You know, some days you get up feeling really good, and then you read the news or hear some crappy info being spewed from somewhere, something that makes you feel like the Earth is opening up and sucking you down. This song is for those moments: “Don’t Bring Me Down” by ELO (1979). Some days, you gotta fight back.
Thursday’s Theme Music
Slowing it down today. Thursday, innit? I’m starting to brake for the weekend, let me slide in there nice and gentle.
One of my preferred U2 albums is The Joshua Tree. A number of songs from that album speak to me, including “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. After the song was released, I often reflected that I was still looking, and I often didn’t know what I was looking for. In the years since, I’ve refined my sense of what I’m looking for. I attribute my writing efforts to closing that gap; writing prompts introspection and thinking about, well, what I’m thinking. It all helps.
The thing about the song as well is how it plays against a greater theme. Consider the import of the lyrics as Bono sings about climbing highest mountains, run through fields, and scaled city walls to be with someone. The stuff of true love, right? But yet, he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for. It’s like, they thought that one thing would satisfy their itch, only to achieve it and realize, that’s not it.
Most of us have been there, hey? We have a gap, ache, or longing, and we’re trying to understand it, and then, understanding it, try to understand how to fulfill it. It often feels with the journey of our life. People fill us with tales about how work, love, or having children will fulfill us, but that doesn’t work for all. Some find fulfillment with God or nature. Some of us look for it in art.
And some of us write like crazy.
Wednesday’s Theme Music
Talking with other Ashlanders yesterday, we all mentioned how pleased we were that smoke, wildfire, and hot weather hadn’t dominated and smothered us as it has the last several years. Remembering last year, I mentioned that it’d seemed like a particularly cruel summer. Afterward, walking away, Bananarama’s song, “Cruel Summer” (1998), splashed into my stream.
Seeing that some believe that summer is over, citing that school has started, the weather feels like it’s changed, or that Labor Day (US) has passed, I think it a good song for the middle of the week during one of the last weeks of official summer.
Tuesday’s Theme Music
I enjoy today’s selection of nostalgia-laced tones and plaintive words. Of course, being from 1984, it’s also a trip back to a different era, a time of Wayfarers and Deadheads.
I guess today’s theme is nostalgia for me. Here’s “Boys of Summer”, Don Henley, with Mike Campbell, who wrote the music and plays guitar on the song.
Monday’s Theme Music
A beautiful sun warms a clear blue sky here in Ashland, southern Oregon, this morning. All is calm and serene. Into this streams a song by America, “Lonely People” (1974).
I’m fortunate to have family, but more, a writing process and endeavors which I enjoy, and a couple cats. Thanks to all this, I rarely have moments of feeling alone or isolated. But there are too many out there who are lonely people, even when they’re with friends and family, and more who are lonely, and alone, in isolation.
It’s them I think of this morning.
This is for all the lonely people
Thinking that life has passed them by
Don’t give up until you drink from the silver cup
And ride that highway in the sky
This is for all the single people
Thinking that love has left them dry
Don’t give up until you drink from the silver cup
You never know until you try
Sunday’s Theme Music
Today’s theme music is lifted from a movie, Beverly Hills Cop, which starred Eddie Murphy. No reason to select this except it entered this morning’s stream, and I enjoy the man’s music and this song. Despite being a popular rocker, this song is his only number one hit in the U.S., and he didn’t even write the music.
From 1987, enjoy Bob Seger with “Shakedown”.
Saturday’s Theme Music
I awoke with a Pearl Jam/Foreigner/Yes medley bubbling through my stream, with “Alive”, “Long, Long Way from Home”, and “Roundabout” dominating. With a mental throw of some imaginary dice, “Roundabout”, Yes’ 1972 hit, was selected.
Many fond memories are associated with “Roundabout” for me, and they’re mostly related to art. I loved painting and drawing when I was young, something that I continued to do into my late twenties, playing with paints and styles. I typically put music on, and then went to town. Regular favorites cropped up. In the early days, my music was on vinyl. I had an open reel system, so I recorded a painting tape. Multiple Yes songs made it to the tape. Looking back, I realize that progressive-rock and blues dominated it.
Alright, stop writing, Michael. Here’s “Roundabout”.
Friday’s Theme Music
The late David Bowie, one of my favorite performers (but there’s so many out there, really) and a person who brought a lot of music and entertainment into my life through lo’ these many years (but again, there are many many out there, and thanks to you all), occupies the stream today. I posted once before about having Bowie on shuffle in my head in the morning. Today, I’m going with “Suffragette City” (1972). I like it’s simple rock and roll stylings. Feel free to sing along, if you know the words. I won’t mind.
Thursday’s Theme Music
Today’s song is one of my favorite, recurring rocking walking songs.
“Good Times Roll” is a 1979 hit for The Cars. Although it’s a sarcastic comment on being part of the rock scene, I always apply it to my writing efforts and the muses.
If the illusion is real
Let them give you a ride
If they got thunder appeal
Let them be on your side
[Chorus]
Let them leave you up in the air
Let them brush your rock and roll hair
Let the good times roll
Won’t you let the good times roll-oll
Let the good times roll
n/t to Genius.com
I walk away from a writing day feeling pretty good, and think, that was a good write. Let the good times roll. Then the song pops into my head. Its chugging, relaxed beat is good for fast striding, oddly enough.
Yeah, let the good times roll.
Wednesday’s Theme Music
Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of “Happier” by Marshmello and Bastille (2018). Naturally, my stream sucked it up. It’s on a loop this morning.
The song’s lyrics, though, contain introspective ideas about what it takes to make relationships succeed, and the nuances. They see that the other can be happier than they are, and think about changing themselves – but only for a moment. That leaves us to infer, they can’t or won’t change, and they know it. That’s why, for the one they love to be happier, they need to go away. Most people lack the strength and wherewithal to go through those levels of thinking. They see the other isn’t happy but are too stuck in their own grooves to do anything. Subsequent drift is inevitable until the final breakup is a trainwreck.
Anyway, my pre-coffee thoughts. You know I can’t go deep without coffee. Barely manage to walk straight without the first cuppa.
Several videos except for this song.
This other video, though…well. Pretty sad to watch.
Michael Seidel, writer 