Classic Rock And Pop Music Blog

Month: January 2022

8 Days A Week – Days of the week Playlist

On January 29, 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer killed two people and wounded nine others when she fired a .22 caliber rifle from her house across the street onto the entrance of San Diego’s Grover Cleveland Elementary School.  When asked why she did it, she answered “I don’t like Mondays.”  The Boomtown Rats went on to write and record a song based on the event.  The song reached No.1 on the UK charts, though only rose to No.73 on the US charts.  Bob Geldoff, of the Boomtown Rats and organizer of Live Aid concert for Ethiopian famine relief in 1985 (see information about Live Aid in my bio “About”), performs the song at the concert:

In 2010 Bob performed the song with Jon Bon Jovi, also worth a watch.

“Ticking,” a song chronicling a fictional shooting, though loosely inspired by the Whitman “Texas Tower Sniper” shooting and gun violence in America, was released 5 years earlier by Elton John.  The song is off the album “Caribou,” which is more famous for the Elton hit “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” later recorded with George Michael.  He and Bernie wrote it as a statement against violence in America.

“I Don’t Like Mondays” contributes the theme for this week’s playlist – songs including days of the week in their title.  Saturday and Sunday by far inspire the most songs, each with 18 entries on the playlist. 

This is off one of my favorite U2 albums, “Under A Blood Red Sky” live at Red Rocks:

Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning is so good:

And the song has some great covers. So how intimidating to sing the song with Adam Levine as your judge?!?

The George Twins?

Jayesslee Cover (this version is for my friend Melissa):

This one too by Madelyn Grant, Mel:

And I love this version by Algyle, as a cross between Harry Connick Jr. and Michael Buble

Post Modern Jukebox

For those not familial with Post Modern Jukebox, here is one of their classic performances, with some American Idol alums Hailey Reinhardt and Casey Abrams, Morgan James of Broadway fame, and singer and burlesque performer Ariana Savalas, daughter of Telly Savalas.  They are definitely a group seeing in person, though be aware their personnel is constantly changing.

Back to the playlist.  The middle of the week gets slighted by artists, with Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each having only 3 songs each.  Though Tuesday outshines its mid-week partners with such classic “day” songs as “Tuesday Afternoon,” “Ruby Tuesday,” and “Tuesday’s Gone.”   

Sounds of the 60’s with the Rolling Stones and “Ruby Tuesday.”  Who knew that your fourth grade recorder practice could translate to a career in rock!

So tripping to the 70’s with the Moody Blues “Tuesday Afternoon” off of “Days of Future Past,” one of the first true “concept albums” from this progressive rock band that fused rock with classical music.

And then the Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Southern rock ballad anthem “Tuesday’s Gone.”  They named the band in mocking tribute to their PE teacher at Robert E. Lee High School, who strictly enforced the high school policy against long hair.  So they dropped out of school, grew their hair, and the rest is history:

Monday and Friday have 11 and 9 entries, respectively.  Monday outshines it’s end of the week partner for quality songs.  The beginning of the week offers hits “Monday, Monday,” “Manic Monday,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “New Moon on Monday,” “Come Monday,” and “I Don’t Like Monday,” whereas Friday’s hits, though big, are fewer, with “Friday I’m In Love,” “Friday Night,” “Last Friday Night,” and “Black Friday.”

A Monday 60’s classic by the Mama and the Papas, “Monday Monday:”

And and fast forward to the 80’s for this pop hit, “Manic Monday:”

And while I didn’t see Steely Dan until a few years ago, just before Walter Becker died, they hadn’t lost a note – their instrumentation and vocals were spot-on.  So good:

Also included are a few songs that prominently feature days of the week throughout the song, with

“You May Be Right:”

“Friday night I crashed your party. 
Saturday I said ‘I’m sorry.’
Sunday came and trashed me out again…”

Off of “Glass Houses” that landed him his first No.1 hit with “It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me,” the song was a big hit in the 80’s:

“Lady Madonna”

“Friday night arrives without a suitcase
Sunday morning creeping like a nun
Monday’s child has learned to tie his bootlace
See how they run…”

I think John is having fun with nonsensical lyrics as he did in “I Am The Walrus,” to confound the students assigned by his former grade school teacher to interpret lyrics of Beatles songs:

“Happy Days”

“Sunday Monday happy days
Tuesday Wednesday happy days
Thursday Friday happy days
Saturday what a day
Rockin’ all week for you…”

Such a great show for it’s time:

So on to the playlist.  I think this is a fun one to listen to.  Enjoy!

