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Guided by prompts from WDC blogging challenges... and of course, life |
HI! I'm Jenn - and I'm all over the place (well, at least my mind is). In this blog, I have attempted to gather my thoughts on things prompted/inspired by WDC blogging challenges from "Journalistic Intentions"  , "The Soundtrack of Your Life" , "Blogging Circle of Friends " , "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" and, well, LIFE.    |
| Life is like a unicorn turd: sparkle sprinkled rainbow feces, so much good and bad intertwined. The icing from the cake that landed on the floor upside down. The sweet and course all rolled into one. Good news, bad news, I'm tired of the news. My life is chaotic enough without the media making it any worse, so I've been trying to stay away from the news channels... In real life, highs are being overshadowed by uncertainty. I knew having kids wasn't easy. I've known that for a while now. What I didn't know was how difficult it would continue to be after said children reached adult age. I phrase it like this because I have to look hard to see emotional maturity in my oldest and I see my baby, at 21, struggling to find herself in the middle of a failed engagement, an engagement that has lasted since she was seventeen. My hands are tied with these two. Good and bad times are like the tides of the lake nearby, rolling in after some idiot on a speedboat exceeds the boating speed limit along a residential stretch of the shore. My oldest, who refuses to interact with family, is pregnant and living far away from any help we might be able to give her. She refuses to tell her grandparents or myself where she is living and her phone was just disconnected, so the only way we have to contact her is through Facebook or Snapchat (neither very reliable when important issues require haste). Worries about her and the baby run rampant through my head, especially since she has chosen to live in a city rife with crime far away from those who love her. Yesterday I received pleasant news from her though. They were able to see the sex of the baby on the last sonogram - I'm going to have a granddaughter. Unicorns and rainbows, here I come! Also in recent happenings are the trials of my youngest, who is finding the strength in herself to leave her fiancé of four years and try to remove herself from a controlling relationship. She's never been on her own before, having moved in with this young man right after she graduated high school. She doesn't want to come home to start over. She wants to stay in the college town where she lives and get an apartment by herself. I'm trying to be supportive although I, of course, have my misgivings. Her father, on the other hand, is vehemently against it. He thinks she needs to move closer to family - either closer to us or to her grandparents. He doesn't want to help her get settled and instead has told her she has to do it all on her own. I've tried to agree to disagree with him, but he is like a bulldog on this and thinks his way is the only way. It's been causing arguments between us because I can't just cut ties and let my girls fend for themselves if I can help them (to a certain extent). All the younger one wants is our support and her dad isn't willing to give her even that. He says he is worried she won't be able to make it on her own, that she is too small and timid and bad things will happen to her and she is too far away for any family to get to her quickly to help her if something does happen. Which way is better, trying to support their decisions or cutting them off entirely and forcing them to go it completely alone? We were raised to think differently on this and I'm afraid the headbutting has just started. Man! Isn't it supposed to be easier when the kids are grown? Now here's an additional thing to be thrown into the mix of sunshine and shit that is life, I was just promoted at work. I've been doing the work and working the hours already, so I might as well get paid for it. I haven't had a full-time job since I stopped teaching. I've worked the hours at my part time position, but I haven't been considered full time until now. I'm good at what I do though, so it should be a piece of cake (upside down), right? My parents and husband don't think I'm healthy enough yet to have that added stress in my life, but I'm willing to give it a go. I mean, what's it going to do? Kill me? My body is already on top of that one. I'm willing to give it a go. I can always step back down if my health gets bad again. Ups and downs and all over the place and then there are the pets. The cat who thinks he needs to gorge on his food only to puke it back up mere minutes later, the dog who thinks he doesn't get enough attention, the other cat who thinks she needs to be fed and petted 24 hours a day... and the lizard, who causes absolutely no problems, is quiet, and is exceptionally easy to care for. Never time for a mental day because the chaos seems to find me. Maybe I should take a day to go fishing, hiding out, and enjoying some time away from the world. |
