceral reaction to it?

Lou Reed - Perfect Day

Isn't that the point? Why spend the time with it if there is not some sort of connection? If I wanted to spend my time on something and not have nay kind of emotional response to what I am spending time with I would have a job. It is plenty easy to shut the emotions off and zombie your way through the work day, but honestly, that seems like no way to live and life is hard enough as far as I am concerned if I am going to go through it in a dull zombie state.

Devo - Gut Feeling

Some would argue that emotions are neither good nor bad that they just exist and that we have no control over them. I would agree with that to a point. But I think a life without emotion is no kind of life for me. Sure if the emotion that I am feeling is me walking around in a rage all of the time that is going to be a problem. But, that isn't the kind of emotion that I am talking about. To be sure there are times when I will watch something or read something and I am left angry or enraged though I do not feel rage all that often. I am more likely to feel sadly angry more then anything else as far as emotions in the anger spectrum go.

Brian Eno - Deep Blue Day

I know that there are people who fear feeling emotions because they feel like they are out of control but I think the quickest way to get back in control is to feel that emotion and to ride it through. It may be hard to do for some but to sit down and write it out can be so beneficial. I know that this blog is that for me, there are times as I am writing that I am taken to a pretty dark places but as I write I am walking through those places and I am emerging from that journey in a better place then I was when I started it. As far as I am concerned, if I had never started the journey I would have just sat in it and wallowed in that dark place. The only way for me to get through it is to face it head on and honestly and authentically experience it.

David Bowie - Fame

The reality is that while whatever event I am feeling emotional about is not going to change, I am going to change as I travel through that experience. It feels callous for me to say, but what's done is done and nothing I can do can change that. But what I can change is my response to that event for good or bad. That is the one thing that I may have some sort of control over. I am not claiming that it will be easy or pleasant because it will not be and odd are that it will not be short. I know that for me it has not been and I have no idea when this whole experience is going to be over. Or honestly if it will ever be.

David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes

And part of that process is for me to sit and stare off into space as I try desperately to put the words together on the page to make some sort of sense out of what I am feeling. Or why I am feeling what I am feeling when the SORROW overtakes me. There often seems to be no rhyme or reason for when it happens. Oh sure, there is always the original reason. But there are times when I am not even thinking about the original reason when it happens. Last week I was driving to a friends house for a birthday event and the tears and near panic started to flow. I settled down by the time I had arrived at my location but near as I could tell there was nothing that had triggered the initial emotional response.

The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground

In some ways that is the most frustrating thing for me. I find it frustrating because I have always been so in touch with my emotions and to not know exactly why I am weeping or what caused the weeping is extremely annoying and my response has now shifted somewhat to a near panic attack at times and that is a brand new experience for me. So I can find it almost fascinating as I sit outside my body as some sort of glorious third person Buddha and watch myself experience these things. It isn't a pleasant experience at all. But it is also my reality right now and I am not going to deny it or to deny myself this experience. I just can't.

What does detachment mean?

I am not a Buddhist, I have never claimed to be one. What I am is more of a seeker with interest in all kinds of things both philosophical and political. Sometimes these things cross over each other and other times they do not. I was raised in a Protestant Christian home and while my beliefs still tend to be in that direction I am sure that a good portion of what I do and think is not typical of what I think of as the usual Protestant. I also am well aware that my thoughts on religious and political issues are just as biased as other people and  while I like to think that I can be logical and practical about things I am sure that I have emotional blind spots like everyone else does. That is just called being human. I just want to make that clear. I do not have all the answers and I am not claiming too.

Oh! You Pretty Things - David Bowie

I would say that my basic belief system has undergone a wholesale seachange in the last five years or so, probably closer to the last three years. This started for me post my divorce. The upheaval from that led to me seriously looking for some level of peace and calm in my life. Some safe harbor from the storm of emotion that was spinning all around me. I was not getting this from my Protestant Christian life. I am not attacking that. I am just acknowledging that it was not helping me. I would also venture to say that my problems were probably more with the structure of church as an institution then it was with the idea of a personal level of faith.