I hope that this music and my blog truly serve as a “revival: a new presentation of something old,” a springboard to return to the music of your youth, or perhaps to find artists you want to discover anew.  Rediscover the passion of music in your life.

Live in the moment.

Enjoy the moment.

Love the moment.

Listen to the MUSIC!

Show Me The WAY & Which WAY Will You Go – “Way” Songs

On January 23, 1969, The Beatles recorded “Get Back,” featuring Billy Preston on keyboards.  It is the only Beatles song where a non-Beatle musician is given credit on the recording.  Billy Preston was highlighted in my October 15 blog post “Cover Me.”  A great sessions keyboardist, in addition to The Beatles, he played with the likes of Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and George Harrison.  He also had hits with “Nothing From Nothing” and “With You I’m Born Again,” in addition to writing “You Are So Beautiful.”

Also on this day in 1971 George Harrison became the first Beatle with a No. 1 UK single, with “My Sweet Lord.”  I stumbled upon this great performance with Billy Preston on keyboards and vocals, Eric Clapton and George’s son Dhani on guitar, with Ringo and Paul playing along as well.  What a gem.

And on this day in 1988 Michael Jackson went to No. 1 on the US singles chart with “The Way You Make Me Feel,” which provides the theme for this week’s blog and playlist, songs featuring the word “Way.”  This playlist includes many great classic rock songs.


Some songs featured include:

Santana, performing “Evil Ways” at Woodstock in 1969:

“Can’t Find My Way Home” originally released in 1969 by Blind Faith, supergroup featuring Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker from Cream, and Steve Winwood of Spencer Davis Group and Traffic fame.  They only released one album, and this song stands as one of the finest rock balads of the 60s.  Clapton and Winwood are featured here performing some 40 years later, along with Derek Trucks, among the greatest slide guitarists in the world.  While Winwood is most renowned for his keyboard prowess, he is quite the accomplished guitarist as well.

Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” released in 1975, among their signature anthems, along with “Dream On” and “Sweet Emotion.”

“Show Me The Way” showcases Peter Frampton’s talk box skills in 1975.  While not the only artist to use the talk box, he was the most prolific, and perhaps the most skilled.  “Baby I Love Your Way” appears on the playlist as well.  Also check out “Do You Feel Like We Do,” perhaps the epitome of talk box guitar. 

Other artists have used the talk box effectively, most notably Joe Walsh, also appearing on this playlist with “Rocky Mountain Way” (1973), and David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) with “Pigs (Three Different Ones)”

“Feeling That Way” (1978), a look into the 70s, with long hair and bell bottoms, great vocals, harmonies, guitar, Journey in their groove…

Fast forward a few years, transitioning into the 80s with “Any Way You Want It” (1980)

And then fully transitioned into the 80s feel, look, and sound with “Separate Ways” (1983):

Appearing even more that the 3 Journey nods is Phil Collins, who appears to have found his way, despite his song title to the contrary with “Can’t Find My Way.” He also has 3 more solo entries including “That’s Just The Way It Is,” “Something Happened On The Way To Heaven,” and “Find A Way To My Heart” as well as a “pseudo” way entry with Genesis in “Throwing It All Away“. This is a powerful video of Phil’s:

Worthy covers of classic rock songs include Run DMC’s cover of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” released in 1986.

And Big Mountain’s cover of Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way” released in 1994.

“Just The Way It Is, Baby,” the Rembrants’ other big hit appears here.  Yes, they have other songs besides “I’ll Be There For You,” the theme song from the hit TV show “Friends.”  

From my country counterpart “Way” playlist, this song and video are too beautiful to keep from sharing.  Included are clips from the 1999 movie “Notting Hill” with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.

