Category Archives: music

March 14, 2013 · 23:53

Padre Steve’s Favorite Story Songs

I like songs that tell good stories. Unfortunately many of them are sad stories, which makes them somewhat different than sad love songs. Sad love songs generally don’t really have to have a story other than what Lieutenant Frank Drebin said in the Naked Gun: “It’s the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day.”

However these songs are about life, disappointment, tragedy as well as real events and people. Sometimes they deal with love, other times loss and sometimes real world events and people. Some are songs that appeal to simpler times, but all tell stories.

I think that songs that tell stories speak to us in ways that we might not otherwise expect. But then for me music is something that can reach my heart in ways that written words cannot. Most of these songs come out of the 1960s and 1970s, which I really think was the time where such songs were most influential and popular. There are others that I could list her but for now I will leave you with these.

Please enjoy them.

Peace

Padre Steve+

Terry Jacks Seasons in the Sun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhQ13geD2OA is an English adaptation of Jacque Brel’s song Le Moribond.

Gordon Lightfoot The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0DqPSF2fyo is about the loss of the large bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior in 1975.

Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCpsD0ZDfus is a song that speaks about a father who is too busy for his son as the son is growing up and finds that when he is old that his son has “grown up just like me.”

Billy Joel Piano Man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0 tells the story of a bar musician and is a fictionalized retelling of his life before he became famous. His song Goodnight Saigon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJFmRA7ousE is an ode to the Vietnam Veterans that came out as the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial was being constructed.

Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler’s The Ballad of the Green Beret http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34CXcgJURbg was written after Sadler recovered from wounds that he received in Vietnam.

One song that has always gotten me is the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Mr Bojangles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3YMyW0SqmU was written by Jerry Jeff Walker and recounted his meeting a street performer in a New Orleans jail.

Elton John’s Candle in the Wind http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoOhnrjdYOc was written in honor of the late Marilyn Monroe.

Gilbert O’Sullivan’s Alone Again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_P-v1BVQn8 is a really sad and introspective song about a man who struggles with life.

The Beatles Yesterday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIc6AH_2TEs is about the break up of a relationship and was the first Beatles song that only one member sang, in this case Paul McCartney.

Janis Joplin’s Me and Bobby McGee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHkBv-AtKDA was written by Kris Kristofferson and recorded by others before it became a number one hit for Joplin after her death to a heroin overdose in 1970.

Abba’s Fernando http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv_-6XQyIq0 is a song of two veteran’s of the Mexican Revolution remembering their younger days in that conflict.

I have always liked Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcrEqIpi6sg

Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods Billy Don’t Be a Hero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0lKmznjgfQ is an anti-war song that they recorded and released just before Paper Lace in the United States and deals with a love story set amid the Civil War.

Paper Lace’s The Night Chicago Died http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryVh9BuwOs4 tells a fictional story of a police shoot out with the Al Capone gang.

Cher’s Gypsies Tramps and Thieves http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOSZwEwl_1Q is the story of the daughter of a Gypsy family and her struggles to survive.

Joan Baez’s The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnS9M03F-fA was originally written and recorded by Robbie Robinson and Levon Helm of The Band. It tells the story of a Confederate soldier in the closing days of the Civil War.

Bobby Gentry’s Ode to Billie Joe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHpkYI5_FY is a Southern Gothic type song about suicide, grief, emotional separation and other tragedies set alongside the banal happenings of everyday life.

Coven’s One Tin Soldier http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qswm7lHp7oY is another anti-war song but is a story about tow peoples and the desire of one people to attain the treasure held by the other, a treasure that was to be shared, that of peace on earth.

Arlo Guthrie’s City of New Orleans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfxoM6trtZE was written by Steve Goodman and is set on a nostalgic and bittersweet ride on the Illinois Central Railroad’s City of New Orleans. It was released in 1971 at a time when my family still road the railroads to cross the country and I can feel the emotion of those trips when I hear the song.

Barry Manilow’s Copacabana http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU8TAkl7Tbg is the story of a tragedy that unfolds in the lives of a singer named Lola and her bartender boyfriend Tony in a clash with a mafia don named Rico at the famed New York nightclub Copacabana. Unlike most of Manilow’s songs and for that matter most of these story songs, it is a Disco song.

Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj4nJ1YEAp4 became the epitome of a story song that spawned a number of movies.

Olivia Newton-John’s Please Mister Please http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULJ3KrFwdbA is a song about a woman who cannot bear hearing a song that she associates with her lost love when people play it on the bar jukebox.

Linda Ronstadt’s Blue Bayou http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58id5JIzFao is a sad song about a woman who has lost her love and is away from home longing to return.

The Eagles Lyin’ Eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk1g6jJTsXY is one of a number of story songs by that super-group and is the story of a woman who has married a rich old man, but unfulfilled enters into an affair while lying to her husband about it.

I think the way to end this list is with Tony Orlando and Dawn’s Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Old Oak Tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3ouKAhxZbQ

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Tagged as abba, alone again (naturally), arlo guthrie, balland of the green beret, barry manilow, barry sadler, billy don't be a hero, billy joel, blue bayou, bo donaldson and the heywoods, bobbie gentry, both sides now, candle in the wind, cat's in the cradle, cher, copacabana, coven, disco, eagles, elton john, fernando, gilbert o'sullivan, goodnight saigon, gordon lightfoot, gypsies tramps and thieves, harry chapin, janis joplin, jerry jeff walker, joan baez, joni mitchell, kenny rogers, kris kristofferson, levon helms, linda ronstadt, lyin' eyes, marilyn monroe, me and bobby mcgee, mr bojangles, nitty gritty dirt band, ode to billy joe, olivia newton-john, one tin soldier, paper lace, paul mccartney, piano man, please mister please, robbie robinson, seasons in the sun, steve goodman, story songs, terry jacks, the band, the beatles, the city of new orleans, the gambler, the night chicago died, the night they drove old dixie down, tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree, tony orlando and dawn, wreck of the edmund fitzgerald, yesterday

February 24, 2013 · 23:55

Padre Steve’s Favorite Peace, Protest and Social Justice Songs

I grew up in the turbulent times of the 1960s and 1970s. I can remember when Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr were assassinated. I remember the terrible massacre at My Lai in Vietnam. I remember the racism that was part of the fabric of the times that I grew up, the struggles of African Americans, Asians, Mexican Americans and other minorities to become part of our society and the struggles of women for equality and the emergence of the Gay rights movement. I guess that means I have just a bit of non-conformist radical in me. Oh well, could be worse.