Perfect Day - Lou Reed

So in that regard I do not think my faith has changed but I think that my idea of "worship" or "Church" has changed and I am finding the majority of peace and calm in the daily deep breathing and meditation that I do. But while I have enjoyed those things and I feel that they have been very beneficial in helping me achieve daily peace of mind. I read something today that I am having a hard time processing in terms of how I look to live my life and how I want to be thought of and how I want other people to think of me. The thought is below.

"There is nothing lacking in you, and you yourself are no different from the Buddha.  There is no way of achieving Buddhahood other then letting your mind be free to itself. You should not contemplate nor should you purify your mind. Let there be no craving and hatred, and have no anxiety or fear. Be boundless and absolutely free from all conditions. Be free to go in any direction you like. Do not act to do good, nor to pursue evil. Whether you walk or stay, sit or lie down, and whatever you see happen to you, all are the wonderful activity of the Great Enlightened One. It is all joy, free from anxiety-it is called Buddha" 

                    --- FA-Jung, The St Francis of Zen (594 - 657)

Southhampton Dock - Roger Waters


That whole idea leaves me so torn. The main part is that because I want to do good. I like to be good to people and I like for them to be good to me. So what does that mean for how I live my life if I stop doing that? Do I just start aimlessly floating? I do not think so but I feel like I am not grasping something. It feels like I am on the verge of clarity but it is floating just beyond my reach and Zen being what it is if I strive for it I will surely be unable to grasp it. I realize that clarity and understanding must come to me on my own but what that paragraph is asking of me seems impossible. My end desire is to achieve total calm but the cost of total calm is complete detachment from everything I care about then why would I want to do that?

Modern Love - David Bowie

Music

Music sometimes or I should say often says more than I can say and in a more eloquent manner. So here is some music for you.

Monday Random Music Madness

Welcome back folks, I hope you all had a great weekend. Lets get the random started.

1: Lady Stardust - David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust - This song always brings a smile and good feelings. There is no song on Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars that I do not like. It is easily one of my favorite albums. Top 5 probably in my all time collection and number 2 in my list of favorite concept or rock operas. 

2: You & I - Lady Gaga - This is an artist that I was not on board with initially at all. I just felt like she was ripping off Madonna and not at all in a clever way. Well I am man enough to say, that after I actually sat down and listened to her whole albums and didn't read the press about her, but just let the music speak to me. I was wrong. I enjoy her music. I like the variety of it and I like the craftsmanship of her music. It works for me and I can understand why she has such a big following. I like this song as well. I like the chorus a lot. 

3: Peace Beneath The City - Iron & Wine - So good, I love to just close my eyes and let this music and the words wash over me. Not much else I can say. 

4: 3rd Planet - Modest Mouse - I suppose this is another band that I should be more familiar with. But I am not. I don't dislike them though this is not a song of theirs that I like all that much. It just doesn't connect with me. The music that I like the best hits me at a gut level an emotional center that can just fill me up.

5: Bubble Pop Electric - Gwen Stefani - I love this song. I like this whole album. I love her work with No Doubt but I really do enjoy her solo work and I hope that she does more of it. I am not a huge fan of techno dance music but there is something about what she is doing here that totally works for me.

There you go folks. I hope you enjoyed the little window into my music tastes and I will see you later. 

More Musical Randomness (Wed)

Well, I hope you folks enjoyed the 1st edition on Monday of Musical Randomness. I am really looking forward to continuing the journey and seeing what pops up today and what my thoughts are going to be about the differing songs and musical artists.

1: Friday Night In America - New Grass Revival - This is a band that I actually enjoy a lot. But there music is certainly not for everybody. They are kind a more modern take on blue grass but are also a little bit gospel like in terms of their overall message. This song is not as gospel sounding as some of their others. I enjoy the banjo in it quite a bit as well.

2: Get It Hot - ACDC - Well I can safely say that this is not one of my favorite ACDC songs. I like ACDC a lot but this just is not one of their, shall I say, most inspired numbers both lyrically and musically. It is basically the title of the song repeated over and over again. Which I suppose you can say about most of their songs but for some reason I find this one far more annoying then I have some of their classic songs like 'Back in Black."

3: Oh! You Pretty Things - David Bowie - There is not much that I can say about this one other then that it is one of the best of David Bowies many, many great songs. I would recommend just sitting back and enjoying it in it's sublimeness. I love this song.

