Musically Yours

Today while listening to my mp3 player as I went around the house doing chores, baking cookies etc., I decided I should write a blog about music: my favorite artists and songs, what makes them my favorites, and so on. I have added a lot of my favorite songs to my mp3 player, and it's pretty difficult to ignore them when they are piped directly into your ears. I was noticing lyrics to some of my favorite artists, and thinking how GREAT they are. For me, lyrics are a pretty important part of music, I especially like it when say and mean something to me. Of course, the music and beat themselves, which help deliver the messages of the lyrics, are pretty important. You can have the most beautiful and profound words in the world, but if you don't have the right music to go with them, the lyrics will probably go unnoticed. So here goes on my favorite artists and/or their music.

Neil Diamond:
I've been a big fan of his since the 1970's. A friend gave Don/Creig "Taproot Manuscript" for his birthday, and after listening to it a few times I became hooked on Neil Diamond's music. Shortly thereafter I added "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" to our collection, and have added each new album of his since that time. I've also had the opportunity to go to two of his concerts, one in 1996 and the other a few years later. What a performer! If you're reading this on my MySpace"
page, I've included "Pretty Amazing Grace" from his latest CD on my profile playlist. If you're not familiar with this song, give it a listen.

John Denver:
My "2nd favorite" musical artist, I also had the opportunity to see his show in Lake Tahoe in 1976. I can't remember exactly when he became one of my favorites, but it would have had to be before 1976 since we wanted to see him then. His death was a great tragedy. I have most of his albums/CD's and even a DVD. One of my favorites is also on my MySpace profile playlist--"Wild Montana Skies." It tells a story, as do most of his songs, and this is one reason why he is on my favorites list. Others that I like include "Pegasus" and "The Wings That Fly Us Home." While he did not write these last two songs, they are still on my favorites list because of the lyrics and music, and his great voice.

After these two, the following are in no particular order in my list of favorites.

Nilsson:
We've been a fan of his for a long time, too. And he is also gone from our midst, he died of a heart attack a few years ago. On my profile playlist is "The Lottery Song." Give it a listen. One of our daughters thought that their dad had written this one--he used to play it a lot when they were growing up. Some of his other songs which you may recognize include "Everybody's Talking" (from Midnight Cowboy), "Without You," and the "Coconut Song."

James Taylor:
His music has been around our household for many years now, and he's been a favorite of Don's for a long, long time. I recently heard some of his "newer" music, such as "Frozen Man," and have come to appreciate his music more than I did before. More of his music appears on the public playlist.

Billy Joel:
Same with Billy Joel, he's been around for a long time, but when I seriously listened to the music AND the lyrics, I realized that he has a place on my favorites list as well. Have a listen to "And So It Goes." Others are on my Public list.

David Wilcox:
Before Christmas, a local radio station (KINK) celebrated 40 years of being on the air by playing music from each of their 40 years on a day by day basis. One morning while getting ready for the day, I heard David Wilcox's song "Rusty Old American Dream." As a child of the '50s & '60's, I fully appreciated this song and added it and David Wilcox to my favorites list, too. Give a listen to this song and you'll hear what I mean. I have a couple more of his songs on my public playlist.

Joe Jencks:
Joe Jencks is a "below the radar" performer who has such a beautiful tenor voice and a way with words and music. You probably won't find his music on a top radio station, but it should be. He is married to my #2 daughter's grade school/jr. high friend, or we wouldn't have become acquainted with his music. Listen to "The Turtle" on my profile playlist. He's very pro-union, and many of his songs reflect this philosphy, but still he is very talented in both song & lyrics even if you don't agree with him politically.

Gordon Lightfoot:
I couldn't find a song I listened to today to add to my profile list, "Don Quixote." Listening to this song today made me think of my daughters who love fantasy/medieval writings. But he has also been around a long time, very talented in words and music, so I've included "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" on my profile playlist for your listening pleasure.

Glen Hansard/The Frames:
I was introduced to this performer's music about this time last year by a friend. "Falling Slowly," written with Marketa Orglova, won an Academy Award for Best Music a year or two ago. I have added "Fitzcaraldo" to my profile playlist, and you'll find others on my public list. For some reason I could not add "Falling Slowly" to my playlists, thought it was already there but it wasn't. "Ohio Boatman" made me think of the early to mid 1800's, back when riverboats and canal boats plied the Ohio River and in northern Ohio, the canals between New York and Ohio. One of my gg grandmother's brother's was a boatman, who died in Illinois at a young age in 1854. The title intrigued me so I gave it a listen, and added it to my public playlist because I liked it so well.

Don Allen:
I've been closely connected to this singer/songwriter for more than 40 years now. You won't find any of his music anywhere but in his head or from him personally if you can get him to sing and play guitar for you, but that's not to say that he shouldn't have any top hits. Family and close friends have listened to his music for many years. I have one of his songs, sung by Heidi, on my computer, but I can't figure out how to add it to either my blogspot or myspace sites. If I ever do, or if anyone knows the answer as to how I can do it, I'll gladly add it and you'll hear some more good music.

Hope this makes you think about your favorite music, feel free to share yours with me or on your blog spaces. Since you are reading this here, I've included the link to my MySpace site, which has my music playlists.
http://www.myspace.com/hookedongenealogy