Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
Floofsnake (floofinition) – British hard floof rock (flock) band formed in 1978, who had a string of commercially successful albums.
In use: “Songs like “Here I Bark Again” and “Is This Food” became hits for Whitefloof, establishing them as a major flock band in the 1980s.”
I was thinking about my muse, or muses. They were having a party in my head, a.k.a., a head party. Apparently, they’re feeling frisky. I enjoy their energy and company. Starting to learn some of their names. Won’t reveal that, per their dark request. (“Yeah, reveal our names and say good-bye, because we’ll be a word on the wind.”)
Anyway, here’s the song that was written about a muse, “Never Let You Go” by Third Eye Blind, January 2000.
‘Ow ’bout a little Bob Marley and the Wailers from 1973? Thinkin’ ’bout the high level of eligibles in ‘Merica who don’t vote. (Have you seen the numbers?) “Get Up, Stand Up” seems like a fittin’ song.
Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight
Most people think
Great God will come from the sky
Take away everything
And make-a everybody feel high
But if you know what life is worth
You will look for yours on earth
And now you see the light
You stand up for your rights, jah!
Get up, stand up (Jah, jah)
Stand up for your right (Oh, hoo)
Get up, stand up (Get up, stand up)
Don’t give up the fight (Life is your right)
Get up, stand up (So we can’t give up the fight)
Stand up for your right (Lord, Lord)
Get up, stand up (Keep us struggling on)
We sick an’ tired of your ism-skism game
Dyin’ ‘n’ goin’ to heaven in-a Jesus’ name, Lord
We know when we understand
Almighty God is a living man
You can fool some people sometimes
But you can’t fool all the people all the time
So now we see the light (What you gonna do?)
We gonna stand up for our rights (Yeah, jah, jah!)
So you better
Get up, stand up (In the morning, get it up)
Stand up for your right (In the night)
Get up, stand up
Don’t give up the fight (Don’t give it up, don’t give it up)
Get up, stand up (Get up, stand up)
Stand up for your right (Get up, stand up)
Get up, stand up (Don’t be a nigger in your neighborhood, yeah)
Don’t give up the fight (Get up, stand up)
Get up, stand up (I don’t think that should be very good, Lord) (Get up, stand up)
Stand up for your right (Get up, stand up)
Get up, stand up (I said, don’t be a nigger in your neighborhood, yeah)
Don’t give up the fight
h/t to Metrolyrics
After reading headline bullshit about more Trump lies (and other pols, but mostly the mano one) and general bullshit that’s out there, a 1984 Queen song entered the mental music stream.
I want to break free
I want to break free
I want to break free from your lies
You’re so self-satisfied, I don’t need you
I’ve got to break free
God knows, God knows I want to break free
h/t to Genius.com
“I Want to Break Free” wasn’t a big hit in the U.S., but I was travelling through Europe on mil biz that year, and heard it on their media. I thought the thingy ’bout the lies worked for this pandemic year.
Give ‘er an ear.
Rolled out of bed (leaving a cat behind) still thinking about a dream. Then pondered, what is today’s theme music?
Brain Alexa said, “Playing, ‘I’ve Got the Music in Me’.”
I said, “Who is it by?”
No answer.
“What year did it come out?”
No answer.
Had to wiki that stuff to learn that it was the Kiki Dee Band who released it in 1974.
There are some uplifting lyrics.
Ain’t got no trouble in my life,
No foolish dream to make me cry.
I’m never frightened or worried,
I know I’ll always get by.
I heat up (I heat up)
I cool down (I cool down)
When something gets in my way I go round it.
Don’t let life get me down
Gonna take life the way that I found it.
CHORUS
I got the music in me
I got the music in me
I got the music in me
I got the music in me
I got the music in me
I got the music in me
They say that life is a circle (circle)
But that ain’t the way that I’ve found it.
Gonna move in a straight line (ooh)
Keeping my feet firmly on the ground.
I heat up (I heat up)
I cool down (I cool down)
I got words in my head so I say them.
Don’t let life get me down,
Catch a hold of my blues and just play them.
CHORUS
Feel funky
Feel good
Gonna tell ya
I’m in the neighbourhood
Gonna fly like a bird on the wing
Hold on to your hat honey,
Sing, sing, sing, sing
Heat up, cool down (cool down)
I got words in my head so I say them
Don’t let life get me down (Don’t let it get ya down)
Catch a hold of my blues and just play them.
