Isolation or My Musical Upbringing…

After my morning walk on Monday I realized how important the bird songs were to starting my day off. They just put me in a good mood. Mother natures music. I thought I might do something a little different this time around. I’m going to share with you some of the songs that hold a place in my heart from my past. My musical upbringing. Music is a thing that brings us all together in a positive way. I can’t think of anything that is as universal as music. It’s medicine for the soul. I also figure you all might grow tired of me writing about my exciting days working (NOT) from home. These are the times to do things differently. Everything else in life is different.

I’m going to start with two tunes by REM. I couldn’t decide which to post. Both songs hold deep meaning to my younger life. I was at the ripe old age of 11 when “Automatic For The People” came out. I was already a fan of REM. “Out of Time” being one of the first 3 albums I owned. I never got a copy of AftP until years later. I guess my allowance went to other albums. Or maybe Jurassic Park toys? Who can say. Great album. I recall “Man on the Moon” at 8 Wheels while skating. Requesting it. Oh what a day. I remember that day on the skates every time I hear the song. A childhood joy. “Everybody Hurts” is a song I mainly recall from the video being stuck at home sick. (I guess that’s kind of like now) The old days when MTV & VH1 were important to all us kids. It has so much emotion. Love these songs. I must confess they are not my favorite on the album. They just had an impact on my life. I’ve been going back to older material.

Enya. What better artist to bring a little joy into your life. With so many songs to choose from I went with “Anywhere Is”. It’s one I’m always drawn back too. This song still gives me goosebumps when I hear it. I always feel a very emotional impact when this song comes on. It’s brought me to tears, no joke. I will never tire of this tune. It’s a part of me. I was 13 when this song was released. I don’t think many 13 year olds listen to Enya, but thanks to my father’s wide range of music I was introduced at a young age. If you are feeling a little blue from all that going on in the world, I implore you to give this song a listen. It will be an enjoyable experience.

I’ve been going back to songs that I remember from good days of the past. The Sting song “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You” reminds me of a family road trip to Durango, Colorado. I was 12 years old. Road trips were a big part of my upbringing. My dad liked to take scenic routes and we would make frequent stops to various historical sites. Lots of hiking. I remember this song specifically because on this particular road trip, the driving was the only part I got to enjoy. When we got to Durango I managed to catch one of the worst cases of the stomach flu, to this day, I’ve ever had. It was miserable. I was sad that I could not have fun with my parents and brothers. But at least I had the days in the car and the hikes to the various historical sites to enjoy. Over all, that vacation ranks as one of the best ever. I might have been in hell, but the memories are so much clearer because of that. And this song reminds me of that joyous journey. Also, what a video.

Pearl Jam was one of my earliest favorite bands, again, thanks to my father. He would play the albums VS & Vitology very often on our trips to & from the ranch near Rocksprings. Those two album are important corner stones to my musical taste. Oddly, I am not posting a song from either those albums. The song “MFC” from the 1998 album Yield has been with me these last few days. I was 16 going on 17. Teenage years in high school with little to no worries in the world. Well, maybe worried that my crush at the time had no interest in me or that we couldn’t find a place to sneak a few beer, but those are not worries considering the current times. This song reminds me of sunny days and young love. Hanging out with friends around Twin Buttes. The independence that comes with being 16 and having a car. It reminds me of the innocence of youth. Sometimes we want to go back to those days. I still can’t believe this song was released over 20 years ago… I smile when that opening guitar riff begins to play from my speakers. They just released a new album last Friday that is actually rather good.

I grew up in a house that played lots of instrumental music. Classical orchestra. Mozart, Beethoven, etc… Instrumental music is still a big part of my life. How to pick an artist… How about Yanni! The album “In My Time” was played very often. The talent of this guy is unreal. I also don’t think it hurt that my mother was in love with him. I suppose he was a handsome man. His music just relaxes me in a way not much else can. Had a bad day? Throw some Yanni on to remedy that right quick. I couldn’t pick just one song, and I tried. Figured that would be an injustice to the man so I picked two of my favorite from the album mentioned above.

While we are talking about instrumental music I should also bring up my love for movie scores. Some of the best compositions come from movies, IMO. There are many I hold close to my heart. One of the first 3 albums I purchased with my own allowance just so happened to be the Jurassic Park soundtrack. I’m still in love. I recall how in awe I was leaving the theater after seeing the movie & I had to have the soundtrack. Mind you, I was 12 at the time. I might have begged my parents to swing by Hastings(miss them dearly) to pick it up. The theme is just pure bliss. Another movie soundtrack that’s part of me is The Last Of The Mohicans. The entire thing is a listen one must experience. I am reminded of many evenings sitting on the patio at the ranch with my family taking in nature, watching the deer feed, and listening to that movie score. I guess the song “Promontory” sums up the excellence of this album. I spent hours one night learning this on the guitar. I pulled it off, but have since lost the skills to perform it. Legends of the Fall. Are you familiar with the movie? If you are than you know the music. “The Ludlows” is one of the prettiest compositions I have ever heard. I dare you say otherwise. It feels like this soundtrack has been with me for much longer than 26 years, but I did the math. It hits the emotions much harder today than it ever did the 12 year old boy I was. I feel my father presence when I play this score. I’d like to think that he is listening to it with me.

My earliest memory of music is of Neil Young. My father played a lot of his albums when I was a toddler. I remember being in our living room, my dad was reading on the couch and the album Harvest was playing. I couldn’t tell you what I was doing. I just associate the album with that image of my father and our ugly old couch. Stye was something else in the 80’s. Those songs are in my bones. That’s how deep within me they are. Over the year I made it a point to fully immerse myself in the catalogue that is Neil. He just last year released a new album which is pretty rockin. The song I picked for this list, from Harvest, is “Old Man”. Love you, Dad! Thanks for all the music you introduced me too.