A good movie with a great soundtrack, it includes songs “She” by Elvis Costello, “Aint No Sunshine” by Bill Withers, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” by Al Green, “Gimme Some Lovin’” by The Spencer Davis Group, “No Matter What” by Boyzone, and “I Do (Cherish You)” by 98 Degrees, among others.

I’ll close the blog with the song I closed the playlist with, “The Way You Look Tonight” by Steve Tyrell.  For the longest time this version from “Father Of The Bride” of the classic song made famous by Frank Sinatra, but is now available on Spotify.  I love the raspiness of his voice, and it brings back memories of the scene from the movie I love so much, with Steve Martin looking at his newly married daughter, and then to his wife, to the lyrics of “Oh but you’re lovely, with your smile so warm and your cheeks so soft, there is nothing for me but to love you, just the way you look tonight,” it just melts my heart.

So I hope you enjoy the playlists.  To quote the Psychedelic Furs, I hope you “Love My WAY.”

I hope that this music and my blog truly serve as a “revival: a new presentation of something old,” a springboard to return to the music of your youth, or perhaps to find artists you want to discover anew.  Rediscover the passion of music in your life.

Live in the moment.

Enjoy the moment.

Love the moment.

Listen to the MUSIC!

I Have A Dream – Running Down A DREAM, These DREAMS, Little DREAMER Songs

“I have a dream…”  “Four score and seven years ago…”  “When in the course of human events…”  These speeches are indelible landmarks in the history of the United States and its battle against oppression and the evils of tyranny, slavery, and racism.  Each furthering the belief that “we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”  On this, Martin Luther King’s birthday January 15th, the weekend of Civil Rights Day, I thought I’d pay tribute to MLK.

I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

Below images from a trip to Washington DC a few years ago, when attending the American Academy of Pediatrics Conference & Exhibition.

The MLK Memorial, worth a walk from the Lincoln Memorial toward the Jefferson Memorial. You’ll also see the Korean War Veteran Memorial, FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial. Don’t miss it.
-MLK

I was always drawn to U2’s “MLK” with its eerie somber mood:

“Hate cannot drive out hate.  Only love can do that.” – MLK

“Our lives begin and end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – MLK

While mundane compared to the profound work and legacy of MLK, today’s blog will focus on 3 playlists, in honor of the 3 momentous speeches referenced above.  They play off of MLK’s “I have a dream” speech, with playlists including songs featuring in their titles the words “dream,” “dreams,” and “dreamer,” though the last playlist further includes songs featuring the words “dreaming,” “dreamboat,” “dreamlover,” and “daydream.”  They are among my earliest word themed playlists, and I think you’ll really enjoy them.

How silky smooth were the sounds of the 50’s and 60’s.

And on to the 70’s with its long hair and funky rock sound.

And though from the profound to the ridiculously absurd, somehow this 80’s cover is so compelling, despite Miley Cyrus dressed as a unicorn (I thought it was a narwhal at first!) and Ariana Grande dressed as a mouse.  Quite the amazing cover, though I included the original on my playlist.

And for a double-shot of Ariana Grande, a newer release is paired with Disney clips:

This song invokes memories if my going to the midnight showing of “Friday the 13th 3 in 3D” with a high school friend of mine.  The inner-city audience was screaming, yelling, and cheering on Freddie, scaring my friend more than the movie was.  She was worried we might not get out of the theater alive!

And if you’ve never seen or listened to the Broadway musical “Jeckyll & Hyde,” listen to the beauty of this song.  Though I still can’t quite sell myself on David Hasselhoff in the lead – I can’t help think of him as Michael Knight or running the beaches on “Baywatch”

In perhaps the greatest audition in TV singing competition history stands Susan Boyle singing “I Dreamed A Dream.”  While I included the “Les Miserables” Broadway musical version on the playlist, this appearance is to amazing to pass up:

While the following few video performances stray from the playlist word theme, they sure highlight performers reaching for and achieving their dreams.  The following audition perhaps equals that of Susan Boyle’s in greatness, also from “Britain’s Got Talent”

Not to leave America out of the surprisingly stellar auditions game is Jackie Evancho, just 10 years old at the time, on “America’s Got Talent”

And not to be outdone, there’s Josh Krajcik’s audition on “American Idol”

They all sure reached for and achieved their wildest dreams.  Such talents

In addition to loving this next artist, Billy Joel, who was my first concert, and this next song, “The River of Dreams,” I love this next video, as it was filmed in Johnsonville, with its small chapel, schoolhouse, and waterfall, the scenic village where my wife and I married.

