I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town

Johhny Cash

Nice relaxing day at home. Molly gave us a fantastic night’s sleep last night — only woke up once, and took a bottle from dad before passing right back out.

Mom’s getting around slowly with crutches, but this didn’t stop her from taking this amazing photo during some music time with Molly:

Sometimes it pays to hand off the camera. Mom’s got a good eye.

Mom also shot a little video. Lately I’ve been holding the guitar upright and against the carpet, so it really resonates through the floor. Molly is drawn to it, and had a good time today reaching out and grabbing. A little too far, sometimes, but I’ve been telling her the best part about falling is learning how to get up again.

Current musical faves include Johnny Cash songs, as sung by mom and dad. I thought I was being creative using Five Feet High and Rising as a fun counting song. Turns out I’m not the first one to have this idea.

For en slapp og trøtt kveld. Jeg merker at helgen er nær. Jeg har alltid vært glad i lange kvelder og har stort sett aldri kommet meg til sengs når jeg burde. Nå er mønsteret snudd. Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise makes a man or woman, miss out on the nightlife. I dag har vi tatt et glass vin og hatt liksomfredag. Det er blir jo en slags mellomting. Jeg har også hørt mye på Cash. Cash is king.

20 years from now I am going to be on a porch somewhere playing this song while the crickets chirp the back-up vocals.

In trying to repeat the success I had with my customized munny, Wally the Wal-Mart Greeter, I created this munny in 2008. I used a layered crosshatching technique that slowly generates shade and shadow. I always like to have a surprise in the back of my larger munnys. Because these toys are small, I have no problem spending the time necessary to detail them. If I was to work on a larger toy or canvas, and work this way, it would take months to finish. I still have hundreds of spools and other portable canvas to work on. I prefer the smaller so I can do quality production. A boy named Sue is not happy and rightly so. His parents wanted a girl and the name stuck. Props go to Johnny Cash who was the inspiration for this toy.

Om exakt fyra månader, om man räknar kalendermånader då, så är det tänkt att den lilla i magen ska födas. Och jag kan inte fatta hur den får plats där inne. För magen är inte speciellt stor ännu. Det ska jag i och för sig kanske vara glad över. Ju mindre mage nu desto mindre degmage sen, kanske. Men jag vet att den är där för den sparkar och bråkar hela dagarna. Ibland leker den alien.

Jag läste förresten idag att Guitar Hero 5, som kommer i vinter, ska ha med Johnny Cash. Jag säger bara; Now we’re talking. Sen jag såg filmen Walk the Line så är jag helt frälst i karln, eller hans låtar rättare sagt. Tydligen ska Ring of Fire finnas med bland låtarna och jag hoppas på I Got Stripes också.

Någon Cash-favorit som ni hoppas på?

“Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world, except money.”

Love him !

Minulý týden jsem si začal schovávat odkazy zajímavejch videí, co jsem během týdne našel.. mam jich pripravenejch pomalu uz 30.. takze to sem budu postupne postovat.

Dnes je prvni ta pecka, jak sem na ni posledne odkazoval – zpevak, kterýcho sem si paradoxne provez ze Sarajeva – Johnny Cash – album coveru, konkretne American IV.

Ulovek, uz vlastne nevim odkud.. mam ted toho strasne moc novyho (az je to frustrujici..) Tohle jsou Doves, cely album Lost Souls me moc nebavi, ale tahle je pekna (taky z jinyho alba, koukam:).. a podle me typicky anglicka..

Posledni tyden byl sakra narocnej, rek bych jako na klouzacce, pricemz to slo dost dolu, jen obcas to poskocilo nahoru, ale celkem teda.. no, snad uz je to pryc.. Vcera k veceru bylo nejhur – takze jsem nasadil vyprostovaci komando – osvedcenou trojku: Mňága, The Cure a Joy Division.. Jen jsem si znova (už po X-tý) dosvědčil jak moc Kick-Ass kapely to jsou..

Protože tu už Mňága byla, dam jen ty The Cure – skvela Boys dont cry (..) a dokonala Shes lost control, ale pro zmenu v zivem podani New Order.

A posledni je tip od Dusana (BV for M.B.L – btw. zitra prezentujem) – MGMT video Kids. Posledni dobu se kvuli seminarce zabyvam “vytvarenim hodnoty spolutvorbou” – a tohle je krasnej priklad fanouskovskyho (ne tak uplne, ale to je jedno) videa, ktery ve spolupraci s firmou bylo nahrany a pak postnuty na YT (kam jinam taky, ze..). Hadejte, co ma vetsi sledovanost – tohle nebo original? .. (10x..) a to mluvime o 11 milionech shlednuti..

