Understanding

There are many things in life I don't understand.  I suspect that I won't because it's not intended as such.  But I work at it.

I couldn't understand, as we were shopping for the cottage why in the world anyone would want to live on an inland lake.  It was beyond comprehension for me.  But as I have adjusted and acclimated, I have an inkling.  It's just a hint.  But I get a glimpse of another way of thinking.

Inland lakes are calmer.  They seemed to be better suited for small crafts and sporting (like water skiing or boarding).  That's nice.

But what they lack are waves.  Smashing, pounding, beating, pulsating waves.  To me, there is nothing on earth like the sound of pounding waves.  Better than any Brian Eno music.  Or Bryan Ferry.  Or even Kate Bush.

From 2012-04-21

From 2012-04-21

From 2012-04-21

And here we sit, East of the Equator, listening the sound of heaven on earth.  Cheers to the weekend, wherever you are. 

Music that makes me dance

I love music.  This is no secret. 80gb of music on my iPod and well, that's a lot of music ...

During the time when I had a chance to see some of the best bands of the 80s, I didn't think they would become such superstars.   Here are a few of the bands I loved seeing live - some as opening bands and a few, got to hang out with after the show.  (Can you say groupie?) Most of these bands I have seen at least twice, some WAY more. 

And U2 was okay live ... not nearly as good as Pete, Gary, David and Paul. 

10.  Gang of Four 
9. U2  (have their autographs)
8.  Duran Duran  (saw them in the snow during the middle of the week during their This is Planet Earth tour)
7.  The Jam (way underestimated)
6.  The Clash
5.  Psychedelic Furs 
4.  Gary Numan 
3.  REM 
2.  Talking Heads
1.  Peter Gabriel

oh, and the other number one. 

1.  Declan MacManus.  There is only one of him.

These songs bring back wonderful memories and make for terrific car dancing. 

Music luv

I love music.  Not an ounce of music talent runs through my DNA except the grand appreciation for those with talent - singers, writers, and musicians.  All of them.

I recently replaced my car and with it came a trial subscription to Sirius/XM.  Well, I was hooked.  I have Richard Blade.  1st Wave. The Spectrum.  Road Dog Trucking.  Oh, wait, that's not music.

I sing loudly in my car.  Sometimes I car dance.  And I don't really care.  :)

I have had a chance to listen to some neat songs of the late.  And here are some of my retro faves.

10. Pete Shelley -Homosapien too
9. Ultravox- The Voice
8. Julian Cope - Charlotte Anne
7. Talk Talk - It's My Life
6.  The The - Uncertain Smile
5.  Sinead O'Connor Mandinka
4. Echo and the Bunnymen - The Cutter    
3. Joy Division - Isolation  
2. Japan - Ghosts
1. Peter Godwin-  Images of Heaven

Enjoy.  The Friday happy dance is just around the corner.  Cheers!

Tonight is the night ....

....we hope. Tonight the Red Wings can wrap it up against the Dallas Stars. They are up three games to none. Of course, Dallas is on home ice and has a seriously vested interest in keeping the series alive. It looks like we are heading towards a Penguin/Red Wings final.

Paul and I have recovered from the concert and our hearing is back to pre-concert levels. Even with foamies, the music was a little loud. We were talking about the concert and the playlists and I was laughing at 'being old.' At the concert, as I sat there watching these wonderful musicians, my mind wandered to thoughts of, 'huh, that scaffolding looks dangerous. I wonder what their workers compensation rates are....' or, 'Stuart is such a wonderful drummer but after all that drumming and repetitive motion, I wonder if he has carpel tunnel syndrome. Or any of the guitarists for that matter' and, 'these are Brits and the tour was extended. I wonder how complicated their immigration extension was. Who did it? How do they extend their visas when they don't have a set location?' Paul kicked me after that one. ;)

The flowers are in full bloom on campus and are just stunning. And with the rain coming down, it will help everything especially our grass! It's back to work, it's mid week as we make our way toward the Friday happy dance!

