Tag: pop

Friday’s Theme Music

Feels like I’m in a rut. Feels like either dreams, cats, politics, or news (or some Satanic mashup of these influences) push my theme music choices. Today, the wheel turned, and stopped on politics.

This is driven by the Texas lawsuit to throw out the election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. There’s no evidence of fraud, mind you, (Trump and his supporters have lost over fifty cases regarding election irregularities, winning one) or that the law was broken, but law, order, and justice means less and less to the GOP these days.

And this is driven by GOP governors and U.S. Representatives joining in this farce. It’s driven by another absurd declaration by Pat Robertson and God’s will. Driving it, too, is the terrorism that Trump supporters are employing to overturn the election results, showing up armed at the Michigan’s Secretary of State’s home to threaten her. Very classy. Very democratic.

Reading summaries and stories on these matters this AM had me shaking my head with growing irritation, culminating in the growl, “One of these days.” You know, as in, one of these days, karma will react and strike all those people down. One of these days, these people will come to their senses or rejoin reality (but can they ever be trusted again?). One of these days…

Well, I don’t need to hammer that nail any more, do I? The gist is driven home.

This led my mind to invite a Foo Fighters 2012 song, “These Days”, into the active stream. “These Days” is not political but is more about love karma, you know? But it works for my purposes. So here’s “These Days”. Remember, stay positive (unlike me…you know?), test negative, and wear a mask, please.

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Got “Abracadabra” by the Steve Miller Band (1982) stuck in my head. I awoke with the song in my head after a dream. After thinking about the dream, I returned to sleep and dreaming, and then awoke with it again in my head. Then…well, one more time. By then it was almost six thirty.

I don’t know why this song came with those dreams. One dream was about my cat, Tucker. The other two were about playing games. Nothing earthshaking, although the Tucker dream had him being forced to do something. Experts thought they knew what Tucker would do in response to stimuli. I was like, “Nope, you don’t know Tucker.” The big black and white floof ball was becoming annoyed by another cat in the dream, and not distracted by the stimuli. Recognizing the signs, I intervened right before he was ready to pounce on the other animal. When Tucker pounces, it’s not to play.

Hope you enjoy the song and it brings back memories, as it did for me. Remember, stay positive, test negative, and wear a mask. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Blame it on the weather. Blame the pandemic. Maybe it’s the trumpshit surrounding the established routines of presidential elections, or December. Memories always clot Decembers. Maybe, though, it’s just my brain having fun with me.

However I finger-point, my mind was shuffling music this morning. After five or six songs (trying to remember how many but they were coming and going, doing a Waring blender mashup in my mind), “The Cisco Kid” by War (1973) found the groove and rose to dominance.

It’s a fun song to sing along with. The words are simple but the story told don’t make sense. That’s okay, it’s music. The funky sounds, solid bass, and steady rhythm will carry you forward. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the song, you can listen to it and let it start taking your body into dance moves.

Please enjoy, and remember to be positive, test negative, and wear a mask. Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

I ended up with a political spin on a love song today. The song, from 1997, is “If You Could Only See” by Tonic. It came to me as I read some interview with another Republican insisting that the election is a fraud and everything must be tossed out. They don’t want a do-over, mind you: they just want Trump declared the winner. Never mind any facts that say anything about the election’s validity. Some nefarious, shadowy and powerful individual allowed Trump to be elected four years ago, let him run the country, but now said, “Oh, but enough. We will rig the election so he loses.”

Such bizarre reasoning always prompts wonder in me. Why do they so love Trump? Why do they put so much faith in unproven conspiracies? Why do they believe statements shown to be lies and fabrication?

Yeah, we have theories about it all. It brought some lines from Tonic’s song into my mental stream this AM.

Well you got your reasons.
And you got your lies.
And you got your manipulations.

That sums it up for me. Strange reasoning, reinforced by lies and manipulation. Truly, this song from 1997 is proper for this era in 2020. Stay positive, test negative, and mask up. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

I went out to check out Saturn and Jupiter. They’re aligning to ‘form a star’ this year, something they haven’t done in 800 years. (It’s nice to see those kids getting together again…ha, ha, ha.) I’ve had some terrific views of them.

Didn’t work last night. I was out after midnight. Clouds ruined the party. Cold, too. I thought, well, dummy, what’d you expect? It’s December, almost the winter season, and it’s after midnight in northern climes.

That started me singing Eric Clapton’s cover of J.J. Cale’s song, “After Midnight” from 1970. I was inventing other lyrics, singing, for example, “After midnight, I’m gonna stand outside and freeze.” As the cats joined in activities (cats love sky watching, you know), I modified the lyrics for them. “After midnight, we’re going to chase and meow. We’re gonna cause stalking and suspicion, put on running exhibitions, and try to go in and out.” Yeah, it sounded better in my head.

Here’s the music. Please, stay positive, test negative, and wear a mask. Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music

I went for a short walk this morning. At forty degrees, it felt surprisingly warm. Most deciduous trees have finished disrobing and stood naked in my regard. Across the valley, sunshine dazzled the blue sky, highlighting the mountains and hills’ curves and peaks.

It was quiet. Into my stillness of gazing and thinking came the 1967 Small Face song, “Itchycoo Park”. If you remember the song, the refrain is, “It’s all too beautiful,” words that summarized it for me.

