Mowing the Lawn

Good music is one of the joys of my life. What is it about good writing set to music or just the right combination of sounds that lightens the soul? Maybe that has something to do with why I enjoy folk music and the singer/songwriter tradition. The words and instruments seem more accessible.  While writing this post, I'm listening for the first time to a song called Gravity by Eddie from Ohio.  Why bury lyrics like these under an overproduced sound: I've got this fear of falling that I'm trying to overcome. You and I know I'd never jump. Whom I'm trying to kid. But just imagine the sensation. There's no such thing as an atheist on the thirty-second floor. As an adult, I've also developed an appreciation for the power and wonder of classical music, especially when I can listen to it live. Thelma and our kids probably remember the summer of 2007 when I returned from London positively brimming with excitement after attending a performance of Elgar's En...

Given how much I miss Thelma, it's only fitting that the song of week should be about love and longing. I've chosen "Tomorrow is a Long Time". I'm not sure who wrote it. I know Dylan and Elvis have covered it, but the version I prefer is by Nickel Creek. I was able to see them perform is live at work one day. Visits from artists who sell on our sites is one of the perks of the job. Amazon.com Widgets If today was not an endless highway, If tonight was not a crooked trail, If tomorrow wasn't such a long time, Then lonesome would mean nothing to me at all Yes, and only if my own true love was waiting If I could hear his heart softly pounding Yes, and only if he was lying by me Would I lie in my bed once again I can't see my reflection in the waters, I can't speak the sounds that show no pain, I can't hear the echo of my footsteps, Or remember the sound of my own name. There's beauty in that silver singin' river, There's beauty in th...

Amazon.com Widgets To celebrate the first leg ( view map ) of our 2-day, 400-mile whirlwind of a family vacation to Lake Chelan, it's time for a road trip song. The song of the week is "Little Boy Blue (North of North Dakota)" from Jake Armerding's self-titled album. It was the last song I added to the iPod before hitting the open road this morning. Now, the lyrics may not fit the scene perfectly. June. North of North Dakota. But the sentiment is all there. Got myself a debit card, little bit of cash Petty on the speakers and I'm beating on the dash Daddy was a highway, Mama was a view I'm a little boy blue After dinner tonight I went night swimming with the kids in the pool. Braeden asked each of us what the best part of today had been. Mark and Emma named various things we had seen. For me, it was just spending time with Thelma. I'm a little bit of highway, shiny with the dew little bit of summertime, sitting next to you Never had a reason, ne...

In keeping loosely with my previous blog, my song of the week is "Testing 1, 2, 3" from the BNL album Everything to Everyone . Amazon.com Widgets To be fair, though, I've really had the whole album in mind. Thelma and I have seven BNL albums in our collection. This is our sixth. It's a soft-sell criticism of celebrity culture, corporate excess and government policy, but somehow it still manages to play like a pop album instead of a lecture. "Testing 1, 2, 3" captures the internal thoughts of someone who wants to move beyond the identity everyone else seems content to affix to them. It rings true to me when I think about people who have an overly simple and static idea of who I am or what I stand for. Testing 1,2,3 Can anybody hear me? If I shed the irony Would anybody cheer me? If I acted less like me Would I be in the clear? I remember when Thelma and I were wrapping up our time in Provo. It was the summer of 1997. Braeden was just a few months old...

I'm guessing if you ask people to name a great summer song, most of them will come up with something loud, upbeat or sunny.  Cheryl Crow, "All I Wanna Do" or "Soak Up the Sun".  B-52s, "Love Shack".  Dixie Chicks, "Goodbye Earl".  Lynyrd Skynrd, "Sweet Home Alabama". For my money, though, the perfect summer song is R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming".  It might be none of the above, but it captures for me the freedom of driving with windows down on dark, warm summer nights.  The joyful exhaustion at the end of days spent in the lake, at the river or playing volleyball on the beach. Amazon.com Widgets Nightswimming deserves a quiet night The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago, Turned around backwards so the windshield shows Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse I remember that sense of liberty knowing there was no school, no place I had to be for hours a day. I would sleep late into the morning until the sun...

My song of the week is "Gabriel's Oboe" from Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone . You can click the MP3 player below to listen to a sample. Amazon.com Widgets I was flying from Seattle to Toronto earlier this year and the album was featured on the in-flight entertainment system. I'm a fan of Yo-Yo Ma so it caught my attention. "Gabriel's Oboe" is the first song on the album. I wasn't listening for very long before I was overcome with an emotional mixture of haunt and joy. I couldn't explain it until I figured out where the song came from. The music was composed by Ennio Morricone for the 1986 film The Mission . I first came across it in 1991 when I was 17 or 18. I must have rented the VHS tape from the video store. I was overwhelmed. The film and music are beautiful. It won the Oscar for best cinematography and was nominated for best original score. But it was the story that did me in. It was the first time I realized how emotionally pow...