Carry On (fun.)

No commentary this morning.  Don't read anything into it.  Just seems that all the elements came together to make sense to me. I heard this song (new to me) on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Tuesday night (if you are not familiar, go go go watch it now; Season 2 just started on NBC, and Season 1 is available on Hulu!), and the poem popped up in my inbox Friday morning.  Aren't I a lucky woman to magnetize these works of art into my personal Universe? ... 💞

And this:

SONG:  Carry On by fun.

BOOK:  The Listening Path: The Creative Art of Attention (A 6-Week Artist's Way Program) by Julia Cameron

POEM:  [i don't know what living a balanced life feels like] by rupi kaur

i don't know what living a balanced life feels like

when i am sad

i don't cry i pour

when i am happy

i don't smile i glow

when i am angry

i don't yell i burn

the good thing about feeling in extremes is

when I love I give them wings

but perhaps that isn't

such a good thing cause

they always tend to leave

and you should see me

when my heart is broken

i don't grieve

i shatter

QUOTE:  “I have been thinking lately about what it would be like to lose the compulsion to create, to make poems, or any kind of art. Would I miss it? My life would surely be less hectic, spiritually speaking. I am curious, but curious the way I am curious about what it is like to be something I can’t even conceive of being, like a stone, or the sound of water dripping. Another state of being I will have to write my way toward, I guess.” ~ Marc Pietrzykowski

Midnight Radio (Stephen Trask)

From today's Writer's Almanac:

It's the feast day of Saint Cecilia, who was the patron saint of musicians because she sang to God as she died a martyr's death. She was born to a noble family in Rome near the end of the second century A.D.

She remained a virgin her whole life. When she got married, she told her new husband, Valerian, that she had a guardian angel who told her to remain a virgin. She sent her husband out to the countryside to be baptized, and when he came back, he found her in her chamber with the angel.

Both Cecilia and Valerian were martyred for their faith. First Valerian was killed, and then they tried to kill Cecilia in an overheated bathhouse, but she found the temperature pleasant. They then tried to behead her, but it didn't kill her. So they left her, and she lay there, bleeding and singing, before she finally died three days later.

Henry Purcell composed music in her honor. Raphael created a piece called "The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia." Chaucer wrote about her in the Second Nonnes Tale, part of his Canterbury Tales.

Ah, music - where/who would I be without it? I recently wrote the following in our folk club newsletter, as I attempted to pass the baton of editor (which never did happen, but that's a whole other story):

"Regardless of any official roles, I will always love the music and I spend a good bit of my day listening to and reading/writing about it - music is in my blood, my breath, my DNA. When I joined the BFC over 10 years ago, it was as an active, albeit alone, listener - my horizons have broadened beyond description and I'd like to think I'm paying it forward every time I post to the sf_folk list, attend a concert or recommend an artist...

Music is palpable and visceral and life-changing (oh my!) and it's heartening to find others who feel the way we do... which brings us full circle to the life-long conundrum, attributed to many: "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture." - ultimately, just find a way to allow the notes to course through your veins on a daily basis. Sing, pick, hum, strum, twirl, bop, snap, stomp - whatever it takes to inhale, release and spread the joy... Just Do It! "

Today's song came into my life via Dar Williams' new CD, Promised Land - I recall seeing Hedwig and the Angry Inch years ago, but don't remember much. When I listened to Dar's cover of Stephen Trask's song from the soundtrack, it finally resonated - as I had the opportunity to tell Dar in Atlanta recently, I find it to be the companion piece of her Are You Out There... to which she replied: "Me too!".

When I think of my most vivid music discoveries/immersions, I recall them taking place afterhours... in the dark... in the dead of night - as Dar writes in her song-by-song interpretation of End of the Summer: "This is my ode to all the small radio stations and late night radio heroes who changed the lives of millions of kids out in the suburbs. I never knew about Vin Scelsa's show growing up, but I did discover New York's Pacifica station, WBAI, and from them I learned the "politics of love and music" and felt like a secret radical."

In her intro to the song, Dar speaks of the crackly radio waves insinuating their way through the suburban hedges into the rooms of impressionable kids - I was one of those teens affected, who felt the radio was speaking directly to me. I recall discovering WREK and WRAS, the radio stations of Georgia Tech and Georgia State (respectively), and hearing songs that moved me waaaaay out of my comfort zone (which was already pretty expansive, I believe): Jukies Ball by Dan Hicks, You've Got to Suffer if You Wanna Sing the Blues by David Bromberg, Things I Think I Think I'll Find by Eric Quincy Tate, etc. - I perked up when I heard a tune that I just *knew* had to be Joni Mitchell on harmony vocals, but I had no clue who the lead singer was (until it was announced post-set)... and I went all over town the following day, finally tracking down Blue River by Eric Andersen (still a favorite).

I remember my senior year of high school, when it seemed all we did was drive around in... ahem... "an altered state of consciousness" (and I still graduated with top honors - whew!), singing at the top of our lungs: Traffic's Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys, Elton John's Your Song, Neil Young's Heart of Gold - one night we were way out in the woods (think Blair Witch Project), passing the liquid-or-lit illegal-substance-du-jour (noir?) around... and someone had the wonderful idea of singing James Taylor's Mudslide Slim and the Blue Horizon in its entirety... which we did... :-)

I think of the hours in my college dorm room, having a Joni marathon, all her albums stacked and dropping one-by-one on the turntable spindle - I rewind to another in-the-woods experience with my then-boyfriend, now-husband, on the way to a Cat Stevens concert, unable to keep our hands off each other...

