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.

Music Monday

Good Monday to you brethren. I decided that we are going to keep it going with the Alternative Music Genre as decided by the Google music machine. So here we go.

Sister, Do You Know My Name - The White Stripes

 I can honestly say that this is a band that I always enjoy hearing. I really do not think that there is a song that The White Stripes did that I enjoy listening too. Some are more loud and ruckus then others and some are more bluesey but all are just plain worth listening too.

Black Girls - Violent Femmes

Nice, nice, nice. This is another band that I always enjoy listening to and the overall history of the band is one that is very interesting as well. I hope that the song causes you to look them up. I do not think that you will be disappointed at all. There are some very sweet drums and cowbell in this song as well.

What's Left of the Flag - Flogging Molly

This is a band that I very much enjoy and a band that brings back some great memories of some very good times with friends seeing them perform. I watched them live many, many times and they have never ever disappointed.

The Likes of You Again - Flogging Molly

I need to dedicate this to my friend Eric. That is all that needs to be said. Eric, you are forever missed.

Apple Blossom - The White Stripes

A great song, just flows so smoothly.

Grey Day - Madness

Yes, Yes, Yes. Some classic 2nd wave ska. Madness is one of the great ones and this is one of their great songs and one that is pretty appropriate for me at times. Regardless I love it.

Well that is it for me. I hope you folks enjoyed the music today and the rest of your day goes well.

Music Monday June 13

It is Music Monday and I really enjoyed last weeks excursion down the blue grass highway. I hope that people are enjoying the musical themes each week as opposed to the countdowns that I was doing before. I imagine that I will return to the countdowns at some point and just kind of flip back and forth between the two. I think that this week we are going to be checking out some bands and some songs from the fifties. I know a lot of people consider that era the beginning of rock and roll. So lets get it started with a little something like this.



This was originally a Little Richard song and was covered by Buddy Holly in 1957. It is pretty typical of this era of music. Often what was popular on the charts were white artists singing covers of songs done by black artists. It was a hard time for black artists to get radio play.



"The Girl Can't Help It" is a classic Little Richard song. It was also the title song of the Jayne Mansfield movie of the same name in 1956. Here is the trailer.



Boy that looked like a quality film and so subtle. They just don't make them like that anymore. I noticed Gene Vincent in the trailer. Let's give him a little listen.



Gene Vincent is pretty much the father of rockabilly. I really love his sound.



ummmm Bop!! The Big Bopper and Chantilly Lace. This is a classic little number but seems a little creepy to me. That might just be my modern messed up sensibilities.

Lest you think that all of the music in the fifties was rock and roll. It seems that Frank Sinatra was also popular as well. He had an album called "Songs for Young Lovers" that peaked at number 3 on the US charts in 1954.



"My Funny Valentine" has been covered by lots of different artists. But his version is probably still the best one out there.

Another artist popular during this time was Doris Day with her most successful being "Que Sera Sera" in 1956



That really is a nice melodic song. But lets wrap up Music Monday with something that was a little more rocking. I am also glad to say that I made it through this without playing any Elvis. While he has his place. I think he is overplayed.



Nothing like a little Lord Rockingham's XI to get your toes a tapping. You got to love the quirky stuff that came out of Britain in the fifties.

There you go. I hope everyone has a good Monday.