Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Monday, September 03, 2012

I Love You. Goodbye.

Do you remember my brilliant cousin, K.C.? She's the singer/songwriter. (I mentioned "brilliant," right?) Today's her birthday. And, it made me realize I never told you about her new album: The Tag Hollow Sessions. It's awesome. Duh. But, guess what? One of the songs on the album... IS MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. (I'm a little possessive.)

Maybe I should tell you the back story.

When she produced her last album, Orchid, she did it by asking her friends and family to become her record label. She explains it better here. If you contributed at a certain level, you could choose for her to write you a song. Like I wasn't going to choose that, right?! Well, it turns out, you can't just flip K.C. to "on" and watch her crank out a song. Who knew? So, I patiently waited for my song... 

Then one day she sent me a message saying she was writing my song. Yay! As it turns out she had read this blog post. Go ahead. Read it. I'll wait... Finished? Good. Could you write a song out of that?! Me either. We suck. But, K.C. doesn't. She took that blog post, coupled it with my real life, and wrote this:

"Just in Case" (Click the song title, you can hear it on iTunes. It's song #13)
I don't wanna answer the phone.
These days are taking their toll
'Cause it's never good news calling.
And you. You are my port in the storm.
You're what I'm waking up for.
You remind me the sky's not falling.

But, just in case there aren't any more tomorrows,
Let's not waste one drop of our love on sorrows.
Just hold me close, knowing our time is borrowed.
Just in case there aren't any more tomorrows.

I was never fond of surprises.
I like the way the sun rises.
You can count on it every morning.
But, now, so many people around us,
They ain't got nothing but sadness.
And it came without any warning.

So, just in case there aren't any more tomorrows,
Let's not waste one drop of our love on sorrows.
Just hold me close, knowing our time is borrowed.
Just in case, oh, just in case

The hands on all the clocks have stopped.
The life that we once lived is lost.
I don't want to be full of words
I wish I'd said,
I wish you'd heard.

So, just in case there aren't any more tomorrows,
Let's not waste one drop of our love on sorrows.
Just hold me close, 'cause baby our time is borrowed.
Just in case there aren't any more tomorrows.
..........

Holy crap it's good, huh? And, it's MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. (Well, and Shawn's, too. But, mostly. MINE.)

She's brilliant.

And, that leads me to this:

I just heard another song. An oldie, but goodie. And, it sums up how I feel about this blog.

"Too Busy Being in Love" by Doug Stone
Songwriters: Gary Burr, Victoria Shaw
If I had taken the time
To write down a few lines
Every time you crossed this heart of mine,
I'd put them all in a book.
How much time would that have took?
The words and years have a way of slipping by.

Oh no! Too bad. There goes the chance that I had.
I could have written a play so sweet and so funny.
Given old Mr. Shakespeare a run for his money.
Written the words to the prettiest tune
That would never leave a dry eye in the room.
My only excuse for not doing enough...
I was too busy being in love.
Yes, I was too busy being in love.

Brand new phrases appear every time you are near.
All these words you inspire after all these years.
But I never reached for a pen.
Break the mood that I'm in.
Before I knew it the words were gone again.

Oh no! Too bad. There goes the chance that I had.
I could have written a play so sweet and so funny.
Given old Mr. Shakespeare a run for his money.
Written the words to the prettiest tune
That would never leave a dry eye in the room.
My only excuse for not doing enough...
I was too busy being in love.
Yes, I was too busy being in love.

I could have written a poem to make young lovers crazy.
Could have written a movie for Hepburn and Tracy.
A beautiful song and it starts with your name.
Written my way into fortune and fame.
But I have no regrets for not doing enough...
I was too busy being in love.
Yes, I was too busy being in love.
..........

Y'all. I love my family. I love my life. It's not perfect. By far. But, it's mine. And, I love living it. And, right now, I don't want to write about it. I just want to live it.

I've lived long enough to know to never say never. So, I'm not saying I'll never come back here to post. The next time I find a potato chip that looks like Abe Lincoln, I am so coming back here to write a post about it. But, until that earth shattering occasion occurs...

I'm too busy being in love.

Bye, y'all.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Music to Soothe the Raging Beasts

When our kids get tired they get hy.per. Slap-happy. Insane.

So, there are days that they come home from school acting like deranged, strung-out monkeys. And, in moments when my judgement has completely lapsed, I have let them set their lunacy to music. They like to play "dance party" music and bounce off of each other like teenagers in a mosh pit. This usually ends well, as you can imagine.