That was a turbulent time and one of the key elements in it was the music. The music often provided an entry for people who might otherwise have not supported various people’s struggle for justice, equality and peace.

I am not going to go into a lot of detail about each song but each has a message. Some were not in your face protest songs, but they became anthems for various movements. While one does not have to agree with the message of the songs or evens the movements that they have come to represent it is hard not to deny their importance in the shaping of our country over the past 50 years.

One of the saddest songs of the era was Dion DiMucci’s Abraham, Martin and John http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPdYViBu0is which was a ballad about the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr and John F Kennedy.

Barry McGuire’ Eve of Destruction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExH7h9Lk5HY was one of the most acclaimed and derided songs of the era. Released in 1965 it boldly attacked many injustices in society. After McGuire became a Born Again Christian he released a similar song called Don’t Blame God for the Sins of America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3HjUOxy-O8 is a haunting rock song that though written and released in 1974 that speaks truth even today.

Coven’s haunting One Tin Soldier http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XoETkduqPs was the theme song for the film Billy Jack. It is a song that speaks of the greed that underlies so many wars and the terrible cost of those wars.

Paul Revere and the Raiders Cherokee Nation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ojRQ15My7s spoke of the crimes committed against the Cherokee’s and other Native American tribes over the course of American history.

Helen Reddy’s hit I am Woman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmifO2sKT7g became the anthem of the Women’s rights movement.

Edwin Starr’s War What is it Good For? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01-2pNCZiNk is a classic and blatant anti-Vietnam war protest song that reached number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1969. It has endured and was placed on a list of inappropriate songs by the conservative talk radio conglomerate Clear Channel after the attacks of 9-11-2001.

Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIekamBDiAw&list=PLE40E6F3D5BB9DC23&index=13 deals with the effects of the Vietnam War on Americans. Released in 1984 ten years after the end of the war and two years after the dedication of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall.

Bob Dylan’s Blowin in the Wind http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWwgrjjIMXA though considered by many to be a protest song is more of an introspective and philosophical song dealing with questions of war, peace and freedom.

The folk trio of Peter Paul and Mary was deeply involved with much of the 1960s protest movement and their songs, particularly The Times they are a Changing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oU7M4OeSRM and If I Had a Hammer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaWl2lA7968 are legendary.

The Kingston Trio recorded Pete Seeger’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBtT9NfWtbE in 1961. Seeger had adapted it from a Cossack folk song which Seeger learned of when reading Mikhail Sholokhov novel And Quiet Flows the Don. It is considered one of the most influential political songs ever written and been recorded by many more artists over the years.

Isley Brothers Fight the Power http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tLp3p4okmg which was release in 1975 was noted for its use of the word “bullshit” which was censored on the radio and its negative portrayal of authority figures in general.

Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods Billy Don’t Be a Hero http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0lKmznjgfQ was also released by Paper Lace. In 1974, its anti-war message, couched in terms of the story of a Civil War soldier who leaves his fiancee to volunteer. The Heywood’s version hit number one in the US and Canada while the Paper Lace version hit number one in England, but never charted above number 96 on the US Hot 100.

Inspired by Dylan’s Blowing in the Wind the legendary Sam Cooke wrote and recorded A Change is Gonna Come http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaNzxniXxYE Cooke was inspired to write the first draft following a sit-in protest in Durham North Carolina in 1963. The song was released following his death and was recorded and released later by Otis Redding.

Simon and Garfunkel Sound of Silence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hUy9ePyo6Q was written and recorded following the assassination of John F Kennedy.

Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBfjU3_XOaA released in 1969 was a protest song about the Vietnam War and criticism of the children of political and economic power brokers who avoided serving in the war. It was used in the movie Forrest Gump.

Janice Ian’s At Seventeen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMUz2TNMvL0 is a song about the ugly ducking’s, and the cruelty of adolescents, school popularity and the fears and anxieties of growing up.

Aretha Franklin’s Respect http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o1Bg7yBxQo released in 1965 is considered a hallmark of the Feminist Movement.

Don McLean’s American Pie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr-BYVeCv6U is not really a protest song, but the poetry of the song which deals with the death of Buddy Holly in 1959 touches on a wide range of themes and issues of the 1960s and early 1970s.

The Hollies He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1KtScrqtbc is another one of those songs that isn’t a protest song, but does speak of responsibility for others.

Vicki Lawrence’s The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaTH3a7u8kU talks of the injustice found in a small Georgia town when an innocent man is arrested, tried, convicted and executed for a murder that he did not commit and the revenge found by his sister.

The Byrds Turn, Turn, Turn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q95iQJk-nq8 was adapted from the Bible, the Book of Ecclesiastes by Pete Seeger. Though Seeger recorded it the song became a major hit when recored and released by the Byrds. Though written as a folk song it is most often noted as a plea and prayer for peace.

And with that I wish you peace,

Padre Steve+

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Tagged as a change is gonna come, abraham martin and john, american pie, anti-war movements, aretha franklin, at seventeen, barry mcguire, billy don't be a hero, blowin in the wind, bo donaldson and the heywoods, bob dylan, born in the usa, bruce springsteen, cherokee nation, civil rights movement, coven, creedence clearwater revivial, dion dimucci, don mclean, don't blame god, edwin starr, eve of destruction, fight the power, fortunate son, he ain't heavy he's my brother, helen reddy, i am woman, if i had a hammer, janice ian, kingston trio, one tin soldier, paul revere and the raiders, peace songs, peter paul and mary, protest songs, respect, sam cooke, simon and garfunkel, social justice songs, the byrds, the hollies, the isley brothers, the night the lights went out in georgia, the sound of silence, the times they are a changing, turn turn turn, vicki lawrence, war what is it good for, where have all the flowers gone?, women's rights movement

February 15, 2013 · 00:00

Padre Steve’s Top 25 Lonely Hearts Club Valentine Day Love Songs

I have spent many Valentine’s Days away from my wife Judy over the course of my military career. I am spending another Valentine’s Day again tonight as she is in Virginia and I hold the duty pager for the Naval Hospital here in Camp LeJeune NC in order to give my staff time with their wives. I will, Lord willing see her tomorrow when I head home for the President’s Day weekend.