4: Ache: No Doubt - Now this brings back some fond memories. I used to listen to No Doubt all of the time.I believe that this is coming off of their first or second album. Which are okay as far as Orange County Ska goes but really their best album in my opinion is 'Tragic Kingdom'. My favorite part of that album is that Gwen Stefani had written it following the breakup of her relationship with Tony Kanal, the bassist for No Doubt and then to add to the irony it was huge and he had to tour all over the world playing songs written about how much he sucked. I just can't imagine how hard that would have been.

5: The One That Got Away: Katy Perry - I like Katy Perry. There I said it and I don't feel bad about saying it. I like her. I enjoy here music and I think that when she chooses to she can really sing. I find her voice pleasant. I also think she is pretty but I imagine I would like her regardless. I like this song. It is a stripped down version of the radio release and it is such a sad song and really is honest about the pain of a failed relationship and how much heartbreak that it brings. Excuse me for a moment my bedroom has gotten really dusty and I am having a hard time seeing my keyboard. Crap

See you on Friday. 

Welcome Back!!

I normally do not get all that excited when an artist retires or comes back or releases new material. But those of you who know me, know that second to the almighty Johnny Cash on my list of most favorite musical artists is the musical genius David Bowie. So I got pretty excited when I woke up and heard that in honor of his 66th birthday, David Bowie was releasing a new single and had plans for an entire new album called The Next Day which is supposed to come out in March. Here is the first single and I am going to follow that up with 5 of my favorite Bowie songs of all time.

It is going to take some more listening to articulate how I feel about the new song but I think I like it. The video feels creepy as hell but I like that as well.

On to my Top 5 list.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. I am fully aware that Bowie is not for everyone but I like to think that not everyone's tastes are not as refined as mine. 

Time Travelin....

I listen to a lot of music and watch a lot of music videos. (Thank you YouTube.) I really, really enjoy good music and one of the neatest and best things about the internet and YouTube is the ability to go back and watch concerts and other live performances of bands that no longer exist or still exist but are just not the same. You know who I am talking about, Rolling Stones, just give it a rest already you are becoming an embarrassment to all right thinking music fans.

When I listen too and watch these performances it always makes me wish that I could go back in time and actually be at the concerts and actually be physically in those venues smelling the air and experiencing everything that is going on around me. I also would like to take a bunch of mushrooms and trip balls during those shows but that is a story best left for another time.

I am inspired today though too look at a 5 year period and I am going to pick 1970 to 1975 and look at 5 concerts that I wish I could have attended and show you some clips of those shows. So why don't you strap in and give a watch and a listen to some good classic rock and try to remember that when these shows were recorded these bands were either struggling to make it big or had already become some of the biggest acts in the world. I hope that the blog today can act as a little time travel machine for you. I also have to give a quick thank you to av.com for this article that sparked my idea. http://www.avclub.com/articles/thick-as-a-brick-pleasures-of-the-long-song,89194/

Pink Floyd - Live at Festival de Musique (San Tropez 1970)



Sadly the video is unembeddable but if you like Pink Floyd at all I would highly recommend that you give it a listen. It is amazing.

Now this one isn't all that happy dippy but Neil Diamond at the height of his formidable vocal powers is something worth listening top. Thank you BBC for making this available to us. So, so good. Bonus, I think he is high as the proverbial kite as well. I just am having a hard time describing in words how much I am enjoying listening to this. There is something that is so good about his music that really touches me.

Now I am really torn because 1972 was an amazing year for music off of the top of my head there was David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars" which is one of my all time top favorite concept albums and even as a stand alone album it is amazing. As far as I am concerned there is not a weak song on the album. NOT ONE!!

I couldn't find concert footage but this is the whole album. Do yourself a favor and listen to it.

Led Zepplin was, arguably, the greatest band in the world. This concert is in London and comes off of the "Houses of the Holy album. So good and if you ever get the chance to go to laser Zepplin at the planetarium I will totally let you borrow my van. Rock on!!

One of, if not the master showman of rock n roll Elton John live in London in 1974. Take sometime and give it a look. He could really, really play the piano well.