| 2/28/22 It's time for my final song for the month and the challenge. I've listened to Neil Young's songs quite a bit over the last ten years or so. They help take my mind off the bad things as the music lifts me up. "Hey, Hey, My, My" is one of my favorites of Neil's songs. I listened to both this acoustic version and the electric version as well as the cover of the song done by Devo (which is worth checking out) and chose the acoustic version for the following reasons: the electric version (Out of the Blue) sounds a bit chaotic and static-sounding, while the acoustic version (Into the Black) is clean sounding and the notes are clear. The Devo cover is fun but it doesn't have the same feels as the acoustic version for me. DEVO version Did You Know?  Did you know that there are actually two songs? Of course, there is "Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black)" but there is also "My, My, Hey, Hey (Out of the Blue)". The two songs are essentially the same, with the major difference being that "Into the Black" is acoustic while "Out of the Blue" is electric, and the lyrics between the two differ in places. Check it out...Lyrics for Hey, Hey, My, My ▼ Lyrics for My, My Hey, Hey ▼  Both songs were released on the Rust Never Sleeps album, with "Out of the Blue" being the final song of the album. Did you know that the term "Out of the blue and into the black" originated during the Vietnam war? The phrase was a term used by soldiers who fought the war in the Vietcong tunnels to refer to the act of going down into the tunnels.  The verse, "The king is gonebut he's not forgotten Is this the story of Johnny Rotten? It's better to burn out 'cause rust never sleeps The king is gone but he's not forgotten." refers to John Lydon of Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd fame. Johnny Rotten burnt out on the whole Sex Pistols scene, unhappy with the direction the Sex Pistols was heading, parted from the band and went on to create the music he personally wanted to create. - Better to burn out and go your own way than to stay in an unhappy situation. |
2/27/22 Have I said before how big a fan I am of Willie Nelson? I'm pretty sure I have, but if you didn't know, now you do. I've loved his music since I was a wee lass; my parents assert that I would sing Willie songs before I would actually talk to anyone. It was the beginnings of a love affair with music that has lasted the entirety of my life. I grew up in the hometown of Willie Nelson, Abbott Texas. It's a very small town in northern central Texas about thirty miles up the highway (I-35) north of Waco. The people there are generally friendly, and they are quite proud of having Willie as one of their "sons". Growing up, I always said I'd marry Willie one day. Many people told me to stop being silly because Willie is old enough to be my father. So I'd counter with, "Maybe Willie will have a son and I can marry him." Of course, I never did marry into the Nelson family, but that's alright since I can still enjoy the music. But Willie did indeed have a son. He had a total of seven children. I know at least two of them are boys and I have watched videos of them singing with their uber famous dad. I'm sure most, if not all, of his offspring are musically inclined. Lukas even decided to follow in Dear Old Dad's footsteps and has become a singer in his own right, being vocalist and guitarist in the band Promise of the Real. His voice is eerily similar to that of Willie when he was a young man, and he looks a lot like his dad too. He has also acted in movies such as "A Star is Born", "Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard", and "Palmer". Lukas has a beautiful voice and quite a bit of talent. Back in 2012, Willie did a cover of Pearl Jam's "Just Breathe". When Eddie Vedder heard that Willie was taking on one of his songs, he expressed his excitement, comparing the experience to “smoking a great joint without all the coughing or the smoke.” He also expressed how honored he was and even referred to Nelson’s cover as the “best contribution to music so far.” I'd have to agree. It takes my breath away every time I hear it, it is phenomenal. At the Farm Aid in 2013, Willie's son Lukas joined him on the stage for the song, both singing and playing acoustic guitar. Their duet music video for the song is just as moving, showing Willie and his son driving in a convertible on a road trip and singing, playing guitar at a campground, and sitting in bars and diners. It is a wonderful vision of the bond between a father and his son. The video ends with music fading, Lukas playing guitar sitting on an old picnic table, and Willie driving the convertible alone down the old country road. Symbolizing that we must all part at some point. Lyrics and Such: ▼ Everybody needs to be reminded from time to time to Just Breathe. Hope you all enjoy. |
2/26/22 I heard a song earlier today on the radio that reminded me of the happenings of a night out with the hubby and friends. Last year I was on a rare night out with my husband. We had decided to go and hear our friends' band play at the local VFW. The night was going great until the singer announced that there would be a "guest singer" for the next song because they did not know the Spanish part of the song they were about to play. That would not have been a big deal had they not announced that I would be the one singing. It was the first time I have ever sang in front of a crowd of people and it will also be my last. But you'd think that a band would know all the words to the songs they play. I think they had it planned. I've sang it when we were just having jam sessions and chilling, but in public? That's the ingredient that spells disaster. I don't do well in crowds, especially when they are focusing on me. I sang it though, my inhibitions probably lowered by the Crown & Coke I'd been drinking. The song they wanted me to sing is "Up in Smoke" by Cheech and Chong. "Up in Smoke" was written and performed by Tommy Chong and Richard "Cheech" Marin. It was the title song on the soundtrack for the 1978 movie "Up in Smoke," the soundtrack album was released in 1979. It is a fun song about what the singer does to relax, or pretty much for any reason. The second verse is a hybrid mixture of both English and Spanish languages and adds a unique touch to the song. So what if it's about pot. Eventually the stuff will be legal all over the U.S. and songs like this will lose some of their shock factor. Lyrics ▼ Have a good night, folks. |