CHORUS 2x
Ain’t got no trouble in my life,
No foolish dream to make me cry.
I’m never frightened I’m never worried,
I know, I know I’ll always get by.
CHORUS 2x
I got the music
Pretty music
I got the music
In me
Don’t let it get ya down
Don’t let it get ya down
Don’t let it get you down
Don’t let it get ya down
Don’t let it get ya down
Don’t let it get you down
Ha, ha, ha, ha
h/t to Metrolyrics.com
Five Floof Electrical Band (floofinition) – Sometimes referred to as Five Floof as a nickname, the floof rock (flock) band was formed in Canada in 1969, and were active from 1969 to 1975.
In use: “Although the Five Floof Electrical Band had several hits in Canada, “Fleas” is the song that brings them the most recognition outside of Canada.”
I was half asleep while attending something in the middle of the night. Was it a noise outside that awoke me, or a cat going through the pet door, or just something in my nervous system? Tag it with ‘things I’ll never know’.
But, momentarily awake (with Tucker licking my knuckles and purring) (did he wake me?), I drifted through fragmenting dream memories. Lyrics from “Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand” (Primitive Radio Gods, 1996) join the dream memories.
Am I alive or thoughts that drift away?
Does summer come for everyone?
Can humans do as prophets say?
And if I die before I learn to speak
Can money pay for all the days I lived awake
But half asleep?
h/t to Genius.com
The song is slight, mildly catchy in a hypnotic sort of way but I enjoy reflecting on the lyrics and their twists. What’s usually most memorable from this song for me is B.B. King singing, “I’ve been down-hearted, baby, ever since the day.”
So…
Contrary to world expectations, I’ve been, um, feeling good? How else can it be put, but I’ve been experiencing a rising sense of hope and optimism. It permeates everything I’m doing and thinking.
Rationally, I can’t account for it. I can say that I’m less stressed because I’m not out there socializing and fighting traffic. I can attribute it to kind weather gods; May, June, and July have been pleasantly mild for the most part, keeping anxieties about wildfires and smoke tamped.
But then there’s COVID-19 and what it’s doing to the world. And there was the death of a sweet, shy cousin, too young, just fifty-one, dead from cancer, leaving two sons behind, succumbing to the disease after a four year struggle. In my mind, she remains bright-eyed and smiling with an impish impulse.
And there was Dad, being rushed to the hospital mid-week, Dad who is rarely sick but has a full metal jacket of stents (installed a few years ago) and moderate CPOD. He is almost eighty-eight, though, so there’s always expectations and worries. We are talking about the life train. It always pulls in at the same final stop.
Writing, though, has been a wonderful escape, of course, taking me on an unexpected ride as the characters evolve and the story goes in directions that I didn’t expect. That’s always a pleasure, innit? A good writing day can propel you over many obstacles.
So…
Feeling good. Optimistic, hopeful, even joyous.
Against this backdrop, I’m hearing “Bell Bottom Blues” by Eric Clapton (1971). Two aspects of the song stay on a loop in my head: “I don’t want to fade away,” and “I don’t want to lose this feeling.”
No, I don’t want to lose this feeling. It’s too good. I wish I could package it and share for free with everyone in the world. Others should know these sensations. They’re powerful stimulants.
Enough of my babbling. Here’s the music, a later live acoustic version that I think does more justice to the song.
There has to be four things today because it’s the Fourth of July, Independence Day in the U.S., right?
Yeah, got my coffee. Yes, it’s a holiday, and it’s time to write like crazy, at least one more time…
I’m full of memories today. Birthday is tomorrow and today is a holiday. Both, though, pale because they remind me of meeting my wife.
Which, because I was fifteen and she was fourteen (we married four years later), reminds me of my youth, and the way life was for me. Sort of interesting. My parents were divorced. I lived in Pittsburgh, PA, with Mom. Dad, in the Air Force and newly returned from Germany, was stationed in Ohio. They generously accepted my request to live with him, leading me to meet my wife. She was my Dad’s best friend’s daughter.
Which brings me to us, almost fifty years later. But those are other tales. We’re here for the music today.
Since the memory jukebox has landed in 1971, I selected a song from that time. There are a lot of great tunes but “Me and Bobby McGee” has wedged itself into the stream. Although written by Kris Kristofferson and originally sung by Roger Miller, I like the Janis Joplin cover best, as much for her style as for its impact as a marker in my life.
Enjoy the music.
Michael Seidel, writer 