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This song was not part of the soundtrack to the movie "PS I Love You," but it's a perfect complement.
For those who haven't seen the movie: most of the images of Gerald Butler in this clip are after he's dead. . .
This song was not part of the soundtrack to the movie "PS I Love You," but it's a perfect complement.
For those who haven't seen the movie: most of the images of Gerald Butler in this clip are after he's dead. . .
"Wicked Girls" by Seanan McGuire
Mar. 15th, 2011 06:13 amVia ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wyldlingspirit
Wendy played fair, and she played by the rules that they gave her;
They say she grew up and grew old -- Peter Pan couldn't save her.
They say she went home, and she never looked back,
Got her feet on the ground, got her life on its track.
She's the patron saint priestess of all the lost girls who got found.
And she once had her head in the clouds, but she died on the ground.
Dorothy just wanted something that she could believe in,
A gray dustbowl girl in a life she was better off leavin'.
She made her escape, went from gray into green,
And she could have got clear, and she could have got clean,
But she chose to be good and go back to the gray Kansas sky
Where color's a fable and freedom's a fairy tale lie.
Dorothy, Alice and Wendy and Jane,
Susan and Lucy, we're calling your names,
All the Lost Girls who came out of the rain
And chose to go back on the shelf.
Tinker Bell says, and I find I agree
You have to break rules if you want to break free.
So do as you like -- we're determined to be
Wicked girls saving ourselves.
Alice got lost, and I guess that we really can't blame her;
They say she got tangled and tied in the lies that became her.
They say she went mad, and she never complained,
For there's peace of a kind in a life unconstrained.
She gives Cheshire kisses, she's easy with white rabbit smiles,
And she'll never be free, but she's won herself safe for a while.
Susan and Lucy were queens, and they ruled well and proudly.
They honored their land and their lord, rang the bells long and loudly.
They never once asked to return to their lives
To be children and chattel and mothers and wives,
But the land cast them out in a lesson that only one learned;
And one queen said 'I am not a toy', and she never returned.
Dorothy, Alice and Wendy and Jane,
Susan and Lucy, we're calling your names,
All the Lost Girls who came out of the rain
And chose to go back on the shelf.
Tinker Bell says, and I find I agree
You have to break rules if you want to break free.
So do as you like -- we're determined to be
Wicked girls saving ourselves.
Mandy's a pirate, and Mia weaves silk shrouds for faeries,
And Deborah will pour you red wine pressed from sweet poisoned berries.
Kate poses riddles and Mary plays tricks,
While Kaia builds towers from brambles and sticks,
And the rules that we live by are simple and clear:
Be wicked and lovely and don't live in fear --
Dorothy, Alice and Wendy and Jane,
Susan and Lucy, we're calling your names,
All the Lost Girls who came out of the rain
And chose to go back on the shelf.
Tinker Bell says, and I find I agree
You have to break rules if you want to break free.
So do as you like -- we're determined to be
Wicked girls saving ourselves.
For we will be wicked and we will be fair
And they'll call us such names, and we really won't care,
So go, tell your Wendys, your Susans, your Janes,
There's a place they can go if they're tired of chains,
And our roads may be golden, or broken, or lost,
But we'll walk on them willingly, knowing the cost --
We won't take our place on the shelves.
It's better to fly and it's better to die
Say the wicked girls saving ourselves.
I am definitely going to buy this album!
wyldlingspiritWendy played fair, and she played by the rules that they gave her;
They say she grew up and grew old -- Peter Pan couldn't save her.
They say she went home, and she never looked back,
Got her feet on the ground, got her life on its track.
She's the patron saint priestess of all the lost girls who got found.
And she once had her head in the clouds, but she died on the ground.
Dorothy just wanted something that she could believe in,
A gray dustbowl girl in a life she was better off leavin'.
She made her escape, went from gray into green,
And she could have got clear, and she could have got clean,
But she chose to be good and go back to the gray Kansas sky
Where color's a fable and freedom's a fairy tale lie.
Dorothy, Alice and Wendy and Jane,
Susan and Lucy, we're calling your names,
All the Lost Girls who came out of the rain
And chose to go back on the shelf.