| I seriously don't know how certain people get or keep jobs, yet somehow, they continue to be hired time and again. What sent me on this rant, you might ask. I had to deal with yet another person today who is seriously lacking in the "Common Sense in the Workplace" department. We have a young lady now working for my store who is apparently new to working, or at least new to working in a public, customer-service based setting. We have been having various problems with her: calling in at the last minute, having friends and her boyfriend calling her on the store phone while she is on the clock, not doing her assigned work, etc. - but today, the shit hit the fan. Today, with a store full of customers, she gets a call from her boyfriend and immediately begins cussing him out on the phone so loudly that the customers at the registers all turn to see what the commotion is about. The girl was spewing F-bombs like they were the only thing she knew how to say. I was forced to apologize to my customers for this employee's behavior. Discussing the situation with another manager, I learned that the girl had already been warned for this exact behavior. Perhaps we need to institute training for new employees in how to behave while on the clock or within the store. To me, it is commonsense to forgo the foul language in the workplace. Then again, it is also commonsense to me to do my best the first time around, so I don't have to do something twice. The girl will no longer be working for our store, however. Hopefully, this will be a lesson for her in the etiquette of customer service. But this girl is not alone in her lack of knowledge in how to behave in the workplace. My husband had a client of his tell my husband that he would do well to hire better workers instead of "those dope smoking idiots that can't even keep their feet from getting sunburnt." Apparently, one of the employees in question had decided to start up a conversation with the client (going against the rules my husband has for his workers) and told the client that he wasn't able to do much that day because his feet were so badly sunburnt (which supposedly happened because the guy got so drunk the day before that he passed out in the lawn chair). The same worker and his brother, who was also employed by my husband at the time, were seen by the client later that day smoking weed on the side of the house. Regardless of the job you do, is it not common sense to withhold from illegal activities while on the job? That was the last day the brothers were employed by my husband. They weren't quite the image he wants for his company. Then there's another guy who worked for my husband for a short period of time then decided he knew everything there is to know about landscape irrigation, so he wanted to go into business for himself. He still calls my husband to get help in what to do for this repair or that installation. The guy did the same thing with plumbing - the local plumbers have to come back and fix the guy's handiwork all the time. But somehow, he still gets people to hire him. Yet another guy my husband helped out and took to work with him a couple of times has been hired at more places than I can count on both hands just within the last couple of months. He works each job for a couple of days then quits, always giving an excuse as to why he quit. Then he wants to bum money from his friends and acquaintances to buy cigarettes and such. But still these people get work, they are still hired time and again. I don't understand it. When did work ethic go out the window? What are they teaching these younger generations of people about how to get and hold a job? It doesn't seem like customer service or work etiquette is part of the lesson, if there is any kind of lesson at all. Maybe they should teach this in school. It would help the kids in the long run. But then again, common sense can't be taught. Good night, everyone. Maybe the Common Sense Fairy will visit all these poor souls in their sleep. |
February 25, 2022 Frédéric Chopin I had a hard time of it yesterday, my mind "short circuiting" after work while I was attempting to write my daily entry for "The Soundtrack of Your Life" . Somehow during this mental lapse, I erased everything I had written to that point; which was a significant amount, as I was to the point of adding my final touches to the entry. My mind just was not willing to function enough to rewrite the entry in its entirety last night, so I decided to take a step back and decompress. Music is a great way to decompress, and one of my favorite ways to do so is by listening to classical music. To help me relax and meditate last night, I chose a compilation of works by Chopin which I have saved in my "Liked Videos" for occasions just like this one. It helped me to calm and center myself, separating my mind from its stress and providing a new focus for thought. I have used Chopin and the music of many other great classical musicians over the course of the last few years to get me through the panic attacks and chaos of thought which happened so frequently before a medication was found that could help with some of these issues. Because of how readily it works for me, I was inspired to include it in my soundtrack. Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (later changed to Frédéric François Chopin) was born in March 1810 and died in October 1849. He was a Polish virtuoso pianist and composer during the Romantic period who wrote primarily for solo piano. He is known worldwide as a leading musician of his era, whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation." Chopin was a child prodigy and had completed his music education and began composing works before the age of twenty. In final eighteen years of his life, he preferred to perform in the salon, performing for the public a mere thirty times during this period. He supported himself by giving piano lessons and selling his compositions. All of Chopin's compositions include the piano. The majority of the compositions are for solo piano however he also wrote two piano concertos, a handful of chamber pieces, and some songs set to Polish lyrics. Chopin's major works include mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, the instrumental ballade (which Chopin created as an instrumental genre), études, impromptus, scherzos, preludes, and sonatas. It is interesting to note that all of the names his works have acquired through time were given to them by people other than Chopin. He tended to title his creations as per their genre and number, only giving a descriptive title to his Funeral March. He preferred to allow his listeners to associate the pieces however the music moved them individually. Chopin's students include masters such as Friederike Müller and Carl Filtsch and piano teachers like Karol Mikuli and Georges Mathias. Müller wrote memoirs of Chopin's teachings, describing his style of playing and teaching as such, "His playing was always noble and beautiful; his tones sang, whether in full forte or softest piano. He took infinite pains to teach his pupils this legato, cantabile style of playing. His most severe criticism was 'He – or she – does not know how to join two notes together.' He also demanded the strictest adherence to rhythm. He hated all lingering and dragging, misplaced rubatos, as well as exaggerated ritardandos..." To me, his compositions are clean and moving. The piano takes you through a host of emotions: loss, sadness, hope, triumph, love, these are but just a few of the emotions Chopin's mastery of music will lead you through. There is a plethora of compositions by Chopin to soothe the stressed soul - and that's exactly what the purity of his music does. But don't take it from me, listen to some of his works for yourself. |
Jethro Tull - "Thick as a Brick" The Band: The band name was the idea of their agent, a farming history enthusiast. (The inspiration for the name was Jethro Tull, an 18th century British agriculturalist who invented farming tools like the seed drill and the horse-drawn hoe.) They kept the name because they were using it the first time a club manager liked their show enough to invite them to return. Jethro Tull is a British progressive rock group from England that was created in December 1967. Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, gives the band their signature sound with his vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute. Also of note is the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969, since replacing the original guitarist Mick Abrahams. Through the years, the band has seen many changes in its members and its sound, but the presence of Ian Anderson has remained a constant. Jethro Tull has been an active band since 1967 with the exception of a 5-year gap between 2012 and 2017 and they have released albums on a variety of labels. They won a Grammy award in 1988 for "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, Vocal or Instrumental" for their album "Crest of a Knave." The band is also known for songs such as "Aqualung " and "Locomotive Breath ." (Click on a song name to hear it on youtube.) The Song: "Thick as a Brick" is an amazing composition in two parts. The song, composed by Ian Anderson in 1971, was released in March 1972 as its own album of the same title. The album contains a continuous piece of music, split over two sides of the LP, and is a parody of the concept album genre. The original packaging, designed like a newspaper, claims the album to be a musical adaptation of an epic poem by fictional eight-year-old genius Gerald Bostock - though the lyrics were actually written by Anderson. It received mixed reviews upon its release but was a commercial success and topped various charts in 1972. Today it is regarded as a classic of progressive rock and has received several accolades. The song/album is a conglomeration of musical themes, time signature changes and tempo shifts – all of which were features of the progressive rock scene. The song prominently features flute, acoustic and electric guitars, and Hammond organ, and also includes harpsichord, glockenspiel, timpani, violin, lute, trumpet, saxophone, and a string section. Unusual instruments for a rock band to use, even back in the late 1960's. It could be considered a symphony of progressive rock music. Lyrics: ▼ |
| 2/23/22 I have a love of many forms of art: written, musical, paintings, even food. It is a special treat to find an intertwining of more than one art form. Such is the case with the song "Vincent" by Don McLean. In my personal opinion, Don McLean created a musical masterpiece that pays homage to a creator of masterpieces, Vincent van Gogh. Written exclusively by Don McLean, "Vincent" was released in 1971 on his "American Pie" album. In an interview with McLean, he says he was reading a biography of van Gogh when he was inspired with the idea of writing a song about him. After a lot of thought, the song he created was a homage to van Gogh and his paintings. The lyrics ring of empathy for Vincent van Gogh's struggle with mental illness. A great example of this are the lines, "Now I understand /What you tried to say to me /And how you suffered for your sanity /And how you tried to set them free." While "Starry Night" is mentioned directly in the song, there are many other paintings of van Gogh's that are alluded to in the song. Some Fun Facts: ▼ Lyrics |
