Tag Archives: music

Live in the Moment

Posted on by
Reply

Today seemed to be a stressful day so I found some music to calm my brain. I am happy to say love of life is still out there if you look for it. So my message today is to simply Live in the Moment. Forget all the craziness going on out there and be at peace with yourself and others tonight.

My home
Is a girl with eyes like wishing wells
I’m not alone
But I’m still lone, lonely
When I was young
Always go below the midnight sun
Those days are done
But I’m still glowing

Ooh, la, la, la, la, la
Let’s live in the moment
Come back Sunday morning
Oh my, oh well
When you’re gone
Goodbye, so long, farewell

Oh, my god, I can’t believe my eyes
Wake up everybody you know
Come and watch the garden grow
I’ll see you when you get there—Live in the Moment, Portugal the Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53hW7oxYVKI

Here is a wonderful collection that came up in my search for Live in the Moment. Wow! Wow! Wow!

https://singersroom.com/best-songs-about-living-in-the-moment/

Love and kindness to all of you out there. Stay safe!

Music Reflections: 1960s vs. 2024

Posted on by
Reply

I have been thinking about music a great deal lately and decided to look at what the music was that represented our troubling times back in the 1960s versus what we had in 2024. Although this isn’t an exclusive list and I didn’t go through all the generations, these are some that appeared the most frequently on Google searches (and AI). It reflects how we thought about the world back then and what’s going on now:

1960s:
-We Shall Overcome (Joan Baez, 1963): A traditional gospel song that became a rallying cry for the civil rights movement
-In My Life (The Beatles, 1965): A nostalgic song about reflecting on the love for those who are no longer with us 
–Eve of Destruction (P.F. Sloan and Barry McGuire, 1965): A wakeup call about the Vietnam War
–A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke, 1965): A protest song by soul singer Sam Cooke 
-My Generation (Pete Townsend, The Who, 1965): A song that was banned from the BBC for a reason not directly related to its lyrical content
–Respect (Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin, 1967): A protest song by soul singers Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin
-Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud (James Brown, 1968): A protest song by soul singer James Brown

2024:–A Bar Song (Tipsy): A song by Shaboozey about dancing and drinking through hard times 
–Good News: A song by Shaboozey that conveys despair without the use of alcohol or women
–Worthy: A song by Mavis Staples that encourages self-respect
–For Cari: A song by Fletcher that explores self-reflection, self-acceptance, and personal growth
-If this is the last time – A song by LANY that serves as a reminder to tell loved ones how you feel
–Tell me About Tomorrow: A song by jxdn that encourages people to look for hope in times of loneliness and depression
–On: By Chord Overstreet, this song is about unconditional love
–Fix You: A song by Coldplay that is about finding light at the end of the tunnel
The Lighthouse: A song by Stevie Nicks that is considered a woman’s rights anthem 

What is interesting to me is that the list I found from the 1960s addressed external problems of the world: global truths, wars, protests, prejudice, and violence. And yet the ones I found for 2024 were more internal: drinking, despair, self-exploration, self-reflection, or internal processing of the individual.

We turn to music to lighten our mood or identify with the things we are going through. We turn to music to get through those moments when we don’t feel there is any hope. My question is this about the new generation:
Since social media covers so much of the external conflict, violence, and global issues, is that the reason younger people think about the internal conflicts?
Something to think about….

Here are two interesting conversations I found that may give you a perspective from a younger person’s point of view in today’s world:
“During times of great hardship or great happiness, whether it be global or personal, music is so often the medium we turn to in order to convey our joy or to find solace, peace, and comfort. It has the ability to express a sentiment beyond words and is never impeded by cultural barriers: it is universal in the emotion it channels, whatever emotion that may be. As the current crisis tightens its grip on the world and affects every one of our lives, it is no exception that music is something that will help us to endure this time of fear and uncertainty, providing hope and unity to communities across the globe. Throughout history, there have been many examples of how music has been a vessel of strength in the most challenging of times.”—Siobhan Cullinane
https://www.warwickshiremusichub.org/blog/a-brief-history-of-music-in-times-of-hardship

“But what has really helped me over the years has been music. It has been my saving grace; without it, I don’t know how I would’ve made it through. Ever since I was little music has played an important part in my life. I grew up listening to artists such as Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and Backstreet Boys. And I have carried that love of music with me throughout my life. When I am feeling upset, overwhelmed, or happy, there is always music to go with the mood and help me to feel better.”—Rebecca Field
https://medium.com/songstories/how-music-has-helped-me-through-some-tough-times-d1696b9109ff