Priste bude nekolik lehcich veci.. teda jestli do ty doby nenajdu zas neco uplne novyho..:)

Dobrou,

HE

I have had a tough couple of weeks.
Lots of pain.
Then surgery.
Then more pain.
Then a whole hell of a lot of pain.
Then there’s been the whole “lots of crying” thing. I’m not okay with that … it makes my tummy hurt.
Being waited on was hard; having to say “I can’t do it,” is a new sentence in my vocabulary.
Then there was a week of being couch bound.
Still friends treating me like an invalid. (Okay, so they have a right to, but I hate it really.)

Then I to go back to work and I go back into DRAMA.
I spent a week healing while still at work and dealing with drama.
Yesterday, one of the first days I really feel *normal* at work, there is more drama.
Today, a day I’m able to laugh along with coworkers without clutching at my midsection, there is drama.
Tomorrow, when a sick coworker returns (been gone 2 days leaving me as the go-to-girl in the branch) with her ER stories, I’m sure there will be even more drama.

All of this drama has no real end date. Well, it does … kinda. I think. We’ve heard June. We’ve heard December. There are a lot of rumors flying. The rumors aren’t good, they’re scary, actually. They’re disconcerting and they’re forcing me to break out a back-up plan.

However, after the day I had, the last thing I wanted to do was come home and begin implementing said back up plan. Instead, I wanted a distraction of the LOUD variety. I turned on Blip.fm and picked out ridiculous songs that I knew the words to and I knew would make me happy. My early evening Blip.fm list included the following artists, songs and my attached notes. I’m in a mood.

1. Ramones – I wanna Be Sedated (reblip)
2. Sarah McLachlan – Blackbird: my favorite Beatles song sung by one of my favorite artists
3. Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I am (reblip)
4. Lady Gaga – Just Dance: I need something to wake me up … if this doesn’t do it, I quit Tuesday.
5. Britney Spears – Womanizer: I’m telling you … I’m tired. I don’t need emo stuff right now. I need poppy garbage.
6. Christina Aguilera – Candyman: mmmmm sugar
7. Carrie Underwood – Last name: Tequila makes me do stuff like this too … yeah … hmmmm … maybe it’s time to get a bottle of the good stuff
8. Johnny Cash & June Carter – Jackson: one of my favorite Cash/Carter songs
9. Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’: I have pulled out the iTunes “afternoon energizers” playlsit. You are all in trouble now. I am turning up the speakers.
10. REM – Supernatural Superserious
11. Coldplay – Viva la Vida: saw him play this on TV once … enjoyed it … good addition to the list methinks
12. Linkin Park – Shadow of the Day: not a huge Linkin Park fan but this song might be able to pick me up!
13. Santana- Smooth: wish it were a hot one
14. The Charlie Daniel’s Band – The Devil Went Down to Georgia: what would you sell your soul to the devil for?
15. Kansas – Carry on My Wayward Son: yeah, let’s just carry on now
16. Metalica – Enter Sandman: I don’t miss 8th grade, but the memories around this song … oh the memories
17. Dixie Chicks – Cowboy Take Me Away: after this I eat, then I lament elsewhere

“It burns, burns, burns in a ring of fire” sjöng Johnny Cash 1968 och tankarna går då osökt till Montgomery Burns som vi alla känner ifrån Simpsonserien. En annan Simpson är Jessica Simpson, som ju gjorde en lite halvfräck cover på Nancy Sinatras “These Boots are made for walking”. Men Nancy Sinatra heter ju egentligen Nancy Sandra Sinatra Jr. och är dotter till den berömda Frank Sinatra. Frågan är: Vem var gladast i The Rat Pack?

Jisses, sicken dum tävling.
Ni som svarar rätt vinner en kvart i strålkastarljuset
från min Saab 900, –96.
(Transport till och från bilens belägenhet bekostas av vinnaren.")

Följdfrågan blir hur många bra taggar fick jag in i detta inlägget?

Dear President Obama,

Marilyn Manson once famously remarked “I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers.”

However, considering your recent remarks on Rush Limbaugh and the GOP, I feel compelled to introduce you to Mr. Johnny Cash.

We’ve eaten the pears

Now we’re cutting down the trees.

Poor, little partridge.

I’m grateful to have so many friends that pitch in each year to find the jams to soundtrack our Advent season.  Last year for me there was a lot of Johnny Cash, Low, John Fahey, and even some Christmas In the Stars.

Two albums this year have risen to prominence.  The first is Where Will You Be Christmas Day? by Dust to Digital (2004).   In a similar style and spirit of Goodbye, Babylon, it is remastered original recordings from the early 20th Century.   It’s a pretty wide sample of different peoples in the US during that era and is pretty brilliant.

