***BONUS POST*** - Week One Hundred and Thirty-Nine: Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová - "Falling Slowly" - Once Soundtrack

Yes, my dearest Blogland readers, you are getting a ***BONUS POST*** this week. "Why?" you ask.... Well, it's a combination of the fact that I have today off from work, that I am procrastinating because I really need to be shopping for some new work clothes, and that I had the pleasure of seeing Once at the Winspear Opera House yesterday afternoon (indeed, the same place where I just saw Brian Setzer a few weeks back)!

A friend with whom I used to teach contacted me a few months ago and told me that Once was coming to town, and we just had to see it! Now, I knew that it was based on a movie, and I knew that it was also based on a sweet little tale that centered around music. What I did not know is that it included a song that had appeared on my Pandora station quite a few times in recent months. I kept telling myself that I needed to create a post about this particular tune, but for whatever reason, I would talk myself out of it and post about something else. Perhaps it was just the universe's way of telling me that another, more appropriate opportunity would present itself in the near future. Below is the cover of the playbill and my ticket stub...

 

I don't know you, but I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me and always fool me
And I can't react

And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You've made it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
The moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black

Well, you have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice
You've made it now

Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing it loud

Week One Hundred and Thirty-Nine: Bob Mould - "See A Little Light" - Workbook

Despite the fact that there are a million things happening right now, I don't have a lot to say because it is not really my story to share... However, I feel that, no matter what happens, 2015 is going to be a phenomenal year for me. I'm not sure why I feel this, exactly, but I guess you might say that I "See A Little Light"... I hope you all have a safe and lovely New Year!!!

Listen, there's music in the air
I heard your voice, coming from somewhere
But look how much we've grown
I guess I should have known

As the years go by, they take their toll on you
Think of all the things we wanted to do
And all the words we said yesterday
That's a long time ago
You didn't think I'd really go, now
Are you waiting? (I know why)
You're already saying goodbye
Are you ready? (I know why)

I see a little light, I know you will
I can see it in your eyes, I know you still care
But if you want me to go
You should just say so

 

Week One Hundred and Thirty-Eight: The Stranglers - "Always the Sun" - Dreamtime

For the second year in a row now, my boss wrote a check for an incredibly substantial amount for me to give to the family of the little girl that I mentor in Big Brothers Big Sisters. My little sis, Angelica, decided that she wanted to spend most of her portion at Hot Topic, and although I am not a fan of that store or bands like Pierce the Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, and Black Veil Brides, I kept reminding myself that at least I have saved another innocent child from falling victim to the evils of gangsta rap... She even considers herself a fan of The Cure!!!

One item that she really wanted was a pair of Airwalk sneakers. We were able to locate the exact pair of black lace sneakers that she said she had wanted forever (pictured below), but she didn't believe me when I tried to explain to her that Airwalk sneakers were huge when I was her age.

She ended up with a multitude of shirts and accessories (including a pocket watch) when all was said and done, and she was a very happy little girl, indeed!!!

After I dropped her off, I took her Granny (which is actually her great-grandmother) to spend some of the money. What Granny wanted more than anything was a Timex watch that she saw at Walmart a few months ago, and it just happened to still be there.

 

We also purchased all of the household items that food stamps won't allow them, and she still had money left over to take care of her vehicle registration for next year.

When I got home and was putting together the PowerPoint that I send my boss and his family so that they can see all the good that they are doing, I was listening to my Pandora station, and this song by The Stranglers came on.

The ironic part is that, prior to the song coming on, I was just pondering why some people get to have so much in their lifetimes and why some people have so little... I was also thinking about how wonderful the world would be if more people who were financially blessed would be more like my boss. In a way, I think this song mirrors those thoughts a bit, but in a weird twist, as I was listening to the "...there's always the sun..." part, I realized that things are probably never going to change. Just as the sun always rises and always sets, there will always be the dividing factor of wealth and poverty in the world.

Regardless, what makes my Christmas every year is spending time with Angelica and her Granny and bringing a little bit of holiday cheer their way!!!

I'm off to make some gingerbread cookies... I hope everyone has a lovely holiday, and as your present, I'll include another one from The Stranglers, from when they initially emerged as a punk band, called "Get A Grip (On Yourself)"...

 

How many times have you woken up
And prayed for the rain?
How many times have you seen
The papers apportion the blame?

Who gets to say?
Who gets the work and who gets to play?
I was always told at school
Everybody should get the same

How many times have you been told
If you don't ask you don't get?
How many liars have taken your money
Your mother said you shouldn't bet?

Who has the fun?
Is it always the man with the gun?
Someone must have told him
If you work too hard you can sweat

There's always the sun
There's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun

How many times have the weathermen told you
Stories that made you laugh?
You know it's not unlike the politician
And the leaders when they do things by half

But who gets the job
Of pushing the knob?
That sort of responsibility
You draw straws for if you're mad enough

There's always the sun
There's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun

There's always the sun
There's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun

There's always the sun
There's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun

Always the sun
Always the sun

There's always the sun
There's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun

There's always the sun
There's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun

Week One Hundred and Thirty-Seven: Stray Cats - "Stray Cat Strut" - Greatest Hits

Oh, Brian Setzer, how I adore thee so... from your perfectly pomaded pompadour to your black and white Creepers to your sweet little tale about how you have loved "the Rockabilly" ever since you were a young boy playing your guitar in your bedroom late at night to your even sweeter tale about how you played today's song one last time on your Gretsch guitar before they took it from you wearing white gloves to place it in The Smithsonian... you, fine sir, are the epitome of male debonair Rockabilly perfection!!!

Now you, my dearest blogland readers, might remember me mentioning for the past two years that I had been wanting to catch The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Christmas Rocks Extravaganza! However, for the past two years, it has been held at the Allen Events Center in Allen, TX, and on a Sunday night. This year, Mr. Setzer decided to move it to the Winspear Opera House and on a Saturday night. Therefore, I could not pass it up! Below is my pathetic excuse for a ticket stub... (don't even get me started on that):

While the majority of the songs were Christmas-themed, they did play "Stray Cat Strut", "Rock This Town", "(She's) Sexy + 17", and "Jump, Jive An' Wail"; so I will include those today. However, one of my favorites by Stray Cats is "Bring It Back Again", and I'm adding that one, as well. Last, but not least, since I already posted my favorite holiday tune by The Brian Setzer Orchestra, "In the Mood", during one of my Holiday Tunes week, today I'll share "Angels We Have Heard On High"...

I'll also include a few pages from the CD liner notes of their Greatest Hits album that gives a bit of their background... Enjoy!!!

 

  

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Black and orange stray cat sittin' on a fence
I ain't got enough dough to pay the rent
I'm flat broke but I don't care
I strut right by with my tail in the air

Stray cat strut, well, I'm a ladies cat
I'm a feline Casanova, hey man that's that
Get a shoe thrown at me from a mean old man
Get my dinner from a garbage can

Don't go crossing my path

Well, I don't bother chasing mice around
Well, I'm slinkin' down the alleyway looking for a fight
Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry
"Wild stray cat, you're a real gone guy"
I wish I could be as carefree and wild
But I got cat class and I got cat style

I don't bother chasing mice around
I'm slinkin' down the alleyway looking for a fight
Howling to the moonlight on a hot summer night
Singin' the blues while the lady cats cry
"Wild stray cat, you're a real gone guy"
I wish I could be as carefree and wild
I got cat class and I got cat style

Week One Hundred and Thirty-Six: The Mighty Lemon Drops - "Inside Out" - World Without End

I met my mother for breakfast at La Madeleine at 7:00 am. I enjoyed their Eggs Benedict, while my mother indulged in a Strawberry Crepe. As we were catching up, I explained to my mother that the biggest challenge in my life, at the moment, is nothing more than loneliness. In all honesty, it is something that I have battled for as long as I can remember.

I also believe in that theory that, until one masters a recurring problem in his or her life, the same problem will continue to manifest itself over and over until it is ultimately resolved. I am one of those individuals who has the uncanny ability to feel completely alone even while (actually, especially while) surrounded by a room full of people. I have also often felt completely alone while in long term romantic relationships. Despite knowing this, my natural inclination would typically be to find another romantic relationship on which to embark, in essence, to help me avoid my feelings, not because it is what I really want or even what I am looking for at the moment.  

So being at a crossroads in my life, where I can revert to my past methods (which obviously have not worked for me) or where I can try something new to cure my loneliness, I have decided to face it head on and all alone this time around. I know now that there is not another human being in this world who can take away the loneliness or who can create the happiness and peace of mind for which I have been searching for what feels like an eternity. The loneliness is something that I must take away myself, and the happiness and peace of mind are things that I must create for myself. Interestingly enough, the more time I spend alone, the more glimpses I get of what it is I am hoping to accomplish.

So to celebrate my most recent revelation, I am going to share a little gem by The Mighty Lemon Drops called "Inside Out", as well as another tune that I also like by them called "My Biggest Thrill"...

Waiting for the last train
Standing in the pouring rain
Thinking, wishing, hoping
that you'll never feel the same again

Lying wide awake at night
Sleeping in the morning light
Doing all these things although
I shouldn't be ashamed of them

You can't stop my heart from turning inside out
Try to stop my world from turning inside out

Clutching on the last straw
Seeing things I've never saw
Must be time I fell
Down to a place I didn't know too well

Waiting for the last train
Standing in the pouring rain
Although I'm starting to break this spell
I know I haven't got a hope in Hell

You can't stop my heart from turning inside out
Try to stop my world from turning inside out

When you've called it a day
You've had things your own way
I guess it's fair to say
I'm gonna make you pay

(Didn't get a chance
Wished inside
Holding on until you draw the line
One step forward
Two steps back
And you're gone, gone)

Waiting for the last train
Standing in the pouring rain
Lying wide awake at night
Sleeping in the morning light

You can't stop my heart from turning inside out
 Try to stop my world from turning inside out

You can't stop my heart from turning inside out
  Try and stop my world from turning inside out