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 A blog about music from my unique perspective (also a spot for some poetry I’ve written) |
A blog, generally about music, usually for projects hosted by Jeff  . I may also write about the 48-Hour Media Prompt Challenge if I don't feel like writing a story or poem inspired by the given song. Other bits of poetry or different topics of discussion might end up here as well.![Merit Badge in WDC Media Prompt
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I first discovered this poem, which is actually a riddle, in a ginormous book called the St. Nicholas Anthology from our local library, when I was about ten years old. St. Nicholas is an old children's magazine, so the book was packed full of stories and poetry. I was so determined to solve the riddles of all these "age" words, I wrote it down and memorized it. How many can you guess? The poem enclosed the first four to tease us... Pray what's the best age for a girl or a boy (courage)(Note: I have no idea who wrote this. It might have been anonymous.)    And what is the one we'd refuse? (Dotage) What age does an Englishman highly enjoy (peerage) And what would all fond lovers choose? (Marriage) There's an age for the farmer, and one for the clerk One shared by the doctor and thief An age for the man who directs other's work And one that expresses belief. What age is it that troubles the traveler's mind And what is the age of the slave? The age that the soldier has often to find The age that the battlefield gave? And what is the age that the lame man will please, One loved by the wild Irish lad? The age of the emigrant on the high seas, The age that we all wish we had? Can you tell me the age of the plants? Of the birds? The age that the heathen adore? There's an age that is heavy, and one that impairs And one that is not less nor more. The wild age? The one that the future foretells? The one where the vessels safe ride? The snug little age where the minister dwells And the common one right by our side? |
Do I get the honor of blaming Jeff or Šuŋgmánitu Tȟáŋka  for this? Or maybe Jayne  ...?1. I was born in Florida in Strawberry Season! 🍓🍓🌴🌴🐊🐊 2. I love Pug Dogs, Schnauzers, Siberian Huskies, Collies, Border Collies, Wire Fox Terriers, and any number of other dog breeds. As a kid in 2005, Mom painstakingly drove to all the McDonald's in our area to buy me Happy Meals that included little stuffed bug-eyed dogs from Artlist International… (Does anyone remember The Dog and The Cat?) I ended up with multiple Beagles and German Shepherds, and we had to buy the Siberian Husky from eBay in order to have a complete set. They're adorable! I've never yet owned or cared for a dog or any animal, though. 3. I dabble in freelance market research, which means I catch underpaid jobs in an app (which is rather like trying to catch bugs with tweezers) and run from one big box store to another, counting and photographing item displays, shelves of stock, and other things. If I had a dollar for every time a random old guy noticed me taking pictures in the store and playfully “photobombed” me… I keep a deadpan. Usually their wives haul them away with amused exasperation. One of the weirdest things the company had me do was – armed with a digital authorization letter – attempt to convince a Sam's Club manager that he had to pull clearly damaged, leaking packages of Swiffer wet pads off the sales pallet and dispose of them. I failed. He refused. They paid me anyway. 4. I grew up homeschooled on an acre of land in Tennessee. We had a garden filled with roses, herbs, perennials, irrepressible wild onions, toads, moles, rabbits, the neighbor's dachshunds (who valiantly tried to catch the rabbits) a dozen different songbirds, and another neighbor who could've been Squidward crossed with a vampire. The garden was glorious. (Don't get me started about the neighbors…) 5. I wrote fanfiction before I knew such a thing existed. My themes of choice? The Wind in the Willows and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House universe. No licensed characters occupied my mind aside from SpongeBob and Winnie the Pooh. I didn't become a Frozen fan until I grew up! 6. I didn't get my own internet access/ smartphone until I was 17, and I didn't start listening to my own music (Counting Stars...) take a selfie (without a selfie camera) or join a social media (Genius) until age 19. Prior to plunging into the digital vortex, I lived a strictly analog lifestyle: no TV, no movies, and thousands of books instead. I read everything I could get my hands on, whether I was supposed to or not, from questionable literature to outdated textbooks to Women's World magazine. This hopefully enriched and expanded my mind, with the ongoing results displayed in my portfolio… “I took a photograph of me when I was only nineteen I looked a little lost at sea I keep trying to find me…” Note ▶︎ Next in line (no pressure, this is all in fun    )Jack of Diamonds  Dawn Embers  Sumojo  Words: 460. |