And a Van Halen entry, though with Sammy Hagar at the helm, allows me the opportunity to update our David Lee Roth New Years Eve Concert experience in Las Vegas two weeks ago.  We had purchased the tickets with some reticence, having heard that while Eddie was his amazing guitar god self, and Sammy was great, David was a mess, often drunk, forgetting his lyrics, and less than his once stellar lead singer of one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time.  But we figured, being in Vegas, we’d take the gamble, and either see him go out on a high note, or if a sad sight to see, revel in memories of what once was over a drink or two as we rang in the new year.  But alas a no show wasn’t on our radar screen.  As some may know, he cancelled all of his farewell shows reportedly due to COVID concerns.  He later commented “I am encouraged and compelled to really come to grips with how short time is,” Roth said, “and my time is probably even shorter.”  I think we had a better chance of Eddie coming back from the grave to perform with Sammy than seeing DLR in all his glory.  I hope he is well for whatever time he has left.  For a while he was in the rock pantheon of lead singer elite.

And with “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and “California Dreamin’,” among other songs, the Mamas & The Papas were among the great folk sounds of the 60s.

And David Bowie got a great movie placement with a franchise that has gotten it right in pairing great music with movie scenes (see December 19 blog with “Immigrant Song” Thor: Ragnarock movie reference).  The Guardians of the Galaxy movies soundtracks are among my favorites, along with “The Big Chill,” “Stand By Me,” Forrest Gump,” and “American Graffiti.”

Kate Bush, perhaps best known for “Running Up That Hill” or her collaboration with Peter Gabriel on “Don’t Give Up” from his album “So,” has perhaps the most unusual video of today’s blog, with “Army Dreamers,” a mother’s lamenting the loss of her son during military maneuvers.  

In closing, I thought I’d share some inspiration, to strive to reach for our dreams, with “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from “Cinderella”, as Disney continues to reimagine and update their stories to offer dreams old and new:

Not quite the dream of MLK.  He, and visionaries like him, our founding fathers, Gandhi, Mandela, Shakespeare, Mozart, Da Vinci all had vision and dreams and changed the shape of the world around them.  Our dreams may not be as lofty or world-changing, but they are no less important.  If you dream it you can do it.  Perhaps the University of Phoenix “You Can Do It” commercial can inspire you.  I love this cover of “Dreams” though it is unavailable on Spotify.  “Settling” for the Cranberries original is not so awful, though.

And now for the playlists.  Enjoy!  Dream!

I hope that this music and my blog truly serve as a “revival: a new presentation of something old,” a springboard to return to the music of your youth, or perhaps to find artists you want to discover anew.  Rediscover the passion of music in your life.

Live in the moment.

Enjoy the moment.

Love the moment.

Listen to the MUSIC!

I Feel Good – Songs for a Great Day!

As we embark upon a new year with great hope and anticipation, but also with some hesitation, with the continued turbulence and struggles in our world and lives, I thought I’d try to help encourage a mood of positivity with today’s blog and playlist, perhaps trying to channel the power of positive thinking.

I just finished reading Dave Grohl’s “The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music.”  It’s an excellent book, definitely worth a read. I can thank my daughter for lending it to me, and I’m lending it around so much I need to purchase another copy to give back to her!

For those of you stuck in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s like me, you might not be familiar with Dave Grohl.  He is the lead singer, drummer, and guitarist of Foo Fighters, and formerly the drummer of Nirvana, and his band prior to that Scream. 