How could I make this list without a little James Taylor! Whenever I hear a song by him I can’t help think about my dad. I choke up a little when I hear his songs pop up on the radio. So many masterpieces by this guy. I think the reason I enjoy folk music stems from good ole James. The song that I pick is one of his mid-career songs from 1991 called “Copperline”. This song evokes memories of a Christmas vacation in Austin, Tx at my aunt & uncles & cousins house. This house was grand in scale. It was beautiful. I loved going for a visit. The little 10 year old I was could not believe a place could be any more majestic. It was such a big house. And my aunt really went all out with Christmas decorations. Oh the smells. She knew her candles. My Meeme & Pop were with us that year. It was everyone on my mothers side of the family. They had a golden retriever named Dusty. Boy was I in love with that dog. He was such a sweet boy. Had two cat’s, Libby & Mittens, that I tried to stay away from. One didn’t like boys and I found that out the hard way. Anyhow, the album New Moon Shine was played a lot on that trip and the song that has stuck with me over the years is “Copperline”. It’s a beautiful song and it fills my belly with butterflies. That was one magical Christmas. I miss those times and this song brings me back to that trip.

My mother listened to a lot of Phil Collins & Genesis when I was growing up. Needless to say, I was a fan. This song reminds me, strangely, of being on the swing set we had in our backyard. It was a fresh spring afternoon and I was home from school. I don’t remember why. I think maybe that morning I wasn’t feeling well. Might have been playing hooky. I was swinging back and forth watching our two Lhasa Apso enjoying a nap on the cool green grass. I was an 8 year old with his head in the clouds pretending the swing was a airplane. I remember there being a lot of butterflies in the yard that day. I remember the bird songs. I remember my mom had pots and pots on the patio full of colorful flowers. This song was playing from inside the house. The doors were open because the weather was beautiful. I guess in that moment I was in paradise. The actual meaning of the lyrics didn’t impact me until I grew older.

This one is a little more recent in my life, but no less impactful. The year was 2005. I was working on getting my bachelors degree in English. I happened to stumble upon an artist that I had heard of but didn’t particularly like. Thought he was overrated and at the time wasn’t really into country music one bit. Even though it’s a stretch to call what he was doing at the time country. I think it falls into the genre alternative-country? Who knows. Anyways, a friend on AIM (do you remember that?) sent me a song called “Mockingbird” by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals. He said I might dig the new band. Boy how he couldn’t have been more right. I became somewhat obsessed with his music. That year alone he released 3 albums. What a time to become a fan. To my surprise, he also has a bit of a James Taylor vibe to his guitar playing. Of course this was right up my alley. The lyrics:

“Mockingbirds sing
Sing me what the Lord was singing
On the day He made the water
The color of the blues
Sing me that song
Sing me till the heavens rising
On the day He made the water
The color of my baby’s eyes”

Some good stuff right their. This opened the doors to many more artist that I had avoided listening to because the might be a little tooooo country for me. It also led me to an online community that allowed me to make friends all over the world. And I do mean all over the world. New Zealand, Australia, Ireland. These people have been a part of my life for 15 years all because of this song.

This list would be incomplete if I didn’t post some songs from one the most important genres of music in my life: Punk/EMO. In high school I was in a music scene. All my friends were in various punk/EMO bands and we went to punk/EMO shows on the weekends. I also played, but never had the though to actually be in the bands. I had fun just tagging along, hauling instruments to shows, getting to play with the equipment. We thought we were pretty cool. Anyhow, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jimmy Eat world, Propagandhi, Lagwagon, Blink 182, NOFX, Texas is the Reason. All those bands & many more were a major part of my adolescence. It was a time in my life were I was somewhat of a music snob. Anyone see the movie High Fidelity? The guys that work the record store? We were kind of like that. Popular music was all trash. We searched for underground less known bands. If you knew who The Get Up Kids or Good Riddance were, you were automatically cool. Punk Rock attitude. If you listened to popular music you must suck. Well, that a little extreme but you get the point. I still listen to a lot of very obscure music to this day, but I also listen to a lot of popular stuff. So here are a few songs I listened to back in the day with my punk friends.

I guess I’ll finish this off with a new song that was just released this year by a band called Wild Noting. The song “Foyer” has already worked it’s way into my soul. I’m a sucker for a good bass line. Always loved playing a bass guitar. It’s kind of a throwback to that 80’s sound which I use to despise. I now realize how ridiculous that was and I am happy to say I was wrong. So these guys have probably become my new favorite band. This is where I have been musically in the recent months. Funny how my younger self would have been rolling his eyes at this tune.

Jalapeño!!!!

Asian salad with some marinated teriyaki chicken. You really can’t go wrong with this meal.

Hoisin steak w/ sriracha broccoli. Meals are becoming a little less experimental. It’s hard when you can find what you need. I’m basically down to simple dishes during the weeks. This was great though.

Caribbean jerk pork tenderloin. Once again!! I don’t mind this meal. It’s easy and it’s Bekah’s favorite. I had to marinade a little differently because of a soy shortage in stores.

Mojito lime chicken with and avocado “white” corn salad. White corn because that was all that was left in the store. In plenty. I guess people don’t know that’s it’s pretty much the same damn thing. Bekah says this was great. It was pretty good.

I wanted food from some place I couldn’t get it. I tried to make my own. It was good. It’s wasn’t the same.

The Drink: f*** it!!! whatever