SONGS OF 1982

Oh boy, after reading Bond's list, I feel saddened and deprived by the list of songs and artists that I had to choose from. What a difference 10 years makes ...

Here are the rules:
1. Go to POPCULTURE MADNESS

2. Pick the year you turned 18

3. Get yourself nostalgic over the songs of the year

4. Write something about how the songs affected you

5. Pass it on to 5 more friends

Well, here goes ... 12 songs I remember and relate to from the year I turned 18, some pretty decent, some eminently forgettable, some hideously schlocky. And a few memories ... I'll try to keep them PG.


Physical - Olivia Newton-John - some songs would have been better left unwritten. This, in my humble opinion, is one of them. I remember sweatbands and spandex at the clubs because of this song. 'Nuff said.


I Love Rock n' Roll - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - a throwback to 2-chord rock that really has nothing to do with music. Think tribal chant of the stoner crowd ...


Chariots of Fire theme - Vangelis - my mother loved this song. Need I say more?


Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder - two great music legends, one incredibly bland song. It sticks in my memory only because it took my boyfriend a month to understand the reference of ebony and ivory as pertaining to the piano, as well as to the racial differences of the two performers ... yeah, he really was that dense, but he was a cute hockey player. (Anndi understands this ...)


Don't You Want Me - The Human League - you know, after sitting on this particular post for a while, I STILL have no opinion about this song. It was real popular and I can even remember the words, but I don't remember it having that much of an impact, really, at least not on me ...


Open Arms - Journey - no THIS is what it was about for me! My first serious "not-a-high-school boyfriend" and I danced for the first time to this song at the first beergarden in my first year at university. He is a high school music teacher somwhere in Alberta now ... he played the trombone and it is true what they say about brass players ... GREAT kissers!


Eye of the Tiger - Survivor - this was my brother's "theme song" (no idea why) ... so on principal, I loved it, because my brother was (is) my hero. And, if you can imagine it, we played it in jazz band, too. I was first alto sax, and I had the melody, which was very cool.


Abracadabra - The Steve Miller Band - this is a great song, but I remember it primarily because of the filthy but funny parody my best friend wrote and PERFORMED for a school variety show (she got suspended for it ... lol).


Hard to Say I'm Sorry - Chicago - one of my favorite bands of all time ... there's just something about the sound of horns, ya know? Got to see them 5 years later which was definitely a high point in my life. I remember this song being one of the last Chicago songs featuring Peter Cetera's distinctive voice. I still miss that sound ...


Jack & Diane - John Mellencamp - most memorable for me because the girls who lived next door to me in residence my first year were named Jackie and Diane, and they played that song 24/7.


Up Where We Belong - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes - I remember the movie ... Richard Gere in uniform ... ohhhhh man ... wait?!? there was music?!?


Mickey - Toni Basil - I don't often get SCATHING about a musical endeavor, but this has GOT to be one of those songs (using the term loosely here, folks) that someone wrote to make a quick buck. It's a travesty how much popularity it garnered because of its insipid tune and empty-headed lyrics ... and I quote "Oh Mickey, you're so fine. You're so fine you blow my mind ..." Still blows MY mind ... cripes

JO, HONEY,

OUR THOUGHTS

AND PRAYERS

ARE WITH YOU

THROUGH THIS

DIFFICULT TIME.

GOD BLESS YOU

AND YOUR FAMILY.

I GOT TAGGED AGAIN ... GUITAR GREATS

Okay, I wrote this blog weeks ago (17-05-07 to be exact), before my health fell apart (still working on that ...) and never did figure out how to get the YouTube videos on here. Call me inept if you wish ... but if you care enough, these solos are all on YouTube and definitely worth the listen. Heck, after doing the research, it prompted me to dig out all my concert photo albums and my vinyl of these artists and spend some real quality time with them.


Bond honey, you got me again ... at least it's helping me work through my blogger's block.

I had the same problem with this meme as Vinny did: how to narrow the list down to "just five" ... so, because I knew that everybody else would be choosing from the "Guitar Gods", I decided to do something a bit different.

So, in no particular order, from a variety of music genres, here are 5 ... um well, actually ... 9 great Canadian guitar solos.



1. Rik Emmett (Triumph) --- TASTE OF STEEL


2. Jeff Healey --- SEE THE LIGHT


3. Colin James --- KEEP ON LOVIN ME BABY


4. David Wilcox --- THE BEARCAT


5. Bruce Cockburn --- WATER INTO WINE


6. Neil Young --- DEAD MAN


7. Alex Lifeson (Rush) --- CLOSER TO THE HEART
(also features a kick-ass bass guitar solo by Geddy Lee)

8. Robbie Robertson --- SHINE YOUR LIGHT


9. Lenny Breau --- THE NEARNESS OF YOU

FIVE QUESTIONS FROM BOND

A couple of weeks ago, before my life fell apart, I begged Bond to choose me for this. Damn me for the masochistic little fool that I am. LOL. So now I am honour bound to respond to questions that I find exceedingly difficult to answer.

OK, here they are, courtesy of that sadistic mind over at the Couch:

1) You are a teacher of young minds. If you could change one thing about your classroom what would it be?

