For the second time in a couple of months, I ordered a CD because of posts in a forum I hang out in. Last time it was a user who went by the nick of Lorelei and it made me crave Styx. This time it was someone who made reference to Shambala, which, of course, made me want to listen to Three Dog Night.

I am old, and I don't care who knows it!

Wash away my troubles, wash away my pain
With the rain in Shambala
Wash away my sorrow, wash away my shame
With the rain in Shambala

And who couldn't like:

Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me

Mmm, yeah. These are songs from the days when musicians were actually, you know, musicians....

Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg dies

Don't think I can find any words at the moment. I have lots of things I could say about Dan Fogelberg and what his music has meant to me an my life, but I'm not really feeling very eloquent.

We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how

I've been very happy all day, for no particular reason. I love when that happens. Last night there was an interview on television with Jerry Seinfeld, and he was talking about how much nicer life is when you just stop to enjoy something in the moment. Like, a really good parking place. Or a good cigar. Or a nice cold drink of water on a hot day. Just take a moment and think, "Yeah, this is good." I agree with that completely. Life really is better when you try to live in the moment and enjoy the moment when you're in it.

Right now, I'm listening to The Eagles and it's not too hot in the house, but the fan is on, and that feels really nice. I've got bare feet. My jeans are getting too big on me (when I walked Miranda to school, I had to keep pulling them up, heh). I'm wearing Gucci perfume. Andrew's here, watching television. The kids are in bed. Life is good. Right now, at this moment life is good.

I'm starting to suspect that living in the moment is the way to achieve enlightenment, actually... Whatever, it's damned pleasant to just be. You know, the great I AM. I am, and right now, everything is fine.

Tell me, how long, how long
Woman, will you weep?
How long, how long
Rock yourself to sleep

How long, how long
Muddy river runs so deep
How long, how long
Goodnight baby, rock yourself to sleep

*squeals like a schoolgirl* I've got the new Eagles album, and I am having a great time.

That fantastic vocal harmony, and some of the songs harken back (I've always wanted to use that phrase) to the Eagles early days (gotta love songs written by J.D. Souther, in my opinion, and no, he's not an official member of the Eagles, but he's been closely associated with them since the beginning and has written or co-written a lot of their songs). Got some cynical social commentary (thank you, Don Henley), got some sentimental love songish things (note: The Eagles almost never do proper love songs; they always do bitter ones, or sad ones, or about-to-break-up ones, or co-dependent ones, and so forth), and a couple that strike me as being surprisingly spiritual, or at least insightful. This is a damned GOOD album. Do not hesitate to buy it if you're at all interested!

Oh, happy, happy SIGH. Imagine me with an expression that's a combination of bliss and excitement.

Damn. They definitely still have it. I knew that when I saw them live at Rod Laver Arena (yes, I was there one of the nights they were filming for the "Farewell I" tour DVD), but this album so totally confirms it.

Hey, this might be enough to break the Beatles kick I've been on lately (maybe)...

Why eleven and not twelve or ten or nine? I dunno. Just because, I guess. I got it from a blog I read, I read the news today: All Beatle news (yes, I read a Beatles blog, are you really that surprised?).

So I sat down and did a quick and dirty top eleven Beatles songs. Mind you, many of these are probably subject to my mood, and the ones in the middle move around somewhat. And this doesn't mean that I don't like other Beatles songs. These are just my personal favourites. Note the abundance of George Harrison songs (including the "bucket of curry" songs, which I quite enjoy) and that several of these songs are from Revolver, which is, in my opinion, The Beatles' best overall album. Anyway:

1) In My Life
2) Here Comes the Sun
3) Help
4) Tomorrow Never Knows
5) Let It Be
6) Within You Without You
7) Hello Goodbye
8) Octopus's Garden
9) Taxman
10) Love You To
11) Drive My Car

I could probably exchange Drive My Car with some other song, but Drive My Car has COWBELL...

I'm listening to The Beatles. I know, big surprise, right? I know I always say that The Eagles are my favorite band of all time, and... well, they are, pretty much. But I realised the other day that if the Demon of Difficult Hypothetical Dilemmas came and forced me to choose to listen to only ONE band for the rest of time, it wouldn't actually be the Eagles. It would be The Beatles... (especially if I could include all the solo work of the band members!)

