Comments Off on O Come All Ye Faithful – RIP Sandy Hook Angels
O Come All Ye Faithful – RIP Sandy Hook Angels
On this weekend when so many Americans need emotional support and a sense of stability in the wake of the unspeakable incidents that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I rediscovered a video which has repeatedly brought comfort to my soul. When I write about “The Note For Which There Is No Name” (Blood To Blood) I think of Mariah Carey and the angelic beauty she communicates in this version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.”
At 2:40, there is an indescribable look on Patricia Carey’s face as she gazes at her daughter. That gaze speaks of years of struggle, love, sacrifice and reward. It is a look that revels in the honor of knowing that your “mom work” paid off.This look of pure love and joy almost always brings a smile to my face.
Nevertheless, today my heart breaks when I see the parents of the angels who were taken from us at Sandy Hook; angels whose parents will never have the opportunity to gaze lovingly at them as they live out their dreams. Angels who will never see their children again in this life.
God bless the parents and children of the angels of Sandy Hook. God bless our country and show us the Light.
My father passed away a few days ago. His health had been declining for a long time, so it was not an unexpected event. Nonetheless, the melancholy felt while viewing old family photos runs deep.
Some of my happiest memories of my dad are from when I was a small child. There is a particular soundtrack to these memories: music that evokes the golden glow that covered the world as seen by my young eyes and processed by my yet-to-be-jaded mind. My dad had very interesting tastes in music; he was old school and conservative, a lover of classic country, 70s soul, vintage reggae and classical music. When I was little, the radio played almost 24-7, and my adult need for having constant music playing is due, in part, to the fact that my dad *always* had the radio on in the house and in the car.
As my father lay in an irreversible coma during the last days of his life, his body was unable to do much, but the nurse informed me the hearing is the last thing to go. I immediately went out and purchased a little cd player/boombox and a few CDs on my way to the hospital. Unable to find any Charlie Pride, or Tom Jones (two of his favorite artists) I grabbed Mozart, Puccini and Chopin compilations. As the family surrounded dad in love, prayer, laughs and memories, the music played in the background.
That is until the daft thing thing stopped working. “Daft,” as well as “what the sam hill,” is the type of polite expletive my father, a consummate gentleman, would use during stressful times, usually behind the wheel while driving through Assachusetts traffic. Unlike me, his artsy, outspoken daughter, he never swore.
Frustrated, I took the malfunctioning boombox back to the store. Fortunately, it was discovered that my son’s little boom box/radio actually did the trick, after having been written off last year as a lost cause when his scratched Sesame Street CDs refused to play. Rejoicing, I grabbed it on my way back to the hospital. The last thing dad heard in this existence was Mozart’s “Serenade in G” and “Piano Sonata No. 15 in C” playing on continual loop in the background, right by his pillow.
After dad’s soul left this plane of existence, the lyrics of a song started to play in my mind. The song’s melody was clear, but the words, heard when I couldn’t have been older than 4, were a mystery; I could only recall a few:
Baby I know. I know I could be so in love with you.
The melody evoked warm feelings of childhood joy, innocence and head-to-toe happiness, the emotions I basked in at the time of my life when those emotions ruled all.
But what the sam hill was that song?
Immediately I typed the remembered words into Google search and found the song: “Oh, Babe What Would You Say” by Hurricane Smith. Listening caused me to relive those ebullient feelings of a simpler time when a smiling, kind man with a big heart would play hide and seek with me in the living room and reward me with a Hershey bar, when he would smile at me with loving eyes and my world felt safe and warm. I wept with tears of wonder while downloading the song from iTunes. It’s been playing on continuous loop ever since.
In Loving Memory
Thank you daddy for sharing your love of music. Thank you for the wonderful memories. Thank you for being my father. It is my prayer that you enjoy the music of the One Soul forever.
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“Oh, Babe What Would You Say” – Hurricane Smith
This song started playing in my head almost immediately after my dad passed away a few days ago. I have been constantly playing it on continuous loop ever since.
The version I downloaded from iTunes is just as my subconscious remembered it; featuring a lush background of big band strings and horns with a glorious saxophone solo.
I love this song. Joy ensues every time I hear it. Memories of my loving dad as the center of my world flood my senses with every note. Reading the comments from others around the ‘net shows that I’m not alone. There is an intrinsically nostalgic vibe to this song which has withstood the test of time.
I also uncovered a performance from the Johnny Carson show.
Hurricane Smith, a studio engineer, worked extensively with the Beatles which may or may not explain the upbeat quirkiness. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
To answer the question of what’s on my current playlist, I’m listing the most prominent artists on my daily rotation. This list changes as my mood changes and I think you might be surprised at what’s on it today.
These tunes are getting ridiculous play regardless of whether they’re connected to a scene, or character, or not. Many of these songs have a direct relationship to what I’m writing, some of them have no connection whatsoever–at least none that I can see right now. Sometimes, I’ll have music on rotation for no apparent reason until one day it either hits me as to why it’s on the list, or it just starts making sense. Sometimes the characters choose the song(s) and I have little to do with it.
For the record I’m currently writing two pieces: a short story and the follow-up to Blood To Blood.
One of my favorite all-time muses is Van Hunt. I interviewed him back in the mid 2000s, but had fallen in love with his eclectic style of music way before then.
Van Hunt
When it comes to categorizing his style, it’s impossible to squeeze his discography into one genre; he covers everything from soul, to rock, to funk, to pop.
While his music is unpredictable he’s always superior when it comes to creating a specific atmosphere and evoking a mood. “At the End of a Slow Dance” is one of my favorite Van Hunt songs, and continually haunts me years after first hearing it.
Van Hunt – “At the End of a Slow Dance”
Van Hunt’s recent album is more rock oriented and has one or two tunes that’s found their way onto my current playlist for the Blood To Blood sequel.
Out of all the thousands of songs that inspire my writing, the ones that repeatedly rise to the top come from one band. As a result, several have consistently been the top 3 Muse songs that influenced my work.
Muse
Over ten years ago when I lived in Los Angeles, the local radio station WKROQ was one of the few that gave this band any love. Since hearing them, I’ve not only been a fan of Muse, I’ve also rabidly consumed every lyric their lead vocalist, and resident mad man/genius, pens.
I could rant about Matthew Bellamy’s brilliance, the band’s amazing live performances, etc. etc. but that’s another post. Right now I’d like to talk about their impact on my writing and share with you the the top 3 Muse songs that helped shape my book.
Top 3 Muse Songs
Invincible
– This song is the biggest musical thread in the fabric of Blood To Blood. It is a rally cry disguised as a love song. Absolutely brilliant. “Whatever they say, your soul’s unbreakable.”
Unintended
-This love song is one of their most haunting songs. It is the inspiration for a couple of romantic scenes in the book.
Map of The Problematique
– This song changed my writing. Seriously. In part, it was responsible for introducing a level of darkness into the lives of my characters, particularly Justin McCarthy.
There are many more Muse songs that inspired the tone of Blood To Blood. An honorable mention goes to “Bliss” “Cave” and of course “Time Is Running Out.”
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“The voice to me is the greatest gift… You need no other instrument, all you have to do is sing…and it’s there.” ~ Donna Summer
When I saw this quote from the late, great Ms. Donna Summer I thought it was a perfect, concise summary of how Angel Brown feels about singing.
Early in Blood To Blood, Angel says singing was her waking dream… “the only thing I could see myself doing forever.” Throughout her struggles she holds on to the only thing she has – her voice. Even when it turns against her.
Like Donna Summer, a classically trained singer who made a name for herself in the Top 40, Angel embraces the music of the soul even as she belts out bubblegum pop.
RIP Donna Summer, and mad love to all true singers who dare to live their dream.
One music act that has influenced my art (writing and visual) consistently is Cocteau Twins, a Scottish 80s goth band. I first got into them through a roommate and almost immediately fell in love with their sound. Although no Cocteau Twins tunes appear on
For those of you that don’t know, there were no twins in the group. The lead vocalist, Elizabeth Fraser, is probably best known as the voice on Massive Attacks’ classic “Teardrop.”
They disbanded some time in the late 90s, and I always thought it was a crime that a band with a sound this ethereal never got the recognition it deserved. Many would agree, the music is timeless and atmospheric.
My go-to albums are the darker ones where Elizabeth doesn’t bother to sing real words but somehow the lyrics are packed with life-changing meaning.
Treasure is my breathless favorite and features a number of songs that are on the playlist to the follow-up to Blood To Blood
“Ivo” – 3:53
“Lorelei” – 3:43
“Beatrix” – 3:11
“Persephone” – 4:20
“Pandora (for Cindy)” – 5:35
“Amelia” – 3:31
“Aloysius” – 3:26
“Cicely” – 3:29
“Otterley” – 4:04
“Donimo” – 6:19
My Top 3 from this album…
1. “Donimo” always leaves me wanting more. This one song has inspired a number of scenes involving angels:
2. “Pandora” I cried when I first heard this. Sometimes I still do:
3. “Lorelei” – Rather happy but just as ethereal
Very Honorable Mentions:
“Pearly Dewdrops Drops” What human words can describe this song? Surely this is the sound of something Higher.
“Musette and Drums” Sheer brilliance. Best with headphones at the moment when darkness softly devours the last of the daylight:
Last week I realized The Voice is a fraud. The show that distanced itself from the superficiality of American Idol proved to be even shallower. And I’m still upset!
At least AI doesn’t try to pass itself off as any more than what it is; a popularity contest for under-30 wannabe professional singers. The Voice, with its more or less blind judges promised that it would serve as a platform for all talent regardless of looks and age based on only one requirement: that they could really sing.
So why was “the one to beat” Jesse Campbell taken off the show in an “Instant Elimination” that didn’t even involve the audience? Even the show’s host Carson Daly, was “thrown for a loop.”
“A Song For You”
Was it a commentary on Christina’s lack of skill as a vocal coach? Watching the re-run of the episode I saw the foreshadowing Rolling Stone pointed out. You could see it on her face. She knew she was going to give him the ax. Perhaps she couldn’t take him any further than she did and had to cut him loose.
“What A Wonderful World”
Perhaps it was the result of the industry’s innate ageism. At 43ish Campbell is hardly the typical Top 40 flavor-of-the-month. Or perhaps the winner of the Voice has already been identified by the show’s producers. Whatever the reason behind this decision, one thing’s for certain, Jesse Campbell is on to bigger and much better things. Perhaps he should’ve chosen Cee-lo or Adam?
“Halo”
Either way, Godspeed to him and his beautiful daughter. I’m not sure I’ll be watching this show again without feeling duped and jaded… but I do love, love, LOVE Juliet Simms:
Comments Off on My Muses: Death Cab For Cutie “I Will Possess Your Heart”
Death Cab, like Radiohead, is one of those bands that I play all the time to the point that I wonder if it’s healthy for my son.
To give you an example, one day we were driving along the countryside in Dekalb county (Georgia, Atlanta area). It was a bright and sunny day, and as always iTunes was piping through the stereo. Death Cab’s “I Will Possess Your Heart” was playing. And my 5 year-old was singing it verbatim.
I realized that this must have been the thousandth time he’d heard this tune, and for a moment I wondered if it was normal, after all it’s a pretty intense song.
But then again, what is normal? I recalled the dark and hyper-sexualized songs I’d grown up listening to and never caught the real meaning until I was in college (some even later, like Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” I had absolutely no idea that was about reaching orgasm until the new millennium, but I’d never seen this banned version of the video either, eewww!). I figured he’d be fine as long as I continued to balance out the Death Cab with Backyardigans, The Wiggles, The Muppets and less dark, more family-friendly bands like Coldplay and U2.
This particular tune has a play count of over 300 in my iTunes. That was after my computer crashed and wiped out my play counts. It’s right up there with the most popular songs from my Blood To Blood playlist, but ironically it’s not on that playlist. Nonetheless, I crafted a good amount of Justin’s interior monologue while listening to it:
I imagined Justin saying these lyrics, or something like them, in his head whenever he spent any time with Angel:
How I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me. It’s like a book elegantly bound but, in a language that you can’t read. Just yet.
You gotta spend some time, Love. You gotta spend some time with me. And I know that you’ll find, love I will possess your heart. You gotta spend some time, Love. You gotta spend some time with me. And I know that you’ll find, love I will possess your heart.
There are days when outside your window I see my reflection as I slowly pass, and I long for this mirrored perspective when we’ll be lovers, lovers at last.
You gotta spend some time, Love. You gotta spend some time with me. And I know that you’ll find, love I will possess your heart. You gotta spend some time, Love. You gotta spend some time with me. And I know that you’ll find, love I will possess your heart. I will possess your heart. I will possess your heart.
You reject my… advances… and desperate pleas… I won’t let you… let me down… so easily. So easily.
You gotta spend some time, Love. You gotta spend some time with me. And I know that you’ll find, love I will possess your heart. You gotta spend some time, Love. You gotta spend some time with me. And I know that you’ll find, love I will possess your heart. You gotta spend some time, Love. You gotta spend some time with me. And I know that you’ll find, love I will possess your heart. I will possess your heart. I will possess your heart.
That’s *so* Justin. Wow. Now that I’m thinking of him again, I need to run and write some more of the Justin story I’ve been working on.
I am heartbroken to learn of the passing of my friend, the one and only musical genius, Quincy Jones. Quincy touched my world as both a cherished mentor and as also as someone I looked up to for his deep impact on virtually every form of American music.
