Category: memories

Thursday’s Theme Music

In a lovely piece of cynicism, my mind looked at the map of Oregon’s wildfires today and the smoky blue sky outside and began channeling Boston’s “Smokin'” from 1976.

I don’t know how I became so cynical. Of course, my mother is cynical, as is my father, so it could be in my genes. Or it could be from all those protests during my formative years in the 1960s, or the corrupting influence of rock and roll. Maybe it was all the reading I did when I was a child, or how the stars were aligned when I was born or conceived, or my years of government service.

I don’t know. Let’s just enjoy the music.

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

The eighties had a lot of music going on. (I know, like, what decade in the last hundred  years hasn’t had a lot of music going on?) One song that popped up in my stream this week is “Your Love” by “The Outfield”.

The song came out in 1986, a few weeks after the Challenger disaster. For some reason, they’re linked in my mind, not in a cause and effect way, but as part of the montage of existence and life that was taking place when the Challenger exploded.

After hearing “Your Love” a few times, I bought their CD, Play Deep. It didn’t really take me anywhere, though, and was relegated to storage in the CD drawers.

I still like this song, though. The vocal style reminds me of the Australian rock band, Men At Work. “Your Love” is a decent song for streaming while walking along hot city streets.

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Monday’s Theme Music

Ah, today I find myself streaming Pat Benatar’s “Invincible” from 1985.

It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible.
This shattered dream you cannot justify.
We’re gonna scream until we’re satisfied.
What are we running for? We’ve got the right to be angry.
What are we running for when there’s nowhere we can run to anymore?
We can’t afford to be innocent
stand up and face the enemy.
It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible.
And with the power of conviction there is no sacrifice.
It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible.

h/t to azlyrics.com

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Saturday’s Theme Music

 

I fall into the screaming guitar, thundering drums, and driving bass preferences for rock — or rock and roll, what have you. I’m not thinking about or debating the genres and sub-genres, or rock and roll’s changes across the decades. I know that’s all out there. I’m just talkin’ basics about what I like. Yet, words always draw me in. When you get a band that has the first three elements with interesting words and delivery, I buy.

But this song is mostly about the words. It’s a laid-back song, which is fine. Mellow music has its place. The song’s rhythm and tone invite me to kick back and relax. The lyrics, though, have passages that I think, yeah, I could be speaking those words to someone, or someone could be telling them to me.

The song begins,

I used to hurry a lot, I used to worry a lot
I used to stay out till the break of day
Oh, that didn’t get it
It was high time I quit it
I just couldn’t carry on that way

Later, they ask and conclude,

Did you do it for love?
Did you do it for money?
Did you do it for spite?
Did you think you had to, honey?

Who is gonna make it?
We’ll find out in the long run
(In the long run)

h/t to AZLyrics.com

Here is Eagles with “The Long Run” from 1979.

 

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Rewind

Sometimes, someone mentioned something that I did or said, and I respond, quite intelligently, “What? I did?” Then I’m required to think back, struggling through the murkiness of memory to determine if they were right. What’s weird is how it sometimes feels like I’m rewinding a tape, going backwards in my head until the moment springs up and provides me with the Eureka moment.

Happened a few nights ago when someone said that I’d mentioned a book and the movie made from the book. After rewinding, I came across the point when I’d mentioned Freakonomics to him.

 

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Friday’s Theme Music

On this day, they remind us, Live Aid took place in 1985.

Yes, children, I remember the event, but I believe I didn’t watch it, as I was living in tent city in Egypt as part of Bright Star 85.

In honor of that event, I’m streaming the Boomtown Rats’ “I Don’t Like Mondays”. It’s perfect for Friday, because Monday is always lurking.

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Perhaps I am mired in the past. I ended up thinking of my time at Clark AB in the Philippines as I walked yesterday in 1976, and recalled my buddy, Bopie. He and I worked at the same place. I arrived about two weeks after him. We lived in the same barracks (dorm, in Air Force terminology), on the same floor. He was about seven doors down from me.

The first time I really met him, though, was when we were off-duty at a unit function. He was wearing a red tee-shirt. On the back, in yellow letters, was Bopie. Walking up behind him, I said it. Starting, he turned and looked at me with a short laugh. “You are the first person that ever said my name right the first time.” His name was Ray, but Bopie was the name he liked to use (that was never explained to me).

We were shift workers, and often shared time off, so we would run around together sometimes. He introduced me to a lot of music and comedy that I didn’t know, including the movie, Car Wash, featuring the song, “Car Wash” by Rose Royce.

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Laughing to myself, as I almost put Tuesday’s Dream Music as my post title.

Last September, I had a dream and awoke with “The World I Know” by Collective Soul in my head. This time, the song was in my dream, twice.

The first time, I was discussing it with my youngest sister and a cousin. We were talking about the words, and then we sang it. Afterward, I continued through the dream, and came upon my oldest sister.

My oldest sister can claim to be the shortest of our family, but she was taller than me in this dream. I mentioned the song to her, and she said, “Well, it becomes kind of maudlin, which isn’t what you want in a song.” I said, “That’s true, it does, but it ends in an uplifting manner.” Then we sang it together, and then I continued on through the dream.

So, here it is again. You can imagine my sisters and I singing it. It came out the year I retired from the military. Wonder if there’s a connection for me and my dream in that?

 

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Monday’s Theme Music

Cranking up a childhood favorite, “I’m Going Home” by Ten Years After, as played at Woodstock. The song’s frenetic energy at the beginning and end appealed to me as a thirteen-year-old. Now I think the guitar riffs capture the feel of the original rockers. Well, they sample quite a bit of others in this medley.

Of course, in the military, when a deployment was ending, and then later, in marketing, when a show was ending, and then in management, when I could finally leave corporate headquarters and go home, this was my internal joy song – “I’m going home!”

Lot of memories of time and place embedded in this song for me.

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