Nirvana’s anthem of the 90’s angst was “Smells Like Teen Spirit” which ironically for a band that wanted to be counter-cultural and against the mainstream, struck a nerve in the unsettled youth of the 90’s and perhaps became the touchstone and biggest hit of the decade, catapulting the band in to riches and fame.  But it’s no wonder the grunge scene originated in Seattle, with its gloomy rainy weather being the perfect muse to encourage bands to further delve into the depths of their sorrows and frustration.

Nirvana was definitely a bit too punk, grunge, and depressive for me back in the 90’s, when I had little time to devote to new music, being busy with medical school, residency, then my new family.  I mostly stuck to my comfort zone, with new music from my old standbys, artists of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.  It was safe and easy, and something to keep me sane in my at times 100+ hour work weeks.

I recently revisited Nirvana, starting with their Unplugged offerings, which would be their last major recorded live performance, released after Kurt Cobain died.  This proved a good reintroduction, with Kurt and the band a little more subdued due to the more acoustic nature of the Unplugged recordings.  I was struck with how much their Unplugged songs reminded me of R.E.M., a band I liked in college in the 80’s. They were a band from the Athens, GA scene, along with the B-52s. I had cassette tapes back in the day of some of my college friends’ albums, and my personal favorite album by them was “Reckoning,” but “Murmur,” “Fables of the Reconstruction,” “Life’s Rich Pageant,” “Document,” “Out of Time,” and “Automatic for the People” were also great albums.

Interestingly, per Wikipedia, I’m not alone in the comparison:

The album MTV Unplugged in New York was released posthumously in 1994. It has drawn comparisons to R.E.M.’s 1992 release, Automatic for the People. In 1993, Cobain had predicted that the next Nirvana album would be “pretty ethereal, acoustic, like R.E.M.’s last album”.
“Yeah, he talked a lot about what direction he was heading in”, Cobain’s friend, R.E.M.’s lead singer Michael Stipe, told Newsweek in 1994. “I mean, I know what the next Nirvana recording was going to sound like. It was going to be very quiet and acoustic, with lots of stringed instruments. It was going to be an amazing fucking record, and I’m a little bit angry at him for killing himself. He and I were going to record a trial run of the album, a demo tape. It was all set up. He had a plane ticket. He had a car picking him up. And at the last minute he called and said, ‘I can’t come.'” Stipe was chosen as the godfather of Cobain’s and Courtney Love’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.

I then progressed to Nirvana’s studio “harder” catalogue. I can definitely now better appreciate his and the band’s musical talents, but their more screaming lyrical style of some of their songs still are not an attraction for me.

In the 90’s I did dabble with some new artists, such as Hootie and the Blowfish, who had a catchy vocal style and sound:

Often dubbed heartland rock or jangle pop, their music was less dark and brooding than grunge. Hootie’s lead singer Darius Rucker, a local guy from Charleston, SC, has now made a career in country music.  The band recently reunited to release their first album in 15 years.

And then there was the definitely more pop sound of Spin Doctors, with some great bluesy rock guitar riffs, especially if you give a listen to “Jimmy Olson Blues.” This was perhaps their biggest hit, though:

I even listened to a little mainstream grunge, like Pearl Jam:

And Stone Temple Pilots:

These bands were hard to ignore.  They were so big on not just the alternative/grunge scene, but even on pop radio, back before music streaming when we all still listened to radio.

Fast forward again to Dave’s book.  He speaks about growing up feeling different, not part of the mainstream.  He found his meaning in music, with an attraction to punk at the time, which eventually morphed into the grunge scene in Seattle.  Dave praises his mother for encouraging and cultivating his musical talent, and allowing him the freedom to explore his own path.  From his book regarding his mother:

“She had given me life not once but twice, by allowing me the freedom to become who I wanted to be, ultimately releasing me to my own destiny. Through her faith in me, she gave me the courage and the confidence to have faith in myself. Through her passion and conviction, she taught me to live with passion and conviction of my own. And through her unconditional love for me, she showed me how to love others unconditionally… She was forever my hero and greatest inspiration; I owed all of this to her.”

