Shake it out

The amazing Florence.





Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play

And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn

And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind
I can see no way, I can see no way
I'm always dragging that horse around

And our love is pastured such a mournful sound
Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground
So I like to keep my issues strong
But it's always darkest before the dawn

Shake it out...

Elderly woman at a counter in a small town

One of my favorite sad songs.
********************************
I seem to recognize your face
Haunting, familiar, yet i can't seem to place it
Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name
Lifetimes are catching up with me
All these changes taking place, i wish i'd seen the place
But no one's ever taken me
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away... 
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away... 
I swear i recognize your breath
Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising
Me, you wouldn't recall, for i'm not my former
It's hard when, you're stuck upon the shelf
I changed by not changing at all, small town predicts my fate
Perhaps that's what no one wants to see
I just want to scream...hello...
My god it's been so long, never dreamed you'd return
But now here you are, and here i am
Hearts and thoughts they fade...away...
Hearts and thoughts they fade...away...
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away...
Hearts and thoughts they fade...

Remind me

Coconut Willie...

... lives in a tree!

Oh, how this record (yes-- as in vinyl... I'm that old) brings back memories. AB and I used to lie on the floor in our bedroom in Hawaii and listen to "The Adventures of Coconut Willie and Pukahead" over and over and over again. Who is Pukahead, you ask? The magic menehune, of course! It's probably one of my earliest memories... though, I'm sure it's muddled with several others of listening to this and our Disney record collection ad nauseam over the course of many years (and boy did our older sister love us for that).

Alas, I could not find the original Jack de Mello version. Though, lucky you-- I did find Aunty Genoa Keawe singing a version of it on YouTube (disclaimer-- she's not my aunty; that's just what Hawaiians call elders, whether they're related to you or not). You gotta love YouTube.

They come to Waikiki-iiii. They come to Waikiki to see his opu swing!

Brought to my senses

So, I am a little obsessed with Sting. Have been since I was about 16, and can't see that ending anytime soon. Not obsessed in the stalker kind of way, but in the way that I think he's a musical genius; a brilliant song writer, lyricist and musician; in the way that I'd never actually want to meet him for fear the bubble could burst and my hero worship eradicated. My dad met him once-- he (my dad) was playing at a wedding, and Sting was a guest (it happened to be Don Henley's wedding; yeah-- it took a bit of coercing to get that story out of my dad because 1) he doesn't really know who anyone famous is and 2) he's not really bothered when he is around famous people--unless they are his heroes, which are decidedly not of the pop/rock genre). In any case, he was impressed by Sting because he said he pulled up a chair right in front of the band and was totally grooving with them, and extremely personable. It's probably about as close as I'll ever get to meeting him, and a good story at that. Why ruin it?

I have tickets to see his "Back to Bass" tour in Manchester next March-- 8th row floor! Whoop-whoop! I've gotten to see him several times in concert, including the sold-out Police Reunion World Tour which ended in Hawaii, and my wonderful sister and brother-in-law went with me (also amazing seats-- 4th row, floor thanks to my Aunty Julie!). Ahhhh! Once in a lifetime experience, indeed!

This is (dare I say?) my favorite Sting song; and perhaps one of the most overlooked. It's from Mercury Falling, which wasn't as huge a success as other albums (Ten Summoners Tales is hard to beat), but it has one of his most beautiful songs: Brought to my Senses.


Alone with my thoughts this evening
I walked on the banks of Tyne
I wondered how I could win you
Or if I could make you mine
Or if I could make you mine

The wind it was so insistent
With tales of a stormy south
But when I spied two birds in a sycamore tree
There came a dryness in my mouth
Came a dryness in my mouth

For then without rhyme or reason
The two birds did rise up to fly
And where the two birds were flying
I swear I saw you and I
I swear I saw you and I

I walked out this morning
It was like a veil had been removed from before my eyes
For the first time I saw the work of heaven
In the line where the hills had been married to the sky
And all around me
Every blade of singing grass
Was calling out your name
And that our love would always last
And inside every turning leaf
Is the pattern of an older tree
The shape of our future
The shape of all our history
And out of the confusion
Where the river meets the sea
Came things I'd never seen
Things I'd never seen

I was brought to my senses
I was blind but now that I can see
Every signpost in nature
Said you belong to me

I know it's true
It's written in a sky as blue
As blue as your eyes
As blue as your eyes
If nature's red in tooth and claw
Like winter's freeze and summer's thaw
The wounds she gave me
Were the wounds that would heal me
And we'd be like the moon and sun
And when our courtly dance had run
Its course across the sky
Then together we would lie
And out of the confusion
Where the river meets the sea
Something new would arrive
Something better would arrive

I was brought to my senses
I was blind but now that I can see
Every signpost in nature
Said you belong to me
I was brought to my senses
I was blind but now that I can see
Every signpost in nature
Said you belong to me...

Arms

Teenage angst at its best

Forgiveness

Gravity

If you've ever had a broken heart...

Makes me wanna dance...

and listen to Mick.