But, yesterday. It finally occurred to me to use their idea - to my end. I played "mellow" music. And, you know what? IT FREAKIN' WORKED. (Guess all those scientists really do know what they're talking about sometimes, huh?)

Lulu played quietly while Spence and I had the most un-frustrating homework session ever.

So without further ado. Here's my mellow playlist (that will be playing every afternoon at my house until. the. end. of. time) if you want to give it a try for your deranged monkeys.

*WARING: BARRY MANILOW SONGS TO FOLLOW*
  1. Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye
  2. All Out of Love, Air Supply
  3. All This Beauty, The Weepies
  4. Amazed, Lonestar
  5. Animal, Ke$ha
  6. At This Moment, Billy Vera & The Beaters
  7. Baby Blue, George Strait
  8. Baby Don't Cry, Dr. Pants
  9. Beautiful Soul, Jesse McCarney
  10. Because of You, Kelly Clarkson
  11. Because You Live, Jesse McCartney
  12. Better Days, The Goo Goo Dolls
  13. Bless the Broken Road, Rascal Flatts
  14. Breathe (2AM), Anna Nalick
  15. Brick, Ben Folds Five
  16. Broken Things, K.C. Clifford
  17. Bubbly, Colbie Caillat
  18. Can't Smile Without You, Barry Manilow
  19. Carolina in My Mind, James Taylor
  20. Come Away With Me, Norah Jones
  21. Could It Be Magic, Barry Manilow
  22. Country Road, James Taylor
  23. Daughter, Loudon Wainwright III
  24. Daughters, John Mayer
  25. Daybreak, Barry Manilow
  26. Daydream Believer, Anne Murray
  27. Defying Gravity, Glee Cast
  28. Doctor My Eyes, Jackson Browne
  29. Don't Know Why, Norah Jones
  30. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, James Taylor
  31. Down to the River to Pray, Alison Krauss
  32. Even Now, Barry Manilow
  33. Find Yourself, Brad Paisley
  34. Fire and Rain, James Taylor
  35. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack
  36. Flies on the Butter, Wynonna Judd
  37. Foolish Games, Jewel
  38. The Freshmen, The Verve Pipe
  39. Gift to Me, Martyn Joseph
  40. Glitter in the Air, P!nk
  41. Half of My Heart, John Mayer
  42. Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley
  43. Hanging By a Moment, Lifehouse
  44. Happy, Leona Lewis
  45. The Hexagon Song, Dr. Pants
  46. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), James Taylor
  47. How to Save a Life, The Fray
  48. How You Live (Turn Up the Music), Point of Grace
  49. Hurts So Good, John Mellencamp
  50. I Can't Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt
  51. I Don't Want to Wait, Paula Cole
  52. I Made It Through the Rain, Barry Manilow
  53. I Write the Songs, Barry Manilow
  54. I'd Really Love to See You Tonight, England Dan & John Ford Coley
  55. I'm Movin' On, Rascal Flatts
  56. If Everyone Cared, Nickelback
  57. If I Die Young, The Band Perry
  58. If You Could Read My Mind, Gordon Lightfoot
  59. It's All Coming Back to Me Now, Celine Dion
  60. Jack & Diane, John Mellencamp
  61. Jar of Hearts, Christina Perri
  62. Just in Case, K.C. Clifford (Ha Ha. You can't get this one yet - because it's not written about you and your husband! It's off her as-yet unreleased CD. You just have to wait. Nanny nanny boo boo. [At least I'm gracious.])
  63. Killing Me Softly with His Song, Roberta Flack
  64. Kokomo, The Beach Boys
  65. Lemonade, Chris Rice
  66. Let Love In, The Goo Goo Dolls
  67. Let The River Run, Carly Simon
  68. Looks Like We Made It, Barry Manilow
  69. Lost In Love, Air Supply
  70. Love Song, Sara Bareilles
  71. The Luckiest, Ben Folds
  72. Lucky (feat. Colbie Caillat), Jason Mraz
  73. Making Love Out of Nothing At All, Air Supply
  74. Mandy, Barry Manilow
  75. Mexico, James Taylor
  76. My Wish, Rascall Flatts
  77. Nights Are Forever Without You, England Dan & John Ford Coley
  78. No One Is to Blame, Howard Jones
  79. The Old Songs, Barry Manilow
  80. One the Way Down, Ryan Cabrera
  81. On the Wings of Love, Jeffrey Osborne
  82. The One That Got Away, Katy Perry
  83. Our Town, James Taylor
  84. Please Mr. Please, Olivia Newton-John
  85. Raise Your Voice, K.C. Clifford
  86. Ready to Take a Chance Again, Barry Manilow
  87. The Riddle, Five for Fighting
  88. Same, Olivia Newton-John
  89. Say, John Mayer
  90. She Talks to Angels, The Black Crowes
  91. She's Got a Way, Billy Joel
  92. Ships, Barry Manilow
  93. Shower the People, James Taylor
  94. (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding
  95. Slipping Through My Fingers, ABBA
  96. Small Town, John Mellencamp
  97. Something in the Way She Moves, James Taylor
  98. Sometimes When We Touch, Dan Hill
  99. Somewhere Down the Road, Barry Manilow
  100. Somewhere in the Night, Barry Manilow
  101. The Song Remembers When, Trisha Yearwood
  102. Stand, Rascal Flatts
  103. Stand by Me, Ben E. King
  104. Stolen, Dashboard Confessions
  105. Superman, Five for Fighting
  106. Sweet Baby James, James Taylor
  107. Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver
  108. Tattoo, Jordin Sparks
  109. The One's for You, Barry Manilow
  110. Through the Years, Kenny Rogers
  111. Tiny Dancer, Tim McGraw
  112. True, Ryan Cabrera
  113. Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again, Barry Manilow
  114. Unbeautiful, Lesley Roy
  115. Unchained Melody, Righteous Brothers
  116. Unfaithful, Rihanna
  117. Waiting On the World to Change, John Mayer
  118. Walking Man, James Taylor
  119. The Way I Am, Ingrid Michaelson
  120. Weekend in New England, Barry Manilow
  121. What She Is (Is Woman In Love), Earl Thomas Conley
  122. What the World Needs, Wynonna Judd
  123. When October Goes, Barry Manilow
  124. Why, Rascal Flatts
  125. Wonderful, Everclear
  126. Wonderful Tonight, Eric Clapton
  127. Working My Way Back to You/Forgive Me, Girl, The Spinners
  128. You and Me, Lifehouse
  129. You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Stevie Wonder
  130. You Found Me, The Fray
  131. (You Want To) Make a Memory, Bon Jovi
  132. You're Beautiful, James Blunt
  133. You're So Vain, Carly Simon
  134. You've Got a Friend, James Taylor
  135. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Righteous Brothers
  136. Your Body is a Wonderland, John Mayer
  137. Your Song, Elton John
  138. 100 Years, Five for Fighting
There you go. 138 mellow songs to soothe your raging beasts. First person to give me a hard time about "Kokomo" is getting kicked in the throat.