Tinker Bell says, and I find I agree
You have to break rules if you want to break free.
So do as you like -- we're determined to be
Wicked girls saving ourselves.
Alice got lost, and I guess that we really can't blame her;
They say she got tangled and tied in the lies that became her.
They say she went mad, and she never complained,
For there's peace of a kind in a life unconstrained.
She gives Cheshire kisses, she's easy with white rabbit smiles,
And she'll never be free, but she's won herself safe for a while.
Susan and Lucy were queens, and they ruled well and proudly.
They honored their land and their lord, rang the bells long and loudly.
They never once asked to return to their lives
To be children and chattel and mothers and wives,
But the land cast them out in a lesson that only one learned;
And one queen said 'I am not a toy', and she never returned.
Dorothy, Alice and Wendy and Jane,
Susan and Lucy, we're calling your names,
All the Lost Girls who came out of the rain
And chose to go back on the shelf.
Tinker Bell says, and I find I agree
You have to break rules if you want to break free.
So do as you like -- we're determined to be
Wicked girls saving ourselves.
Mandy's a pirate, and Mia weaves silk shrouds for faeries,
And Deborah will pour you red wine pressed from sweet poisoned berries.
Kate poses riddles and Mary plays tricks,
While Kaia builds towers from brambles and sticks,
And the rules that we live by are simple and clear:
Be wicked and lovely and don't live in fear --
Dorothy, Alice and Wendy and Jane,
Susan and Lucy, we're calling your names,
All the Lost Girls who came out of the rain
And chose to go back on the shelf.
Tinker Bell says, and I find I agree
You have to break rules if you want to break free.
So do as you like -- we're determined to be
Wicked girls saving ourselves.
For we will be wicked and we will be fair
And they'll call us such names, and we really won't care,
So go, tell your Wendys, your Susans, your Janes,
There's a place they can go if they're tired of chains,
And our roads may be golden, or broken, or lost,
But we'll walk on them willingly, knowing the cost --
We won't take our place on the shelves.
It's better to fly and it's better to die
Say the wicked girls saving ourselves.
I am definitely going to buy this album!
Writer's Block: Neat, sweet, groovy songs
Sep. 17th, 2010 05:40 am[Error: unknown template qotd]
The Carpenters were my favorite artists as a child. I was in the first or second grade when our choir teacher taught us "Sing" and played their recording of it, and I fell in love with Karen's voice. It certainly helped that our ranges matched, so it was easy to sing along.
"Close to You" and "Yesterday Once More" were my first grown-up (ie: not Disney) albums. I still remember receiving them as Christmas gifts from my parents, along with with a record player, when I was in the second grade.
I still enjoy the Carpenters and have most of their albums, and their songs are in regular rotation on my iPod.
The Carpenters were my favorite artists as a child. I was in the first or second grade when our choir teacher taught us "Sing" and played their recording of it, and I fell in love with Karen's voice. It certainly helped that our ranges matched, so it was easy to sing along.
"Close to You" and "Yesterday Once More" were my first grown-up (ie: not Disney) albums. I still remember receiving them as Christmas gifts from my parents, along with with a record player, when I was in the second grade.
I still enjoy the Carpenters and have most of their albums, and their songs are in regular rotation on my iPod.
Russell Crowe: "Testify"
Aug. 19th, 2010 08:46 pmRussell Crowe is one of my favorite actors, and I enjoy his singing as well.
Here's an excellent video of him doing a live performance of "Testify", which I always think of as a Lohain song. . .
( Lyrics behind the cut )
Here's an excellent video of him doing a live performance of "Testify", which I always think of as a Lohain song. . .
( Lyrics behind the cut )
Corvus Corax Performing "Bacchus"
Jan. 4th, 2010 10:31 amWolfling was watching/listening ot this on YouTube last night, and I was enchanted. I need to find a bonfire, this band, and horn of mead and start dancing!
And then this: spinning pipers, dancing women, hooded chanters, and a chariot!
And then this: spinning pipers, dancing women, hooded chanters, and a chariot!