| I was so exhausted after work yesterday that I fell asleep rather than posting my soundtrack. I will rectify that now and then this evening will post the one for today, 2/22/22 TOOL - "Lateralus" While I am far from genius, especially of late, Maynard James Keenan of the band TOOL (also of the band, A Perfect Circle) exudes it with his every chord and lyric. The Song: "Lateralus" was released in 2001 on the album of the same name. Both the album and song title refer to the ability to think laterally. “Lateralus” is just one of many songs written by Tool that express a deep and connective message or point of view. "Lateralus" is so deep and concentrated that the song structure itself is based on a sequence of numbers known as the “Fibonacci Sequence.” The bass and guitar structure follow the numbers in which some order, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8. The words to the song are also structured similarily: “Black/Then/White are/ all I see/ in my infancy/ red and yellow then came to be,” so that each syllable represents the first six numbers of the sequence. In structuring the music and lyrics as such, Keenan proves the genius of thinking laterally, thereby connecting life to everything imaginable. The Man Behind the Song: As per Wikipedia, "Maynard James Keenan is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, actor, and winemaker." He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle - and was also a member of the bands Green Jellÿ, Tapeworm, Children of the Anachronistic Dynasty, and TexA.N.S. It was written by one columnist, "James Maynard Keenan is one of very few vocalists to have the mentality and level of thinking he has obtained throughout life...James Maynard Keenan is one of the five geniuses of Tool, and his work should be admired for its insanity and depth." Lyrics ▼ Have I piqued your interest? Then check out: Parabola and Forty Six & 2 |
Feb. 21, 2022 Have you ever had a song stalk you? I had intended on a completely different song for today however, I've had a song stalking me all day so it must mean that is the song I should highlight as my track today. It started this morning. I woke with the song playing in my head. Then, when I started up my Jeep to go into town, there it was again. Changing the station on the radio when that particular one went to commercial just opened up the possibility to hear the song again - and there it was. My husband was listening to youtube as I walked back in the house and there was that song again. So, tomorrow I will write about the song I was going to write about today - before this particular song decided to show up everywhere. What song is it that I'm talking about, you might ask. It is Psycho Killer by the Talking Heads. Psycho Killer is one of those songs that gets stuck in your head when you hear it. Probably why I cannot think of another song except it today..... The Group: The Talking Heads was considered one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the 1980's. The four former art school students - Byrne, Franz, Weymouth, and Harrison - formed the band in 1975 and quickly became involved in the punk scene of NYC. The band played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 5, 1975.Their music helped to pioneer "new wave" music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with a clean-cut image. They continued to tour until late 1991 when their lead singer/guitarist, David Byrne, left the group. Their final release was "Sax and Violins", an original song that had appeared earlier in 1991 on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' "Until the End of the World". The band members, minus their lead singer, Byrne, attempted to get back together two times, changing their name to Shrunken Heads, and then to Heads in 1996. The group reunited in full in 2002 for their final performance during the ceremony to their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is notable that four of their albums were on Rolling Stone's list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." Three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also included in VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time." Many artists have said to have been influenced by the Talking Heads, including Eddie Vedder, Primus, Nelly Furtado, Kesha, Trent Reznor, and Radiohead, The Song: Psycho Killer was the Talking Heads' breakthrough single. It first appeared on the Talking Heads 77 album. "Psycho Killer" was the only song from that album to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (it peaked at number 92) and peaked at number 11 on the Dutch singles chart in 1977. The song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. "Psycho Killer" became what AllMusic calls a "deceptively funky new wave/no wave song" with "an insistent rhythm, and one of the most memorable, driving basslines in rock & roll," (as per Bill Janovitz in "Psycho Killer – Song Review". for AllMusic). The song has been covered by bands like Cage the Elephant and Velvet Revolver. It is interesting to note that the bridge lyrics are in French, as is the prominent chorus line "Qu'est-ce que c'est? (What is this?)" Lyrics ▼ |
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You're so right, they are definitely perceptive. They know when you need extra attention, and they know when to keep an eye out for you. They are definitely a blessing from God.