Anyway, I do love The Beatles (as I've mentioned) and let's just say they're my favourite band that broke up before I was old enough to really know anything about them. The Beatles hit the U.S. in the year I was born, and I grew up listening to them. I started to actively like them when I was ten or so. I used to get out one of those big old reel-to-reel tapes (anyone remember those?) and put the headphones on and listen while I colored or drew. Come to think of it, I still listen to The Beatles while I'm pushing the pixels, so it seems some things never change.

So lately I've been collecting more Beatles albums. I want to really fill out my/our collection. Revolver is our latest acquisition. It's a damned good album, arguably The Beatles' best.

I like listening to this with alpha wave enhancement and a trippy visualisation that responds to the music. It's pretty good stuff...

This is a really interesting album. Glad we've got it now (mind you, I was familiar with the songs on it, but I didn't have the album and I hadn't heard some of the songs in a long time). It's also got one of the coolest covers of all time (in my opinion), and really nice sitar work from George Harrison (my favourite Beatle).

Even Zoë said of "Love You To" (a Harrison song with classic Indian structure), "That's a good sound!" And she's right, too. It is a good sound. A damn good sound.

And if you're still not convinced of the absolute coolness of this album, I suggest you read the free e-book (in PDF format), Abracadabra, which tells the story of this remarkable album. Really interesting read.

Turn off your mind, relax
and float down stream
It is not dying
It is not dying

Lay down all thought
Surrender to the void
It is shining
It is shining

That you may see
The meaning of within
It is being
It is being

That love is all
And love is everyone
It is knowing
It is knowing

That ignorance and hate
May mourn the dead
It is believing
It is believing

But listen to the
color of your dreams
It is not living
It is not living

Or play the game
existence to the end
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning

(Tomorrow Never Knows - Lennon/McCartney 1966)

First, if you're unfamiliar with "more cowbell", well, watch the video...

I'm listening to the Beatles (big surprise, I know). For the first time, I really noticed that A Hard Day's Night has actual cowbell. And Drive My Car has some really major cowbell. See? I knew there was a reason the Beatles were so great.

COWBELL!

Well, after our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, we decided we needed some more Beatles music. We opted for The Beatles (i.e., the White Album). Next we'll start on the earlier things. Eventually, we'll have the whole collection.

Anyway, I was quite captivated by a particular George Harrison song and went to do a bit of reading about him and found myself recognising a kindred spirit in him. His quest for God was legendary and it's in so many of his songs. I could see it and hear it, and I understand it and appreciate it. (And, of course, he was a fan of and friends with the Monty Python's Flying Circus crew!)

When we ordered the Beatles album, I got a copy of The Best of George Harrison, though it's mostly his early stuff and with a couple of Beatles songs that he wrote. I really probably should get myself a copy of All Things Must Pass.

So that's what I'm listening to. George Harrison (and/or a couple of Beatles songs written and sung by him). And now I have a favourite Beatle.

I'm a dark horse
Running on a dark race course
I'm a blue moon
Since I stepped from out of the womb
I've been a cool jerk
Looking for the source
I'm a dark horse.

Yes, boys and girls, it's been forty years since The Beatles released Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. So that's what we're listening to here.

I'm a bit too young to remember any of this, though. I only just turned 43, so it's not like I was into pop music at that age. Hell, I was barely toilet trained, let alone care about whether or not the black carnation Paul was wearing was a secret sign that he was actually dead, having been replaced by a lookalike. Who coincidentally could play bass guitar. Left handed. And sing exactly like Paul. And write songs exactly like Paul, as well. (Well, I was too young then, but I've certainly learned a lot since then, including being fully and completely toilet trained, so there.)

And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong
I'm right where I belong
I'm right where I belong
See the people standing there
who disagree and never win
and wonder why they don't get in my door

Oo, loneliness will blind you
In between the wrong and the right
Oo, coming right behind you
Swear Im gonna find you
One of these nights

One of these nights
In between the dark and the light
Coming right behind you
Swear Im gonna find you
Get ya baby one of these nights

(Title track of "One of These Nights", which is, in my opinion and also the opinion of Glenn Frey, the best Eagles album. And if you don't know who Glenn Frey is, well, Google him and find out.)

Many, many thanks to the lovely soul who turned me on to Pandora.

What's that, you say? Well:

Can you help me discover more music that I'll like?

Those questions often evolved into great conversations. Each friend told us their favorite artists and songs, explored the music we suggested, gave us feedback, and we in turn made new suggestions. Everybody started joking that we were now their personal DJs.

We created Pandora so that we can have that same kind of conversation with you.

