Tag: music

Something Good

I spent several hours this afternoon wandering around the Word of South festival, Tallahassee’s annual celebration of music and literature. I’d planned to go yesterday, but the weather wasn’t great and I opted for warmth instead of music. Besides, I thought Rickie Lee Jones was scheduled for today and I really wanted to see her perform.

Since dates and times are my nemeses I totally screwed up everything. Got to Cascades Park a full hour before any acts were due to go on stage and then realized Rickie Lee Jones had performed the night before. I guess I’m destined to never see Chuck E’s in Love performed in person. Darn it.

But I was determined to have a good time, so I strolled around the park until I heard some music that made me smile. A quick look at my program told me the band playing was called DOUBLECAMP. Even the name made me grin. I spread out a blanket, gingerly eased this 65-year-old body to the ground and enjoyed every minute of their set.

A better music reviewer would have remembered song titles and such. All I remember is bobbing my head to every tune and savoring the sweet, clever lyrics and honest vocals.

Joe and Jordan

The band is made up of members, Joe Neary and Jordan Burmeister. They had a drummer along today, but I can’t for the life of me remember his name, so I hope he’ll forgive me if he ever happens to read this. He was really great to watch, though.

And DOUBLECAMP’s tunes? Fun. Upbeat. Pop with soul. Just what this day, and this old woman, needed. Give their song, All My Friends are Strangers, a listen. I think you’ll like it.

https://youtu.be/IOIeV8FHUcI

Peace, people!

Wilder Days

I’ve been listening to a lot of country music on The Highway channel on SiriusXM lately, and it struck me that a whole lot of country sounds like the rock music of my 70’s youth.

One artist in particular, Morgan Wade, has pulled me in. Her song, Wilder Days, is my current ear worm, and I can’t come close to doing it justice. I butcher the melody time after time, and I stumble over 80% of the lyrics, but that doesn’t keep me from singing.

https://youtu.be/iK4u95thQn0

Be glad I posted a video of Morgan singing and not one of me.

Peace, people!

My Driving Song 🎵

In a recent post I asked followers to declare their favorite driving song. https://nananoyz5forme.com/2021/10/07/driving-song/

There were some great answers: the Doobie Brothers’ Rockin’ Down the Highway. https://youtu.be/5Dxm1Yqrn_s

And this AC⚡️DC tune: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vj_rvLVpqg8&fbclid=IwAR3FeBw7H0OTy37WTlwCJ3q_NlO98fmooXcezVRUvTYjXgfJzkgrarkx7GQ

One mellow friend suggested Dust in the Wind. Great song, but not what I had in mind. https://youtu.be/tH2w6Oxx0kQ

For my money, Radar Love by Golden Earring is the best driving song ever. https://youtu.be/ckM51xoTC2U

Everything about this song makes me want to put the pedal to the metal and just GO!

Of course, nowadays I don’t go too fast, but I go pretty far…Bonus points for knowing where that line comes from.

Peace, people.

Nothing Else Matters

Metallica was never a band whose songs were included on my playlist. Try as I might, I was unable to develop a taste for their hard-driving brand of rock. Then just this week I heard Miley Cyrus perform a cover of Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters, and now I am obsessed with the song.

Once I’d listened to Miley’s version I had Alexa play the original. Oh. My. It’s gorgeous. Hauntingly beautiful. Who knew Metallica could pull off such a restrained and heart-rending song?

Now, to add another layer to the mix, as I drove home to Doright Manor from Tallahassee on Saturday afternoon I heard the now familiar opening lyrics “So close no matter how far” emanating from my radio. Only this time it was a cover by country star Chris Stapleton. I adore Chris Stapleton, and his version is oh so good.

I went from not knowing the song at all to having three different, incredible versions on a playlist of its own. And if I’m being honest, the original is my favorite. Finally at my advanced age of almost 65 I’ve developed an affinity for Metallica. Will wonders never cease?

Fairly recent photo of Metallica. Guess I’m not the only one aging. They still look good and sound great, though.

Peace and Rock On, People.

Do I Need You Now?

When I was writing my little romance novel I compiled a playlist to set a certain mood. A sexy, steamy mood. But now I’m writing a sequel to my first book, and this story needs a totally different vibe. Except that my mind hasn’t compartmentalized enough to make the switch, and I’m still thinking about sex. Don’t tell Studly Doright; he might get the wrong idea.

