Thursday Thoughts

I am not feeling the muse this morning but we will see if anything changes as I share some music with you. I do not have high hopes but we shall see.

Strange Weather - Tom Waits

Tom Waits is not the most accessible of recording artists. But once I took the time to really give him a listen I began to enjoy him. But I also fully understand that he is just not for everyone. But if you can take the time and effort to give him a try you will be rewarded for your efforts. 

Forever - Haim

This is a pretty new band of young ladies all sisters I believe. They are a trio and I really do like their sound. It isn't typical of anything out there as far as I am concerned and while the antics of the basis can be a little distracting they are a solid band. I really dig this song. 

I am doing my best to put on a happy face today. But I am not sure what is going on. It started a little bit yesterday. Like I can feel the dragon of depression just hanging over me and waiting for a gap in my armor to sink his claws into me. Now, I realize that may be a dramatic example but in this case that is the visual that I am seeing in my minds eye and it is not a visual that I like at all. It both frustrates me and scares me.

Pearl - Katy Perry

I really, really , like this Katy Perry song. It is beautiful. I can't quantify it at all but it is a song that I enjoy regardless of its origins or its popularity or not. The song works for me. But honestly nearly all of her discography I like. That is the straight honest truth and I am not ashamed of it. I am a Katy Perry fan. (I am not a fan of her dating John Mayer. I think he is a dirt bag)

The music is helping to lift my spirits and usually the music always does. In truth, even if the music does not lift my spirits it always helps me to center myself and to feel the emotions as they come and ride them. It isn't so much a control thing as a way for me to let myself experience them and feel them but not dwell in them. To me that is the real power of music. I love that it has the ability to really augment nearly every situation. That is the coolest thing. It is also why music has been used as a propaganda tool over the years and at times been feared by the establishment in different times and places. Music is a powerful thing.

Last Words - The Real Tuesday Weld

I like this song and I like the movie soundtrack that I first heard it on. It is perfect for a sad day and for dwelling on lost relationships. This is the kind of song that makes me wish that it wasn't so unhealthy to smoke cigarettes because it makes me feel like I should be smoking one right now and I should be sitting outside at some coffee shop smoking in slow motion while the world moves around me in fast motion. That would be cool. 

I sometimes wish that books would come with soundtracks and in some cases they do as the author will list songs or mention lyrics and I suppose it is up to the reader to track down those things. But wouldn't it be cool if books came with a small disc or mp3 player that would play you the soundtrack of the book as you read it. Or had cues so you could play the right music for the right part of the book. I think that would be awesome. Oooh, did I just come up with the next million dollar idea? Don't steal it you bastards.

Nights On Broadway - The Bee Gees

One of my favorite Bee Gees songs. So good. Yes it is disco but it has a great bass line and seriously good harmony on the vocals. Good thick grungy bass and a nice disco back beat. Shake it, shake it baby. 

Truth - Lily Allen

I like Lily Allen. That is all. 

 Thanks folks as always for listening to me rant and rave and I hope enjoying the music that I bring to you. It really does mean a lot to me. I value you. Keep on Hugging and Keep on Dancing.

I had to add a song for this gif because I think that Boyd would totally dance the jig to this song.

Wait So Long - Trampled By Turtles

Thursday Thoughts....

The subconscious is an interesting thing. I always dream but I do not always remember my dreams. Some are for sure more vivid then others and last night was one of those dreams.

You Can Make Me Free - Billy Joel

I was with a friend that I have known for several years and we were hanging out at some sort of coffee shop but it wasn't one I was familiar with. It honestly felt like we were in Sweden but I am not sure why it felt that way. She was studying and I was just kind of hanging out. At one point I got up to go look into another part of the coffeeshop because a friend of ours was supposed to be over there. They were not and when I came back there was this kind of odd old man that was kind of bothering her.

I'm All Right - Kenny Loggins (Caddyshack Version)

So I sat back down but this time my chair had moved close to hers. There was kind of a time leap and our chairs were even closer and then a leap again and I was sitting sideways and she was leaning against my shoulder and we were still in our chairs. It filled me with a sense of peace and calmness. There was nothing romantic or sexual about this. It was just nice. We were just resting together in this public place but with a level of connection that was greater than usual. Everything felt good and right.

Reasons For Waiting - Jethro Tull

The comfortableness became almost a tiredness to the point of I felt the need to put my head on her shoulder and I did so with ease and that was nice as well as she rested her head against mine. Then time and space shifted again and we were walking through Silver Creek Falls. I knew that for a fact. We strolled and chatted about many different things. It didn't seem to matter what the subject was at all. It was just us strolling and talking with apparent ease on many different subjects.