I flashback to Christmases past, decorating the tree with my children, ever-present candles and cocoa and The Roches' We Three Kings - I am reminded of many a road trip in which I am the only one awake, driving and singing to one of my latest mixes... or a Top Ten know-all-the-words-to-every-tune CD... or my iPod on shuffle.

Even today... I cry over songs in our UU hymnbook... I sigh when I listen to a favorite recording that goes straight to my heart... I grin when I hear a tune that I know will be on repeat play in my car (or kitchen boombox) until I've processed the words and melody - goddess help me, I hope I always will...

P.S. Another SMM...

[ Added 11/23/08: I found the following posted to one of my music discussion lists this morning - "Bill Moyers talks with Mark Johnson, the producer of Playing for Change, a remarkable documentary about the simple but transformative power of music." ]

SONG(S): Midnight Radio by Stephen Trask (from the soundtrack of Hedwig and the Angry Inch)

Are You Out There by Dar Williams

BOOK: All Shook Up: Music, Passion, and Politics by Carson Holloway

POEM: I love the dark hours by Rainer Maria Rilke

I love the dark hours of my being.
My mind deepens into them.
There I can find, as in old letters,
the days of my life, already lived,
and held like a legend, and understood.

Then the knowing comes: I can open
to another life that's wide and timeless.

So I am sometimes like a tree
rustling over a gravesite
and making real the dream
of the one its living roots
embrace:

a dream once lost among sorrows and songs.

QUOTE: "Music is moonlight in the gloomy night of life." ~ Jean Paul Richter

Talk to Me (Joni Mitchell)

My friend M was nominated for the following award, and tagged me (below) - I told her it was both a hoot and an honor and I'd graciously accept... and it even comes in silver, my favorite color... of hair *and* jewelry... :-)

" schmooze (shmz) Slang v. intr. To converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.

Now, it is my turn to share the wealth and pass along the honor to 5 worthy bloggers. But, which ones? There are so many lovely schmoozing ladies and gents out there! Ok, using the definition of schmooze above, I nominate:

My dear friend Susan at Optimistic Voices because she is lovely and southern and is the best schmoozer I have ever met! This woman never, ever takes no for an answer and you find yourself groveling at her Birkenstock-clad feet and thanking her for it.

So, here are the Schmoozer Rules:

1. If you are the recipient of The Power of Schmooze Award, write a post with links to 5 blogs that have schmoozed you into submission.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the award.

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Power of Schmooze Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (there is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog). "

So... I guess I earned this award honestly as M, who's known me over a decade, can attest - I'm one of those people that can talk to anybody... but what I've come to think that *really* means is that I *listen* to everybody. Whether it's the doctor's waiting room or in line at Target or in a group of friends, I just seem to have one of those faces that invites conversation - when I'm with someone, I'm paying attention and giving them my whole self. I am genuinely interested in other people and their stories, stories - I am fascinated by the life experiences of others...

My persuasive powers do tend along the lines of Roslyn Carter's steel magnolia reputation, as I grew up in Atlanta and still maintain a Southern drawl (one friend refers to my voice as mellifluous) - I'm easy-going and have a high tolerance for frustration, which makes some people (mistakenly) think doormat. I go out of my way to avoid conflict and attempt to accommodate everyone's way of thinking/doing... but when push comes to metaphorical shove, if I feel strongly about something, I have no trouble expressing my opinions and preferences - I believe this behavior traces back to growing up in an alcoholic household, where my father "accused" my mother of controlling everything/everyone. I didn't/don't want to be that so I lay low if the choice is immaterial to me - however, I *will* make a decision if no one else steps up!

Back to the power of schmoozing... I've always been a people person and, whether coordinating our elementary school PTA Cultural Arts Fair or organizing a crossing-state-lines-for-a-favorite-musical-artist road trip or booking a monthly concert series, I do believe I have the gift of encouraging people to "sign up" - I'd like to think it's not that I'm trying to sell the proverbial bridge or swampland, but because I'm enthusiastic about my passions... and how in the world could anyone resist and not be thrilled about being involved as well?!?

Come on, Just Do It - you know you want to (and the first one's free... :-)

P.S. My book choice not only fits the theme, but is also perfect because M turned me on to Elizabeth Berg's writing when we first met... <3

SONG: Talk to Me by Joni Mitchell

BOOK: Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

POEM: What I Like and Don't Like by Philip Schultz

I like to say hello and goodbye.
I like to hug but not shake hands.
I prefer to wave or nod. I enjoy
the company of strangers pushed
together in elevators or subways.
I like talking to cab drivers
but not receptionists. I like
not knowing what to say.
I like talking to people I know
but care nothing about. I like
inviting anyone anywhere.
I like hearing my opinions
tumble out of my mouth
like toddlers tied together
while crossing the street,
trusting they won't be squashed
by fate. I like greeting-card clichés
but not dressing up or down.
I like being appropriate
but not all the time.
I could continue with more examples
but I'd rather give too few
than too many. The thought
of no one listening anymore—
I like that least of all.

QUOTE: "When we talk about understanding, surely it takes place only when the mind listens completely - the mind being your heart, your nerves, your ears - when you give your whole attention to it." ~ J. Krishnamutri