NaBloPoMo 2009 Day 13 -- I miss liner notes

I really enjoy listening to music. Always have. I still have some of the records I had as a kid. The Eagles (The Long Run). The Village People (Cruisin') -- the one with "YMCA" on it. KISS (Destroyer and Double Platinum). And I may have been the only 8-year-old with the triple live album by Paul McCartney and Wings (Wings Over America).

Then CDs came along when I was in high school. I adjusted to the new format.

But the great thing about records and CDs (and even cassettes) was that they came with liner notes that almost always included the words to the songs. One of the things I used to enjoy about buying a new CD was getting home, popping the CD in and reading the words as I was listening to the songs. It really helped cement the songs in my head.

But today, so much of the music I buy is downloaded. And liner-note-free. Some downloadable CDs come with a pdf of the insert, but I've never gotten iTunes to open even one of them.

At my age, I really need the words to the songs if I'm ever going to learn the songs. I could go buy the CDs the "old fashioned way" but it's so convenient to just click and have my music right there.

Anyone else identify with this at all?

Being in the world ...

Switchfoot participated in the Music Builds Tour with Third Day, Robert Randolph and Jars of Clay for a 23-city coast-to-coast from August to mid-October. In December, they have 9 dates opening for 3 Doors Down -- a band that you will never hear on one of those mind-numbing, sugary-sweet, same-20-songs-in-the-rotation, Christian music radio stations.

I just think that is cool.

Nourish

I am switching up the playlist on the blog for a while. This is a collection of songs that I have labeled "Nourish." I've had this list for a while but decided the time was right to add it. Given some of my experiences in Scotland and some other things I/we are praying about, this list is resonating with me right now. I figured why not share it with the handful of people who visit the site? Be nourished.

(Photo: sunset over Paisley, Scotland)

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

As promised, here are the song stylings of K-Man! This will make your heart smile.

Catching up with K-Man

Keegan is growing like a weed. He no longer resembles the baby he once was. His legs seem to get longer and leaner every day. We walked up to the Jonquil Festival today with Kee in the stroller, and his legs were practically hanging off the front. Thursday night Kee's school had an art show, and we were treated to Kee's interpretation of a pig and a pumpkin. Clearly, he is not wedded to the realism of Winslow Homer. But his enthusiasm comes through nonetheless.

K-man's athletic interests continue. He bounces from the basketball hoop to the tee-ball set and back again. Jen's parents were in town this week and picked up a small soccer ball for him too, so we'll be able to work on some kicking too.

Keegan has also treated us with a tune. His song of choice? Row, Row, Row Your Boat. It's priceless. (We'll have to get video of that to share.)

We do have video of Keegan at the keyboard. He enjoys when Jen plays ragtime pieces, but he also gets on the keys and works on his finger technique all the time. See for yourself.

Musical Progeny

Thanks to Kooky for sharing the link to this live concert video. (Aren't all concerts "live?") I tried posting the video itself, but Blogger won't seem to take it. Click the link and guess whose progeny this is?

Fiction Plane

Yet more evidence that I am getting old.

The Police

As I type, The Police are performing at Philips Arena in the first of two shows this weekend. When I recall my high school years, the soundtrack playing in the background is The Police and Sting's Dream of the Blue Turtles. When I was a freshman in high school, The Police were on their Synchronicity tour. I missed that show when it came to the Omni in Atlanta. Didn't go to my first concert until the following year when I saw Sammy Hagar's I Can't Drive 55 tour. (And yes, that was before Hagar became the lead singer of Van Halen. I'm that old.) Krokus opened for Hagar on his stop in Atlanta.

Anyway, since 1986 when it became official that the members of The Police were going their separate ways, I have been waiting for them to decide the time was right to put their differences behind them and cash in on the musical ATM that is a "reunion tour." Alas, they have hijacked that armored car and are raking it in. They charged $100 just to join their fan club and get the privilege of pre-ordering concert tickets. How magnanimous. When the time came for this tour, Atlanta was not originally on the schedule. After the band saw there was an audience for this tour and that they would pay out the wazoo for a seat, they decided to expand the tour and a show was added for Atlanta. When that show sold out in a matter of hours, they added a second show for the next day. As long as people keep buying tickets, why not add as many shows as possible, right?

And yet, even with the option of 2 shows in my back yard, I didn't buy tickets.

I've seen Sting perform live. I've watched DVDs of old Police shows when they were in their prime. I've even seen some footage of the group performing on this tour. In the end, I just didn't have the desire to fork over my cash to see a group that couldn't live up to the image that's been in my head for over 20 years. The group will always be at their peak . . . in my head. It's like images of Jordan as a Chicago Bull. If I never watched him play for the Washington Wizards, then in my memories, he'll always be the guy that one 6 titles for the Bulls. The guy that was at the top of his profession.

I won't begrudge them one last money-grab. They have bills to pay too. I know Sting has a huge estate in the U.K. that he has to maintain. (I know this because he lives near a British military base and complains all the time about the RAF's planes taking off and landing over his property. Sorry Gordon, but you knew the base was there when you bought your land. Deal with it.)

So I'll stick with my collection of The Police music and the great memories I have from high school with all of my friends. And read the review in the AJC tomorrow.