And here is an interesting list of songs from all over. This author identified these songs (2024) that give her Strength and Courage—Serena Whitfield (2024):
1.         “Eye of The Tiger” By Survivor
2.         “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly
3.         “I Will Survive” By Gloria Gaynor
4.         “Roar” By Katy Perry
5.         “Not Afraid” By Eminem
6.         “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus
7.         “It’s My Life” By Bon Jovi
8.         “Brave” by Sara Bareilles
9.         “Stronger” by Britney Spears
10.       “Courage” By Pink
11.       “Courage” by Céline Dion
12.       “Fight Song” By Rachel Platten
13.       “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson
14.       “Warrior” By Demi Lovato
15.       “Hero” by Mariah Carey
16.       “Unstoppable” By Sia
17.       “Confident” By Demi Lovato
18.       “Stronger” By The Score
19.       “Float On” by Modest Mouse
20.       “Get Up, Stand Up” By Bob Marley & The Wailers
https://playlistcurator.org/songs-about-strength-and-courage/

So, put on your giant list of music that uplifts you on Spotify, or go to KBCO, 99.5 the Mountain, Mix100, or even Kool 105, the oldies channel, and think about what uplifts you in a time where we all need good vibrations.

I love you all and hope you have a great tomorrow!

Joyful Noise!

Posted on by
Reply

It’s the little things in life that we adore as we get older. These last few weeks have been both joyful and trying. It’s joyful because when we get to do something wonderful for seniors in their residences, especially those in memory care. I love that feeling! And it’s trying, because we start to feel a little older when we see these folks that we identify with when we can’t complete all the tasks that we want to do. Each day we start to worry about slowing down a little more and that we will need more care as we age. Having said this, though I would like to brag about our choir.

Our incredible senior choir comes together every Friday to practice a set of music where we go out and sing to those places that need a little cheer, especially this time of year. We belt out those oldies to bring a little Christmas cheer to those who are in facilities far from their homes and loved ones. We visit when they need us on all the holidays, but the Christmas melodies seem to have a profound impact on them. Those that can stand up and dance along with us during our performances. Those that can’t sing along and remember the times of their childhood. For a little time in our lives, we are appreciated, and they get something in return.

How does music make you remember? Our brains are an amazing thing. Studies have shown that music activates the limbic system, which controls memory and processes emotions. It also activates the hippocampus, which is associated with memory, and the amygdala, which is associated with emotional responses. It increases the blood flow to the brain regions that control emotions and releases dopamine, the natural happy drug! Music is often present during distinctive, emotional, or self-defining life events, which can make those memories easier to recall. Music therapy can be a valuable tool for helping dementia patients recall memories. 

“Deeply encoded music can also unlock flashbulb memories. We remember more vivid details about events in the past when we are exposed to music,” Andrew Budson, Ph.D., told the Washington Post in an article posted on June 13, 2023. He added that research has shown that effect is more common with music than with familiar faces or other stimuli. Budson is a professor of neurology at Boston University, and chief of cognitive and behavioral neurology for the Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience at Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.

British neurologist Oliver Sacks (author of Awakenings) once stated: “Music evokes emotion, and emotion can bring with it memory… it brings back the feeling of life when nothing else can.” This quote shows the power of music. Like the aroma of cookies baking, a familiar song can bring us back to another time. In 1973, Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams starred in the movie adaptation, and Penny Marshall directed the movie which was Sacks memoir. It is a fantastic movie, and I encourage you to find it at watch it during the holidays.

For more information on how music can help you and all others you sing to see the following articles:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/music-can-boost-memory-and-mood

https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-blog/2019/july/dancin-to-the-music-more-than-just-exercise

I want to shout out a huge thank you to our choir director, Connie Howes, who let me join this happy and talented group. I may sing a little off key sometimes, and sway and wiggle like that funny FB post lady (who is doing her thing in her choir), but I am delighted to be a part of these amazing folks! Happy Happy everyone! Enjoy the bliss during these next few weeks!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=439359423653199

We’re Not Worthy!

Posted on by
Reply

Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar once said, “We’re Not Worthy!” to Alice Cooper, their all-time heavy metal rock star idol, in their movie, Wayne’s World. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey played this Saturday Night Live couple. Their skit was about their basement-living days and their talk show and their special reverence for all the iconic musicians. These musicians also rocked my world back in the day.

Music has kept me sane all these years. When I hear a song that takes me back to my teen years, I pause a little bit and bring it all in. For example, last night I heard Linda Ronstadt’s Blue Bayou on Origins series about Leroy Jethro Gibbs. This show was about his prior NIS days before his NCIS career. It took me way back, to traveling out here in my little Toyota through the Louisiana night. My body shook recalling those vivid memories.