Writer's Block: Top of the Charts
Sep. 5th, 2009 08:57 am[Error: unknown template qotd]
According to the iTune stats on my computer, it's "A.A Cameron's Strathspey / Mrs. Martha Knowles / The Pitnacree Ferryman / The New Shillin'" -- an instrumental set by Silly Wizard. However, since it's the first song in the collection alphabetically, it gets an unfair advantage -- even though I do like it enough to have it on several playlists.
The next most frequently played song is "Dela" by Johnny Clegg and Savuka.
The problem with desktop version of iTunes, however, is that it does not update from the number of times a song is played on the iPod itself. And since I listen to music most frequently in via the iPod plugged into my car stereo it is more likely to be one of the following:
I'll Be Your Lover Too - Van Morrison
Johnny and June - Heidi Newfield
Watch Closely Now - Kris Kristofferson
Homecoming - "Gladiator" soundtrack, with dialogue between Maximus and Commodus before they go into the arena together
According to the iTune stats on my computer, it's "A.A Cameron's Strathspey / Mrs. Martha Knowles / The Pitnacree Ferryman / The New Shillin'" -- an instrumental set by Silly Wizard. However, since it's the first song in the collection alphabetically, it gets an unfair advantage -- even though I do like it enough to have it on several playlists.
The next most frequently played song is "Dela" by Johnny Clegg and Savuka.
The problem with desktop version of iTunes, however, is that it does not update from the number of times a song is played on the iPod itself. And since I listen to music most frequently in via the iPod plugged into my car stereo it is more likely to be one of the following:
I'll Be Your Lover Too - Van Morrison
Johnny and June - Heidi Newfield
Watch Closely Now - Kris Kristofferson
Homecoming - "Gladiator" soundtrack, with dialogue between Maximus and Commodus before they go into the arena together
A Lohain Song (One He Would Have Sung)
Jun. 18th, 2009 01:09 pm"Feels Like Home" by Randy Newman
Something in your eyes makes me want to lose myself
Makes me want to lose myself in your arms
There's something in your voice makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts the rest of my life
If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long I've felt so low
If you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you've done
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I come from
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong
A window breaks down a long dark street
And a siren wails in the night
But I'm alright cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see through the dark there's light
If you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long I've waited for your touch
If you know how happy you are making me
I've never thought I'd love anyone so much
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I come from
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong
Something in your eyes makes me want to lose myself
Makes me want to lose myself in your arms
There's something in your voice makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts the rest of my life
If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long I've felt so low
If you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you've done
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I come from
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong
A window breaks down a long dark street
And a siren wails in the night
But I'm alright cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see through the dark there's light
If you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long I've waited for your touch
If you know how happy you are making me
I've never thought I'd love anyone so much
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I come from
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong
Another Step Forward in Healing
May. 17th, 2009 12:51 pmTwo weeks from today it will be the second anniversary of Lohain's death. A week or so after that it will be the third anniversary of our first meeting, our first kiss.
It would not be an understatement to say that my life was utterly transformed by each of those events, and that where I am now would be almost inconceivable without having gone through both of them.
My grief continues its gradual, meandering journey of healing. It's a process, not a specific point one reaches. Today I marked a new milestone in that journey: I created a playlist for him/us that is all happy songs -- 45 of them (okay, 42 and three quotes). That would have been impossible a year ago at this time. Even six months ago I needed to have the acknowledgement of the loss and a voice for my pain. Now, I'm leaving that pain behind most of the time. (I don't think it will ever entirely go away.)
Releasing the pain does not mean releasing him. I didn't understand that when I was in the earliest stages of starting to feel better. It felt then as if not hurting as much would mean that he was less important to me. It turns out that the pain is its own thing. My connection with Lohain is separate. The diminishment of the pain does not mean the loss of the connection. If I were a different person, with a different spirituality and need to release the relationship in order to "move on with my life" perhaps it would be different.
Instead, the freedom from pain means that I can concentrate more clearly on my spiritual path and the ongoing connection with him through spirit, instead of having the work make me even more intensely aware of the separation.