Having said all that, the characters in the sequel to Mayhem at the Happy Valley Motor Inn and Resort are grownups, and a romance could very well develop as the story progresses. Who am I to get in the way of love?

I am doing my best, though, to develop a non-romance playlist, but the first song I’ve added is the very hot, “Need You Now” by Lady A. So, maybe my playlist is trying to tell me something. I’m just not sure yet what it is, but I like the song.

Lady A, the band formerly known as Lady Antebellum

https://youtu.be/eM213aMKTHg

Peace, people!

On the Banks of the Lee, The Version I Love

Yesterday I wrote about an Irish love song that I used to play for my rowdy fourth graders. They all loved the song, “On the Banks of the Lee,” perhaps because while it played, their rather odd teacher (me) stayed silent. Whatever their reasoning, we all felt some connection to the song.

I shared a version yesterday that was very sweet and well done, but it didn’t exactly match the rendition my students and I loved so much. I wondered if I could simply record from my cd, but the results of that experiment were less than pleasing.

So, I went searching for the more beloved version online and finally discovered it. This is Clannad, singing their beautifully haunting cover of “On the Banks of the Lee.” I could listen to this for hours. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/Q8pu8ziEVa0

Peace, people!

Clannad

On the Banks of the Lee

There’s a song that’s been on my mind lately. I’d discovered it on a cd of Celtic music many years back. When I taught a group of rambunctious (that’s the kindest word I could think of) fourth graders one year, I found that this particular song calmed us all. The students asked for it again and again, and I’d play it over and over while they worked independently. So, why couldn’t I remember the title?

I figured the cd had been lost in one of our many moves, but still I combed through my entire collection in search of the one with That Song. I could hear the melody in my head, but no lyrics. Finally, I discovered it in a box labeled “Misc. Classroom Stuff,” and I did a happy dance.

The song, a haunting Irish tune called “On the Banks of the Lee” tells the tale of two lovers forever parted. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and there are so many versions out there that it was difficult for me to choose just one to share.

As you listen to Jesse Ferguson’s rendition, imagine a group of unruly ten-year-olds, mostly boys, some who just barely spoke English and were not happy being stuck in a classroom on a late summer day, sitting and working while under the spell of this song. I still credit it for our good test scores at the end of that year.

https://youtu.be/G2mtCCUyvSY

Jesse Ferguson

Peace, people!

Country Protest Songs

Nowadays my ears are constantly attuned to finding new protest songs. If ever there was a time for such songs, it’s right now, and I’ve been hard pressed to find ones that make me think, “hell, yeah!”

Surprisingly, several of the ones I have found have come from the country genre—typically the bastion of conservative thinking.

There’s The Chicks’ “March March” which pulls no punches when addressing racial inequality. Of course, The Chicks have never shied away from addressing injustice. Their outspokenness cost them millions of dollars during the younger Bush’s time in office, but they never backed down. That’s righteous.

https://youtu.be/xwBjF_VVFvE

Then Eric Church has a song out that challenges the status quo. The first time I heard it I did a double take. Was he saying what I thought he was saying when he recorded, “Stick That in Your Country Song”? Yes, yes he was.

https://youtu.be/wAX5XvdKRFk

Yesterday, I heard a song by Brent Cobb called “Shut Up and Sing.” It’s undeniably a protest song, and worth a listen.

https://youtu.be/z6oDXGy7vgM

It gives me great hope to hear these country voices speaking out on social issues. Here’s hoping their fans are listening.

Would You Rather

Would you rather have a wooden nickel or a Yankee dime? For some reason I always thought both terms meant roughly the same thing—fake money. Surprise, surprise! They don’t.

In the United States, a wooden nickel is a wooden token coin, usually issued by a merchant or bank as a promotion, sometimes redeemable for a specific item such as a drink.

A Yankee dime is a quick, innocent kiss. A peck. A child-like term used by/for children in the Southern United States. (More common in countryside-raised, ‘older’ southern families). Often it’s used as payment for a service: “I’ll give you a Yankee dime if you’ll bring me a glass of lemonade.”

Now that I know the difference, I think I’d prefer a Yankee dime to a wooden nickel, but I guess it depends on who’s offering.

My cousin, Effron White wrote a song about a Yankee Dime. I vaguely remember having a conversation with him about the meaning of the phrase back when we were kids. But we never discussed wooden nickels. I’m blaming him for my lack of understanding.

Here’s his song. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/i01XuwYXpW0

Peace, people!

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