In all of these times I have loved music. I remember dating Judy and every week bring in new LP albums or pop 45 singles on vinyl back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Most of the songs were popular on the radio and I would hear them on American Top 40.

I find that music expresses love in ways that I find difficult to do on my own. Perhaps this is because of the fact that I am a historian and not a poet or artist. Here are 25 of my favorites of all time. They are songs that express the emotions of love, love embraced and love requited the joy of love and the agony of losing it.

These are songs that men and women express the feelings of those who have loved, lost and longed for love. They are songs of men and women who sometimes are geographically far away but still close and others that can be sitting next to each other but be as far from each other emotionally and even spiritually as Earth is from the furthest star system in the galaxy.

I think that in my life that many speak to the relationship that I have with the woman that I have loved since the day that I met her back in the late summer of 1978.

I think any compilation of love songs has to begin with Barry Manilow’s“Weekend in New England” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOoHuibwHGI I think for me, as a career military man who has spent many years away from my wife, sometimes in harm’s way the questions asked in the song resonate. “When will our eyes meet?” “When can I touch you?” “When will this long journey end and when will I hold you again?” have particular meaning and they are part of the longing that I have.

The Carpenter’s breakthrough hit “Close to You” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6inwzOooXRU written by Burt Bacharach is a song that is fitting for the love that many young lovers feel when they first meet. I remember when we first started dating I could hardly stand to be away from Judy. The song is more one of infatuation than actual love, but I think unless we first have that infatuation that love often remains dormant.

Bread’s classic mellow ballad “If” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzgBULcFaLw is a song that expresses an almost eternal nature to love.

Jim Croce’s hit “I’ll Just Have to Say I Love You in a Song” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN1nMpmC0n4 is one that expresses how badly the words often come out when we try to communicate with the one that we love. There are so many times the words that I have said have not come across how I meant them. So much of a relationship that is based on how we communicate that care and love for each other, the lament that “every time I’d try to tell you, the words just came out wrong” can be true for many of us.

England Dan (Dan Seals and John Ford Coley) “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxdsk-cFX-k Sometimes when we love someone we somehow lose contact, or maybe have grown apart emotionally. The song begins with small talk on a phone call and is the words of someone who wants very badly to be together again with the one that he misses.

In a similar vein to “I’d really love to See You Tonight” but perhaps even more heart wrenching is Paul Davis’ “I’Go Crazy” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L886mjb0O8 because the woman that he loves is now with someone else and he sings “when I look in your eyes I still go crazy. That old flame comes alive, it starts burning inside…”

All couples sometimes have arguments and sometimes those arguments lead to complete silence and even the break up of a relationship. Sir Cliff Richard’s “We Don’t Talk Anymore” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htZir_Taizg is one of those songs where one partner blames the other for the breakup and boldly states that he isn’t losing sleep over the end of the relationship. Not a very good way to go, but a very real feeling for many people in the Lonely Heart’s Club.

Olivia Newton John and Cliff Richard’s duet“Suddenly” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkNDPQ4UfeU is a song that is a 180 out from We Don’t Talk Anymore. This song is one that speaks of a deep love and admiration for each of the two people in the relationship that they are willing to do anything and go anywhere to be with one another.

The Dr Hook hit“Years from Now” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfsPeVVL8zE is one that always manages to bring a tear to my eye. It came out about a year after Judy and I started dating and even though it is now well over 30 years since I first heard it I imagined the future, now we are deep into it and I feel the same way. One verse says “I know this world that we live in can be hard, Now and then and it will be again, Many times we’ve been down,Still love has kept us together the flame never dies, When I look in your eyes the future I see.” Since we have gone through many difficult times it is a song that is intensely personal and one that I almost feel that I could have written the lyrics.

David Soul riding high on his success in Starsky and Hutch released “Don’t Give up on Us Baby” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY8APrYU2Gs in 1977. It hit number one in both the US and UK and was his one big hit. It is a song of a man trying to convince a woman that they have a relationship that is more than just one night. “Don’t give up on us, baby, We’re still worth one more try, I know we put a last one by, Just for a rainy evening, When maybe stars are few, Don’t give up on us, I know, We can still come through.”

Dan Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xnyHG96vY8 is a song that means a great deal to both Judy and I. The words are somehow haunting and healing. One verse and the chorus really get to me. “Romance and all its strategy leaves me battlin’ with my pride, But through the insecurity some tenderness survives, I’m just another writer, still trapped within my truth, A hesitant prize fighter, still trapped within my youth. And sometimes when we touch, the honesty’s too much, And I have to close my eyes and hide, I wanna hold you till I die, till we both break down and cry, I wanna hold you till the fear in me subsides.”

Van Morrison wrote “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ4NAZPi2js in 1989. Recorded and released by Rod Stewart in 1993 it is a song that originally was written as a prayer by Morrison. It is sung at many weddings and it a song that I will stop and listen to whenever I hear it.

The Australian duo Air Supply is known for their mellow love songs and one of them“Two Less Lonely People in the World” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RidVsFXE2Y0 is one that I like. Sometimes I think that had I not met Judy that I never would have married. I am quite the introvert and often a loner that prefers the adventure of being independent and adventurous and does not like to be tied down. When my father retired from the Navy in 1974 I thought that my life was over, because we were going to remain in one place. Judy had spent most of her life in one city but I took her away from that because throughout my life I have been afflicted with this wanderlust and spirit of adventure. That being said the fact that we are together means that even though we are often apart that there are still “two less lonely people in the world tonight.”

Meat Loaf’s “I Would do Anything for Love” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GNhdQRbXhc from his 1993 Bat Out of Hell Album is one of the big world wide rock power ballads of the past two decades. The focus is probably more on the physical relationship that some of the other songs in this list but it has a resonance because the physical is also a big part of why we fall in love with each other. “As long as the planets are turning, As long as the stars are burning, As long dreams are coming true, You’d better believe it, that I would do, Anything for love, And I’l be there until the final act, I would do anything for love, and I’ll take a vow and seal a pact…”

Elton John’s “Your Song” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTa8U0Wa0q8 is a tender ballad of a musician who has little to give his love except a song.

Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEwNcnklcsk is a song that hits hard at a situation that many couples that love each other find themselves. That is when for whatever reason they find that they need to be away from each other, but the key is that they find their way back.