It would not be an understatement to say that my life was utterly transformed by each of those events, and that where I am now would be almost inconceivable without having gone through both of them.
My grief continues its gradual, meandering journey of healing. It's a process, not a specific point one reaches. Today I marked a new milestone in that journey: I created a playlist for him/us that is all happy songs -- 45 of them (okay, 42 and three quotes). That would have been impossible a year ago at this time. Even six months ago I needed to have the acknowledgement of the loss and a voice for my pain. Now, I'm leaving that pain behind most of the time. (I don't think it will ever entirely go away.)
Releasing the pain does not mean releasing him. I didn't understand that when I was in the earliest stages of starting to feel better. It felt then as if not hurting as much would mean that he was less important to me. It turns out that the pain is its own thing. My connection with Lohain is separate. The diminishment of the pain does not mean the loss of the connection. If I were a different person, with a different spirituality and need to release the relationship in order to "move on with my life" perhaps it would be different.
Instead, the freedom from pain means that I can concentrate more clearly on my spiritual path and the ongoing connection with him through spirit, instead of having the work make me even more intensely aware of the separation.
Follow Up To Yesterday's Glinda LOL
Jan. 20th, 2009 07:37 amDumb Dumb Dorothy
By Brenda Sutton
© 2000
Performed by Three Weird Sisters
I've clicked my heels so many times. I was a fool to grieve
For flatland and the monochromes I now desire to leave
I want my eyes to match my gown, to float the bubble tram
And be where I know simply who I am
Summon all the Gods of Air and let the wild wind howl
I'll pitch my porch to the gray-green sky and ply the witch's trowel
Put Kansas to my backside, and bid a swift farewell
To the dust and the hogs and the prairie corn sage smell
Chorus:
I want to go where nothing's as it seems
I want to sing and fight and laugh and dream
I want my answers to be "Just because
That's the way in the merry old land of OZ."
Watch the windmill wheel and pitch and whistle up my ride
I'm looking for that rainbow bridge I danced to the Emerald side
I'd battle back to Wizard Town past fields of poppied snow
Through a sky of flying monkeys for the colors that I know
So suck me up the funnel, and send me back to OZ
Set me on that Yellow Path to the land of Neverwas.
Give me my sweet man of straw and let my lion roar
'Til my heart beats like it's never beat before
Chorus:
I want to go where nothing's as it seems
I want to sing and fight and laugh and dream
I want my answers to be "Just because
That's the way in the merry old land of OZ
That's the way in the very old land of OZ."
Kansas is all right, yet it is not my only home
I may visit now and then, but will always roam
How ya gonna keep me down on the farm, after all I've seen?
Please let OZ be real and Kansas be the dream
So hand me down my ruby shoes. Oh, Glinda hear my cry!
I know I begged for sepia tone but now I don't know why
I've learned the grass IS greener on the far side of the moon
Oh, if I have my way I'll be up to green real soon...
If I have my way I'll be covered in green real soon..
By Brenda Sutton
© 2000
Performed by Three Weird Sisters
I've clicked my heels so many times. I was a fool to grieve
For flatland and the monochromes I now desire to leave
I want my eyes to match my gown, to float the bubble tram
And be where I know simply who I am
Summon all the Gods of Air and let the wild wind howl
I'll pitch my porch to the gray-green sky and ply the witch's trowel
Put Kansas to my backside, and bid a swift farewell
To the dust and the hogs and the prairie corn sage smell
Chorus:
I want to go where nothing's as it seems
I want to sing and fight and laugh and dream
I want my answers to be "Just because
That's the way in the merry old land of OZ."
Watch the windmill wheel and pitch and whistle up my ride
I'm looking for that rainbow bridge I danced to the Emerald side
I'd battle back to Wizard Town past fields of poppied snow
Through a sky of flying monkeys for the colors that I know
So suck me up the funnel, and send me back to OZ
Set me on that Yellow Path to the land of Neverwas.
Give me my sweet man of straw and let my lion roar
'Til my heart beats like it's never beat before
Chorus:
I want to go where nothing's as it seems
I want to sing and fight and laugh and dream
I want my answers to be "Just because
That's the way in the merry old land of OZ
That's the way in the very old land of OZ."