| I've always had an unconventional approach to consuming music. When I first started picking out my own music to listen to, all I had was YouTube and an old smartphone with no plan, only intermittent WiFi. I developed the habit of choosing one song, opening up a lyrics video for it on the YouTube app when I had the opportunity, and then holding that cached video offline for as long as I could, often looping the song late into the night, writing about it, copying the lyrics by hand into a battered notebook, and making digital artwork before finally letting it go and wondering when I'd get a chance to ever hear it again. My earliest bonding with certain songs is deeply embedded in that primitive reality. What better way to memorize one and ensure it remains in my heart? I've experimented with music streaming services off and on for years, but I hate the way free versions don't allow you to pick your own songs but rather force you to listen to whatever comes down the Wazoo… Case in point: if I'm trying to play the OneRepublic album Dreaming Out Loud, it means I don't want to hear Maroon 5’s Moves Like Jagger! 🤮 Basically, I can't afford to pay for my music. I want it free and I want to hear exactly what I want, when I want. YouTube is my platform of choice. As I grew older and life changed, my listening habits grew more savvy. A penpal told me to copy YouTube video links into seedy websites to download them. This didn't help much when I only had one rather hopelessly shattered phone, but once I got a (hopelessly outdated but unshattered) exact replacement, a newer phone, and then another newer phone, my options improved. I started using the oldest phone (a TCL LX with Android 8) as an MP3 player, stashing dozens and then hundreds of songs on it. I quit using the seedy download websites when I found an app called TubeMate… Don't tell anyone! It makes the process safe and seamless. Nowadays, with AI, there are websites appearing fairly reputable where you can download videos, but for now I'll stick with TubeMate. Over the new year of 2023, I installed AZ Music on my new Galaxy phone to claim a $5 Amazon gift card, which ironically ended up expiring, unused. My frustrating experience with free music streaming led me to realize what a treasure I had with my old phone and stashed songs. Up till then, I hadn't really considered having more than maybe twenty songs on the TCL, mostly odds and ends and new releases. After getting rid of AZ Music, though, I immediately set about building my playlist, downloading full albums and listening to them for the first time in years, rediscovering old treasures like long-lost friends. And so it went. My current music setup I've had since 2021 is what I dreamed of having for years; all my favorite songs at my fingertips, offline, no ads, no algorithms. Currently I have over 550 tracks stashed on the TCL. Couldn't ask for anything better… Until AZ Music Premium stepped in. It all started over this Black Friday, when I made a rare Amazon purchase. They then sent me an email about 90 days free trial of AZ Music Premium. I jumped at the offer, which is way better than Spotify's measly 30 day trials they sometimes notify me about. (Or are they 60 days?) I chose, this time around, to install AZ Music on my iPad, since it has plenty of available space. At first, I scoffed at the idea of ever falling for a streaming service; what would I do with it, I asked, when I already have everything I want to hear saved on a dedicated device? I figured the ninety days would go by and I wouldn't use it at all… Until I remembered Native, OneRepublic's 2013 blockbuster album. The reasons why I wanted to hear it from a verified, reputable source are another blog entry entirely. I opened the app and downloaded the whole album for offline listening. After that, I gradually opened the floodgates, realizing almost everything I listen to is available on AZ Music with enhanced Dolby Atmos sound and it would be a good idea to hear it all for at least one go-round with the best possible sound quality I can acquire. Then, Jeff's 12 Days of Xmas blog challenge came up, and I quickly discovered my collection of Christmas music was severely lacking. AZ Music Premium turned out to be the perfect way to experiment with different holiday songs. All I have to do is scroll through endless lists or type a name or two in the search bar, and I can choose any tracks I find appealing and download them with one tap to listen to and analyze later at my leisure. I don't have to make the commitment of connecting my ancient TCL to WiFi, opening up TubeMate and moving through a series of steps to download songs I might not even like. Now, I have hundreds of tracks stashed on AZ Music Premium, waiting for appropriate opportunities to go through them before my 90 days is over and gone, at which point I'll most likely uninstall the app (it's taking up almost 4GB of space!) One of the unsettling things about streaming songs one after another semi-randomly, is aside from a sense of losing my attention span (instead of focusing on the song I'm listening to, part of my brain is either deciding what to play next or wondering what the shuffle mix will bring up,) I'm also keenly aware these days of just how limited a resource time is. An hour or two spent listening to music is time forever lost, time I could have spent meeting deadlines