REO Speedwagon’s “I Can’t Fight this Feeling” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqJK29zsO44 is actually quite good because it is a song that sees a relationship go from a friendship to something more, something that sometimes scares the people involved because somehow we often think that we don’t want to “ruin the friendship.” I really think that any relationship that is meant to be has to begin with friendship and the words in the song “What started out as friendship, Has grown stronger. I only wish I had the strength to let it show” is a reality for so many people.

Bonnie Tyler’s “It’s a Heartache” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8VGQTtENSs has been recorded and been a hit for Juice Newton and Rod Stewart as well as Tyler. It is a song that speaks of the pain of a broken relationship when one of the people involved is more dependent on the other person than that person is committed to them.

Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xGkscrvMjE is a song that describes the breakup of what may be an illicit love affair. Since a lot of people become involved in such relationships it is a powerful reminder of the pain associated with the end of those relationships.

A similar theme is part of Laura Branigan’s “How am I Supposed to Live Without You” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN6JBTGcr68 though it seems that this song is not about an illicit relationship but the betrayal felt by a person who finds that the one that they love is leaving them.

I find a lot of commonality with Journey’s power ballad “Faithfully” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMD8hBsA-RI. Written about the love of a couple, one of whom spends his life on the road as a musician and rediscovers his love for his bride. I think that it is a song that any man or woman in the military, or for that matter any other profession that spends much time away from home can relate.

The tender ballad by Kiss“Beth” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbtO_Ayjw0M is a song that I think expresses how many people deal with the tension between what they love and who they love. The song is about a man who promises to come home as soon as he is done playing music with his band and keeps calling back until finally he admits that he will not be coming home that night.

Blondie’s Heart of Glass http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU is another song that talks about misplaced love and how many relationships appear to be real but then end with at least one partner hurting and wondering what happened.

Abba“One of Us” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIKAe8Wi0S0 is another song about a relationship where one partner thinks that they can do better only to find out that they were wrong. The chorus “One of us is crying, One of us is lying, In her lonely bed, Staring at the ceiling, Wishing she was somewhere else instead, One of us is lonely, One of us is only, Waiting for a call, Sorry for herself, feeling stupid feeling small, Wishing she had never left at all….” finds an echo in many of the people that I meet.

Finally there is a song that from the first time I heard it has been a song that speaks to me about my love for Judy. It is a song that like Dr Hook’s Years from Now, is a reminder of how far we have come and how much we have been through. That song is Kenny Rogers’ “Through the Years” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzEwadgcZnQ which was released in 1982, a year before we were married.

Tonight I was with my friends but away from Judy and home. My friends can related to many of the stories having been through broken relationships, divorce and even the death of their spouses. They are a special group of friends and I am glad to call them friends. They are a Lonely Heart’s club in a way.

Have a happy Valentine’s Day evening and may your love grow strong.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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February 6, 2013 · 23:41

Padre Steve’s Favorite Popular Television Theme Songs

Well it is time for something less serious tonight and since there is plenty of seriousness to go around on the internet I felt like going back to music. For a while now I have been thinking back, thanks to the Sirius Satellite Radio Seventies on Seven channel about popular songs from television shows that became hits on the Billboard charts.

I don’t know about you, but some of these songs bring back great memories, even of I wasn’t a regular viewer of the shows. Part of this is because a number were always on the radio, particularly on American Top 40 when I was doing the dough rolling and food preparation duties when I worked at the Shakey’s Pizza Parlor in Stockton California.

Of course very few of them were recorded then, but the fact that I was hooked on the AM Pop radio of the 1970s and 1980s meant that I picked up some songs simply because they were on the air as well as on television.

We don’t see many themes from television programs being big hits anymore. I am not sure for the reason but I think that a lot has to do with the proliferation of “reality TV” shows that rely more on people’s intense voyeuristic needs for entertainment than did the sitcoms and dramas of earlier days. As such most of these show do little or nothing for theme songs.

Most of my favorites come from the 1970s and 1980s, of course those were years where I followed more television shows than I do now. Some come from earlier and one, I’ll be There for You was from the 1990s.

I have always loved Joey Scarbury’s Theme to Greatest American Hero “Believe it or Not” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4JCehDOy54 or live on Solid Gold countdown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUEFHZFLAyM . Since I am also a Seinfeld devotee I remember George Costanza (Jason Alexander) making up his own version of the song as his answering machine song.

Finding it too funny I did the same for our answering machine at one time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg-TqEFYcfM. Maybe I need to do it for my I-Phone now.

John Sebastian recorded Welcome Back the theme to Welcome Back Kotter, a song and television show that was very popular when I was in high school. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6o0Cah5kQU

The Theme from Happy Days was very popular during the 1950s’ nostalgia that gripped the country when I was in junior high school. Recorded by Pratt and McClain it remained part of American life through the early 1980s as Ron Howard and Henry Winkler made the fiction 50s come alive during the turbulent 1970s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tqc4FKNzWU

Cindy Grecco recorded Making our Dreams Come True for the show LaVerne and Shirley which was a spin off from the popular Happy Days. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JijyXS6Sb30. I had pretty much forgotten about the song until I heard it on the Sirius 70s channel.

Other songs that were Billboard hits from sitcoms included Waylon Jennings song Good Old Boys for the series The Dukes of Hazard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIVMSnPVXfI and Steve Carlisle theme to WKRP in Cincinnati http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jRXt2Bt1Sc .

One hit from a comedy that was not an upbeat song was by Johnny Mandel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gO7uemm6Yo who sang the haunting theme from the movie M*A*S*H, Suicide is Painless. It was a Billboard hit when the movie came out, but when it remained as the theme for the television show it was done as an instrumental introduction. One can understand why, but the song was popular after the release of the movie and became the official song of the Army Medical Department in the 1980s.

One tie in that I have to the series is when as a young enlisted man http://search.peopleschoice.com/v/26948942/and-the-9th-annual-favorite-television-comedy-series-is-m-a-s-h.htm . I am somewhere on in the group of soldiers to the left of the cast at the end of the video. I think I can find me, but my screen isn’t big enough to honestly say if the person I think is me is me.

The theme from SWAT by Rhythm Heritage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHnx-z0I7SM was one of several instrumental hits for police or detective shows. Other instrumental favorites included several by Mike Post who arranged the instrumental theme to Magnum PI starring Tom Selleck. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIi9iTsbhtg, the theme to Hill Street Blues http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSOeRqNtQtM both of which made the top 40 as did his theme for the Rockford Files staring James Garner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXtpoO_DlDM

Another police drama song, the them to Miami Vice was recorded by Jam Hammer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQDU-2qMre0

The Rembrandts recorded their hit I’ll be There for You for the hit sitcom Friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUSXZAtCaRQ

David Naughton recorded Makin’ It http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91D58RuHyVU was recorded for a show called Makin’ It which was far shorter lived than the popularity of the theme song.