The other, called Excelsis Vol. 1: A Dark Noel.  It’s pretty smooth, ambient and on the gothic side of things.  Great mixing of traditional European chanting and acoustic instruments with keyboards and samples.

(discreet hi-fives to adam and scott!)

What are you listening to this year?

Peace in the Valley

Daily Photo

Peace in the Valley

Well, I’m tired and so weary
But I must go along
Till the lord will come and call, call me away, oh yeah
Well the morning’s so bright
And the Lamb is the light
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes
(alt lyric: ‘and the night, night is as fair as the day, oh yes’)

(There will be peace in the valley for me, some day)
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
(There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow, my Lord,
no trouble, trouble I see)
There will be peace in the valley for me

Well the bear will be gentle
And the wolf will be tame
And the lion shall lay down, down by the lamb, oh yes
And the beasts from the wild
Shall be led by a child
And I’ll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes

(There will be peace in the valley for me, some day)
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
(There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow, oh my Lordy, no trouble, trouble I see)
There will be peace in the valley for me, [for me]

You tube version below the fold.

I grew up on Johhny Cash and his version of this song brings tears to my eyes.  Originally this was written by Thomas Andrew Dorsey (not the same guy as Tommy Dorsey) for Mahalia Jackson and it was the first gospel song to ever sell 1,000,000 copies.

This video is interspersed with death penalty interviews.  I couldn’t find one without but in the end I decided to go ahead and use it.  Somehow, it seemed appropriate.

El 12 de septiembre de 2003 moría Johnny Cash (para saber más de él, pincha aquí), monumental músico e intérprete de rock, country e incluso gospel norteamericano. En 2005 se estrenó En la cuerda floja (Walk the line, James Mangold), película inspirada en su vida, repleta de buena música y con una actuación más que aceptable de Joaquim Phoenix y Reese Witherspoon. Además, tras componer las bandas sonoras de un par de discretas películas, Cash intervino como actor en un puñado de ellas, como el western El gran duelo (1971), un conocido remake para televisión de La diligencia (Stagecoach, 1986) y unos cuantos thrillers criminales de poca repercusión, además de contar con apariciones innumerables en documentales y series televisivas en los más variopintos papeles.

Nos quedamos con tres de sus temas, de sus American Recordings. En primer lugar Personal Jesus, versión de la tan conocida tonadilla de Depeche Mode, elevando muchísimo el listón, y la tremenda versión junto al también malogrado Joe Strummer (de The Class) de la Redemption song del maestro Bob Marley.

Y para cerrar, el más desgarrador testimonio de su despedida, Hurt, que destila una emoción irresistible, es absolutamente conmovedor, un vídeo magistral en el que la amargura de la muerte y la escapada de un último aliento casi pueden tocarse. Modesto tributo a un gigante cuya plegaria de vida se clava como un dardo.

Johnny Cash is amazing. He was an artist who truly evolved, and as he did America got to watch his rise and fall, and finally his conversion in faith. He wrote about things that people could relate to, not just romantic love, and not just war… which were the popular things to write about, but real things that people could relate to. Real pain, beyond heartbreak. This is one of the many amazing songs from his repertoire, it was written in 1970.

The old man turned off the radio
Said, “Where did all of the old songs go
Kids sure play funny music these days
They play it in the strangest ways”
Said, “it looks to me like they’ve all gone wild
It was peaceful back when I was a child”
Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys
Are trying to be heard above your noise?
And the lonely voice of youth cries “What is truth?”

A little boy of three sittin’ on the floor
Looks up and says, “Daddy, what is war?”
“son, that’s when people fight and die”
The little boy of three says “Daddy, why?”
A young man of seventeen in Sunday school
Being taught the golden rule
And by the time another year has gone around
It may be his turn to lay his life down
Can you blame the voice of youth for asking
“What is truth?”

A young man sittin’ on the witness stand
The man with the book says “Raise your hand”
“Repeat after me, I solemnly swear”
The man looked down at his long hair
And although the young man solemnly swore
Nobody seems to hear anymore
And it didn’t really matter if the truth was there
It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair
And the lonely voice of youth cries
“What is truth?”

The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you’re calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world’s wakin’ to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it’ll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find
“What is truth”

This is a site about all aspects of music and how it effects all of our lives. Anyone is welcome but songwriters, composers and musicians in general may have more use for this site in the future, for research and understanding; as well as those involved with the Arts in Healthcare.

Fact is music has changed all of our lives in many ways. This is a place to tell your story about how music has or is effecting your life. Talk about a song, old or new, just put up what it means to you. Any genra is acceptable and encouraged. Post a song or lyrics for a song that you’ve written or someone else’s. Then please, tell everyone why you choose to share it.

To do this go to the POST section and follow the prompts.

Thanks and enjoy the music.