A Bloggers Musical Look at 40!

Well, my dear, sweet, gentle blog readers, today is a milestone day for me.  Or, so I’m told.  Yep, it is my 40^th birthday.  Feel free to comment on how old I am or must feel.  Candle jokes are always funny, and yes, I am actually typing this attired in black and with one foot in the grave.

I like to think that I have made my musical feelings abundantly clear over the last year or so in this blog.  Songs are snapshots along our continuum that allow us to recall special times, people, and places. Music shades us in many ways, some so beautifully moving that we are overcome by emotion, others etched in our fabric like a familiar scent that recalls the halcyon days of our youth, while others are just simply attached to a moment in time.

In my forty years, I have lived and experienced more life than I probably deserve.  I know I certainly lived more than my parents deserved.  Through it all, music is the one constant that I have turned to regardless of the situation.  Adolescent love, loss, birth of children, marriage, divorce, and death, and yes, much living in between, music has been my salvation. Music resonates within me at many different levels. The basic premise behind music is notes, keys, chords, rhythm, etc….   It is analogous to food in the fact that there is music for all occasions.

So today, is my musical look at 40!  Below are 40 songs that have colored me indelibly. I will offer no explanation as to why these songs resonate with me nor will I debate their worthiness of inclusion.  After all it is my birthday, my blog and my computer at which I type. 

Below is this Bloggers Musical look at 40:

Song	Artist
Blinded By the Light *note* Cause Mama that’s where the fun is!	Bruce Springsteen
Everybody Hurts	R.E.M.
Simple Man	Lynyrd Skynyrd
Tiny Dancer	Elton John
With or Without You	U2
Louisiana Rain	Tom Petty
Dyer’s Eve	Metallica
Touch From Your Lust	Ben Harper
Fire Lake	Bob Segar
Masters of War	Bob Dylan
See What Tomorrow Brings	Arc Angels
There Is So Much More	Brett Dennen
Mystic Rhythms	Rush
Jimi Thing	The Dave Matthews Band
It’s In the Way That You Use It	Eric Clapton
Rearview Mirror	Pearl Jam
Sweet Child O’ Mine	Guns N’ Roses
The Sea and the Rhythm	Iron & Wine
Waiting for the Sun	The Jayhawks
Little Wing	Jimi Hendrix
Highwayman	The Highwaymen
Gimme Shelter	The Rolling Stones
Chloe Dance/Crown of Thorns	Mother Love Bone
When You Come Back Down	Nickel Creek
I’m Trying To Find It	Pat Green
Wish You Were Here	Pink Floyd
Slip Sliding Away	Paul Simon
Sideways	Citizen Cope
Wheel In The Sky	Journey
Sign O’ The Times	Prince
What a Crying Shame	The Mavericks
Sweet Caroline	Neil Diamond
Minutes To Memories	John Mellencamp
Band on the Run	Paul McCartney
Killing In the Name	Rage Against the Machine
Shades of Gray	Robert Earl Keen
Life Without You	Stevie Ray Vaughan
Plush	Stone Temple Pilots
Badfish	Sublime
Into the Mystic	Van Morrison

When I hear any of these songs, I vividly remember the moments, feelings, situations, and the friends I shared the moments with.  I contend that these artists and their songs do or will stand the test of time and are just as relevant today as they were in the past or will be in the future.  At least for me!

So there you go, me sharing a little of my birthday with you.  Enjoy and come over later for some cake and ice cream.

Great music awaits!

Mixed Tape Monday on Tuesday

Well readers, I know it has been a while and I have the same excuse as last time.  Home repairs! The lovely dwelling of mine had a leak  in the upstairs bathroom that has required two plumbers, a general contractor, and an insurance adjuster.  As a result, we have had to remove and replace of all of the upstairs plumbing.  In order to do so, they had to rip up floors, ceilings, walls, etc…Insert a litany of foul, four, six, seven, and eight  lettered words and various combinations of said words.  And, at this point, insurance is not covering the damage.  Again, insert more obscenities.

Of the folks mentioned, only two are currently in good standing with me.  Jason McCord of B&B Contracting you, my good man, are a life saver.  Chad and Kyle, from Flow Force Plumbing (www.flowforceplumbing.net ), you guys are the best. 

Welcome to another, late, installment of Mixed Tape Monday.

Topic: House, Home, Room, Repair, anything you might find in a house or that can go wrong with a house, etc…

Song:  She Came In Through the Bathroom Window

Artists: The Beatles

Album: Abbey Road

Song:  Light Up My Room

Artists: Bare Naked Ladies

Album: Stunt

Song:  Summer House

Artists: Better Than Ezra

Album: Deluxe

Song:  Black Door

Artists: The Black Keys

Album: Magic Potion

Song:  My Father’s House

Artists: Bruce Springsteen

Album: Nebraska

Song:  Walnut Street (Just listen to the song and you will get it)

Artists: Walt Wilkins

Album: Rivertown

Song:  Lost In the Backyard

Artists: James McMurtry

Album: Where’d You Hide the Body

Song:  Mudhouse

Artists: Bob Schneider

Album: The Californian

Song:  Back Against the Wall

Artists: Cage the Elephant

Album: Cage the Elephant

Song:  Burn That Broken Bed

Artists: Calexico & Iron & Wine

Album: In the Reins (EP)

Song:  Down the Drain

Artists: Chickenfoot

Album: Chickenfoot

Song:  Beautiful Homes

Artists: Chris Isaak

Album: San Francisco Days

Song:  Floorboards

Artists: Chris Mills

Album: The Silver Line

Song:  Living Room

Artists: David Gray

Album: A Century Ends

Song:  No Ceiling

Artists: Eddie Vedder

Album: Into the Wild

Song:  Climbing Up the Walls

Artists: Erin Ivey (cover of Radiohead)

Album: Sweet Little EP

Song:  Renovations

Artists: Helmet

Album: Aftertaste

Song:  Dusty

Artists: Kings of Leon

Album: Youth & Young Manhood

Song:  Another Brick in the Wall

Artists: Pink Floyd

Album: The Wall

Song:  Big Crash

Artists: Less Than Jake

Album: Hello Rockview

Song:  This Old Porch

Artists: Lyle Lovett

Album: Lyle Lovett

Song:  House Carpenter

Artists: Nickel Creek

Album: This Side

Great music awaits!