and creating content. I can't help wondering what the point is. Oftentimes as I listen I find my mind wandering, almost dreaming. Sometimes, it seems as if easy access to my music has somehow cheapened it and reduced my overall appreciation for it. Instead of lovingly picking out one song, curling up with it, memorizing it and creating something inspired by the singular experience, I lean back and flood my brain with twenty different songs in one sitting, usually not managing to get anything much out of it beyond a few scribbled notes about sound effects I never knew were there. Perhaps what I assumed was a hardship (not having full, continuous access to music) was more a blessing in disguise, designed to nurture my unique mind and prepare me for a quiet future of content creation with music in my heart rather than in my ears. At any rate, AZ Music Premium has proven more useful and convenient than I anticipated. It's been nice to not have to juggle a separate listening device and writing device when prepping blog posts, and I've learned several tracks I'll add to my old phone for the long-term. I'll need to make a list before the subscription trial expires. When it expires, however, I'll be quite happy to return to my TCL LX and the slowly expanding list of tracks stored there, free of charge, mine to keep for as long as I can. I don't have to listen, if I have other things to do. The music will wait for me. Words: 1200. Written for: "Note: 48-HOUR CHALLENGE : BONUS Media Prompt ..." |
My twelfth and final "12 Days of "Christmas""  track choice is Lindsey Stirling's rendition of Joy to the World. She does it quite conservatively and elegantly, with only a touch of dubstep drama that gives it the feeling of a journey and a welcome.I've always loved the words and the melody of Joy to the World; it's one of the few truly spiritual Xmas songs that appears frequently while shopping. I personally think the stores should play more instrumentals for the holidays. Why do we have to hear the words of Jingle Bell Rock or Santa Baby every fifteen minutes or so? To say nothing of the cheap, poppy “you and me at Christmastime” ditties… Give us something artistic, for goodness sake. Not everyone likes violins. My mom thinks they're unnerving, and an old friend of mine said wolves don't like them and neither did he. I'm one of the people who finds violins and other bow instruments fascinating. I love how the violin faithfully traces the melodic path of the human voice, allowing us to have instrumental covers of songs with all the emotional impact of the theme and none of the baggage of the artist. Speaking of having emotional themes without artist baggage, I also adore the Rockabye Baby lullabies, which are made out of pop/rock songs. Someday I'll share some of them with you. In the meantime, happy holidays! Words: 230. |
| My eleventh track choice for "12 Days of "Christmas"" is Loreena McKennit again, this time her Live at Knox Church, Ontario version of Good King Wenceslas. I've already discussed her studio version last year. This one is different enough to bear a separate entry. The first thing different about it is that she has a few extra voices singing with her throughout, which adds a depth to it. It also has much shorter instrumental interludes, with a stronger emphasis on the lyrical story than on the distinctive hook melody. The story, indeed, is complete, including the verse where the king and page set out with the “flesh,” wine and pine logs. She leaves this explanatory verse off in the studio version, opting instead for an instrumental section, which leaves us somewhat out of context when the page announces he cannot continue due to the bitter cold. It is, of course, folksy and medieval in style, with a feeling of everyone being gathered about her, playing their music as she tells the story. I would like to watch this performance, if there are any videos of it. I do love her nature themed cover art. It looks like one of those Christmas painting puzzles. Words: 200. |
| My tenth choice for "12 Days of "Christmas"" is another instrumental rendition of I Saw Three Ships, this one by my Irish group known as Alisa Jones (the ones who play the fiddle, whistles, guitar, uilleann pipes, Celtic harp, boderon, bouzouki, concertina and bass…) Their version is light and lilting, bright and cheerful, as befits the melody, layering different instruments in different sections and never piling on more than three or four at a time. It does lack melodic variation, repeating the same “phrase” a dozen times over without attempting to add anything different. But I suppose that's the charm of a song like this, where you can have a catchy hook and not even remember what the words are. The hook becomes the song, and my loop-loving brain plays right along, insisting on repeating an already repetitive tune ad infinitum... Enjoy! Words: 140. |