It's all streamed content, extremely cool. I've found a couple new things that I like, and I'm enjoying a lot of older stuff I haven't heard in a long time. My "personal radio station" is named "Bonni Grew Up in the 70s", though I've got a few good selections from a bit newer than that (Barenaked Ladies, for example).

Right now, though, I'm listening to Boston. Mmmmmm. Boston.... (because I grew up in the 70s)

Well, you knew you were going to hear my review of the latest Dixie Chicks album (because I warned you, and if you didn't read that, well, I'm warning you now). Here it is.

I've listened to this album numerous times, and it's damned good. I mean, it's SERIOUSLY good. It reminds me a lot of the 70s California style rock done to such perfection by The Eagles (my favorite band of all time, for those not keeping score), Dan Fogleberg, J.D. Souther, maybe a bit of Fleetwood Mac, you get the vibe here?

Musically, it's just damned good. Lyrically, it's pretty powerful. Lyrics range from love songs to lullabies to songs of defiance (something I can always identify with). I'm telling you, this is a really good album, particularly if you like 70s style California rock with that comfortable but not overpowering country influence.

Mmmmmm. Gooooood music.

The Dixie Chicks' Martie Maguire has been quoted as saying, "I'd rather have a smaller following of really cool people who get it, who will grow with us as we grow and are fans for life, than people that have us in their five-disc changer with Reba McEntire and Toby Keith. We don't want those kinds of fans. They limit what you can do."

Well, I don't have a five disc changer (okay, I do, but I never use it), and I don't own any Reba... no, wait... yes, I do have a couple Reba McEntire albums, and I own NO Toby Keith and wouldn't if someone gave it to me for free, but I'm pretty sure that I "get it" and if the Dixie Chicks keep making albums of this quality, I'll be a fan for life. I promise not to put them in the disc changer with Reba.

Well, I've previously gone on about how much I like Weird Al Yankovic (been a fan for many years). Geeky, smart, funny, hey, it works for me... (On a side note, there's a good interview with Weird Al in Rolling Stone.)

Anyway, yesterday we were out I picked up my very own copy of Straight Outta Lynwood. Pretty good stuff, and I hear it's doing extremely well for Al, being his first Top 10 album.

My favorite is, of course, White & Nerdy, but the whole album is amusing. I got several laugh out loud moments when I was first giving a listen-through. I specifically got a huge laugh from this bit (from Close But No Cigar), about a reason for breaking up with a girlfriend:

Except she was always using the word "infer" When she obviously meant "imply" And I know some guys would put up with that kind of thing But frankly, I can't imagine why

(Because, I will admit, the infer/imply thing really annoys me when people do it, argh.)

Anyway, the lyrics of Don't Download This Song (which, of course, I did download from the official Don't Download This Song site), worked:

So don't download this song Don't go pirating music all day long Go and buy the CD like you know that you should Oh, don't download this song

I'm listening to Damn Yankees. Dunno how many people remember them, but the band had former members of Styx, Night Ranger, and also Ted Nugent. It's very 80s hair band type rock.

At the moment I'm listening to Bad Reputation, which is quite overtly sexual in that 80s rock kind of way. No subtlety at all....

I confess, I do rather like 80s hair bands.

It also seems that pretty much none of their lyrics are appropriate for this blog (look, I do try to keep it pretty clean here, with only minimal sexual references, eh?) or just don't really work out of the context of the screaming guitars and headbanging rhythms...

Well, this sort of works.... it's better with the music, but it's your basic hair band rock love ballad, where the guy is begrudgingly admitting that he's in love...

You don't have to love me baby
I don't give a damn
You've got the time I've got the touch
And you know who I am
It's simplified, I'm mystified
A case of hit and run
Ain't no use no more abuse
You are my number one
And I'm in love
I'm mystified, baby
Yeah, I'm in love
I'm mystified, baby
yeah, yeah, yeah
You're my kind of lover
You always keep me mystified

Though, I must admit, I got a giggle a bit later in the song with a lyric that is worthy of Spinal Tap:

Well I get out of the kitchen
When I can't take the heat
What you've got cooking, hun
It's good enough to eat

It's a good album, though (it did go double platinum, after all), if you like 80s hair band rock. Which, of course, I do.

Yeah, well. When you've got the irrits (as Aussies would say; pretty good phrase, methinks) there's nothing quite like punk music to either take the edge off or bring it all to a head so it blows over (I was going to say "until it pops" but thought that was too gross).