Finally lets close out this look at potential concerts to go see when I go back in time from 1970 to '75. This band was so good. I have written about them before and I do not intend to repeat myself other then to say this just give them a listen with an open mind. It wasn't just the vocals that made them an amazing band it was also the level of talent that was playing the instruments.


In addition to what I just wrote above I also have something else to share with you my loyal readers. I had a bit of an epiphany today and that is that I really do enjoy writing and furthermore I enjoy it the most when I am writing about music and bands and those type of things with a smattering of television shows thrown in and other entertainment things. So, that is what I am going to concentrate on a little more for know anyway. I am sure that I will also do some writing about other issues now and then as well but I am going to try to give a real effort at focusing more on musical stuff.

Adios, for today.

More Music (David Bowie)

This is a good Monday. My favorite solo artist is David Bowie. It started for me when my friend was going away to college and he gave me some of his albums. They were Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, The Doors Strange Days and I do not remember the others but really the only one that mattered was David Bowies.

I think Ziggy Stardust is probably the best creation of David Bowie and one of the best concept albums that has ever been. I really like Bowies entire discography so I am pretty psyched that I can bring you some of his music today. These are going to be in no particular order. They will just be songs of his that I like.

"Changes"



This is one of my favorite songs. "Life On Mars?"



"Five Years" from Ziggy Stardust



"The Man Who Sold The World" and doesn't David look lovely in that dress on the album cover.



"Waiting For The Man" I love Mick Ronson on guitar in this one.



"Modern Love" I know there are Bowie fans who do not like this song. But for some reason I really enjoy it. I enjoy it much more then "Lets Dance" another song from the same era.



I could go on and on but lets finish it with that one.

Friday

I think Friday is a good day for some Bowie. I know that for some people David Bowies mix of crazy sexuality and music is just a little too much. But I really love his stuff and the level of talent that he possesses is just incredible as well as the talent of the different people that he has had in his bands over the years. Here are a few of my favorites of his.



Space Oddity is a song that just sticks with you. I love that it tells a story and that it is just so freaking strange. I love that Major Tom just bails out of the spaceship.



Oh you pretty things is just a great song. So good.

Man this movie. I can still watch it and say it is horrible but it just fascinates me.

Music Monday: Rock Operas

I love music. I love music far more then most of my friends realize though there are some who do know how much I love to listen to music and the way in which good music affects me. One of the types of music I love is that of a concept album or in some cases a rock opera. Now I realize that there are some people who would contend that the whole idea of a rock opera is just silly and that most if not all rock operas are shite. I disagree and I am here to shed some light on the rock operas or concept albums that are my favorites of the genre.



One of my favorite all time albums is from 1972 and David Bowies "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars". This is an album that has no weak songs on it. I think every song could have been a top single. True David Bowie is a freak but he was an incredibly talented freak and when people get all worked up about Lady Gaga I just think take a look at Ziggy Stardust and you will see and hear something truly amazing. This album is in my top 10 of all time albums regardless of genre.



OMG!!!! I love this band The Decembrists and this album "The Hazards of Love" so much. I can't say enough about how amazing this concept album is.
How could you ever pass up such an amazing story and an album that is filled with mind blowing music. If you need to hear the whole thing please let me know and I will do what I can to get you a copy.



I could go on and on about both The Who and "Quadrophenia" the album that basically blew the mind of a young high school lad. This album and film probably affected me more then anything in my life until "Fight Club" came along. This is another album that is in my top 10 regardless of genre. I do not believe that there is a weak song on this one either. I also feel that this album in it's entirety is far better album then The Who's Tommy.



Willie Nelson and The Red Headed Stranger pretty much speak for themselves. This is an album that is perfect for grabbing a pipeful of longbottom leaf leaning back and closing your eyes and giving this a listen.

And finally, for my buddy Shane I need to give him the genius that is Genesis and a track from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. I know Shane is a big, big fan of Genesis.




Well there you have it folks. Those are some of what I feel are the best Rock Operas or concept albums ever. I am sure there are others out there but these are the ones that I enjoy. (I purposely left out Pink Floyd and The Wall)

Wait! Wait! Wait! I couldn't just leave without giving you a taste of The Avett Brothers (pronounce it how you want) and their concept album "Mignonette" about some English Sailors and how they eat a shipmate.