Some earlier themes included Dragnet by Ray Anthony from the 1950s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChE5GHKsgHU Henry Mancini did the theme for Peter Gunn in the 1950s and 1960s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dechpnavTyA which was reintroduced to people like me through the Blues Brothers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CHjYHwNzx0.

Hawaii Five-0 which was very popular in the 1970s them made it high on the Billboard Hot 100 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASvQ-bNURn4 and has been re-done for the new rendition of that show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwhvByj8YG8

One of my favorites, and possibly my favorite of all times is the them from Cheers Where Everybody Knows Your Name by Gary Portnoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-mi0r0LpXo

These songs are like old friends. When I hear them it is like I am in place where “everybody knows my name.” So anyway, thanks for allowing me the diversion tonight.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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December 22, 2012 · 11:38

Padre Steve’s Look at Christmas Rhythm and Blues

R&B Christmas - (front)

American Christmas music has been enriched by the influence of Jazz, Blues, Gospel and what came to be known as Rhythm and Blues in the 1940. I have always loved R & B and some of the most memorable songs about Christmas come from the African American experience and the R & B genre.

R&B as it became known was what record labels marketed music by American American artists. It became popular with White Americans as well with audiences in Europe and the musical influence was felt in the early days of Rock and Roll as Elvis Presley’s musical style incorporated many facets of this rich tradition.

R&B Christmas music incorporated a good amount of faith found in Black Churches of the time as well as the reality of life including poverty, brokenness and loneliness.

Rather than listening to political commentary, news or sports lately I have been spending a lot of time this year listening to a wide variety of Christmas music. For me it was a time of rediscovery of the variety of Christmas music that is part of our life including that of the legendary R&B artists. Now while I was familiar with many of these artists, for me their Christmas songs were new and refreshing, despite in many cases being recorded before I was born. Some of course were new versions of songs already made popular by people like Bing Crosby or other crooners. I know I have heard almost all of these songs but to hear so many of them was a joy for me. Some caused me to laugh even as others brought tears to my eyes.

So enjoy some of the great Christmas songs recorded by the legends of Blues, Jazz and R&B.

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Fats Domino Christmas is a Special Day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTgBZfA6LQE

Christmas time
Everybody sings hopeful of joy
Ding-a-ling bell rings
Christmas day will soon be here
Thou’ get come but once a year
Christmas is a special day
Don’t forget to go to church and pray
Santaday we’re never ‘lone
That’s the day our saviour is born
Yes one day when we will lost
Yes he died upon a cross
Yes he died for one and all
So our soul wouldn’t be lost

Yes he died for our sins
The 3rd day he rose again
What a man, oh what a friend
Let all his life for our sins
Jesus did on Calvary at the age of 33
Yes he died for our sins
The 3rd day he rose up again
What a man, oh what a friend
Let all his life for our sins
Jesus did on Calvary at the age of 33
Christmas day is finally here
Don’t get come but once a year
Christmas is a special day
Don’t forget to go to church an pray
Don’t forget to go to church an pray
Don’t forget to go to church an pray

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Santa Baby, Eartha Kitt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOMmSbxB_Sg

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Charles Brown, Please Come Home for Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itdNoGtPQ3I

Bells will be ringing the glad glad news.

Oh, what a Christmas to have the blues.
My baby’s gone. I have no friends
To wish me greetings once again.
Choirs will be singing Silent Night.
Christmas carols by candlelight.
Please come home for Christmas.
Please come home for Christmas.
If not for Christmas, by New Year’s Night.

Friends and relations send salutations
Sure as the stars shine above,
Because it’s Christmastime, my dear.
The time of year to be with the one you love.

Dear, won’t you tell me you’ll never go wrong.
Christmas and New Year’s will find you home.
There’ll be no more sorrow, no grief and no pain,
‘Cause I’ll be happy, happy once again.

Mmmmm, no more sorrow, no grief and no pain,
‘Cause I’ll be happy Christmas once again.

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Lionel Hampton Boogie Woogie Santa Claus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQlJSgqzXzY

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Booker T and the MGs Merry Christmas Baby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAuVbtCYChs

EttaJamesBlogImage

Etta James This Time of Year, When Christmas is Near http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKyuaTun5R8

1991-ojays

The O-Jays Christmas Just Ain’t Christmas and New Years Just Ain’t New Years Without the One You Love http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xttf75_o-jays-christmas-just-ain-t-christmas-new-year-s-just-ain-t-new-year-s-without-the-one-you-love-1973_music

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The Platters (Paul Roby) Christmas Time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aci25FzNiIQ

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The Drifters White Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgGcrvApljY

ellafitzgeraldxmas

Ella Fitzgerald The Christmas Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGtiLouJWuU

PearlBailey

Pearl Bailey 5 Pound Box of Money http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIflovCenXA and It’s Cold Outside http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeGXHKzdZwg

Hey Santa Claus, You want to make me happy this year?

Listen to me, honey, Give Pearl something that would be of some use to me, Like a five pound box of money

Now there’s a little gift, That’s loaded with, Lots of sentiment

See, when I get blue, Santa, I’m gonna think of you

But at the same time have a little change to pay my rent

Now, money isn’t everything, There’s no two ways about it

But while we’re here, Santa dear, It’s much better with it than without it

So really, I could be real good, And not do nothin’ funny, If you do like I ask you

Stop by right on Christmas night, And try me, try me, try me on that money

Just try me, honey, Santa, can you hear me?

Have you listened to everything I’ve been asking you about?

Listen honey, Santa dear,, The New Year would be so bright and sunny

Just bring me that simple thing that I’ve been speaking to you about

And bring me a five pound box of money, That’s all, that’s all

It would be so heavenly, And help me meet both ends, yes indeed

But old Pearl been needin’ bad, A five pound box of tens, Really, how much could that weigh?

I don’t want the whole money tree, What good is that big thing to me?

You keep the branches, the trunk, and the roots, ‘Cause all I want is just a little bit of the fruit

So if you wanna be sure I’ll be yours,Little old honey, honey bunny

You can start me off on Christmas night

With a five pound – no, I better increase that, ten pounds

No, I better beg big while I’m beggin’

‘Cause you know, I might not catch you next year

‘Cause sometimes people go out and you don’t see them no more

So bring the money, Santa! Do you hear me?