*Total Barry Manilow count: 17

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Unsolicited Shout-out

I have an unbelievable cousin, K.C. Clifford (Seriously!  Cousins.  Our moms are sisters).  She is a singer/songwriter and one of the most talented people I know.

She just released her fourth CD, Orchid.  O. M. G.  Can I use the word unbelievable again?  I honestly cannot believe I used to play dress-up with this girl.  (Random tangent:  The dress-up I remember most clearly was Grease.  And, she made me be Danny Zuko to her Sandy.  I did not like that.  But, if memory serves, I quickly found a way to get her in trouble.  Set and match.)

She doesn't only have talent, though, she works her a** off, too.  She's an honest, sensitive, compassionate, loving, beautiful person.  And, she has a pretty amazing husband, David Broyles, who is her constant companion and co-worker.  All of this (plus a whole lot of other things and people that I can't even begin to wrap my head around...  There's a guy named Will who got props in Rolling Stone, but you have to read her blog to find out about him; he's never had dinner at my house) has come together to make an amazing album.

Can you tell I think she's cool?  Or should I say a "rockstar"? (bu-dum-cha!)  Anyhoo.  Check it out.  And definitely listen to "Broken Things" and "Redman".  And "Songbird".  Oh, just go ahead and listen to them all...


Ok.  And, as long as I'm showing stalker-like fascination with K.C., I'm going to tell you about another song of hers.  It was only released as a single and was aired on The Biggest Loser.  It's called "Raise Your Voice" and it calls attention to the issue of hunger in America.

Man, you are unbelievable, Kace.


"unbelievable" count in this post: 3

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