Kansas is all right, yet it is not my only home
I may visit now and then, but will always roam
How ya gonna keep me down on the farm, after all I've seen?
Please let OZ be real and Kansas be the dream
So hand me down my ruby shoes. Oh, Glinda hear my cry!
I know I begged for sepia tone but now I don't know why
I've learned the grass IS greener on the far side of the moon
Oh, if I have my way I'll be up to green real soon...
If I have my way I'll be covered in green real soon..
For most of my life, these two pieces have expressed what Christmas means to me. Even now, when I no longer call myself a Christian, they make my heart sing.
For Unto Us a Child is Born sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWn7HHI-rhE
Merry Christmas, my friends!
For Unto Us a Child is Born sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWn7HHI-rhE
Merry Christmas, my friends!
Dancing Fiddler
Oct. 11th, 2008 09:55 amThis is a video clip of the group "Celtic Woman" performing "The Sky and The Dawn and The Sun." The vocal group is nice enough (although they look rather plastic to me), but what moves me about this performance is the fiddler who opens and closes the piece. Hang on (or fast forward) to the last third, when this fiery fiddler dances around the stage with a great percussion accompaniment.
Even More Answers
Sep. 21st, 2008 07:59 pmSomeone asked:
What are your favorites times to listen to music? What are your favorite kinds of music for exercise? Bedtime? When you're feeling sad? When you're feeling happy? Who are your favorite musicians?
Favorite time to listen to music - in the car
Favorite kinds for exercise - upbeat 80's pop, show tunes
Bedtime - I can't fall asleep listening to music
Feeling sad - I try to avoid music when I'm sad, because it either jars me or sends me deeper. This is very different from when I was younger.
Feeling happy - Upbeat pop, "young Country", show tunes, soundtracks by John Williams
Favorite musicians - I don't know that I have any these days, to be honest. I have a huge music collection, but no one who particularly moves me right now.
Can you imagine a situation where you, as you are now, would feel called to a clergy position in organized religion? What would be necessary for it to happen? Have you seen any such situation in any civilization, fictional or nonfictional?
Ooohhh. . . As tempting as it is to imagine myself as a priestess in a Pagan temple of some kind, I have to come back to the answers I arrived at back in seminary a few years ago.
The fact is that I'm an introvert, and as such would find it a significant emotional challenge to function as clergy within an organization. I've also long felt myself answerable only to my gods, not to a human organization, so I don't know how well I'd be able to keep myself within the boundaries of the official doctrine.
If I ever were clergy, it would be within a faith where there was a goddess with a bright and a dark face and her consort, where there were rituals of both ecstasy and grieving, of ascent and descent, of love-sex, marriage, birth, death, and rebirth.
Has your use of livejournal changed at all over the years? Are there items you post more or less now than you used to?
To my chagrin, I'm posting far less of the serious intellectual-spiritual material than I did when I first started LJ. No longer being in seminary has a lot to do with that, but I feel like my journal is no longer as interesting as it was in the beginning.
Thankfully, I'm posting far less about domestic and work dramas than I did: no more issues with flooding, the impossible folks Upstairs at the old place, or Miss V.
What are your favorites times to listen to music? What are your favorite kinds of music for exercise? Bedtime? When you're feeling sad? When you're feeling happy? Who are your favorite musicians?
Favorite time to listen to music - in the car
Favorite kinds for exercise - upbeat 80's pop, show tunes
Bedtime - I can't fall asleep listening to music
Feeling sad - I try to avoid music when I'm sad, because it either jars me or sends me deeper. This is very different from when I was younger.
Feeling happy - Upbeat pop, "young Country", show tunes, soundtracks by John Williams
Favorite musicians - I don't know that I have any these days, to be honest. I have a huge music collection, but no one who particularly moves me right now.
Can you imagine a situation where you, as you are now, would feel called to a clergy position in organized religion? What would be necessary for it to happen? Have you seen any such situation in any civilization, fictional or nonfictional?