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Louis Armstrong Christmas in New Orleans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFEadOKBYE

Magnolia trees, At night, Sparkling bright

Fields of cotton, Look Wintery white

When it’s Christmas time, In New Orleans

A barefoot choir, In prayer, Fills the air

Mississippi folks, Are gathering there

When it’s, Christmas time, In New Orleans

You’ll see, A dixieland Santa Claus

Leading the band, To a good old Creole beat

And golly what a spirit, You can only hear it

Down on Basin Street

Your cares will disappear, When you hear

Hallelujah, St. Nicholas is here

When it’s Christmas time, In New Orleans

Oh, yeah, baby, You’ll see

A dixieland Santa Claus, Leading the band

To a good old Creole beat, And golly what a spirit

You can only hear it, Down on Basin Street

Your cares will disappear, When you hear

Hallelujah, Old St. Nicholas is here

When it’s Christmas time, In New Orleans

When it’s, Christmas time in, In New Orleans

1985-ray-charles

Ray Charles The Spirit of Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWmgTXuNoRY

I was sittin’ by the fire side

Taking a walk through the snow

Listening to a children’s choir

Singing songs about Jesus

The blessed way that he came to us

Why can’t it remain all through the year…

album-someday-at-christmas

Stevie Wonder Someday at Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ1-duv_zNk

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Count Basie Orchestra Good Morning Blues http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhFFXHr8iO0

john lee hooker

John Lee Hooker Blues for Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIOcxEsX2pE

2001-temptations

The Temptations Silent Night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFc7STuQF0U

Nat_King_Cole-The_Christmas

Nat King Cole The Christmas Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__kQ1PCP6B0

So have a very bluesy Christmas.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Tagged as 5 pound box of money, blues for christmas, christmas in new orleans, christmas is a special day, count basie, good morning blues, it's cold outside, just ain't christmas without you, merry christmas baby, please come home for christmas, santa baby, silent night, someday at christmas, the christmas song, the spirit of christmas, this time of year when christmas time is near, white christmas

December 20, 2012 · 21:12

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: A Haunting Song of Hope

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Judy Garland singing at a Bob Hope USO show in Stockton CA in 1943

There are some songs at Christmas that despite their relative newness as compared to ancient carols seem to strike a chord that resonates deep in the hearts of people. One of those for me, and probably many others is the song Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The music written by Ralph Blane and the lyrics by Hugh Martin for the musical Meet Me in St Louis and first performed by Judy Garland in that film. In the movie Garland’s character sings the song to her younger sister after their father announces plans to move from their home of St Louis to New York for a job.

The lyrics for the musical were changed because Garland’s director Vincent Minnelli and co-star Tom Drake felt that Martin’s original lyrics which began with “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas, it could be your last. Next year we may all be living in the past” were too depressing. The lyrics were changed to “let your heart be light, Next year all our troubles will be out of sight” in response to their request. The words sung in the musical by Judy Garland have a haunting but very real feel for people who face uncertainty at Christmas, as such they were very meaningful to the US military personnel who heard them at the front in the Second World War.

As originally produced they reflect a hope for a better future as opposed to a carefree present. As such they are probably much more appropriate to our current time than in the mid-1950s when Frank Sinatra recorded a modified version of the song for his album A Jolly Christmas.

Sinatra asked Martin to “jolly up” the line “we’ll have to muddle through somehow” and Martin changed it to “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough”.

garlandxmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g4lY8Y3eoo

Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in “Meet Me in St Louis” 1944

Have yourself a merry little Christmas.

Let your heart be light.

Next year all our troubles

Will be out of sight.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas.
Make the Yule-tide gay.
From now on our troubles
Will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more.

Someday soon we all will be together
If the Fates allow.
Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow.
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

When Frank Sinatra recorded the song in 1957 it too became a hit and the focus on present happiness rather than a hope for a better future fit the times in which it was recorded. Sinatra’s version also notes that “faithful friends gather near to us once more” instead of “will be near to us once more.”

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52db1eVHQjw

Frank Sinatra Sings “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

The song was re-written by Martin a number of times including a “Christian” version which included the words “if the Lord allows” instead of “if the fates allow.”

The song is one is one of the most recorded Christmas songs ever written and can be heard being sung by artists as diverse as Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Rod Steward, the Carpenters, Kelly Clarkson and even the Pretenders and even Twisted Sister.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzxLBdkN7OI

Twisted Sister singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

rod-stewart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JChA2MHNk2c

Rod Stewart singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

The song as recorded by Judy Garland is actually my favorite, though I also love the Sinatra version. Somehow “muddling through somehow” seems to be more appropriate in my experience.

So enjoy these versions of a song that has touched the hearts of hundreds of millions of people since it was first recorded. May it be an inspiration in these uncertain times of a hope for a better future. Maybe that makes it a better Advent song, but I digress….

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Tagged as bob hope, frank sinatra, have to muddle through somehow, have yourself a merry little christmas, hugh martin, judy garland, meet me in st louis, ralph blane, rod stewart, twisted sister

December 13, 2012 · 22:07

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day: A Prayer and Hope

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail With peace on earth, good will to men.”

It is not Christmas yet. Yes we are still in Advent and no, we have not even reached the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas. Despite the crass marketing of American retailers they begin on Christmas day not 12 days before Christmas. Sad but true.

I have mentioned in previous posts here I am listening to nothing on the radio except Christmas music. The liturgical Nazi in me let this joy go away for a number of years wanting to be liturgically correct. I admit that the season of Advent is important and I do observe it in hope and expectation. At the same time there is something special about Christmas and Christmas music. I find that even in its less religious expressions that Christmas music offers something different, more hopeful and peaceful than crashing thunder of our media overload that we see on television, view on the internet and listen to on the radio. Somehow the din of the political war, the real life tragedies that we have little control and even sports can crowd out anything calm, peaceful or good in our hearts.

One of the songs that really speaks to me is I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. I have heard it a number of times in the past few days and each time it really touches me.

longfellow_hw_3

The song has been recorded in a number of versions by different artists over the years. However, the words of the song go back to the American Civil War. It began as a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas Day 1863 following the serious wounding of his son in battle as a Union Soldier and the death of his wife in a fire.