One More Time - Hammerfall

After a while her father appeared and we walked with him for awhile. He told us a story about a young boy who had died in a car accident. The boy had been seven and her father was very upset by this. The boy was not related to anyone as far as I could tell and I remember thinking that while it was sad I didn't understand why her father was upset to the point of tears about it. It also appeared that her father was running the retreat center of the campground and soon he and his wife had to leave to go pay their taxes in California. Then time shifted again and her husband was there walking with us and her father was gone.

One And Only - Adele

The three of us walked for awhile and I remember us walking through a parking lot and I could see my van sitting their. Again walking together it was totally comfortable and there was no awkwardness of any kind. Things just felt right and natural and normal with no stress of any kind. In fact the only stress was that I saw their red truck in the distance and I knew that the conversation was going to have to end and I wanted to prolong it and I woke up. I woke up refreshed and rested and the memory of the dream still vividly in my head.

Self Inflicted - Katy Perry

That is the story of my dream. I share that because I found it interesting and I do enjoy thinking about what my dreams mean. Though in this case I can't imagine it meaning anything but good things. It did not leave me with any feeling other then good and comfortableness. It was a nice to have a nice dream and too remember that dream as well. If anything it has left me feeling very inspired to have a good day. So that is something to look forward too. I am also super happy with how the playlist turned out today. All random from my music machine and I have to tell you that I think they all work so well together. I love it when that kind of thing seems to happen.

The Cave - Mumford and Sons

I love you guys and I hope that you guys can have a great day. Take a deep breath. Text a friend. Call a friend. Hug a friend. Keep on dancing and keep up loving each other. You won't regret it.

New Years Day Music Mix (because I am bored)

I hope your New Years Day was a good one. I am kinda bored and I thought I would use that as a motivational tool and give you guys a little bit of music along with whatever free association thoughts pop into my brain.

The Box - Katy Perry

This is a song that I haven't listened to all that much. It was not a radio single but I think it is a pretty good song. It is pretty typical of the self empowerment stuff that she has been singing about on her last couple of albums. I don't think that this type of thing would work for all singers by any means but she seems to make it work for her.

Powderfinger - Neil Young

This is a great song. But really most everything that he does is great. I am a big fan of Neil Young. I think as far as artistic integrity there is no other artists short of the late great Johnny Cash that comes even close.

I am sitting here trying to think of something to share with you and honestly nothing is coming to mind. Perhaps that is part of the problem. I am trying to cultivate inspiration and I have probably addressed this before but I do not feel that it is possible to manufacture such a thing. I really do wish that it was.

I think, no I know that for me that is a large part of the problem when I feel myself stuck. It isn't that growth or enlightenment isn't going to happen. It is that I am working so hard at trying to manufacture it that I slip right past it. It is easy to just sit and mediate but it becomes hard when I am worried about meditating correctly or not. The only thing that you have to be sure to do when attempting to meditate is to breath. That is right it is that simple. Deep breath in through the nose, and hold it, and then out through the mouth. Deep full breaths that allow you to fill your lungs with air and let you feel your body inflate and deflate.

Truckin - Grateful Dead

I feel like a lot of it for me is that in doing the deep breathing it has made me more aware of my body and how it is feeling. Also on a purely physical level. The daily deep breathing has helped to lower my blood pressure and to keep it lower. It has helped me to be less stressed by the litany of crappy things that life that throw at you. The process of meditating and deep breathing helps me to be calm and be in the moment of breathing. I am not worrying about the future or worrying about events in the past that I can''t change or fix.

Falling - Angelo Badalamenti

I am not claiming to have all of the answers. Because I do not. What I am doing is just sharing with those who bother to read this, what has worked for me over the last 4 to 5 years. Things have been pretty rough but at the same time. It has been a time of incredible growth and a time of learning about relationships and life in general. As time has passed and I have moved very naturally into yoga and meditation things have gotten better for me. When I say this I am thinking of things on a purely emotional level. It is an odd feeling in some ways because on the surface things should feel much worse. But they just don't. I feel very good about my mental and emotional state of being and overall my desire to love and care for others and be there as a sounding board for others is still strong and in some ways stronger then it ever was before.

Earth - Hans Zimmer

I have no idea what the future holds for me at all. But what I do know is that what I can control or at least attempt to control is that I will continue to care for others and to put openness out to world and hopefully openness and love will come back to me in return. I realize that this may be too hippy dippy for some of you. But I also know that I am not being honest if I do not put it out there. Also if you see me in a Dashiki don't act all that surprised. They look super comfortable and why wouldn't I wear one.

