Category Archives: Music

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Somewhere different still…

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Some songs I love don’t just make me feel more keenly alive, they attach themselves to my insides, to my story – for good.

This was on my mind when I decided to revisit my 2014 post about the song “Somewhere Different Now” by Girlyman. To my chagrin, I found the old media links no longer usable – not that surprising after this many years. It was good to find this out so I could rectify it here. Another serendipitous aspect of going back: I’d forgotten the rich conversation that ensued in the old post’s comments. 

I’m glad as well for the occasion it presents to reflect anew on my connection to the song. As it happens, pondering former sources of meaning in an updated context represents one theme of the song itself.

The lyrics intertwine familiar details from the songwriter’s surroundings with expressions of disillusioned hopefulness. That’s where the relatability for me is – in that incongruity and in how memories tied to place can amplify it.

Who knows the somewhere I’ll be the next time I listen?

Half-deserted streets…

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“A tedious argument of insidious intent…”

I recently saw this phrase used as a social media tagline — and it wasn’t a T.S. Eliot account. It struck me as a pleasing expression; i didn’t immediately recognize its origins.

I should have. I studied Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” in college, though that was admittedly more than a few years ago.

Looking up phrases online, mine and others, is something i make a habit of in order to properly attribute them or to make sure one i’m about to use is original.

Rather than assume its social media user had concocted this one herself, the online search for this snippet rewarded me with a reminder of Eliot’s stunning craft. 

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Best Laid Plans…

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dance

Is it true that your life is primarily made up of what happens to you?

Or is your life rather more composed of how you respond to the conditions and events you are confronted with?

A few years ago i wrote this song about the interplay between the two.

Though i’ve been meaning to post this for some time, being ready to do so this morning happens to fall on a significant anniversary. Today marks five years to the day since cancer surgery. Five years and counting of “NED” status — no evidence of disease.

(See below for the lyrics.)

Thanks for reading and listening.

Always lookin’ for a reason

A rhythm to go with my rhyme

But every answer brings more questions

They’ve got me steppin’ out of time…

Cuzz my best laid plans

They’re not quite in my hands

The best that i can do is be ready…

My best laid plans

They’re not quite in my hands

The best that i can do is be ready

To make it… a dance

Oh they were good plans in their season

Full of reasons they should come through

But life takes its turn, then you take your step

In that minuet something rings true

Cuzz your best laid plans

They’re not quite in your hands

The best that you can do is be ready…

Your best laid plans

They’re not quite in your hands

The best that you can do is be ready

To make it… a dance

…Step lightly, and make it a dance

“Hero” by David Crosby…

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david-crosby

This song from 1993 wasn’t exactly one of the biggest hits of the time — only made it to 44 on Billboard’s Top 100 that year. But it definitely had more of a personal impact on me than any of the other 99. (Other than “Whoomp! (There It Is)” — just kidding!!).

“Hero” will always be one of those songs that hooks into a very specific era of my life. It was a time of disruption and transition, and the song instantly taps into the emotions associated with having to profoundly reorient my thinking in the context of uncharted life territory.

It not only takes me back there, but the lyrics have held up ever since for expressing a sentiment somewhat emblematic of my life — one of disillusionment and then acceptance. “I wish it were that simple…”  It’s a deceptively plain story/melody, with some dissonance to be resolved along the way. Said another way (with a nod to William Blake), it’s about the passage from innocence to experience.

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