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http://www.myvideo.de/watch/5531008/Frank_Sinatra_I_Heard_The_Bells_On_Christmas_Day

carpenterschristmasportrait

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhsUhiiicLo

I like the version sung by Frank Sinatra, which the music was composed by Johnny Marks, composer of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Another earlier version composed by John Baptiste Calkin has been recorded by Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash among others.

10000405

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcP8xvgwucs

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The words are haunting. Probably because they demonstrate the profound tension that lies at the heart of the Incarnation, which is the heart of Christmas and the Christian faith. the tension, played out so well in the song is the existence of a message of peace and reconciliation in a world where war and hatred of many kinds tear human beings apart and the tragic inability of Christendom to even come close to the message of Christmas.

I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along th’ unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

The reality of this is seen in the third verse. It is a verse that echoes throughout history and seems to be true even today.

And in despair I bowed my head

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

The interesting part about the songs as opposed to the poem is that they omit three of Longfellow’s verses, that admittedly in a reunited country would not help record sales. Those verses speak to the heart of the Civil War.

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

But Longfellow hears in the bells something more powerful. It is the message of Christmas and the incarnation. The message that justice and peace will finally embrace.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Till ringing, singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

As wars rage in the Middle East, tensions rise in Asia, Africa and even Eastern Europe while the Unholy Trinity of Politicians, Pundits and Preacher rage in conflict over another potential Fiscal Cliff, the Affordable Healthcare Act and other budgetary and social issues it is important not to give in to despair.

As Longfellow so well put in the middle of a terrible Civil War, where his son had been wounded and following the death of his wife “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Filed under christian life, faith, music

Tagged as advent, christmas, christmas music, elvis presley, frank sinatra, henry wordsworth longfellow, i heard the bells on christmas day, john baptiste calkin, johnny cash, johnny marks, the carpenters

December 12, 2012 · 23:58

Padre Steve’s White Christmas

holiday-inn-ss

I don’t do much singing nor do I play a musical instrument but I have been listening to nothing on the radio the past several days except Christmas music on the Sirius XM Sounds of the Season channel. I have stopped, for the next couple of weeks listening to sports talk radio, news and political commentary and even my beloved 1970s music. One song that appears quite regularly is the classic is Irving Berlin’s White Christmas which was first recorded by Bing Crosby for the 1942 film Holiday Inn. The song was released shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack by Crosby and has become a staple of Christmas.

Decca18429A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yg5g_Xl-uU

It is really quite Amazing, the song is the most recorded song on this planet, and possibly even on the Klingon Home World in the future, of course it will be the Twisted Sister Version that makes number one on the Klingon Charts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2JdsZ0fSr8

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When it was released in 1942 White Christmas sold over 30 million copies and remained number one on the Pop and R&B charts for 10 weeks. It remained the number one single in its initial release for over 50 years when Elton John released his Candle in the Wind 1997 written and performed for the funeral of Diana Princess of Wales. There is controversy about this as White Christmas was re-released by Decca in 1945 and 1946 and the totals for all are estimated at over 50 million copies as opposed to the 33 million of Candle in the Wind 1997. The song is the only song to ever reach the number one position on the pop charts three separate times.

The song has been recorded over 500 times by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Ernest Tubbs, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, the Carpenters, Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, Chicago, Otis Redding, Barbara Streisand and even Twisted Sister.

The Drifters version was the first appeared on the R&B chart before crossing over to the pop charts. However it was little known until it was used in 1990 film Home Alone.

1996-drifters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgGcrvApljY

A classic country rendition of the song was done by the legendary Ernest Tubb. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNzvUh-tJRY while Elvis Presley recorded hit in 1957 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3shhn_elvis-presley-white-christmas_music

So my friends, enjoy a very White Christmas!

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Tagged as barbra streisand, bing crosby, bob marley and the whalers, candle in the wind 1997, cello green, chicago, decca records, diana krall, elton john, elvis presley, ernest tubbs, frank sinatra, garth brooks, holiday inn film, irving berlin, kelly clarkson, kenny rogers and dolly parton, klingon home world, lady gaga, michael bolton, otis redding, perry como, rascal flatts, rod stewart, taylor swift, the carpenters, the celtic women, the drifters, twisted sister, white christmas

August 20, 2012 · 21:16

“It Could be Worse, it Could be Raining” Rainy Day Songs and Monday Musings

Rain is a part of life, and is such an important part of life that it can even interrupt baseball. It looks like some games may get delayed or postponed tonight, weather was threatening in DC and the East Coast. Casey Stengel once said “There are three things you can do in a baseball game. You can win, or you can lose, or it can rain.” I think this is true for much of life outside baseball.

Now much of the country has been in a drought, which despite the advantage of fewer rainouts in baseball is actually bad for most people. But unlike much of the country Eastern North Carolina has not been without rain. In fact it has been raining more days than not of late. The amount of rain has made me think about writing a piece dealing with songs about rain from the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s.

I am not a big fan of the rain, especially when it falls on my bald head. I’ve been in the military a long time and have spent many months in field environments in the US and overseas. I have never liked getting rained on. That being said when I do get rained on my mind frequently turns to music, particularly songs that deal with rain.

I feel a lot like Gene Wilder playing Dr. Frankenstein in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein when it rains. But like the Marines say If ain’t raining, we ain’t training.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AFf0ysgNiM

Since today had been another rainy Monday I figure it is as good of day as any to share of few of my favorite “rain” songs beginning with the Carpenter’s hit Rainy Days and Mondays. It really is a sad song, but Karen Carpenter’s beautiful voice is fully on display.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPmbT5XC-q0

Then there is Eddie Rabbitt and I Love a Rainy Night, which when I hear the rain coming down at night that I cannot help but think about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMZ4amjbqhU

Neil Sedaka’s Laughter In The Rain is one that was really popular when I was growing up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uec35ppYLIc

Since I grew up in California I always have a soft spot for the great song It Never Rains In California by Albert Hammond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pyC7WnvLT4

Fire And Rain by James Taylor has always been a favorite of mine, a true classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pyC7WnvLT4

However Have You Ever Seen The Rain byCreedence Clearwater Revival has to be my favorite when the rain is falling on me. I don’t know why but it is so catchy as is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS9_ipu9GKw

Mandolin Rain by Bruce Hornsby & The Range which is a mellow classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uravhL8FbY

When I am in a more cynical mood I find that Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head by B.J. Thomas does strike a chord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OKP616mA8c

Linda Ronstadt’s Cry Like a Rainstorm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMuVc0nXEhEand I Made it Through the Rain by Barry Manilow are songs that I find good for times that I feel down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqApdSxbwak

Then there are two timeless songs from the 1930s that have to be included though they fall outside the time period. Singin’ in the Rain performed by the legendary Gene Kelly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmCpOKtN8ME

and Somewhere Over The Rainbow performed by Judy Garland as “Dorothy” in The Wizard of Oz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HRa4X07jdE

So here’s to rain. Without it we die, with it we rust. But that is life, could be worse. It could be raining.