Oddfellows Local 151 - REM

That is the last of my New Years Day thoughts for you. I hope you enjoyed the glimpse into the twisted mind of Lance. Every day is another step deeper toward my core and deeper toward my truth.

Thundering Thursday

Are you ready to rock?

Hello Goodbye - The Beatles

I have to admit that I am not a big fan of the Beatles. There is denying the impact that they had on music in general and I am well aware of that as well as their individual and group talents. But I just have never really gotten into their music. I don't enjoy it. I don't think that it makes me a bad person. I hope not anyway. This is a pretty song though.

Disenchanted - My Chemical Romance

This is one of those totally emo and theatrical bands that owes the world to Freddie Mercury and Queen but I do not mind that. Their music works for me. It affects me on an emotional level and I am nut sure the reason but when I listen to it I feel like I should be wearing eyeliner and being all angsty but sadly those days are behind me. In my head though there is a part of me that is that 14 yr old adolescent who is feeling the power of this music and using it as a tool to really express myself at school.

Nobody's Home - Avril Lavigne

I like Avril. I really do. There is just something about her music that I enjoy. I like her sense of humor and her pop culture knowledge when you watch her videos. I like that she is unafraid to sing about emotional things and painful things. The style of music that she tends to operate in is not always my favorite style but I do like it now and then and I like what she does within the limits of her musical ability.

Malverde - Red Fang

Hard to go wrong with the pounding metal of Red Fang. They are one of the best music acts to come out of Portland in the last few years if not ever. I really did them. But I know that not everyone is into metal and I am not into some of the newer metal bands that is for sure. But these guys I really like.

Dog On Wheels - Belle and Sebastian

Some more Belle and Sebastian for you. I hope you enjoy the mellowness. This one has some nice horn and guitar work as well.

Circle The Drain - Katy Perry

I really like this song. It wasn't a big hit for her and doesn't sound like her usual stuff so that is why it probably wasn't a big hit. But I think it is a good one and I think it is a about an old boyfriend of hers but I will not say his name. Give it a listen.

Musical Monday

I am not sure why, but I decided to bring you guys some music today from all of the singers of female persuasuion in my collection. I should say rather that I am going to try to if the internet gets better. So we shall see.

Americano - Lady Gaga

I have a fondness in my heart for pop music and dance pop is one of the things that I really do enjoy. I used to be a little ashamed of my taste in that kind of music but for me there are times when I really do just plain enjoy it. I like tapping my toes to the beat and basically dancing along. As far as Lady Gaga goes, I do think that she is kind of a freak but I also like her music. There is just something about it.

Damn - Katy Perry

I like Katy Perry and I honestly do not care who knows it. There is something to her music that I enjoy and it honestly has nothing to do with how she looks. Though I do think she is attractive. I like the sound of her voice and I like the way her songs are produced. I am not really a big fan of the marketed persona that she puts on. I think most of the modern pop singers anymore are almost as much actors as they are singers. They put on a face and a persona for the fans and the gossip websites and that is how they attract their fanbases. I suppose it is the same for the make singers as well, though I do not think that their sexuality is as tied up in it as it is for the women.

Some Kind of Woman - Stevie Nicks

Classic, classic music and Stevie Nicks put out some great solo work. I really do love her voice and can listen to her music pretty much anytime.

All The Boys Want - Emily Osment

The youngers sister of Haley Joel Osment from the Sixth Sense film. She was in Hannah Montana with Miley Cyrus and has since pursued an acting and singing career though her sound changed from the dance pop sound of this album to a more blue grass country sound with a new group called Ramshackle. I actually like her sound better like this then the new stuff.

That is it for me today folks. I hope you had a decent Veterans Day.

The Spring Appears too Have Sprung

Well it looks like the rains have returned to Oregon. We had a nice run of some much needed and honestly other then the uncomfortable heat of it. I felt like it was needed on a personal level for me. The ability to sit comfortably outside and feel the fresh air and also be able to feel the solitude without actually feeling like a hermit sitting on a mountain top was, for me, a good balance. When the weather gets like this it makes it harder to sit outside and still feel like there are people around. I still sit outside because I love the rain and the feel of the cold air but usually I am alone and it is hard to read a book sitting outdoors in the middle of a rain storm.