Regina Spektor

"Fidelity"

(Shake it up)

I never loved nobody fully
Always one foot on the ground
And by protecting my heart truly
I got lost in the sounds
I hear in my mind
All these voices
I hear in my mind all these words
I hear in my mind all this music

And it breaks my heart
And it breaks my heart
And it breaks my heart
It breaks my heart

And suppose I never ever met you
Suppose we never fell in love
Suppose I never ever let you kiss me so sweet and so soft
Suppose I never ever saw you
Suppose we never ever called
Suppose I kept on singing love songs just to break my own fall
Just to break my fall
Just to break my fall
Break my fall
Break my fall

All my friends say that of course its gonna get better
Gonna get better
Better better better better
Better better better

I never love nobody fully
Always one foot on the ground
And by protecting by heart truly
I got lost
In the sounds
I hear in my mind
All these voices
I hear in my mind all these words
I hear in my mind
All this music
And it breaks my heart
It breaks my heart

I hear in my mind all of these voices
I hear in my mind all of these words
I hear in my mind all of this music

Breaks my
Heart
Breaks my heart

Cosmic Love

One of my favorite Florence+the Machine songs. It's one of those songs that breaks your heart... so powerful, meaningful and beautiful. There are really amazing acoustic versions, but I love the original with the driving drumbeat in the chorus juxtaposed with that soft harp in the verses... such a strong metaphor for love.

Just a Kiss

Both Sides Now

Seems apropos after the Austen post-- I love Mindy Gledhill's cover of Joni Mitchell's classic "Both Sides Now."

Makes me wanna dance

And now for an installment of makes me want to dance (inspired from previous Gwyneth on Glee post).

Genius?

Am I the only person who thinks Lady Gaga is a total freak? I mean... 72 hours "incubating" in an egg to be "hatched" at the Grammy's to sing a song that is literally Madonna's "Express Yourself" with different lyrics (seriously-- sing Express Yourself over Born this Way... it's the same song). Don't get me wrong... Gaga's tunes get my toes tapping. She's even on my workout mix. The really irritating thing is that she really can sing-- she's uber talented. So why all the theatrics? It's annoying. But maybe that's what makes her genius. Everyone talks about her; everyone is waiting to see what she does next. And no one will say a remotely negative thing against her-- read the press, watch the news-- it's seriously like there's been a spell cast over the media. That in itself is genius.

Channeling Elton

This performance is so deliciously BIZARRE that I couldn't help but post it. Muppets? Big guy in armor and feathers? Is it Carnival? Or is it that people just have to do crazy crap to top Gaga (which, try though you might, you can't). And, oh Gwyneth. There's no doubt that you have a good voice. You totally rocked it out on Glee; but this performance was awk-ward with a captal AWK. Listening to it back isn't bad because she sounds great but doesn't have the lungs (or maybe practice) to belt it out on stage live. But she just looked so uncomfortable (I think it was the shoes-- or maybe the writhing around on the piano). Maybe stick to singing on screen? Don't get me wrong-- I still worship her. She's definitely concentrating-- it reminds me of when I performed because I think I always looked like I was in a little bit of pain instead of having fun with it.



This version however? Made me dance around my living room:



Let's go get some tacos! I *heart* her.

Learning to play

A few years ago I asked my parents for a guitar for Christmas. I missed music-- I missed playing music and singing music and I wanted to see if I could learn an instrument again. Instruments were never my strong suit-- I always had to work at it; it never came easily. First was the piano and recorder. My wonderful Auntie, for whom I was named, taught both my sister and I to play the piano. The problem was that she was so good, and I so enjoyed my lessons with her, no other teacher ever was able to hold my attention or interest... and so while I'd dabble every once in a while, I never was able to play in the way I would have loved to.

Then came the clarinet-- the instrument that I chose for junior high band because, well, to be totally honest, it was the smallest and lightest and would easily fit in my locker. I had originally wanted to play the bass in orchestra... and then the trombone. But when I was reminded that I would have to lug that thing to and from school the appeal wore off. And I settled on the clarinet. Which I loved-- and I still love to pick out the clarinet in the orchestra... the rich sound of a clarinet solo. A much overlooked instrument if I do say so myself!

In college I sang. And the instrument background did me well because I could read music and had inherited a somewhat decent ear from my talented dad (and the Benedicts in general. What can I say? Music is in the Benedict blood. I was lucky to get a little glimmer of it). While I had sung all my life, it was the first time that I really performed and was disciplined about it-- singing in a group, recording albums. And I certainly got my fill of music.

But as I got older, music and the more artistic things I loved were fewer and far between. Working for the man and being in an office offered little creative expression and I was craving some sort of outlet, if even just for me. Hence, the guitar. I tackled it with gusto-- I signed up for lessons at the Old Town School of Music in Chicago (where I was living at the time); and I faithfully trudged to class-- rain, snow, sleet or shine, every week for about a year to try to master this new instrument-- or at least to be able to pound out a few notes that formed a song. It didn't hurt that one of my favorite japanese restaurants was across the street too...).

Unfortunately-- my lack of natural talent failed me. Or perhaps it was my greater love of singing. As with most instruments that I've played, I really had to work at it. But the bigger challenge was once we started singing while playing the guitar at the same time, I'd forget about the playing and just sing. My instructor found it amusing. I found it to be vexing.

When I moved to England, the guitar came along with me. But it has mostly hung on the wall in my office as a piece of art (and collecting lots of dust...). But this week something caused me to take it down and attempt to play again. My fingers are definitely rusty-- and I need to build my callouses back up (because MAN my fingers HURT), but I'm liking playing again. The desire to sing is still vexing me but maybe if I stick to it I might actually be able to play this thing. Well-- I can hope.