Peace

Padre Steve+

2 Comments

Filed under Baseball, Just for fun, music

Tagged as albert hammond, b j thomas, barry manilow, bruce hornsby and the range, casey stengel, creedence clearwater revivial, cry like a rainstorm, eddie rabbitt, gene kelly, gene wilder, have you ever seen the rain, i love a rainy night, i made it through the rain, if ain't raining we ain't training, it never rains in southern california, judy garland, laughter in the rain, linda ronstadt, mandolin rain, neil sedaka, rain, raindrops keep falling on my head, rainy days and mondays, singin' in the rain, somewhere over the rainbow, the carpenters, the wizard of oz, young frankenstein

July 30, 2012 · 22:43

Matt Drudge and the New Media Cynicism: We Could Use a Little Good News

“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?” Sgt Oddball (Donald Sutherland) Kelly’s Heroes

One of my favorite characters in a war movie is that of Sergeant Oddball played with such great aplomb by Donald Sutherland in the 1970 film Kelly’s Heroes.

Oddball is an unlikely hero. In the midst of war’s desolation he finds purpose, in a decidedly hippy sort of way. He is determined that no matter what happens in the war that he will try to be positive. His attitude is something that I wish most of Unholy Trinity of Politicians, Pundits and Preachers would somehow whether it be through diligent study or divine revelation discover.

I look at the Drudge Report every day. He is probably the most influential individual in media today. Millions of visitors flock to his website every day. His traffic is off the charts. Now I don’t know Matt Drudge, I just know that he has a large amounts of links to various stories and websites and I use him to jump off to see what he is reporting. He basically is show prep for most of the conservative media and blogosphere, not that there is anything wrong with that.

Drudge makes no bones about his conservatism. I remember reading him when he helped blow open the Bill Clinton- Monica Lewinski “it depends of what your definition of is is” sex scandal back in 1997. So I have been reading him for 15 years and have seen how his influence has grown.

However as I noted in a previous article called The Drudge Distort he often will twist the meaning of an article that he links to with a headline that does not resemble the actual article. His website is laid out brilliantly to define a number of breaking news subjects and form them in such a way that a reader who does not actually read the articles that he links to, simply sees a salacious, cynical, conspiratorial and just plain negative picture. It is positively depressing to look at his site. Simply look at the site layout daily. If there is a big story Drudge will have several headlines to links which mold the way a story looks and when you dig deeper you find that the actual articles don’t say what he is saying.

While the site is heavily tilted towards politics which is perhaps one of the most cynical enterprises that one can report about, the cynicism of Drudge appears to me to color everything that he reports about: sports, culture, entertainment and even religion. There almost nothing hopeful on it, unless one is into some dark schadenfruede that rejoices in the misfortunes of others. Thus it is no wonder to me that so much of the country which is influenced by the Drudge Report is so negative about everything.

Personally I don’t care how he breaks news before media behemoths. I think that a free and independent media is important and that Matt Drudge does a hell of a job at breaking news. Admittedly a lot of news is bad now days. Headlines are all that many people read when they go to Drudge and so the way he presents the news is as important or possibly even more important than the actual news

The dark and cynical message of Drudge is echoed by much of the media, both the New Media and the Mainstream media. Coupled with the 24 hour, or should I say the 1440 minute daily news cycle Drudge feeds the angst of the nation which now feeds on negativity and is amplified by cable news and the multitude of “news” services, political pundits and even preachers. Media outlets echo off of each other be they from the left or the right of the spectrum and Drudge helps drive them.

I really think that this dark culture that pervades almost all of the media is quite destructive to any productive political or cultural discussion. This is the kind of media that helped destroy the democracy of the Weimar Republic and pave the way for Hitler whose media gurus Josef Goebbels and Julius Streicher understood this better than almost all of their contemporaries.

I wonder about the mind of someone who can constantly not only dwell on the negative found in any situation but must then ensure that everyone else is infected with this. I worry about people who do that. This is not just a criticism of Drudge, but the whole media complex. One can look at history and see similar whatever media the Yellow journalism of the 1890s and

Yes there is a lot of bad news in the world. But there is also a lot of good news, except those that make the big money in media find that bad news brings in more money than good news. Admittedly some reporters will throw in the obligatory tear jerker or good news story the rends our hearts, but even then for every good news story there are scores of bad news stories.

Anne Murray had a hit song in the early 1980s called Little Good News” the last part of which said:

http://vimeo.com/5943612

I’ll come home this evenin’

I’ll bet that the news will be the same

Somebody takes a hostage, somebody steals a plane

How I wanna hear the anchor man talk about a county fair

And how we cleaned up the air, how everybody learned to care

Whoa, tell me

Nobody was assassinated in the whole Third World today

And in the streets of Ireland, all the children had to do was play

And everybody loves everybody in the good old USA

We sure could use a little good news today

Nobody robbed a liquor store on the lower part of town

Nobody OD’ed, nobody burned a single buildin’ down

Nobody fired a shot in anger, nobody had to die in vain

We sure could use a little good news today…

I just wish like Sergeant Oddball that Drudge would drop his sky is falling message and actually report something hopeful for a change. The Apostle Paul once said “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

I just wonder what would happen if someone in media, maybe even Matt Drudge actually took that advice. But then maybe I am just a dreamer.

Peace

Padre Steve+

5 Comments

Filed under movies, music, News and current events

Tagged as a little good news, adolf hitler, anne murray, cable news, clinton lewinisky scandal, donald sutherland oddball, drudge report, good news, josef goebbels, julius streicher, mainstream media, matt drudge, media cynicism, negative waves, news media, philippians 4:8, politicians, preachers, pundits, the new media, unholy trinty, weimar republic, yellow journalism

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Matt Drudge and the New Media Cynicism: We Could Use a Little Good News

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