Those ballads as well as those heavy metal base beats reverberate through me every time that I hear them play on the radio. I don’t get the same sense of place when I hear the newer music. I have not been to the places, both mentally and physically, that people younger than me have been to. And since music moves a person mentally and physically, and your perspective as an older person is different, you must actively choose to understand the space where a younger person is right now. So, I don’t discount the current music, I just must learn to appreciate it differently. No matter what style of music, I am trying to embrace the new sounds to understand the angst and soul of the new generation.

Your body will always move to the sounds you grew up with and memories will flood back to the times and places you have been. I never lived in my parents’ basement like Wayne and Garth (because for one thing we didn’t have a basement; Hey! it was Georgia) because that wasn’t what my generation did. We had fewer choices on how to live – get married or go out and do something with ourselves out in the world…. Believe me, I broke the norm, but many of us just wanted to get away from out past and try to make the world a better place.

Parents were less understanding about you wanting to live at home back in those days. It was okay if you were an unmarried woman, but a young man was considered a deadbeat. Sad, but true. Although so many of us women couldn’t wait to get away from our mother’s choking embrace, we didn’t have as many options as men. Our parents thought they were protecting us, but so many of us felt stifled. Today, children are allowed to stay at home after college until they get on their feet. I am a fan of this understanding but only to a point. As I tell my kiddo, “Honey, I love you, but I don’t want a 30-year-old living in the basement! So, finish college and get on with your life!”

There are many things that have changed today, and you can’t just live in a tent across the country like I did in the old days. I wasn’t considered part of the homeless population and made to “move along.” Money will always be an issue, but our children must eventually figure it out and live within their means. Even if it means having lots of roommates to share the costs. They can follow in Wayne and Garth’s footsteps and have their own podcasts, just in their own basements!

So, if you have talent and can follow in those iconic musicians’ footsteps, you are indeed worthy! You will make a mark on the world. It will be a glorious sound, and I will be proud to listen and dance to the beat of your vastly different drum!

Listen to Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Jim Croce, Linda Ronstadt, Coldplay and Toploader and appreciate all the older genres of music. Learn from the past and incorporate what the future will hold for all of us.

To conclude this unusual posting, I am asking you to move with effort towards the gentle side of yourself and move to joy unfolding. Encourage yourself to be less afraid and open to change. Then take a seat. Be still and listen to others purposefully, completely and engaged.

For a fun remembrance of Wayne’s World, visit the Guardian and read this article:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/aug/17/i-once-would-have-been-embarrassed-by-my-love-for-waynes-world-but-no-longer

Latitudes and Attitudes – An Homage to Jimmy Buffet

Posted on by
Reply

Jimmy Buffet’s song Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes was released in 1977 and has been a mainstay of his songs for several generations of Parrotheads. It is that kind of song that every radio station plays, and it sticks in your head for days. It is that type of song that helps you reflect on where you are in your daily life. It is that type of song that is needed in today’s world. His song reflects his life of travel to places and people who are different and more laid back than us North Americans. His life of traveling and learning about diverse cultures is something I aspired to when I was young. I haven’t made it to all those places he visited, but I will someday.

I first saw Jimmy Buffet in a concert at Fiddler’s Green in Denver. The boats were parked all around and people brought the party to him. We didn’t have an ocean, but we had the lawn. In the tropics, Jimmy would always acknowledge all the people out on boats, who didn’t have the expensive prime seats, but were a part of the happening. He would shout: “Hello, Boat People!” and those people would go wild. At Fiddler’s Green we were in the cheap seats way up at the top of the lawn, and he would shout: “Hello Lawn People!” and of course we would stand up and go crazy. Years later, we attended one of his last concerts in Denver which was at the Pepsi Center (now Ball Arena). He didn’t like that venue as much and a bunch of us were at the very top or behind the band. He would still shout up to us and even turned the band to those behind him for a few songs. He was an amazing and loving performer, and tried to give us all a wonderful performance, even in the cheap seats. His philosophy was to create a fun show and educate people on the importance of the oceans and the creatures and people that live there.

As many of you prepare to take off to islands with warmer climates for the holidays, I hope you will remember to change your emotional and mental state and become as laid back as the islanders do while you are there. I hope you relax and take in all the beauty that surrounds you. I hope the people on the islands can help you escape your daily grind and find a new perspective on life. I hope you can come back refreshed and ready to freely give to those in need, like most islanders do for you, no matter what your differences may be. I hope you bring a little of that island love and culture and Margaritaville lifestyle back to your neighborhood, especially to those mental and physical midwestern and northern cold climates. I hope you can break out of your comfort zone and give your heart freely to others who are different than you are.

If you are interested in learning more about Parrotheads, as well as his philanthropy, here are a few sites that caught my eye.

What is a Parrothead?
What Is A Parrot Head ?

https://www.jimmybuffett.com/philanthropy

We love and miss you, Jimmy. You lived a great life, and we want to follow in your footsteps. Rest in Peace. Happy Holidays everyone!