Fit for just Autumn or every season?

John Gorka's "Out Of My Mind" conveys the attitude of "Easy come, easy go," better than perhaps any other tune I've heard.  Considering the situation in which the man who takes someone's car finds himself, it's baffling yet strangely refreshing that he can still maintain an "Oh, well" attitude while whistling about his plight.  It's an interesting choice to convey Autumn's aspect of loss on the Philo Records compilation, "When October Goes: Autumn Love Songs."

An overlooked cover tune XXXIX

Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song" has always impressed me.  It takes courage to admit feeling as vulnerable as the protagonist about which Flack sings.  On the Erin Bode Group's CD, "Requests," Bode covers the tune convincingly in the lower part of her vocal range.  I never hear any radio station play it, but it would fit in well on any credible smooth jazz station.

Persistent earworm alert LXXII

After spending more hours asleep than planned one recent day, a rap song I hadn't thought about in years came to mind.  If you listened to KMJM in 1983, you might remember "New York New York" by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.  (To the uninitiated, this is not the tune Frank Sinatra made famous.)  Sleeping longer than planned made the lyric, "I would probably sleep my whole life away," play on a mental loop.  Recalling the tune's other lyrics made me remember what a grim picture it paints.  It's one of the bleakest, most out-of-character-for-me songs that I've ever experienced as an earworm.  Here's hoping my next earworm is more comforting.

Warning: No-window-shattering zone ahead

I've never understood why some drivers feel the need to crank up their music to maximum volume.  Not only is it distracting to other drivers and ear-splitting to other passengers in the driver's car, but the music itself becomes distorted and difficult to listen to.  A former co-worker said he once applauded when one driver's loud music shattered the car's back window.  I can't say he was wrong to react that way.

Persistent earworm alert LXXI

With Labor Day approaching, "Part Of The Union" by Strawbs has run through my mind these last two days.  It's not a song that would infiltrate my thoughts ordinarily.  Although I've never had a union job, I have to appreciate the accomplishments unions have made in making working conditions safer and fairer. 

Knowing how my mind works, Rush's "The Trees" will probably run through my mind repeatedly on Arbor Day.

Wouldn't write that now

Approximately 30 years ago, the conductor of a youth orchestra in which I played asked the bassists not to play a short passage in a piece.  Instead of just crossing out the passage he mentioned, I penciled in, for good measure, "No damned bass!"  I don't remember if I was in a bad mood or just feeling punchy that day.  To any professional musicians who may have used that score later and had to erase that excessively profane reminder, my apologies.  Please know that I wouldn't do that today.

Movie or concert? Hmmm...

The annual brochure for an orchestra in which I played during high school promoted its concert tickets as costing "less than the price of a movie."  Granted, there probably weren't many potential concertgoers who were on the fence between seeing "Platoon" in a theater and watching young musicians play Stravinsky's "Petrushka."  Still, I'd like to believe that the promotional angle of "less than the price of a movie" made some people think, "I go to movies all the time.  I don't see Classical music performed nearly as often.  Why not support some talented musicians?"  At least, that's the illusion I've chosen to preserve these last three decades.

I started this blog three years ago today.  On September 1, 2014, I had no idea if I'd have enough music and radio-related thoughts to sustain this blog for more than a year.  It turns out that I have more memories and more thoughts about the current state of music and radio than I realized. Thank you to everyone who enjoys reading my daily postings.