Classic Rock And Pop Music Blog

Tag: listen

Walking On The MOON & Season Of The Witch – “Moon” and Halloween Songs

On October 29, 1983, Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side Of The Moon” marked its 491st week on the US Billboard album chart, surpassing the previous record holder, “Johnny’s Greatest Hits” by Johnny Mathis.  When it finally dropped off the list in October of 1988, over 14 years later, “Dark Side” had set a record of 741 consecutive weeks on the chart.

In honor of this feat, not to mention the upcoming Halloween holiday, today’s playlist features “Moon” songs, and includes the artist responsible for the accomplishment, as well as the artist dethroned: both Pink Floyd and Johnny Mathis appear on the list, along with the likes of The Police, Van Morrison, Sting, Creedence Clearwater, Ozzy Osbourne, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis Pressley, Billie Holiday, even Benny Goodman!

One of my favorite “moon” songs is “Sister Moon” by Sting.  It sounds as though he wrote and recorded it in some old haunted house under the light of a full moon.  It contains the line “my mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” no less from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130.  Sting must have a thing for the moon, with the playlist title song “Walking On The Moon” with The Police, and his solo songs “Sister Moon” and “Moon Over Bourbon Street.”

Van Morrison’s “Moondance” is one of the greatest romantic mood songs ever recorded.  CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising” and Genesis’ “Mad Man Moon” are also among my favorites.  And who thought of making a brilliant mash-up of Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven” and The Police’s “Walking On The Moon?”  If you haven’t seen it, it’s a must watch:

Most songs contain “moon,” in the title, though there are also songs whose titles include “moonlight,” “moondance,” “moonshine,” “moonshadow,” and even “moonage.”  And one song instead has moon prominently featured its lyrics, Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage” which includes the lyric “see you on the dark side of the moon,” from which the album gets its title.

I hope you enjoy these moon songs:

Also, in honor of the upcoming holiday, I thought I’d share one of the best Halloween themed videos ever made, “Thriller”:

As well as a “bonus” playlist, “The Season Of The Witch,” with dark, spooky songs, suitable for Halloween Haunting!

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!

Dance With My Father & Big Bad John – Tribute to Dad

Music has the ability to entertain, excite, elate, and elevate.  It also has the ability to give relief and hope, as witnessed by:

the Concert for Bangladesh, held at Madison Square Garden in 1971, the first ever tribute concert of such magnitude, organized by former Beatle George Harrison and Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar

Live Aid, a concert for Ethiopian Famine Relief, organized by Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats, held/simulcast in RFK Stadium, Philadelphia and Wembley Stadium, London in 1985

and 12-12-12, The Concert for (Hurricane) Sandy Relief, held at Madison Square Garden in 2012

Further, it has the ability to console, comfort, and heal, as evidenced by the various tributes after 9-11, including “America: A Tribute To Heroes”

As I have mentioned in “About Me”, quoting Albert Einstein, “I often think in music.  I live my daydreams in music.  I see my life in terms of music.”  So it’s no surprise that when my dad unexpectedly passed away at the age of 49 in 1986, when I was 19 years old, while studying abroad in Spain while in college, I turned to music for solace, comfort, and healing.  I listened to songs on my cassette Walkman in my downtime in Europe while traveling around with a close friend of mine, seeing the beauty and wonders of Italy, France, and England while coping with the emotions of such great loss.

Many years later, when my grandfather “Poppy”, my dad’s dad, passed away in his 90’s, now armed with digital technology and the ability to burn CDs, I made a tribute disc for my dad, and presented it to relatives as a memory not only of my dad, but of my grandparents, as I had uploaded old reel-to-reel audio clips of them talking and singing onto my computer.  I still listen to this playlist with some regularity to remind myself of all the great times spent with my dad, keeping him close in mind and heart.  Today, on what would be his 85th birthday, I thought I’d share that playlist, and the CD liner notes I had made for my family, with some old photos of him.  I hope you don’t mind the indulgence.

I have made a few more such “tribute” compliation CDs for parents of former patients who passed away, in hopes of their finding some healing and peace through music.  For those of you who have endured such heartfelt loss, I strongly encourage you to consider this medium as a means of therapy, a journey to heal and find hope, and to keep love close at heart.

While this playlist is about my dad, much of it could be about any dad, or anyone you hold near and dear to your heart and soul.

Since that time, as I continue to explore my word playlist themes, I decided to make a “John/Johnny” playlist as a tribue to my dad, John Storo.  I think you’ll find this a fun playlist.

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!

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