Today’s song choice is straight out of thinking about the past. Ginger Baker, a musician of some renown, passed away at eighty years old last week. He was part of several groups that I enjoyed. One was Blind Faith.
Blind Faith was Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Richard Grech, and the previously mentioned Baker. It didn’t last long, as Clapton wasn’t satisfied with the sound and performance. The group put out some memorable songs, though. Thinking of them, I searched the net and found this video of the group performing “Presence of the Lord” (1969). Sweet flashback.
I enjoy these Playing for Change/Song Around the World, and I’m fond of “The Weight” by the Band (1968), so I had to share this puppy. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Hope you stay and listen to the next song on the playlist, “Higher Ground” (Stevie Wonder, 1973), a Song Aound the World from 2011.
A guy who worked for me at Shaw AFB in South Carolina was a big fan of Ratt, Judas Priest, and Rush. Anniversary dates and weather impressions have kicked memories of the “I was there with <XXX> when…” variety into my stream. So I was thinking of this fellow, Bob, and wondering what happened with him. Smart guy, from Texas, but no Texan accent, he seemed like he was on a slow downward spiral. Going to college but not completing classes, and gaining weight, something we frowned on in the military.
But, thanks to Bob, I’m remembering Rush today and their song, “The Spirit of Radio” (1980). I didn’t get to Shaw until 1985, but Bob loved this song, and played it in our office on a boom box almost every morning.
I either heard this one used in some television or movie function, or in a car going by. Suddenly, Paul Young’s 1985 cover of Hall & Oates’ song, “Every Time You Go Away”, is streaming through me. I was surprised when Young’s cover arose as a hit. I knew it from a H&O album from a few years before. People liked it on the album, with one neighbor, a big H&O fan, saying that it was her favorite song. I thought it was a little too slow on the album, and do prefer the Young version, even though it has that disco-techno sound that irritates me. I don’t know how she thought about it; I knew her when I was stationed on Okinawa. She and her husband rotated to somewhere else and disappeared from our lives. By the time the Young version was out, I’d also left Okinawa and was stationed in South Carolina.
“Something”, a 1969 Beatles song written by George Harrison, has been playing a lot recently. Maybe it’s the time of year or the movie “Yesterday”, or I’m enjoying selective hearing.
I can’t say that “Something” is my favorite Beatles song, but it’s definitely on the short list. Like books and foods, my favorite shifts with mood, moment, and memory. Harrison has a couple on my short list, like “Here Comes the Sun” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.
Another floof-inspired choice. Two of our three boys squared off. Mewing, yowling, and growling, Boo said, “There’s not room for two of us in this entryway.” Papi’s got us back up. “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? There’s no one else here so you must be talkin’ to me.”
It was Saturday night. “Enough,” I said. “Keep it up, and I’ll get the squirt gun. Boo, be quiet. Papi, go around him.”
They did as told. Yeah, surprised me, too. Guess they feared that squirt gun. As Boo went out and I closed the door behind him, I finished, “Saturday night’s not alright for fighting.”
That, of course, introduced the Elton John/Bernie Taupin tune of that name from 1973, when I was just seventeen. Here we go.
I watched the first episode of the third season of Goliath last night. A lovely song, “The Rose”, was used during the episode. That triggered a stream of love songs for me…and, well, I ended up with J. Geils Band’s 1980 hit, “Love Stinks”.
Mini-rant alert. As I was walking yesterday, I was watching new home construction and started thinking about overkill. Overkill — what I mean by that is excessive use beyond what’s needed — is often our response. Overkill, or do nothing. Going through grocery stores to check out most items in America leads to discoveries of brands, sizes, and qualifiers that staggers me. Look at ice cream. Chips. Soft drinks. Coffee. Beer.
I was reminded more of this while scoping television last night. Samsung has some new phone out (don’t they all?) and was trumpeting a series of images of children playing, playing, playing, playing. And Samsung’s line after all of this was about growing or building the future.
Me, with my sixty-plus year old mind, thought, but all you showed us, Samsung, were children playing. Children obsessed with their technological toys. I thought, then, that Samsung had gone into overkill, that somewhere between where children playing obsessive with their phones (but having phone) and my idea of children playing is a balance that’s needed. Maybe it’s out there, outside of my prying eyes, and past Samsung’s spiel. After all, Samsung is trying to sell more products.
Rant down, you might be thinking, with impatience, what the hell is the song? Well, it’s “Overkill” by Men at Work” (1983), of course. As it’s sung in “Overkill”:
I worry over situations
I know will be all right
Perhaps it’s just imagination
Today’s song is perfect for the moment. A cat’s attentions awoke me about five this morning. Dream pieces stayed with me while I attended the cat, and since I was up, visited the water closet. Sometime during this period, ELO’s 1975 song, “I Can’t Get It Out of My Head”, started streaming because I couldn’t get that dream out of my head.
Now, like the title, I can’t get this soft, mystical, prog-rock song out of my head. Over to you.
Thinking about having a beer with friends at our annual Haroldfest tonight when this energetic old rock song streamed in. Even though it’s by this group led by this guy named Santana, I don’t I’ve heard it on the radio in about four decades.
The lines that brought it into mind:
You can understand everything’s to share.
Let your spirit dance brothers everywhere.
Let your head be free. Turn the wisdom key
Find it naturally, see you’re lucky to be
Sing it loud
It’s time for you to all get down
Yeah do it.
Michael Seidel, writer 