I became a teacher because I love two things above all else: music and kids. It balances out. On the days the kids are horrendous, I have my music to soothe me. When my music is uncooperative or uninspiring, the kids give me a reason to continue. And on those "Eureka" days with the kids, I have both. Why mess with a perfect balance? There is nothing I would change.

2) If you could select a career for your son, what would it be?

I would never presume to choose a career for my child. But given the question, I would choose for him something that would make him happy and fulfilled. Knowing his preferences and aptitudes right now, I would probably steer him in the direction of architecture (building blocks), construction (big trucks and heavy machinery) or professional sports (anything that involves a ball and running). He is, after all, a pretty typical 4 year old.

3) You play a multitude of instruments. If you were able to appear on stage; what venue would you choose, what instrument would you play, and what song would you perform?

This one was very difficult to answer, until this morning at 3 am when I was pondering how to respond to ANY of these questions. Suddenly, it hit me. My venue of choice would be Vinny's living room. The instrument? A kazoo. And I would perform "The Song That Never Ends".

Apparently, SOME people don't think a kazoo is a "real" musical instrument. LOL. So my second answer to this question is that I would love to play Gershwin's Piano Preludes, followed by Rhapsody In Blue, at Lincoln Center, probably at the Avery Fisher Hall, because I love the atmosphere there.

4) Tell us the one place you have never been to, but long to visit and why.

This was the most difficult question to answer. Not because there were no answers, but because there were so many possibilities. Narrowing it down seemed an insurmountable task. Then I began to think outside the box. I realized there was only one real answer, and it was one I had expressed many times before. The one place I long to visit doesn't really exist physically in one place, except in the hearts of the people who met there. I grew to love those people in a relatively short period of time, although I've never met any of them face to face. Those people are the "why" and will always be very important to me. The "place" is the Original Soul Patrol. Was that cheating, Vinny? I hope not, because it's the best answer for the question, and you know it.

Ok, the Bondman thought I cheated on this answer, too, so I will redo it, as well. If I had to choose a real place to visit, it would be the Australian Outback. My reasons are that the area is populated by wonderfully fascinating people and animals, and is probably as physically different from my home region as anywhere on the planet. It's also far, far away from here, and right now, that's where I wish I was.

5) You can choose to change one day in your life. Which is it and why?

I have always tried to live my life without regret, but there are a few days that I would love to have a chance to "do over". The most obvious choice would be the day I said "Yes" when my response should have been to scream omg, and run away, fast! Not too many good things came of that particular event, so I would have no regrets in redoing that day and changing the history of my most recent life.

WARNING: THIS POST IS NOT FOR THE FAINT AT HEART

Hi everybody. Sorry I've been away for so long. You know how they say bad things come in threes? Okay, well, I hope these were my three, because they're going to keep me going for a looooooong time. I have been trying to keep things upbeat on my blog, but I find that I have a need to write about these things before I can move on. (Vinny, honey, I haven't forgotten about my questions. I promise to get them done as soon as I've worked my way through this.) Please don't feel like you need to read the rest just because you got this far. I'm not a very happy camper right now, and I'm not going to try to hide it. My apologies to anyone who is looking to be entertained, as this is plain and simple catharsis for me. Hang on tight, it might be a bumpy ride ...

A month ago, mid-April, we had a freakish snowstorm that dumped two feet of snow on our lovely city. I prefer to look at the silver lining, so let me say that the resulting snow day was a lovely gift. About 10 am, my 4-year old son and I went outside to shovel out the driveway. We were happy and having a good time when it happened. My little guy was enthusiastically shovelling snow from the lawn onto the driveway (lol) when he lost his grip on his shovel and it flew out of his hands, hit me in the face and knocked out my front tooth and damaged two others. Yeah ... so we're still working on getting that fixed up. I'll keep you posted.

Two weeks ago, I stopped into my usual grocery store to pick up a few things. My ex was there. He's not a very nice man, and has a tendency to fly off the handle. Apparently, he found out I was dating, and that made him rather upset. To keep it simple, he ended up punching me in the stomach. Yes, he was dragged off by the RCMP and no, they didn't keep him long. The next day, I was at work when I experienced a sharp pain in my abdomen. I fainted. I thought it was unusually severe cramps but I was wrong. Two days after that, I was still in a lot of pain, so I went to the afterhours clinic. They rushed me into the hospital, where I was subjected to a CT scan. An hour later, I was in surgery for a hernia, caused by a tear in my stomach muscle which was the result of a blow to my stomach (wonder how that happened?). I have been off work recovering since then and it's driving me crazy.

A dear friend and confidante suggested to me that I should perhaps thank my ex for that particular experience. Reason for that is because, in the course of the CT scan, the doctor noticed something else. It seems I have a rather large "mass" on my right ovary. There is no way of knowing what the nature of that is without further examination. Unfortunately, they need to wait until I have healed from my hernia surgery before they can proceed. I have been assured that there is no doubt that surgery will be necessary, as the growth is about 10 mm in diameter. So for now, I play a waiting game. It's never far from my mind, although I am trying to look on the positive side. However inadvertently, my ex may have actually saved my life. Ironic, considering he has spent a good part of the past year plotting to do away with me. I have regular checkups and paps, but somehow this had been overlooked until the CT scan was necessary.

Until now, I have only told two people about this. I don't want anyone's sympathy, but I could use some prayers. It's been a hell of a year so far. It can only get better, right?