Ooohhh. . . As tempting as it is to imagine myself as a priestess in a Pagan temple of some kind, I have to come back to the answers I arrived at back in seminary a few years ago.
The fact is that I'm an introvert, and as such would find it a significant emotional challenge to function as clergy within an organization. I've also long felt myself answerable only to my gods, not to a human organization, so I don't know how well I'd be able to keep myself within the boundaries of the official doctrine.
If I ever were clergy, it would be within a faith where there was a goddess with a bright and a dark face and her consort, where there were rituals of both ecstasy and grieving, of ascent and descent, of love-sex, marriage, birth, death, and rebirth.
Has your use of livejournal changed at all over the years? Are there items you post more or less now than you used to?
To my chagrin, I'm posting far less of the serious intellectual-spiritual material than I did when I first started LJ. No longer being in seminary has a lot to do with that, but I feel like my journal is no longer as interesting as it was in the beginning.
Thankfully, I'm posting far less about domestic and work dramas than I did: no more issues with flooding, the impossible folks Upstairs at the old place, or Miss V.
Uh-Oh. . .
Aug. 25th, 2008 10:50 pmI think I just put Wolfling's Junior Druid* membership seriously at risk.
I played Tom Lehrer's Poisoning Pigeons in the Park for her and she loved it.
* If there actually is a "Junior Druid" organization I'm not aware of it, and Wolfling is not a member.
I played Tom Lehrer's Poisoning Pigeons in the Park for her and she loved it.
* If there actually is a "Junior Druid" organization I'm not aware of it, and Wolfling is not a member.
Holiday Music
Nov. 28th, 2007 08:35 amCan anyone suggest some Pagan seasonal music?
The only pieces I have in my collection are Gypsy's "Bring Back the Light" and Dar Williams' "The Christians and The Pagans."
The only pieces I have in my collection are Gypsy's "Bring Back the Light" and Dar Williams' "The Christians and The Pagans."
Lyric Meme Time again
Aug. 4th, 2006 06:00 amBecause the inestimable havah_prewett just did it, and it was fun, and I don't have anything else to post.
Shuffle your player, select one line from each of the first 25 songs, post, and let people guess.
I'm going to screen comments because I won't be able to respond all day to strike out the ones that people guess.
( Lyrics behind the cut )
havah_prewett just did it, and it was fun, and I don't have anything else to post.Shuffle your player, select one line from each of the first 25 songs, post, and let people guess.
I'm going to screen comments because I won't be able to respond all day to strike out the ones that people guess.
( Lyrics behind the cut )
The music mix in the theater before the showing of Serenity on Saturday included a new recording of "In the Flesh?" from The Wall.
I hadn't heard that song in many, many years.
On Saturday afternoon in the theater I was sitting between the Welshman and Hob, two close male friends with whom I share many years and much history. All three of us are friends, tried and true, but they have a very special connection with each other. Neither have many friends, and in many ways they are quite different from each other, but together they have a bond that is so tight it transforms who they are when they are together.
I first heard The Wall when I was in high school, back in the days when MTV was brand new. I remember the disturbing images of the videos, but what I remember even more keenly was listening to the music in the company of my small circle of friends called The Golden Horde. I would never have listened to The Wall without their influence. I was a Carpenters and Barry Manilow kind of girl. Styx, and "Come Sail Away" was as hard as my music ever got.
But I remember some late night, coming home after a debate tournament, sitting in the back of the school van between T and J -- two close male friends, with whom I was in the early stages of a long and intense history. They were my first and second boyfriends -- and yet they were also best friends (and remained best friends, long after my romances with them were over), even though very different in many some ways, and they had a special bond that transformed them both when they were together. Someone -- probaby T -- had brought along a portable tape player and we were listening to Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall.
It came back to me so powerfully on Saturday, with that song, and the presence of my male friends on either side of me. It was almost eerie. Not quite history repeating itself -- for I have never been romantically involved with either the Welshman or Hob (except as gaming characters) -- but close enough for some powerful resonance.
Twenty years ago, it was. . .
I hadn't heard that song in many, many years.