Black Magic Castle - Magic Kingdom

What I am dreading on the other hand if this rain continues is the potential for a SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) I know lots of people who this can affect pretty heavily and while I am not affected that much by it I can also get rather gloomy when the weather is gloomy and right now is not a time in my life when I want or need to be gloomy. So far this has been an okay week in a month of real shit. If I were to draw you a scale of it; there would be a huge huge drop probably off of the face of what looks like a cliff. That happened when I first received word of Eric's death. I know that people talk about looking for the small good things in these kind of things. But honestly I do not think that anything good has come out of this whatsoever.

Africa - Toto

What has come out of this is me slogging forward very sluggishly. This has been a month of zombie mindedness with a few moments of clarity and then it all gets very muddled again. The stew pot of emotions has so many different ingredients in it that I have a very hard time tasting just one. I am unable to taste the cleansing purity of anger without  feeling the touch of sorrow. If there is one flavor that appears to be always around it is that of sorrow. It is really hard to taste pleasure when the sourness of sorrow is underlying everything. Things that were fun are not fun anymore. There is a wariness to me doing them because of the fear of memories. Because when the memories start up the sorrow comes back with a vengeance and I have grown tired of crying alone in front of my computer.

The One That Got Away - Katy Perry

The song above, got to me last night as I was watching Katy Perry's concert movie (not ashamed). I realized as she was singing it that she was talking about her divorce and then that made me think of Devyn and Eric and then I started to think of my own divorce and then bam I was crying in front of the computer. I do not dislike crying but you began to wonder at what point are the tears going to stop. Do people ever just dry up and have no liquid left? I don't know that I want that. What does it mean when I stop crying everyday? Does that mean that I will have forgotten Eric? Does that mean that I will have forgotten the pain that his wife and family are in? If getting over this means that I forget then I never want to get over it.

Roll Away Your Stone - Mumford and Sons

I NEVER WANT TO FORGET! 

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. 

Ke$ha 'Warrior"

Well here goes nothing, I am giving the latest Ke$ha album a listen and I am not sure what to say. I need to be upfront and tell you that this is not my typical style of music at all. That isn't to say that I am against pop music, because I am not but I generally speaking do not choose to listen to this style of music if I am left to my own choices. That being said I sat down to listen to her latest album with an open mind. I honestly wanted to give it a fair listen and I believe I did just that.

The bottom line for me as far as this album goes is that I didn't hate it. I don't think it was great or amazing or earth shattering and I didn't think it was the worst album I had ever listened to either. But it just didn't do anything special for me. Their were two songs that actually made me really sit up and listen. One was 'Dirty Love' and it featured Iggy Pop. I will pretty much listen too anything with Iggy Pop in it at least once and I think that Iggy and The Stooges "Raw Power" is an amazing early punk album. So that being said I was a little surprised that he showed up on her album. Now both of these songs are NSFW unless you have some headphones on or work in a place that doesn't care like I used too.

Now if you got through it and are still with me. What did you think of that drum line? Or the guitar riff after that? Does it remind you of anything? It does me but I am unable to pin it down. It isn't that everything has to be totally original but it is nice if there is some originality. I give her points for getting Iggy to join her. But honestly is he even being used in a good way? I don't think so. It wouldn't surprise me if he just called that in using skype and then cashed his paycheck. Not that I would blame him. She probably paid good money.

The other song that got my attention was 'Gold Trans Am' all I can say is that it is the dirtiest Steve Miller song I have ever heard. Just nasty.

I will give some time to recover from that audio onslaught. I have some friends who I know like and listen to Steve Miller so I just hope that they listened and will take the time to let me know what they thought about this little gem. I can't say that I disliked it. It was kind of fun but it isn't something that I would listen to other then for the novelty of it.

So bottom as far as this album goes...if you like this kind of music and you like Ke$ha then this is just more of the same and you are going enjoy it. But as far as anything new or different it isn't and it is very much derivative of Lady Gaga or Katy Perry or any of the hot new lady singers that are heavily auto tuned. Though to be fair. Ke$ha is not as good as Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. I am not putting her down. I think that is just the reality of her as a performer.

Also on a side note, Rolling Stone gave her 3 and 1/2 stars and I can't tell from the review if that is being satirical or what? So for whatever it is worth. I believe that I liked this album less then the Rolling Stone reviewer whose name is Rob Sheffield. 

More Music (Katy Perry)

WE are done with the J's and now we move into the K's with our first artist being Katy Perry. Now I realize that this is just straight up bubble gum pop and make pretty liberal use of the autotuner and that she seems to be more known for her figure then her music. But I actually enjoy and like another big busted pop singer, she started out in the contemporary Christian music industry and had to go secular to achieve any success. I find that fascinating and whatever she is doing it is working as far as record sales go. There are times when I just like the mindlessness of pop music and her music fits the bill perfectly for me.