I put on some country (Garth Brooks) and that totally did not do it. It just made it worse. I put on some 60s pop (The Monkees) and that didn't help (though the Beatles theoretically might have if I'd tried it). Billy Joel? Right out. So I'm back to Green Day's fantastic American Idiot album.

She's a rebel
She's a saint
She's salt of the earth
And she's dangerous

She's a rebel
Vigilante
Missing link on the brink
Of destruction

[...]

Is she dreaming
what I'm thinking
Is she the mother of all bombs
gonna detonate

Is she trouble
like I'm trouble
make it a double
twist of fate
or a melody that

She sings the revolution
the dawning of our lives
she brings this liberation
that I just can't define
nothing comes to mind

Oh, yeah, baby. That's what I'm talking about....

Oh, and by the way, I know I'm not saying anything new, but.... Stupid people really piss me off.

Caught this on my webcam. It's me headbanging to Green Day.

Okay. Got tired of the radio. Listening to The Bangles now. Walk Like an Egyptian is one of the best novelty songs ever, in my opinion. Oooh, here's the part where you whistle... Yeah....

Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac....

I'm listening to my favorite radio station, Vega 91.5. They do streaming broadcasting, so you can listen to Vega with me.

I used to think that when I bought new music (as opposed to the old stuff I like, such as the Eagles) it was a good sign that I'm not yet at that "too old to try new stuff" stage. That, by the way, is a stage I never want to get to. You can't stop your brain from getting older, but there are things you can do to keep it limber, so to speak. I don't want to get so set in my ways that I can't try something new.

Anyway, I'm still really enjoying American Idiot. What a great album. And I was thinking, "Hey, I guess it means I'm not too old...."

But, actually, Green Day is a really good example of American Punk Rock, which was first popular, oh, more than 20 years ago. So even though the album is new, the style of the music definitely isn't. So may I AM old....

I was the right age to be a punk. I wasn't one, but I could have been. I wondered for a long time why I hadn't gotten into it, because I do, in fact, like American punk (big fan of The Ramones, for example). But while I did occasionally wear safety pins in my ears (just because), I never turned into a punk girl, when it really would have suited me. All the rebellion and such, and my mother would have gone insane if I'd gotten a green mohawk...

I realized in later years that I didn't go for the punk culture because I wanted to be sexy and cute, and punk girls were only sexy and cute to punk boys. I wanted to be sexy and cute to a more mainstream audience (and I was, too, for a brief period of time).

Anyway, I've been very much admiring the Green Day songs I've heard from the American Idiot album. Really nice arrangements, and definitely worth listening to. I commented a couple of times that we should get the album. So Andrew got it for me for Mother's Day (for my birthday he got me Eagles Farewell I).

I'm finally really sitting down and listening to the album (okay, it's a CD, but it's still an album, dammit!). One of the songs moved me enough to post it in my recovery-related journal. A few of the lines inspired me enough to use them as a sigline on one of the boards I frequent.

This is a good album. Extremely coherent, excellent arrangements, and the drumlines in a couple of the songs really seriously rock. Very impressed. No wonder it won a Grammy Award for Rock Album of the Year.

She's a rebel,
She's a saint,
She's the salt of the earth,
And she's dangerous,
She's a rebel,
Vigilante,
Missing link on the brink,
Of destruction

I'm here all alone today. At first I enjoyed the silence, and then I decided to put on some music.

It's The Monkees.

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees... people say we monkey around...

A bit before my time, as far as the "heart throb" thing, but I grew up watching them in syndication, and, you know, as musicians, they're honestly not that bad (and they did play their own instruments). Peter Thorkelson (aka Peter Tork) is still a musician, actually. So they were the Prefab Four, so what?

Anyway, regardless of where they are now or what they're doing, I like The Monkees stuff from the sixties, and that, by golly, is what I'm listening to.

And then I saw her face... now I'm a believer... not a trace of doubt in my mind... I'm in love... I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her if I tried...

Well, I hd to go and mention the Bangles in my previous entry, and now I'm listening to a variety of music, much of it from the 80s.

And I've come to a startling realization...

I actually like 80s music. I always thought I just sort of knew a lot of it and liked some of it, but that for the most part I was a 70s kinda gal. And I do really like 70s music (most of it; I don't like a lot of the disco stuff), but dang, I really do like 80s stuff. Big hair bands (hey, I'd still have Jon Bon Jovi's babies... except that he's happily married and has plenty of babies of his own already, but that's not the point, I'm trying to refer to the thing you do to GET the babies, really, nudge wink), Bangles, the Eurythmics, Duran Duran (the band so nice they named it twice, although I do actually know where the name came from and for the record I could probably break the orgasmatron, too, but if you don't know where the name "Duran Duran" comes from that comment will be totally lost on you, so I suggest you go and rent "Barbarella" right away, it's a hoot).

