Month: September 2023

Music…

Viva La Vida

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

Coldplay

and Words

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning, I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes
Listened as the crowd would sing
“Now the old king is dead, long live the king”

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

This particular blog aspires to be a whimsical account of music from my past and the attached memories to that music.  Those memories have ranged from the deeply emotional to the downright silly.  It started as a bit of a proxy for an online journal, which I kept many years ago.  These words on the page have taken me on a journey to many distinct moments in my life.  In order for me to bring you, the reader, along, I embed a player on the top of the page.  This player allows you to play a clip of that song and follow along.

Over a year ago, this website hosted a player from Spotify.  It worked well and did everything that I needed it to do.  Still, I elected to change it.  As I stated in that post, I normally try to keep politics off this particular blog, but occasionally when we make an abrupt change, it warrants a response.  My response was to extricate Spotify from my site.  I couldn’t promote a service that will fully turns a blind eye to the likes of Joe Rogan.

Continue reading “Prostituting my principles” →

Music…

Dust in the Wind

Point of Know Return

Kansas

and Words

I close my eyes
Only for a moment and the moment’s gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity

Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind
Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

Many years ago, I observed an e-mail conversation on a very large public distribution list.  I don’t quite remember the nature of the discussion.  I simply remember that it felt exceedingly noisy and pointless.  In a moment of protest, I expressed my opinion in an unconventional way.  I responded to everyone with a one-word response: “unsubscribe”.  Some archiving services will stop sending you any activity on that discussion upon seeing that response.  That wouldn’t work here, but it communicated that I wanted off this discussion.

Days later, I walked into my weekly status meeting with my new lead, Ted.  I had worked with him for a couple of years but only recently started to report to him.  He didn’t reprimand me for that stunt, nor did he even criticize me.  He simply asked me, “What did you want to achieve?”  He explained how my response might make me feel better, for perhaps a few minutes.  However, my rebellious one-word response was an ineffective way to affect change.  If I hoped to change this ridiculous policy, my rebellious reply would not help.

Continue reading “That ‘drop of water’ is a tear shed” →

Music…

Killing Time

Thunder Seven

Triumph

and Words

Hanging out on the corner
He’s got no place to go.
She sits in an empty bedroom
Playing the radio.
Every day they’re regretting
All the things never tried;
Every day they’re dyin’
Just a little bit more inside.

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

I attended high school where I first discovered Triumph.  They played hard rock, but they felt different than other bands of the time.  Other bands had image or even some dirt.  They sounded cleaner.  I started with this album, Thunder Seven.  I imagine that I initially had it on cassette, though I only remember playing it on CD.  Subsequently, I attended two of their concerts, the tours for this album and The Sport of Kings.  The stage shows were phenomenal.

Since my teens, I listened to this band, mesmerized by the sound of their music.  These days predated the streaming applications and even digital music, in the form of MP3’s.  Playing music meant that you needed to carry the physical media, typically in the form of cassettes or CD, so I needed to be selective.  Triumph was a persistent part of that collection.  This continued through college and beyond.

Continue reading “Carpe Diem” →