Elvis Costello and oh yeah, the Police

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....oops, wrong story. Let me try again. Before now, a long time ago, when I was young(er), I had the chance to see a lot of very cool, relatively unknown-at-the-time musicians/bands. I had friends in bands and since 1) I had a car that ran well, and 2) I was a sober individual (no drinking and no driving, no drugs), I was very popular. I was frequently the 'designated driver' and ended up carting my friends around and ended up back stage and hanging with some pretty darn cool people. When I could summon the courage to ask for autographs, I did - U2 for one, but so many times, I was just hanging and couldn't in my wildest dreams say something like, "hey, here we are just hanging and on the off chance that you become really famous, could I have your autograph?" People like The Clash, X, Gang of Four, Gary Numan, the Psychedelic Furs, Squeeze, Echo and Bunnymen, Julian Cope, The Jam, Bauhaus, Duran Duran, etc. To put it in perspective, I saw REM when they were still an opening act. And they were pretty good! (Hehe)

I had an aversion to (what I called) arena bands. Once a band made it big and played venues larger than 1500 people, they were off my list. I made two exceptions in my life - one was to see Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music. The only way that I would see him would be to suffer through the arena venue of Cobo Hall. The other exception was to see the Cure and it was worth it.

So eventually, my focus changed to more serious things, I got married and wandered off into life. A great life by all accounts, with gratitude. But in the back of my mind and buried in my heart is this large jukebox of really cool music that resurrects every time I turn on my iPod. When I heard that the Police were coming to Grand Rapids, I was mediocrely interested. Then, I heard that Elvis Costello was playing. So I couldn't pass it up. Really, I went to see Elvis and the Police were just a bonus. And both were great.

I have seen Elvis at least 4 times that I can recall. Once, Gang of Four opened for him; another time, Men at Work opened for him. (Now it gets fuzzy). I think, I think that we were seeing him with Gang of Four at Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor and a photographer was trying to avoid the ticket police. Since I had front row seats ( I always had front row seats), I grabbed him and shared my seat. I don't know why they cared - when the bands came out, everyone rushed the stage. He was a really nice guy and to thank me for sharing my seat, shared his pictures of Elvis - great pictures of Mr. Costello. Can't remember the photographer's name but he worked at Sam's Records in Ferndale. So I have these old pictures of Elvis Costello, with hair, singing something from his Almost Blue album. I believe that he is one of the most underrated musicians of all time. I LOVE his music.

So, the concert was really good. I was sad that the Police didn't sing Synchronicity. Apparently, they didn't sing it here in GR or in Chicago. But I had lots of 80s flashbacks, for me driving to concerts and clubs, trying to avoid arenas. I acquiesed this time, to see an all time favorite. He sang Watching the Detectives. He sang Allison. He sang Radio, Radio. He sang Everyday I Write the Book. He sang What's So Fun about Peace, Love and Understanding. He sang what I thought he would NEVER sing. He sang Pump It Up. HE SANG PUMP IT UP!! YEAH! Go Elvis.

Oh and Go Red Wings. :)

Music

First, our friend Deb is doing well...for someone who has two broken bones in her lower leg, hauling around a cast the size and weight of a bowling ball and facing 12 weeks off her leg. But she has great friends and family, two loving dogs and a ton of people who are bringing her food and friendship, sunshine on days when we are expecting MORE snow. What a trooper!

In the tire news, Paul now has a slow leak on one of his 'run flat' tires. You know, just by putting BMW, tire and run flat in the same sentence that it can't be cheap. The sensor isn't working so the BMW dealership gets to look at it first, then off to Ronda tire for one of those inexpensive, run flat tires. Woo hoo.

Idol is back on with the guys up first. During the commercials, I saw an ad for the Police and Elvis Costello and the Imposters (as opposed to the Attractions). 20 years later, he looks a little older (ha) but still sounds good. I would like to get my hands on the song list and see what he is singing. I wonder if he can pull off my favs like What so fun 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding? and Allison. Tickets are soooo expensive but I suspect that I will go. :)

Tomorrow is our last Samson training class and Thursday our new windows come! It will be a very busy week, weekend and and whew. I am tired already!