It's actually kinda scary. Right as I type this I'm actually listening to (and enjoying) "Too Sexy" (you know, I'm too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hurts...). I even sometimes sing this song (with slightly altered lyrics) when I'm happy and feeling very proud of myself. And I sing it to Missycat (I'm too sexy for my cat, poor pussy, poor pussy cat).

So there you go. The Eagles may well be my favorite band of all time (and they are), but it seems that I actually do like 80s stuff, too... Don't worry. Be happy. Hey, I give you my phone number. When you worry, you call me. I make you happy!

Yes, I have a strange kind of fascination with 1964, which, of course, is the year I was born.

Today when I was in the post office I saw CDs with hit songs from specific years, and I grabbed the 1964 one. Shockingly, there are no Beatles songs on it, probably because they couldn't get the rights, but there are some other really good ones (and a few lame ones).

At the moment, I'm just pleased to learn that "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits was from '64 (why I didn't know that, I have no idea), and also Manfred Mann's, "Doo Wah Diddy Diddy" (which just happens to be the first song I ever sang to Miranda, because they played the oldies station on the radio in the nursery of the hospital where she was born).

I'm also interested to hear the original versions of two songs I know as Linda Ronstadt cover songs. One ("You're No Good" by Swinging Blue Jeans) makes me prefer the original, but I think I like the Ronstadt version of The Hollies' "Just One Look" a bit better, though the original arrangement is pretty interesting.

And I'll leave you with the words of what I consider to be the most evocative of the James Bond songs....

Goldfinger, he's the man, the man with the Midas touch A spider's touch Such a cold finger beckons you to enter his web of sin But don't go in

Golden words he will pour in your ear
But his lies can't disguise what you fear
For a golden girl knows when he's kissed her
It's the kiss of death from Mister

Goldfinger, pretty girl, beware of this heart of gold
This heart is cold

Good advice, don't you think? You wouldn't want to end up covered with gold latex paint or something.

I had to check the archives for this category (Listening to...). I see I've listed a few twice (usually a long time apart), but I haven't got Andy Gibb there at all. That kinda surprised me, but then, I don't actually listen to this CD all that often, despite the fact that...

Okay, I'll confess. I had an almost obsessive crush on Andy Gibb when I was young (13, 14, that age). He was just so damned cute, with the wavy hair and the oh-so-very-hairy chest and the tight-tight satin pants (oh, yeah, I noticed stuff like that when I was that age, and I still do). Despite singing in a falsetto a lot of the time, he was pretty damned male, and that has always appealed to me.

I had, at one point, 147 pitures of Andy Gibb on the walls of my bedroom. Small pictures, posters, in-between sizes, but 147 of them (I know because I counted them once). My walls were practically papered with Andy Gibb and his hairy chest and toothy smile.

I did outgrow that, by the way. I haven't got even one picture of Andy Gibb any more (of course, he's been dead since 1988, so that kinda limits the photo opportunities). But I do have this CD. And I'm listening to it. And he just wants to be my everything, and oh, yeah, I would have gone for that...

It did make me sad when he died, by the way. It was like a little stab in the heart. Still makes me sad, actually. A young man full of promise, who had finally started to really get his life on track, and, boom, dead of heart failure at the age of thirty. Not a very happy ending.

Ah, well. Such is life. I still love you, Andy. Love is higher than a mountain, love is thicker than water...

Ah, we got an everlasting love
So tall, so wide, so high
Above the rumble of thunder down below
It's your love I need,
It's the only show
And it's you want an everlasting dream
Can take us anywhere are the tears of yesterday
We killed the pain,
We blew away the memories
Of the tears we cried
And an everlasting love will never die

Okay, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I like Dan Fogelberg. He was one of those 70s singer/songwriters and his music is well-constructed, thoughtful, and has some very beautifully-crafted lyrics.

He was also, with his long, dark hair and beard and beautiful green eyes, damned good looking (always a bonus, IMHO).

Dan Fogelberg wrote my favorite love song of all time, Longer. I always hoped someday I'd have someone to sing it to, someone who really fit the lyrics (and I do).