As a side note, I didn’t know the song title for a few years. I always thought it was “It’s All Too Beautiful” because of that refrain. Wasn’t till I was at a girl’s house that I learned the truth. Her older sister had it on a forty-five. Vicky said, “I love this song,” and I was like, I don’t know it. Then it came on, and, oh, I did know the song. Felt a little stupid, didn’t I? Admittedly, while most of the lyrics and music came easily to memory today, the song title took longer.

Here’s the song. Hope you remember it, and if you’re too young to know it, you’ll give a listen to yestercentury’s psychedelic beat music. Please, stay positive, test negative, and wear a mask. Cheers

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Saturday’s Theme Music

Today’s theme music is a 1971 song by Yes called “I’ve Seen All Good People”. It came to me as I wearied through news last night and this morning. Some good people ignored masking and distancing guidance, had a wedding, and COVID-19 spread, with those good people at the center of a superspreader event. A couple who were identified by friends as good people boarded a flight to Hawaii knowing they had COVID-19. A worker who knew he had COVID-19 didn’t tell others and kept working, spreading it through an organization.

Cynical me muttered, “I don’t want good people. I want disciplined people. I want team players who understand that part of their role is to pay fucking attention, stop being selfish, grit your teeth, wear your masks, and maintain social distance.”

Then I read of the Medford school board writing a letter to the Oregon governor to increase. This while hospitals and ICUs are filling up. Positivity is rising. Cases are rising. Death are rising. By all means, now is the perfect time to send children to school.

Topping that off was news about Mike Pompeo planning a big party at the State Department, after telling State Department personnel not to have large gatherings. And I read of the Austin Mayor tell people to stay home and stay safe, doing this from his vacation in Mexico, where he’d gone to celebrate his daughter’s wedding. On top of this —

Well, that was enough. The news had me gritting my teeth, SMH, and wondering if there is anything like instant karma. (“Instant karma: just add hot water and serve!”). Which took me to a line from the Yes song. Buried in the middle, they sing:

Send an Instant Karma to me
Initial it with loving care
Don’t surround yourself
Cause it’s time, it’s time in time with your time

h/t to Genius.com

The song is a crazy collection of harmonizing play on words and ideas. I remember it well because I listened to it often.

Please be a good team player. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and show some discipline. Yeah, it’s hard. We get it. But there are other things that are worse. I’ve read of too many good people falling sick and quite a few of them are dying.

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Friday’s Theme Music

Today’s theme song choice was released in 1970, and is influenced by Mom. I’m thinking of her this week due to holidays and snow. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA, and they had a snowstorm. She told me via FB messenger that they had seven inches on the ground yesterday.

She was a big band and swing fan, but listened to a spectrum of music, with torch songs being her favorite, I think. As pop music expanded and changed, she became more particular about what she listened to as I did the same. She wasn’t a fan of the British invasion or rock. As far as 1970 pop went, she liked Glen Campbell and Neil Diamond.

Today’s song is a Neil Diamond one. Mom loved “Cracklin’ Rosie” and would sing it whenever it came on the car radio. I used to ask her what a ‘Cracklin’ Rosie’ was but she said she didn’t know. When I learned it was wine, I passed that on. Didn’t matter; she still enjoyed the song, although the words now made more sense.

Anyway, that’s today’s theme music. Remember, stay positive, test negative, and wear a mask. Cheers.

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Yes, this song was featured as theme music back in 2016. Four years later, it seems more appropriate.

“Riders on the Storm” by the Doors was released in 1971. I was ninth grade. The baseline, lyrics, and keyboard mesmerized me. I later ended up taking a philosophy in pop culture class in Japan where this song and its line, “Into this word we’re thrown,” was discussed. Ah, good times.

Seems like we’re riding a storm of uncertainty now as much as ever. The song came to me in the middle of the night, when I surfaced out of a dream. While I was reflecting on the dream, the song just rose up as a soft, subtle background. Later, we were out shopping just after sunrise. The song came to me again as I stepped out of the store into the silent parking lot and faced the sun illuminated the valley, mountains, and valley to the north. After I was home, I listened to it.

It’s an evocative tune. Hope you enjoy it. Remember, stay positive, test negative, and wear your mask. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Back in 1992, when this song came out, I’d listen to it on the car radio while commuting and think, WTF are they singing?

My commute was short in those days. Assigned to Onizuka Air Station in Sunnyvale, CA, I lived in NAS Moffett base housing in Mountain View. Using the base roads and back gates, it was about a five or six minute drive to work. I didn’t get to hear much of the song.

The net was growing then, but had a long way to go. It was years before I was able to find the lyrics for “Ignoreland” by R.E.M. and verify that it was a political scree, mostly against Republicans, but also against the press for regurgitating whatever was fed to them.

The lines which brought the song to mind this morning were:

I know that this is vitriol
No solution, spleen-venting
But I feel better having screamed
Don’t you?

h/t to Genius.com

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Lot of mornings in the last four years have featured spleen-venting mental rants for me — or rants to my wife, who ranted back at me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. As an antidote, I always look for humorous, non-political stuff or take refuge in sports, or warm animal stories. Anyway, it seems like a song that’s a political scree about ignoring what’s really going on and just voting for a party seems apt as a theme song.

Why’d the song come up today? Trump fatigue. He rants on without evidence about the same crap, apparently doing his own spleen-venting. He never seems to feel better for venting, carrying a bitter, hostile expression on his face and vowing to never change his mind.

What a way to go through life, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wear a mask, stay positive, and test negative, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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