On Saturday afternoon in the theater I was sitting between the Welshman and Hob, two close male friends with whom I share many years and much history. All three of us are friends, tried and true, but they have a very special connection with each other. Neither have many friends, and in many ways they are quite different from each other, but together they have a bond that is so tight it transforms who they are when they are together.
I first heard The Wall when I was in high school, back in the days when MTV was brand new. I remember the disturbing images of the videos, but what I remember even more keenly was listening to the music in the company of my small circle of friends called The Golden Horde. I would never have listened to The Wall without their influence. I was a Carpenters and Barry Manilow kind of girl. Styx, and "Come Sail Away" was as hard as my music ever got.
But I remember some late night, coming home after a debate tournament, sitting in the back of the school van between T and J -- two close male friends, with whom I was in the early stages of a long and intense history. They were my first and second boyfriends -- and yet they were also best friends (and remained best friends, long after my romances with them were over), even though very different in many some ways, and they had a special bond that transformed them both when they were together. Someone -- probaby T -- had brought along a portable tape player and we were listening to Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall.
It came back to me so powerfully on Saturday, with that song, and the presence of my male friends on either side of me. It was almost eerie. Not quite history repeating itself -- for I have never been romantically involved with either the Welshman or Hob (except as gaming characters) -- but close enough for some powerful resonance.
Twenty years ago, it was. . .
Musings Inspired by a Rented Cello
Sep. 30th, 2005 06:06 pmThis evening I took my daughter to the music store and turned over $135 or so for the first three months of cello rental (plus insurance against damage and loss), a pin stand, and a music stand. My daughter is now happily and noisily sawing away on her own quarter-size cello.
I didn't expect this to feel as significant as it does, but this evening marked a significant parental initiation for me. I feel like I did something important for my daughter, perhaps the most unselfish thing I have ever done for her.
It's hard to explain. . . I'm fostering something that is totally hers. I never would have selected cello. I'm a bit surprised she's pursuing music at all, although both her father's family and my own have had strong backgrounds in music. But we don't have any formal music in this household. No one plays an instrument. There's not much singing. I play the iPod in the car, and she has her favorite songs, and sometimes we sing along together, but to me it's a big step from "listening to records" to playing an instrument.
But driving back from the store, she and I started talking about the possibility that one day I'll bring my clarinet out of the back of the storage room and maybe we can play duets together.
And wouldn't that be amazing and fun?
I like the idea that my daughter, by doing something that is arising totally out of her own heart, not only will be having a wonderful time herself, but may re-involve me in something I used to love and take great pleasure in. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could actually share that?
I didn't expect this to feel as significant as it does, but this evening marked a significant parental initiation for me. I feel like I did something important for my daughter, perhaps the most unselfish thing I have ever done for her.
It's hard to explain. . . I'm fostering something that is totally hers. I never would have selected cello. I'm a bit surprised she's pursuing music at all, although both her father's family and my own have had strong backgrounds in music. But we don't have any formal music in this household. No one plays an instrument. There's not much singing. I play the iPod in the car, and she has her favorite songs, and sometimes we sing along together, but to me it's a big step from "listening to records" to playing an instrument.
But driving back from the store, she and I started talking about the possibility that one day I'll bring my clarinet out of the back of the storage room and maybe we can play duets together.
And wouldn't that be amazing and fun?
I like the idea that my daughter, by doing something that is arising totally out of her own heart, not only will be having a wonderful time herself, but may re-involve me in something I used to love and take great pleasure in. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could actually share that?
Miscellany
Sep. 16th, 2005 06:13 amYesterday morning as I was getting up at 5:30am, I dropped my glasses and could not find them. My daughter was spending the night with her grandparents, so I couldn't ask her for help. I was groping around on the floor for several minutes and simply could not get my hands on them. So I ended up having to go upstairs and ask for help.
I may have legitimate gripes with my Ex-husband, but there are not many people who would suffer being awakened by an ex at 5:45am, come downstairs, find a pair of glasses and go back to bed without uttering a single grumble or grouch. "This is why it's good to live in a community," was in fact what he said.