The album I happen to be listening to at the moment is actually Phoenix (which does have Longer on it). I haven't listened to it in a long time. I'm really glad I pulled it out of the hundreds of other CDs today and popped it into the player. I'm really enjoying it.

Along the road
Your path may wander
A pilgrim's faith may fail
Absence makes the heart grow stronger
Darkness obscures the trail.
Cursing the quest
Courting disaster
Measureless nights forebode
Moments of rest
Glimpses of laughter
Are treasured along the road.

Saw Bon Jovi on stage in 1989. Got free tickets because they stayed at the hotel my then-husband was working at (as the night auditor), and the security guard gave him the tickets. It was a good show, and my appreciation for the band increased greatly after that night.

I'm not really a huge fan, but generally speaking I can say that I like Bon Jovi, and Jon is pretty hot, heh.

I want to lay you on a bed of roses
For tonite I sleep on a bed on nails
I want to be just as close as the holy ghost is
And lay you down on bed of roses

(I particularly like that one; it's got a kind of Billy Joel vibe that really does it for me.)

Listening to Shakira's "Laundry Service". I love it when she sings in Spanish, mmm. I spent most of my childhood in the American Southwest with a lot of Spanish speakers around, and I just love the sound of the language (I can understand a fair bit of it if the speaker goes slowly or it's written). Anyway, the singing in Spanish really brings back pleasant memories.

I should get Linda Rondstadt's mariachi album, now that I come to think of it....

Anyway, I'm not the least bit bisexual, but if I were interested in women, Shakira would be one who would definitely pique my interest. She's incredibly sexy and she's got real hips. And, hey, her breasts are small and humble, so you don't confuse them with mountains...

Zoë has gone out for the day with her grandparents, so it's just Miranda and me here today. All the morning "kid shows" are over and I decided to put on some music instead of a kid movie or other such fare.

And what did I choose? Well, The Eagles, of course, I've got it on the brain at the moment, heh. But it's one of their much older albums, way back in their original configuration, quite country-western in a lot of places (that was partly due to the fact that one of the original band members played both the pedal steel guitar and the banjo and, I believe, mandolin). The album is their second, Desperado.

It's actually a kind of cool theme album, IMHO. Then again, I've always had a thing for cowboys and suchlike (you kinda get that growing up in the American Southwest, though).

So anyway, I'm happily listening to very old Eagles songs, most of which would be unknown to any but the most dedicated Eagles fan. Like, say, me.

Yeeeeeeeeeehawwwwwww!

Andrew's in the other room, listening to Led Zeppelin on the headphones. This is because I'm in here, listening to country music, which he doesn't care for a great deal. I already went through a whole Patti Loveless CD (When Fallen Angels Fly, in case you're interested). Now I'm onto the Garth Brooks. Mmmm.

Folks call me a maverick
Guess I ain't too diplomatic
I just never been the kind to go along
Just avoidin' confrontation
For the sake of conformation
And I'll admit I tend to sing a different song
But sometimes you just can't be afraid
To wear a different hat
If Columbus had complied
This old world might still be flat
Nothin' ventured, nothin' gained
Sometimes you've got to go against the grain

You can guess why I like that one...

Another interesting thing about this album is it's got a cover of a Billy Joel song (Billy's another one of my all-time favorites). The song is Shameless, and Garth really does a damned good job with it.

Well I’m shamemeless when it comes to loving you
I’ll do anything you want me to
I’ll do anything at all.

And I’m standing here for all the world to see
Oh baby, that’s what’s left of me
Don’t have very far to fall

You know now I’m not a man who’s ever been
Insecure about the world I’ve been living in
I don’t break easy, I have my pride
But if you need to be satisfied

I’m shameless, oh honey, I don’t have a prayer
Every time I see you standin’ there
I go down upon my knees.

And I’m changing, swore I’d never compromise
Oh, but you convinced me otherwise
I’ll do anything you please.

You see in all my life I’ve never found
What I couldn’t resist, what I couldn’t turn down
I could walk away from anyone I ever knew
But I can’t walk away from you.

Yup, I know just how that feels... The funny thing is, I think maybe Billy Joel wrote that about Christie Brinkley (heaven knows, he wrote an awful lot of songs about her), and they're now divorced. Ah, well. Guess he found his shame... ?

Anyway, when this CD is done, I think I might just put on another Garth Brooks album (I've got plenty of 'em, believe me).

Later, we might compromise and pick something we both can appreciate (not that I dislike Led Zeppelin, but Andrew's a proghead and I really can't get into Yes or Rick Wakeman or some of the other prog rock Andrew likes). Maybe Pink Floyd or Queen or summin.