| My ninth track is an entirely different reinterpretation of God Rest Ye Merry, by… Who else? Lindsey Stirling. She managed to transform what Loreena McKennit made solemn, almost mournful, into a whimsical disco track, complete with a predominant, bouncy dubstep beat and a vaguely computerized voice actually singing some of the words. This is one Lindsey Stirling song I can't call “ominous;” it's just too danceable for that. It's off the wall, in a cute way. I like the in-between melody she put together, the one that doesn't follow the verse pattern but seems to be unique. It reminds me of something but I can't think what. The whole rendition, indeed, seems somehow familiar. Perhaps the style is familiar from my experience with EDM (electronic dance music.) It's techno: so much so, the violin is almost secondary to the beat and other techniques, except for that special section between. Hey, go ahead and break out a few moves with this one… I wouldn't blame you  Words: 165. |
| My eighth Xmas choice is from Loreena McKennit, the artist who made my all-time favorite rendition of Good King Wenceslas. Her music is distinctly medieval and folkloric, and I've noticed her Christmas songs are generally more of the obscure sort. Her studio version of God Rest Ye Merry is solemn, measured and eerie, with a touch of deep, mysterious sadness as she progresses with bass undertones, mournful fluting notes and wild, wandering violin in between verses, closing with wistful vocalizations. It seems as if she's considering Christ's future suffering for us. How much pain does it take to save us all from Satan's power when we have gone astray? The live version, recorded at a church in Stratford, Ontario in 2021, is livelier, with a faster, more well-defined pace and less “wandering in the wilderness.” Somehow, even though we hear no other voices, knowing she's singing for and with a community is enough to strike a different, more hopeful note. You decide which one you prefer… Enjoy Words: 165. |
| My seventh choice was a tossup between Simply Three's Silent Night and their First Noel. Both are equally good, and both are included on their Lux album without an alarming amount of bass edginess. Their Silent Night sweeps us up in a slow, soothing build, with a certain amount of noise in the background that I only realized was there after I “freshened my ears” with a quick, lightly produced OneRepublic song… Well, one 1R song turned into two, which slipped along into three, until as I lay half dozing with AZ Music running downloaded tracks offline, telling myself I needed to finish trying to describe the way S3’s Silent Night sounds and realizing how boring that was, another song came up that touched my heart in a whole new way: Take It Out on Me. A deep cut from 1R’s 2021 album Human, it focuses on Ryan Tedder's crystal clear voice over a slow, solemn piano line and echoing reverb. He pleads with his partner to pour their heart out to him, promising to “shut up and listen” to everything, knowing they would do the same for him when he's had a bad day. It's been a good two or three years since I last listened to this song. I've learned so much since then, and I've been unpacking so much emotional baggage lately, that Ryan's heartfelt words drew tears to my eyes. These days, I'm studying chaplaincy, pastoral care and counseling, and this is exactly what we're taught to do: don't put in our two cents, but provide a strong shoulder to cry on, quiet grace of presence and awareness, acceptance and commitment. We don't have to fix the mess, just love them through it. Take It Out on Me meshes perfectly with the themes of the season, both personally and as it relates to the holidays. Christ knows how it feels to be ignored, judged, and devalued. He is the ultimate Chaplain… Indeed, one of his titles from Isaiah is Mighty Counselor. OneRepublic's words are a reminder to look upwards and confide in the One Who never leaves us. Words: 352. |
| My sixth Xmas track is one from a group I'm already familiar with. I highlighted their cover of God Rest Ye Merry last year. At that point, I didn't have anything else from them. But now, between how easy it is to use AZ Music Premium (to think I scoffed at the idea of actually using the 90 day free trial I received on Black Friday!) and the need to find fresh Xmas music for this challenge, I thought of searching for their holiday album and picked what I recognized. Have you noticed I choose a very few melodies, done a dozen different ways? I mostly stick with the classic spiritual ones I know. The only secular Xmas tracks on my playlists are a couple from OneRepublic and one from Coldplay (and that only because I had to write about it for last December's 48 Hour Media Challenge.) The First Noel, done the unique Irish way of Alisa Jones, is layered with… Let me look at the list of instruments on the album cover: fiddle, whistles, guitar, uilleann pipes, Celtic harp, boderon, bouzouki, concertina and bass. Good grief, that's a lot. I'm not even sure what some of those are. It's best listened to at a lower volume, or those high notes could get on your nerves. Overall, it's a gentle, soothing rendition, with different sections highlighting different instruments so as not to pile them all on at once. I love the twinkling harps or wind chimes which appear so often in Christmas music; it adds such a magical effect. I can imagine frost and snow whispering across the land. Words: 270. |
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