Music

A couple of weeks ago, Mark mentioned that he wanted to play more cds in our house when we’re just hanging around, doing stuff.  I thought that sounded like a good idea, but nothing was done to implement it.

By default, after the kids are in bed and we’re all in for the night, I have been watching more tv than I really want to.  I feel exhausted, so I just fall into a pile on the sofa and vegetate until I get up 2 – 3 hours later and meander into bed.  I need to break this pattern.  So I have decided that music is what I need to help change my habits.  Perhaps my own personal soundtrack will help me to either be productive or relax with a book instead of the tv.

Thus Mark’s idea of 2 weeks ago merges with my desire of today, and hopefully, new routines will be born.

So today, I took a lunch hour and went to Borders to use what I had left on a giftcard from my birthday.  I just heard a review of a new CD on NPR, and it sounded like just the thing I needed as background music for my relaxing evenings at home.  The CD is Lyrically by Alan Bergman.

Alan Bergman is lyricist who has been writing for stage and screen for decades.  He, along with his wife and writing partner, have been writing the words for wonderful melodies together for 59 years.  On this CD, he sings some of his favorites.  Terri Gross, on Fresh Aire, played a cut of “What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life?”, and it made me want the cd.

Now that I have the cd, I will admit that not all the songs are ones I would choose for Alan Bergman to sing.  But several cuts are really pleasant to hear.  These are mostly romantic songs that take you back to those great black and white films from the 50s and 60s.  They are moody and thoughtful.  Listening to them and realizing that the words came from a couple who worked together and have been married for so long makes them even more meaningful.

Alan Bergman can sing, but he is no Frank Sinatra.  Yet the rich history of the lyricists makes each track worth hearing.

Now, I will add that this is not the only cd I’ve been listening to this week.  I decided yesterday that I need to turn off the radio in the van and at work when NPR drones on and on about the downward spiral of the real estate market and the stock market.  I have enough stress in my own life that I don’t need the gloom and doom of the entire global economy laid on my shoulders, pressed down over and over again.  So yesterday I replaced NPR with Sogno, a great Andre Bocelli cd we purchased a few years back.  I can’t understand a word of the latin lyrics, but the singing and music is so beautiful it can improve any mood.

I guess Mark is doing “Music Mondays” on his blog these days.  I don’t think I’ll be doing a regular music post, but if you need some aliteration to make your day, you can call this “Tuesday Tunes.”
 

6 thoughts on “Music”

  1. Liberty Mutual has used a couple of Hem’s songs in their commercials (1, 2).
    Here are a couple from Innocence mission: the first is called Follow Me (someone made what looks to be Catholic propaganda out of it, but I think they are Catholic so I guess its okay), the second is another dude’s video with People in the City as the soundtrack.
    Here are a couple of my favorite Van Morrison songs: Sweet Thing (the video on this link is way to dark to see anything), and Crazy Love (with Bob Dylan).

  2. I had to look george up! I echo the Innocence Mission and Van. Innocence Mission is a group of shy Catholics from Pennsylvania– especially get their CD of Lullabies. Karin Perris (?) sings like Audrey Hepburn looks, which is only emphasized by the inclusion of Moon River.

    Another favorite is Bach Sonatas and Partidas for Guitar, by Paul Galbraith. As soon as I stop typing, I’ll think of five more suggestions, I’m certain…

    George likes Hem, hmmmm. George and I need to talk.

  3. George,

    I checked out Hem. I do like what I’ve heard. I actually noticed the music in theLiberty Mutual commercials before but I didn’t know who performed it.

    George and Denise,

    I also checked out Invnocence Mission. The youtube video really did seem like Catholic propaganda. But the music was nice. Denise, your comment that they are shy Catholics from PA made me laugh. I grew up in a pre-dominantly Catholic town in PA, and I didn’t think there was such a thing as a shy Catholic Pennsylvanian. In my experience most of them are boistrous and outspoken! I will probably look for more stuff from IM.

    Thanks for all the input from both of you.

  4. Okay! Do I have a music linky-thingy for you!

    This site http://lookingcloser.org/music/musicreviews.htm

    Jeffrey reviews many of my favorite CDs from the past few years, in ways I appreciate. And you will be impressed by his frustration at the inability to describe The Innocence Mission– but that doesn’t stop him. Cockburn is a favorite, but an acquired taste. The new Over the Rhine is astounding, but very sexy and I’m not sure how carefully your children listen to lyrics. (It is WAY FUN.) Patty Griffin’s last two CDs are remarkable.

    Jeffrey is a new acquaintance, a professor at Seattle Pacific and film critic for Christianity Today. And he loves my writing, which endears me to him. He’s also just published a fantasy novel, and his blog has a download of the first chapter, which I think is intriguing.

    Go get ’em, you pop culture maven! And please pass on my suggestions to George, my music soulmate via the internet.

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