For now, though, I'm just gonna sit here and do my stuff and enjoy the sound of fiddles and pedal steel guitars and Garth Brook's fine, strong voice...

You know a dream is like a river
Ever changin' as it flows
And a dreamer's just a vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what's behind you
And never knowing what's in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores... and

I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I'll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
'Til the river runs dry

I won't apologize for liking the Bangles, dammit. It's better than Abba (I like Abba, too). This CD always reminds me of my very first homepage, which I made back in 1994 (yes, really) for Netscape 1.1 (yes, really), using Paint Shop Pro 3 or so and Win3.x (yes, I'm an old fart).

Anyway, I'd just gotten this CD then (Bangles Greatest Hits, but I had a couple other of their albums on cassette), and I go in cycles. I was in a Bangles kind of mood then.

And I'm having a fairly crappy day today for various totally mundane and minor reasons (it's just a crappy day, we all have them), so I went and found some of the peppiest, most upbeat music I could think of. It was this or Amy Grant...

Slide your feet up the street bend your back
Shift your arm then you pull it back
Life is hard you know (oh whey oh)
So strike a pose on a Cadillac

If you want to find all the cops
They're hanging out in the donut shop
They sing and dance (oh whey oh)
Spin the clubs cruise down the block
All the Japanese with their yen

The party boys call the Kremlin
And the Chinese know (oh whey oh)
They walk the line like Egyptian

All the cops in the donut shop say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like an Egyptian
Walk like an Egyptian

Heh... Bet THAT sticks in your head....

I don't get to listen to music much these days. We always seem to have the television on with some form of child entertainment.

Well, I'm getting tired of it. We've got 400+ CDs (and a couple hundred vinyl LPs, but that's another discussion), and I never listen to them!

So tonight I put Boston in the DVD player and that's what we're listening to.

...
Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can'tcha you see there'll come a day when it won't matter
Come a day when you'll be gone
I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind...

Ah, the 70s... Ahhh, Boston....

Boston's first album, from 1976. Real "air guitar" music. When they first appeared on the scene with their remixed, double, tripple, quadruple tracked sound, they were completely fresh and it blew everyone away. Real innovators in the world of pop rock, if you ask me.

And yes, I'm showing my age by being able to remember Boston's first album (which is self-titled, thankyou).

I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People living in competition
All I want to have my peace of mind

Very Seventies sentiments, I think. The Seventies were about slacking, about nobody telling you what to do, about doing your own thing and telling everyone else to piss off if they didn't like it. Yeah! And if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with... (although that, of course, is not Boston).

Smokin',
Smokin',
We're cooking tonight,
Just keep on toking!
Smokin',
Smokin',
I feel alright, mama,
I'm not joking.
Yeah.

Ah, the bittersweet recollections of a misspent youth...

Yes, I'm listening to Duran Duran, the band so nice they named it twice (actually, it's after a character in Barbarella).

Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand
Just like that river drifting through the dusty land
And when she shines, she really shows you all she can
Oh Rio, Rio dance across the Rio Grande

This CD just screams 1982. I remember 1982 very well, thank you, although I was never a particular fan of New Wave. I remember the first video they played on MTV (it was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles). I remember hearing Duran Duran's Rio while sitting in a pizza place in Rome, New York. I have no idea why I remember that particular time I heard it, because back then when I wasn't even out of my teens I used to listen to Top 40 radio all the time and I heard the song a lot. For some reason, the Pizza Hut just sticks in my head, though. Who knows why.

I picked up this CD tonight at the grocery store for a really cheap price. I wouldn't have bought it if it weren't cheap. I mean, come on, it's Duran Duran.

Don't say a prayer for me now
Save it 'til the morning after

I got curious as to what happened to these guys and was somewhat surprised to find they seem to still be around and doing stuff.

Woohoo! The new Taxiride CD is out and I've got a copy of it. Mmmmm, vocal harmonies and guitar driven melodies with thoughtful (or at least not totally stupid) lyrics...

Don't be afraid to be
Feeling so bad you see
It won't be long 'til you get back home
Dream what you wanna be
Feel it so easily
Don't be afraid to fly, just let go
With the sunlight in your eyes

You're too shy-de-shy Hush, hush, I-do-I Too shy-de-shy Hush, hush I-do-I

Hehe. Talk about deep, eh? Ghawd, this song is just... it reeks of that "Early Eighties" sound. Know the band? I didn't either. It's Kajagoogoo. Apparently, they're Australian.