I also like that she actually makes music videos. Because I enjoy music videos.

"Waking Up In Vegas"




"Hot N Cold"



"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)



"Firework"

Music finds

I really like music. Some good and some bad but I just enjoy it. So I thought I would throw up some videos for some songs that I feel a little guilty about enjoying. The guilt comes for various reasons and from various sources. I believe these are all nearly safe for work.



Interesting tidbit that the female singing is Katy Perry. I really do think that she has a decent voice amongst her other qualities.



I like this song for multiple reasons. I like her voice and I like the melody of the song as well. Christina Aguilera can really sing but wow this is a dirty, dirty song. I love it!! :)



The video is from the movie Burlesque but the song is being song by Megan Mullally from 'Will and Grace' she played Karen. I had know idea she could sing like this. That is also Kristen Bell in the video who is dancing. Though she can also sing as evidenced by my next guilty pleasure

AAAAAAAAGH!!! There are very few things that I hate more then not being able to embed a video that I want to embed. I know that I take some things for granted about the internet but being able to embed a video whenever and wherever I want to should be a basic right for all Americans!!! WHO IS WITH ME!!!!? I need to calm myself down. There it is. This should do the trick.



That is your moment of Zen. Be fully in it.

April 11th 2011 Music Monday

It is Music Monday lets get this party started. So lets get it going with a few tasty historical tidbits and then we will take a look at the charts as well.

1970-Paul McCartney announced a "temporary break with the Beatles". Peter Green announces that he will be leaving Fleetwood Mac.
1981-Eddie VanHalen marries Valerie Bertinelli. Also known as the day that VanHalen died as a band.
1983-R.E.M. releases their first album 'Murmur'.
1988-Cher wins Best Actress Oscar for 'Moonstruck'.
1990-Elton John plays at Ryan Whites funeral.
1994-Seattle,WA, coroner rules Kurt Cobain's death a suicide.
2000-No Doubt releases 'Return to Saturn'
2002-Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson get engaged.

And now off to the charts which in some ways is my favorite part of the blog. It is a little trip down memory lane and sometimes lets me find and remember some good artists that I had either forgotten about or had not even heard of. Lets look at number 1 singles.

1969- No. 1 Single Tommy Roe-'Dizzy' I thought this was interesting a song that I recognized once it began to play but I did not remember the title. It is pretty derivative of this era of music I think.



1979-No.1 Single Gloria Gaynor-'I Will Survive' I am not a big disco fan at all. But, this is a classic of the disco era and I can appreciate it for the power of Gloria's vocals.



1989-No. 1 Single Roxette-'The Look' This is a song that I think I may have heard just a little to often because I could not bring myself to really listen to the whole thing. It just does not work for me at all. But it is pretty typical of the late 80's.



1999-No. 1 Single TLC -'No Scrubs' Again this is not my favorite type of music but I kind of enjoy this song. I am not sure what I find enjoyable about it but I think the beat is catchy and it does touch on a real problem in society. That of gangs of young men driving around and yelling at ladies on the street. No Scrubs!! Lets keep it clean fellas.



2009-No. 1 Single Lady GaGa-'Poker Face' I had not realized that it has been two years since Lady GaGa burst onto the scene. While I enjoy this song, I really think that Lady GaGa is patently overrated. The majority of what she does is a pretty direct rip off of things that Madonna has done before. Now that isn't necessarily a bad thing because Madonna, early Madonna, was an amazingly talented artist. But lets be honest about it. Why act like she is some groundbreaking artist? She isn't. She is talented but come on. It isn't like she is doing anything new.



2010- No. 1 Single Rihanna-'Rude Boy' I really like this songs delicate and nuanced examination of love between a lady and a gentleman. The subtle nature of the discussion makes it possible to almost miss what Miss Rihanna is singing about but if you listen real close then I am sure that you can see the hidden meaning behind the music.



2011-No. 1 Single Katy Perry-'E.T.' ft. Kanye West. This song just works for me. The chorus and the bridge I always find myself just kind of toe tapping along. The video I do not think is anything special and I do not that Katy Perry is doing anything groundbreaking in her music. But I enjoy her music.



Well that is the countdown for this week. But after all of the dance tracks I really feel like I should let you guys do some pallet cleansing. So without further adieu I am going to leave you with this little gem.