Today I'm leaving work around lunchtime to head down to Hob's house for his D&D game, in which I will be making a special appearance as a Blackguard (that's a prestige class antipaladin for the geeks and semi-geeks in the audience). Saturday will be Oktoberfest in September. And lots of good conversation.
For those who love Broadway musicals, the movie My Favorite Year, showbiz in any manifestation, and/or Tim Curry, check out the soundtrack to the musical version of the movie. I got it as a $7.99 download from Real.com, and it's one of the best music purchases I've made in ages: lively, funny, and moving by turns.
And last, before I head off to work and then offline for most of the weekend:
My 20 Random Facts (we'll see if I make it to 20)
( I'm Hoping Most of This is New Info )
I may have legitimate gripes with my Ex-husband, but there are not many people who would suffer being awakened by an ex at 5:45am, come downstairs, find a pair of glasses and go back to bed without uttering a single grumble or grouch. "This is why it's good to live in a community," was in fact what he said.
Today I'm leaving work around lunchtime to head down to Hob's house for his D&D game, in which I will be making a special appearance as a Blackguard (that's a prestige class antipaladin for the geeks and semi-geeks in the audience). Saturday will be Oktoberfest in September. And lots of good conversation.
For those who love Broadway musicals, the movie My Favorite Year, showbiz in any manifestation, and/or Tim Curry, check out the soundtrack to the musical version of the movie. I got it as a $7.99 download from Real.com, and it's one of the best music purchases I've made in ages: lively, funny, and moving by turns.
And last, before I head off to work and then offline for most of the weekend:
My 20 Random Facts (we'll see if I make it to 20)
( I'm Hoping Most of This is New Info )
Shuffle Play Meme
Jan. 14th, 2004 08:07 pmCourtesy of queenofhalves:
The rules are simple: take your entire music collection, set it to shuffle-play mode, list the first twenty tracks...
1. Simple Twist of Fate, by Bob Dylan
2. Into the Starscape (end titles from "The Last Starfighter"), by Craig Safan
3. Nowhere Fast, by Fire, Inc.
4. Extrordinary, by William Katt (from "Pippin")
5. Living on the Edge of Night, by Iggy Pop
6. Gethsemane, from "Jesus Christ Superstar"
7. Learn Your Lessons Well, from "Godspell"
8. Like a Prayer, by Madonna
9. That Girl's Been Spying on Me, by Billy Dean
10. Burn, by JoDee Messina
11. The Night is Still Young, by Billy Joel
12. Cuddle Up, by The Captain and Tennille
13. I Stand Alone, from "The Quest for Camelot"
14. Quote from the movie "Maverick"
15. The Simple Joys of Maidenhood, by Vanessa Redgrave ("Camelot")
16. Flying Sequence and Can You Read My Mind, from "Superman: The Movie"
17. The Return Home, from "Star Wars"
18. Quote from Marvin the Martian
19. Finale: Children Will Listen, from "Into the Woods"
20. The Queen of Argyll, by Silly Wizard
queenofhalves:The rules are simple: take your entire music collection, set it to shuffle-play mode, list the first twenty tracks...
1. Simple Twist of Fate, by Bob Dylan
2. Into the Starscape (end titles from "The Last Starfighter"), by Craig Safan
3. Nowhere Fast, by Fire, Inc.
4. Extrordinary, by William Katt (from "Pippin")
5. Living on the Edge of Night, by Iggy Pop
6. Gethsemane, from "Jesus Christ Superstar"
7. Learn Your Lessons Well, from "Godspell"
8. Like a Prayer, by Madonna
9. That Girl's Been Spying on Me, by Billy Dean
10. Burn, by JoDee Messina
11. The Night is Still Young, by Billy Joel
12. Cuddle Up, by The Captain and Tennille
13. I Stand Alone, from "The Quest for Camelot"
14. Quote from the movie "Maverick"
15. The Simple Joys of Maidenhood, by Vanessa Redgrave ("Camelot")
16. Flying Sequence and Can You Read My Mind, from "Superman: The Movie"
17. The Return Home, from "Star Wars"
18. Quote from Marvin the Martian
19. Finale: Children Will Listen, from "Into the Woods"
20. The Queen of Argyll, by Silly Wizard
