Peaceful - Kenny Rankin

We have a nice light snow falling today. I doubt it will stick. But it's nice. Soft. Like a sprinkling of confectioner's sugar sifting over a crystalline world. It's peaceful. Like this song. Peaceful, cozy, comfortable.


Peaceful by Kenny Rankin from his 1967 debut album "Mind Dusters"



Kenny Rankin website

Chocolate Jesus - Tom Waits

It's Sunday and I'm feeling a bit irreverent. It's gloomy outside, too, which makes for a perfect Tom Waits mood. So, here you go. No stories. No ramblings. No background on the either the song or the artist. Just the song. Enjoy.

Chocolate Jesus by Tom Waits from the 1999 album "Mule Variations"



Tom Waits website

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Monty Python

Today is my mother's birthday. Twenty-six years ago today, she underwent a radical mastectomy, removing her left breast and lymph nodes for stage 3 breast cancer. Her odds for survival weren't real good then, but survive she did. Then, just a few days after being released from the hospital, she contracted a staph infection and had to be readmitted. She was put on life support and my dad was advised to prepare himself and us girls for a life without her. A few days later I went to visit her at the hospital after school (I was barely 17 years old at the time) and as I was walking down the hall to her room, I heard her voice sing out, "Life's a piece of shit When you look at it ..." and that's the moment I knew she would not only survive, she would thrive.

So, yeah. This is a very sentimental song for me. It's how I knew my mother was going to live.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from Monty Python's 1979 movie "The Life of Brian"



Monty Python website

Happy birthday, Mom. I love you.

What's New Pussycat? - Tom Jones

I'll be the first to admit that not all the songs that get stuck in my had are even remotely close to being considered good songs. Take this one. Cheesy and annoying as all get-out. But, stuck it is just the same. I'm not even close to being a Tom Jones fan. Sure, he's got great tone, but he's always belting. It would be so nice if he'd whisper a love song every once in awhile rather than screaming it into your ear. Of course, that's just me. Maybe there are people out there who ... well ... maybe, not.

What's New Pussycat was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and originally recorded by Tom Jones as the title song for Woody Allen's 1965 film debut by the same name. The song was nominated for an Academy Award (Can you believe that? THIS song? Ack!) and reached #3 on the US pop charts in 1965.

Now, don't get me wrong. I actually like Burt Bacharach as a songwriter (just do not let him sing). Hal David, too, for that matter. They've written some really great songs over the years - Walk On By, I Just Don't Know What To Do with Myself, On My Own, Alfie, One Less Bell to Answer, and many more - but this is just not one of them. Still, it is catchy and all it takes is a simple passing thought to get it started on it's annoying little loop inside my head and once it starts its next to impossible to boot it out. Woah-oh-woah-oh-woah-woah-woah!

What's New Pussycat? by Tom Jones from the 1965 movie soundtrack for "What's New Pussycat?"



Tom Jones website

Burt Bacharach website

Hal David website

I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones

This is so very much my life these days, so much going on around me and all I can do is sit there as it happens.

I love The Ramones. Have for decades. They are, and always have been, one of those bands that, no matter how rotten my mood, can just snap me out of things.

Regarded by some (argued by others) as the first punk rock band, The Ramones formed in 1974 in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. The original line up of the band was Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Colvin) on lead vocals & bass, Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) on lead guitar, and Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Hyman) on drums. It wasn't long after the band formed before Dee Dee realized he couldn't sing and play bass at the same time, so lead vocals went to Joey. Of course, it wasn't long before Joey realized that he couldn't sing and play drums at the same time. While they were auditioning drummers, Johnny's former bandmate, Thomas Erdelyi, would sit in. It soon became obvious that he knew the how to play the band's songs better than any of the auditioners, so he took on the moniker Tommy Ramone and officially joined the band as drummer. They recorded their self-titled debut album in 1976. Tommy got tired of touring and left the band in 1978 when he was replaced by Marky Ramone (Marc Bell). They released 14 studio albums, the last being "¡Adios Amigos!" in 1995. While there were a few rotations in the line-up over the years - Richie Ramone (Richard Reinhardt - drums, 1983-87), Elvis Ramone (Clem Burke - drums, 1987) and C.J. Ramone (Christopher Ward - bass, 1989-96) - Dee Dee, Johnny, Tommy, Marky and Joey will always be The Ramones to me.
Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Hyman) died of lymphoma in 2001.
Dee Dee Ramone died of a heroin overdose in 2002.
Johnny Ramone died of prostate cancer in 2004.

I Wanna Be Sedated by The Ramones from the 1978 album "Road to Ruin"

The Headphonist - Kinky

"Sometimes I feel like every single thing has a sound. And if it does, what kind of shape does silence have?" I woke up with this in my head. LOVE this song! Everything about it - the rhythm, the words, the groove, all of it!

Formed in 1998 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Kinky plays a rock-n-roll that is heavily influenced by Latin music with a nice bit techno just for spice. They have released 6 albums since 2002.


The Headphonist by Kinky from the 2003 album "Altas"



Kinky website

Kinky MySpace page

Kinky Facebook page

Blue Monday - Fats Domino

Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino was born in 1928 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He first attracted national attention in 1949 with the song "The Fat Man" which featured his soon-to-become trademark rolling piano playing. He no longer tours, preferring to stay in Louisiana claiming it's the only place he can find food he likes to eat. There were rumors that he died in 2005, a victim of hurricane Katrina, but those rumors were dispelled when the US Coast Guard rescued Fats Domino and his family from his destroyed home in the Lower Ninth Ward.

Blue Monday was written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew in 1955, recorded by Fats Domino in 1956, and became one of the first rhythm and blues songs to make the Billboard charts, peaking at #5.

Blue Monday by Fats Domino from the 1957 album "This is Fats"



Fats Domino Rock & Roll Hall Fame page