This, by the way, is a CD of "one hit wonders" of the 80s. Songs like:

Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy

It's not commonly known, but Bobby McFerrin is a serious musician. He's won ten Grammy awards in his career. He's also a serious orchestra conductor. This particular song was just a funny little novelty song on a very entertaining album. So... it's not really fair to say he's a "one hit wonder". Maybe he's only had one "radio" hit, but the "one hit" he did have was huge, so if you've got to have just one, hey, this is the one to have. He is, in reality, an extremely successful musician.

Unlike Kajagoogoo. *smirk*

And now...

Don't forget me when I'm gone
My heart will break
I have loved you for so long
It's all I can take

Now who were you again? Survivor? You sound a lot like Wham... Huh? Glass Tiger? Uh, okay. If you say so...

Ooh ooh ooh Hey, what? It's like wow It's like wow It's like wow Ooh, hey, what It's like wow

Are those not the deepest, most profound lyrics you've ever seen? I have to admit, though, it is a really catchy tune, and Leslie Carter sings it well enough (if you like that type of girly, probably-blonde, expect her to break out into giggles at any moment type of voice).

On the other hand, the soundtrack also features a Leonard Cohen song (thankfully sung by someone else; I absolutely love Cohen's music, but his singing makes Bob Dylan sound like Pavarotti).

And, of course, the very cool Smash Mouth version of I'm a Believer and the very amusing All Star, among other very pleasant songs.

I love a movie with a good soundtrack. That it also happens to be a really good movie is cool, too.

So, Shrek is highly recommended. On all counts. Cuz, what? It's like wow.

I wanna lay you down in a bed of roses For tonight I sleep in a bed of nails I wanna be as close as the Holy Ghost is And lay you down in a bed of roses

In the middle eighties, when Bon Jovi was oh-so-sizzling-hot, I got pretty sick of them. I couldn't flip channels past a video show without seeing Jon Bon Jovi. I couldn't turn on the radio, or go to the state fair or anything without having Bon Jovi in my face.

Truth is, though, I liked them. And I still do.

Jon Bon Jovi is definitely on my list of Yummy Men™, probably because of the "bad boy" aura. And the hair doesn't hurt. And, hey, he puts on a really good show (yes, I've seen them live, back in the 80s) and he's still rocking, so that says something right there.

Your love is like bad medicine Bad medicine is what I need Woah, shake it up, just like bad medicine Let's play doctor baby, cure my disease...

And yes, since I know you're all wondering, I DO actually bop in my seat and sing along when I listen to music. I even sometimes actually still DANCE, too. There's some life in this fat old broad yet...

I, I like ice cream A kind of smooth kick taste takes away my mind You, you ain't a better thing But if you gotta big car, take me for a ride

I love this CD. I really, really like Taxiride. They're very fresh and GenX, but they've got some really great retro influences like the Byrds, Crosby, Stills, & Nash and I believe I hear some Eagles-type stuff in there, and maybe a bit of early Chicago or similar style, and certainly some late Beatles (the piccolo trumpet on "Ice Cream" is pretty Beatlesque, for example). Good stuff, no matter what inflences they claim or I think I may hear. I have a big fondness for guitar-driven soft rock with strong vocal harmonies (hey, I grew up in the Seventies, what can I say?). This is precisely the sort of stuff I like.

It's also good to know that I'm not so old that I never buy "new" music any more. Someday, I know, I'll only buy stuff that's old and familiar to me, but I'm still out there buying new stuff, so I'm not too old yet...

And as the silence turns to sound You are with me now And as the day begins to sing I'm telling you -- I'm still in love with you

Oh, and in case you didn't know, they're from Melbourne...

Lucky you were born that far away so We could both make fun of distance Lucky that I love a foreign land for The lucky fact of your existence

Of course, my breasts aren't "small and humble", but even so, I don't think anyone's ever confused them with mountains...

Shakira was on tour in Australia not long ago. I saw her on a couple of different shows. She's quite well-spoken and very bright. I like to see that sort of thing in a performer. There's nothing more annoying than a good-looking but totally stupid person making a lot of money, IMHO.

I also like that she's got real hips like a grown-up woman. She doesn't look like she's emaciated or like an adolescent boy. Good on her, I say.

I also wondered what cultural/ethnic type would be trendy this decade, and I'm thinking probably Latin is it. Enrico, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Shakira...