I Only See The Moon – The Milk Carton Kids

One of my favorite Americana groups has a new album out this month and it is amazing. A true feast for the ears with its complex harmonies, soaring guitar and banjo riffs and thought provoking lyrics.

Give this a listen.

Early 80s alternative music

Late 70s/early 80s music is the soundtrack of my coming of age, so of course, there are some great tunes from that era that I love and that have endured the test of time.

This post is going to feature some of the more obscure songs that hold a special place in my heart. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of these songs or some of your own!

The problem with “lyrics analysis”

There are several TikTokkers I have stopped following because their main schtick lately is listening to a song from the past and dissecting the lyrics, thereby labeling it as “creepy”, “rapey” or “cringe.” (I think the word cringe is pretty cringe, but that’s another story for another blog)

Unfortunately, many of the songs that are chosen for this are hits from the 70’s and 80’s. I think we can all agree that times have changed. Movies from our childhood and teen years are now regarded as woefully tone-deaf, culturally offensive or worse. In the words of Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” A lot of us who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s (and before) are quick to declare that we are the tough generation since we drank out of a garden hose or rode our bikes without helmets. Often, we roll our eyes and say that we survived it. That is survivorship bias. Not to get too dark here, but “we” all didn’t survive. That’s why bike helmets have been made mandatory for children under 16 in some areas and why schools don’t have smoking areas. Did I just unlock a memory there?!

It can be a catalyst for change when we look back on a previous generation’s culture and try to make the next generation healthier, more tolerant, or any other positive thing. My husband and I have virtually stopped reading biographies of our favorite musicians because we would rather not let their real life stories tarnish our memories of them or their music. That’s not saying that we condone any bad behavior. Besides the obvious criminal behaviors, sometimes we’ve got to just chalk it up to them being flawed people. John Lennon is a prime example of that and there are so many others. He’s not around to defend himself, but his son Julian’s forgiveness of him speaks volumes.

Some of the most popular songs I’ve seen crucified are the following:

Tonight’s the Night – Rod Stewart (1976)

Clair – Gilbert O’Sullivan (1972)

Into the Night – Benny Mardones (1980)

Nights on Broadway – the Bee Gees (1975)

I’m not going to post lyrics here, as they’re easily searched. Many already know that Tonight’s the Night was banned by the BBC with its seductive lyrics. Admittedly, in 1976, I was only 12 years old and was very naive. My parents didn’t really put limitations on what I could listen to and my brother and I liked to go through our father’s record albums and play them. As a 12 year old, I didn’t even know what a “virgin child” was. I just knew that Rod Stewart was a popular singer and this was on the radio a lot. Clair is a sweet song about the love Gilbert O’Sullivan had for his manager’s little daughter, Clair. No, it is not p e d o. Clair herself has spoken up about this song and her fondness for Gilbert. I suppose it has been taken out of context and listened to with “creepy man” ears. I know that if a woman sang a song like this there would not be anyone saying anything. Into the Night was written by Benny Mardones when he found out his teenage neighbor was living in a dysfunctional household. Benny took care of her and her family after the father walked out. The romantic undertones are there because Benny’s co-writer was taken aback by her beauty. Yes, that is icky. Does it make it a bad song? I always thought it was a nice song about the budding romance of two teens. I still like the song. Nights on Broadway, you ask? Yes. There are some lines, “I had to follow you, though you did not want me to.” Now we’re just reaching for straws.

There are several problems with this and one is that these critics are reaching for low-hanging fruit. It’s easy to look back and criticize and that’s why I no longer find it amusing. They’re likely to be preaching to their millennial choir. That brings me to the next problem and that’s the blatant hypocrisy. My oldest is a millennial and like my parents did with me, I tried not to censor his music and there was A LOT that got played on the radio that was censored. My kids and I used that to discuss that when lyrics are “beeped out” or replaced, that changes the meaning of the song, and most importantly, what that song means to you, the listener. I wonder if these folks who are making these videos about “our” music have listened to what’s on Top 40. If they are going to dissect songs from the 70’s and 80’s that have no foul language and try to sell their brand of snark, maybe they should look at what passes for music these days. Or, maybe just let artists make art.