“It’s times like these you learn to live again
It’s times like these you give and give again
It’s times like these you learn to love again
It’s times like these time and time again”

His path more than fulfilled his childhood dream of being a rock star, and eventually led him to places he perhaps he never imagined, including Saturday Night Live, where he has performed 14 times, with Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures, Mick Jagger, and Tom Petty, performing on SNL more than any other musical guest; the Academy Awards to sing The Beatles “Blackbird” as a tribute to lost screen stars; and several times to the White House, where the advice by security staff of not peeing in the bushes as there are people in there was well headed! His friendship with Paul McCartney lead to his being asked to play as a tribute to the Beatle at the White House:

In an interview on Kelly Clarkson’s show, when discussing the lyrics to “Everlong” he relates:

“I was in love and one of the things that I loved so much about this person was when we would sing together. It’s meant to sort of represent that moment — all moments are fleeting, but if you could be in that moment and you think if anything could be this good again.”

“If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again
The only thing I’ll ever ask of you
You’ve got to promise not to stop when I say when”

Again from his interview with Clarkson, he talked about the connective and healing power of music and that lyrics can mean different things to different people, which is part of the magic.

“Music is meant to heal,” he observed.

“It could be 50,000 people singing the same lyric, for 50,000 different reasons because that lyric means something specific to them. They’re not singing it for my reasons, they’re singing it for their reasons. Even the darkest lyrics, I think they’re meant to heal somehow. There’s hope — it’s important to be hopeful.”

Interestingly, “Learn to Fly” is actually about his desire to be a pilot.  Yet you could interpret the lyrics to be about trying to make something of your life, needing another person in your life, or even needing God in your life.

Fly along with me, I can’t quite make it alone
Try to make this life my own
Fly along with me, I can’t quite make it alone
Try to make this life my own

I’m lookin’ to the sky to save me
Lookin’ for a sign of life
Lookin’ for somethin’ to help me burn out bright
And I’m lookin’ for a complication
Lookin’ cause I’m tired of tryin’
Make my way back home when I learn to

I’m lookin’ to the sky to save me
Lookin’ for a sign of life
Lookin’ for somethin’ to help me burn out bright
And I’m lookin’ for a complication
Lookin’ cause I’m tired of tryin’
Make my way back home when I learn to fly high
Make my way back home when I learn to fly

The video is too funny not to share:

In my blogs about finding solace in music after the death of my dad and brother (see “Dance With My Father & Big Bad John – Tribute to Dad” 10/06/21 and “I Won’t Forget You – Tribute to my brother Bob 12/28/21), I like Dave, asserted that music has the power to heal.  Dave further relates:

“When I was seventeen years old, music had become my counselor when I needed guidance, my friends when I felt alone, my father when I needed love, my preacher when I needed hope, and my partner when I needed to belong.”

“Fatherhood eclipsed any dream, any wish, any song I had ever written, and as the years went by I discovered the true meaning of love.  I no longer lived for myself; I live for them.”

“And Kurt.  If only he could have seen the joy that his music brought to the world, maybe he could have found his own.”

So with this playlist, I hope to bring some joy and happiness to your day.  While it’s great to feel validated in your sorrow, to not feel alone in your distress listening to artists sing of the difficulties in their lives, and that’s perhaps why music of the 90’s struck such a chord (music pun intended), if you surround yourself with sadness, it can forever permeate your being.  So in borrowing from some cognitive behavioral therapy theory, while it’s difficult to change our emotions, we can work on the two other related factors that drive our lives – what we think and what we do.  We can listen to positive, upbeat music.  We can work on happy thoughts and self-talk.  We can surround ourselves with positivity. And that can effect change in our mood. It’s not always an easy choice, but I believe it’s an essential choice. To quote Mahatma Gandhi, “be the change you wish to see in the world.”

And here for your viewing pleasure – if these videos don’t make you smile, nothing will!

“Shut Up And Dance”:

“Uptown Funk”:

and “Happy”:

So take this playlist out and listen to it when you’re having a bad day, or want to make a good day even better.

I hope that this music and my blog truly serve as a “revival: a new presentation of something old,” a springboard to return to the music of your youth, or perhaps to find artists you want to discover anew.  Rediscover the passion of music in your life.

Live in the moment.

Enjoy the moment.

Love the moment.

Listen to the MUSIC!

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén