SiriusXM highlights CLXXI

Sunday afternoon standouts:

Lo-Fi Cafe

• Valencia Street-Lofi Coffee (Well-placed keyboard notes sustain this riff.)

Outlaw Country

• The Wheel-Patty Griffin (Good lyrics about justifiable angst that an unjust world causes.)

Real Jazz

• Take The L Train (To Brooklyn)-Brooklyn Funk Essentials (I knew I was in good hands upon hearing the opening interplay between between bass and trumpet.)

Record Store

• Alone Again Or-Love (This is still one of the best heart-on-sleeve tunes I've ever heard.  Calexico recorded an equally strong cover of it.) 

The Village

• Sweet Sixteenths-Alison Brown/Sierra Hull (This instrumental would segue seamlessly with Willie Nelson's version of Bach's Minuet In G.  Yes, really.)

Willie's Roadhouse

• I'll Do It All Over Again-Crystal Gayle (I like that these lyrics have the resolve of the attitude in Gerry Rafferty's "Get It Right Next Time.")

Yacht Rock Deep Cuts

• World Leave Me Alone-Ambrosia (There's a confident swagger in the lyrics, vocals, and instrumentation here.)

Yacht Soul

• I Can't Help It-Michael Jackson (One of several tracks that illustrate why Jackson's "Off The Wall" album holds up better than "Thriller," in my opinion.  You can tell right away that these are Stevie Wonder's lyrics.)

What are the odds...?

In 1996, I brought in Herbie Mann's version of "The Peanut Vendor" to play on WEW.  Less than 10 minutes after playing it, someone called the station and requested that song.  He didn't specify any particular version, but I was stunned.  I was sorry to tell him I'd just played it recently, so I couldn't play it again that day.

After I hung up, I thought, "It's refreshing that in 1996, anyone is still thinking about that whimsical melody, let alone calling a radio station and requesting it."

I still wonder if that caller was related to the listener in this first memorable conversation.

Persistent earworm alert CDXXX

As I searched for a cat photo to post on my other blog, generallyrandommusings.blogspot.com, today, the lyric, "I seem to lean on old familiar ways," from Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" ran through my mind.  It applies, at least subconsciously sometimes, when I'm choosing photos I've taken for my Watchcat protocol posts.  During a pleasant season, such as Fall or Spring, I'm often inclined to seek out photos from previous Autumns or Springs.  Similarly, during the Christmas season, I often search for cat photos that tie in with the holiday.

Consequently, I sometimes return to the same photo files for inspiration more than I realize.  I'll think, "Ah ha!  This photo would make a good post, so I'll use it today.  Wait...No, I won't.  I've used it already."  Other times, I'll think, "This is a good photo of (this particular cat or these particular cats), but surely, I must have posted it already.  Wait...I haven't?   There's today's post, then."

That second reaction led to today's posted photo of Sammy the cat from May 2010, striking a dignified pose in front of a bookcase.  Sometimes, "old familiar ways" yield a result you didn't anticipate.

A murky verdict X

How did Lily feel about one member of a choir leading the singing during the replay of an Easter Mass on April 5, 2026?  I'm still not sure:

Actually, I'm still not sure how I feel about it, either.  I'll just say diplomatically that the lead vocalist's singing was...adequate and leave it at that.  I understand why Lily maintained an ambivalent poker face during the hymns.

Context? CDXXXIV

Taking a cue from the unusual Carpenters cover tune I've written about, my cat, Collette, has instructed me to tell visitors, "Collette, she no home."

I don't feel right phrasing it that way.  Besides, who's in charge of this residence anyway?

I'm not going to answer that.

Context? CDXXXIII

A radio talk show host chided himself for drawing a blank this morning.  After mentioning that listeners could call in, he asked, "What's the phone number here?  I've only worked here for 30 years."

Although my memory of phone numbers is generally strong, I understand why the host was flummoxed temporarily.  When part of your work routine becomes so rote that you don't have to think about it, it's easy for it to slip your mind occasionally.

At work, I frequently have to refer callers to certain phone numbers that I've read off hundreds of times.  Despite committing them to memory, I always read the phone numbers off of a form.  While it's unlikely that I'll forget them, it's wise to always have that reference sheet handy--just in case.

Feeling down? II

Today, I'm remembering a post I wrote in 2014.  After Peter Magyar's defeat of Viktor Orban in Hungay's parliamentary election Sunday, I'm thinking once again of Pete Seeger's reminders to those who think there's no hope for the human race.  In Larry Long's rendition of Seeger's "Well May The World Go," Seeger asks pessimists if they would have predicted the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall, the way in which President Richard Nixon had to resign, or South African President Nelson Mandela's release from prison.  Seeger then reminds them that if they couldn't predict those things not to be confident they can predict there's no hope.

Congratulations to all Hungarian residents yearning for a true democracy.  Here's hoping the anti-authoritarian ripples spread sufficiently to America.