Crawling out…

My last post was around Christmas. I was feeling pretty down then and not looking forward to the imminent descent into a dark, cold winter. Omicron was just starting to rear its ugly head here in the U.S., which made a long-anticipated family Christmas celebration less than it could have been when my brother (only sibling) got Covid and had to cancel Christmas at our parents’ house. So, it was my parents, me and my husband for Christmas, which wasn’t terrible, but my brother’s absence cast a gloom over all of us which seemed to infiltrate my being for the entire day and night. After a drive through light show, I drove off the path and into a small ditch. No damage, thank goodness, but I had to drive the hour back home going exactly the speed limit just in case. On the way home, some lovely person who must’ve been in the Christmas spirit decided to almost run me off the road, becoming frustrated with my “slow” driving. Then a sudden downpour hit, forcing me to pull off the road when I realized I literally couldn’t see. I was just very happy to make it home in one piece, and I suppose that’s the takeaway lesson – be grateful for whatever luck or fate allowed us to celebrate with loved ones and survive 3 separate incidents which could have gone much, much worse.

It’s almost April. Here in the U.S., all mask mandates everywhere except in medical offices and hospitals have been lifted. I know better than to throw caution to the wind. I’m continuing to be very careful while getting back to life. I got a haircut after a year of letting it grow out and next week, I have a dentist appointment. I went to my library last weekend and checked out some books. Looking forward to visiting there more often.

Once the weather finally breaks, I’ll be back on my bike, several pounds heavier than last year, thanks to a new medication which despite its side effects, has made my life exponentially better.

What’s everyone watching these days? Listening to? Reading?

The dreaded holiday music post

Note: I have had this post up for editing for the past two weeks. This has been an especially difficult season for me for several reasons. I have decided not to finish it and it is my desire to start blogging again soon once this depression lifts.

I hope that this post finds my readers living their best lives, celebrating whatever you celebrate, and listening to a lot of holiday music!

When I was a child, it seemed like holiday music was something we all enjoyed, but perhaps I am looking at things through rose-colored glasses. I do remember my grandmother sitting down at her organ, getting her songbooks out and everyone singing along. My father also carried on this tradition. Even though I wasn’t brought up in the church, I attended Christmas Eve services and have fond memories of learning all of the hymns. My mother’s favorite was, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Traditionally sung during Advent, this hymn became one of my favorites, too.

You can never go back, but you can pretend

Yesterday, I made the hour-long drive to my former hometown to do some shopping and yes, admittedly, to reminisce. I felt that longing in my soul for the often clichéd good old days. The news of late has simply been so disturbing and maddening that I had to disconnect. I deactivated my Facebook account and logged out of Twitter. I stopped reading and watching the news. This is temporary, I know, but much needed.

I chose to listen to “The Cars radio” on Apple Music and it was a good choice. The music and the roads I used to drive were the perfect distraction. Sometimes distraction is necessary for your mental health and can give your worried mind a rest from the worry. So, for a few hours yesterday, it was 1982 again. My friends and I gathered up our quarters to go to the arcade, but not before stopping to pick up a few more friends who just wanted to get out of the house. Remember that? You actually had to leave your house to see your friends. That feeling of freedom and the glow from seeing that cute guy or girl at the mall could make your weekend and provide just enough lift to carry you through until the next time.

Here are some of the songs from my time travel:

Oh, Billy.

A musical post

It almost sounds cliche’ to say that music has been such a huge part of my life since childhood. Well, it has and continues to be.

Admittedly, I haven’t chosen to branch out too much to explore much new music. There are some genres that I might be inclined to nose around in, but I usually stay in my lane, which is the slow lane. Even the Eagles aren’t in the living “life in the fast lane” anymore. Those genres are Americana, Bluegrass, Singer-Songwriter, Goth and Rock. That right there shows you how diverse my musical tastes are.

I have tons of CDs and my husband, a vinyl collector, has tons more CDs and albums and we listen to those in the house. I prefer CDs in the car, but have been known to stream Spotify with some good headphones while driving. Spotify is my preferred way to listen to music and they have rewarded me by picking up on my algorithms and choosing a weekly playlist for me, which can be an interesting trip down memory lane and a way to discover music and artists I’ve never heard, based on Spotify’s knowledge of what “they” think I will enjoy.

This is most of my latest Spotify curated playlist. Some of my favorite songs are on there, such as The Rain The Park and Other Things, New York Groove, and Dirty Work (it’s always great to get a Steely Dan song on one of these!)

Where did they get it wrong? New Moon on Monday, You Never Done it Like That and I Walk on Guilded Splinters. I never was a huge Duran Duran fan, but this is my least favorite hit song of theirs and even though I adore most cheesy 70’s songs, The Captain and Tenille are just meh.

Of course, there is the option to like certain songs, which gives the algorithms more to work with. As an experiment, I’m going to try that to see what happens.