Who's the musical one in this relationship?

As many of you know, Jen plays the piano. Some of you know that she can play it really well and in fact, teaches piano lessons one day a week at the house. Jen can sit down and play a one of Mozart's sonatas. It's beautiful -- even though she rarely does it much now.

But ask Jen who is performing a song on the radio, and you might as well have asked her what Element 78 is on the periodic table! (It's platinum by the way.)

I, on the other hand, can't play any instrument to save my life. Jen tried to teach me to play piano when we were dating in college. Bad move. I couldn't understand why there weren't three simple steps to learning Piano Man. I think the "lesson" lasted about 20 minutes. One of the keys to any successful relationship is figuring out what the two of you can't do together!

As you know, I have posted a playlist to this site. I listen to it a lot when I am on the computer in the office and at home. Jen loves the songs on the playlist. But she is constantly asking me who is singing which songs. It cracks me up every time she does it because she's the musical one. My only remotely musical abilities are setting the presets on the radio and downloading music from iTunes. And apparently the ability to recall which artist is playing which song.

There are 2 particular songs on the playlist that Jen likes, and she always asks me who is playing when they come on. Sometimes, these songs will come on, and Jen will get all excited and say, "Don't tell me. This is . . . oh I can't remember." And I will remind her who the artists are. The 2 songs that give Jen the hardest time are Gary Jules' version of Mad World which was featured in the movie Donnie Darko. The song is actually a Tears for Fears song, but I like the slower tempo of the Jules version. The other song is Ben Kweller's Thirteen off his self-titled CD. Both songs open with just a piano playing, but Kweller's voice is a little bit higher than Jules'.

So this morning, I am browsing the internet at the bar in our kitchen, reading about how great the Florida Gators are going to be again this fall on the gridiron. I am listening to the playlist while I browse. And the Gary Jules song comes up. Jen, who was in the study, jumps up and comes into the room.

"OK, that's the Tears for Fears song, but it's not them singing. It was in that movie."

So far so good.

"It's Jules Kweller!"

I about fell out of the chair!

New Music Monday

One of my favorite past times is buying music. See, I can't play an instrument like my wife or any number of my friends. But I really enjoy music. You would think that might motivate me to invest some time to learn even one instrument. In college, Jen tried to teach me to play the piano. That lasted about 20 minutes. She wanted me to learn scales and "Mary Had a Little Lamb." I quickly realized she wasn't going to teach me how to play the piano part from "Layla" and that we wouldn't last as a couple more than another day and a half if we continued this excuse to hang out on the couch in the lobby of her dorm.

OK, back to the music I bought. It was a big night for us. My parents took Keegan for the day (which ended up as an overnight trip for him). This created the perfect opportunity for us to see a movie . . . at the theatre! This has become the rarest of things anymore. We ended up seeing Blades of Glory. Which was freakin' hilarious. "We love you Denver . . . the city by the bay!!" After the movie, we stopped by Borders where Jen usually looks at books (what a waste!), and I always look for music.

Providentially, we had just received our federal tax refund. I figured it must be a sign from God (you know, a Blues Brothers kind of sign) that I was meant to purchase music on this night. So I set out in search of some new music and some music that was not necessarily new but that I had been wanting to pick up for some time.

Here's what I found:

1) Guster -- Ganging Up on the Sun
I have a song, Satellite, from this CD on the playlist that plays on this site.

2) Brandi Carlile -- The Story
You may have heard one or two songs from this CD on Grey's Anatomy. She has a great voice.

3) James Morrison -- Undiscovered
I've been listening to a couple of songs from this English singer-songwriter for about six months on Virgin Radio, a London radio station that I listen to at work sometimes. Willoughby has been touting Morrison for months, and he is excited that he's part of the opening act for John Mayer in August at Philips because he bought some tix to the show. Mind you, I was the one who told him about the show, but he didn't ask me if I wanted to go. No, he invited Nan instead. Whatever.

4) Mindy Smith -- One Moment More
Mindy has an incredible voice. I've always liked Ginny Owens' voice, but I think Mindy's voice is better. The first song on this CD is one of those songs you hear and think, I've heard this song before. It just sounds so familiar. But it's not a remake. It's a song Mindy wrote. It's called "Come to Jesus." I've heard it for more than a year on Organic X on 99X on Sunday mornings. It's an incredible message. I think what is familiar about it is the truth that she's singing. I've added it to the "Smile" playlist for the website too. I hope you get to hear it.

5) BONUS MUSIC -- occasionally, Borders offers these free CD samplers. I think it's a response to the free tunes that iTunes offers each week. I picked up one for James Morrison that had 2 live acoustic versions of his 2 most popular songs. But I also picked up one from Jon McLaughlin who is with Island Records (home of U2). The 2 full songs on the sampler are piano driven songs. They are somewhat Gavin DeGraw-ish, but it was better than a lot of the free tunes that Apple gives away.

There were so many more CDs that I had to leave at Borders. It was sad really. I guess it's like visiting the animal shelter. You can't bring all the animals home even if you might want to. Jen has to lay down the law though or I'll be bringing home every stray CD I find!