John Lennon

Poetic kissing in an off-kilter key
A Monday Playlist
Lyriquediscorde

Listen on Spotify and YouTube

“Real Love” by Beach House
“Henry Lee” by Nick Cave, featuring Polly Jean Harvey
“New Town Velocity” by Johnny Marr
“See How We Are” by John Doe and Exene Cervenka
“I Feel Like Going Home” by Yo La Tengo
“Sleep the Clock Around” by Belle and Sebastian
“No More Affairs” by Tindersticks
“These Days’ by Nico
“Crown of Love” by Arcade Fire
“One Day” by Sharon Van Etten
“Now It’s On” by Grandaddy
“Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles
“When We Were Young” by The Killers
“Know Who You Are At Every Age” by Cocteau Twins
“Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service
“Unreflected” by Mazzy Star
“I am Trying to Break Your Heart” by Jeff Tweedy
“Something About What Happens When We Talk” by Lucinda Williams
“The Desperate Kingdom of Love” by Polly Jean Harvey
“Love is Overtaking Me” by Arthur Russell
“This is Where I Belong” by The Kinks
“Jealous Guy” by John Lennon
“Stumbling Through the Dark” by The Jayhawks
“America” by Simon and Garfunkel
“Still Life” by The Horrors
“New Slang” by The Shins
“Running Away” by Richard Ashcroft
“Fault Line” by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
“7/4 Shoreline” by Broken Social Scene
“Tiger Lily” by Luna

Poetic kissing in an off-kilter key

Today’s Top 5 Music Obsessions are full of the belief and love that I am feeling, and the hope that things will get better. That love is what matters. And, that this start of our future is something we can embrace together. That this enormous love I feel is at least a little bit enough. I’m never going to start trying, even if I’m hurting so much right now. I’m never going to stop believing in us.

Top 5 Music Obsessions – July 26, 2018

Listen on Spotify and YouTube

1. “(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

“It’s been too long since we took the time,
no-one’s to blame,
I know time flies so quickly.
But, when I see you, darling,
it’s like we both are falling in love again.
It’ll be just like starting over.”

This is that moment. That new start moment. The start of the rest of our lives together. What we’ve wanted since almost the start of our meeting, and falling in love. You are the love of my life.

2. “Motion Pictures (For Carrie)” by Neil Young

“I’d rather start all over again.
Well, all those headlines,
they just bore me now.
I’m deep inside myself,
but I’ll get out somehow.
And I’ll stand before you.
And I’ll bring a smile to your eyes.”

I’m not ever going to give up. I hope someday to bring that smile back to your eyes. The one I used to see every night.

3. “In My Life” by The Beatles

“In my life,
I love you more.”

4. “Angel Dream (No. 4)” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

“Over mountains,
I floated away.
Across an ocean,
I dreamed her name.
I followed an angel down through the gates.
I can only thank God it was not too late.”

It took years to find you. It took years for you to find me. I hope we don’t let this go.

5. “That’s How Strong My Love Is” by Otis Redding

“I’ll be the weeping willow drowning in my tears.
And you can go swimming when you’re here.
And I’ll be the rainbow after the tears are gone.
Wrap you in my colors and keep you warm.
That’s how strong my love is, darling.”

My love for you grows every day. I hope somehow you can feel that, even on the hardest, darkest days.

Top 5 Music Obsessions – Week of July 23, 2018

Tuesday has gone by quickly. I slept in a little longer than I planned, something I don’t let myself do, but I still had time to grab a coffee and get to work. The sun was already bright and hot, a sign of another almost-Summer in LA. I went for a walk at lunchtime and took in some of the rays. There’s this small path between two tall buildings that I love. It leads into a neighborhood, and there are some wildflowers growing in between the pavement cracks, and along the side. I like to think someone threw seeds into the air in hopes that some would take, sprout, and grow. There’s beauty everywhere. Truly.

Music is beauty to me, and sometimes I come across songs that feel like those wildflowers, growing out of cracks and broken pieces, fallen from the sky, or from somewhere/someones. Like these Top 5 Music Obsessions for today.

Top 5 Music Obsessions – June 12, 2018

Listen on Spotify and YouTube – follow and listen along for the entire week

1. “Time of the Season” by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan

“No pantomime.
No alibi.
The joker in the pack is always dealing.
If loving someone is a crime,
then strike me down.”

I’ve been in the mood for Isobel and Mark lately. Paired up with the two Pete Yorn/Scarlett Johansson albums, and some Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood and I have the perfect June duet playlist. Now I just need a by the ocean road trip to go with it.

2. “Halah” by Mazzy Star

“Maybe I hold you to blame for all the reasons.
That you left.”

Suppose I do.

3. “Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow” by Felt

“You’re stepping out of something,
sunlight bathed the golden glow.
Stop making a movie of it.
Stop telling the things I know.”

But I will keep making a story out of it, a novel. Creating stories out of nothing, out of everything, and out of something unknown. It is a bit of magic.

4. “Kinky Afro” by Happy Mondays

“You come around here and you put both your feet in.”

1990. This song takes me back. I feel like dancing to it, with the volume turned way, way up. In a baby doll dress and doc martens, a crocheted beret. A time machine in a song moment.

5. “Mind Games” by John Lennon

“Love is the answer,
and you know that,
for sure.
Love is the flower.
You gotta let it,
gotta let it grow.”

Like music. Like wildflowers. Love.

Top 5 Music Obsessions – Week of June 12, 2018

Thanks for the musical wildflower magic and these Top 5 Music Obsessions songs by Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, Mazzy Star, Felt, Happy Mondays, and John Lennon.

Falling asleep to the sound of a muffled TV from the downstairs neighbor and the purr of Clyde the cat sleeping next to me. I forgot my headphones at work so was without Music to fall asleep to. I woke to no recalled dreams whereas most mornings they are in technicolor, even if I only remember them for a split second. I want access to my inner database that houses all my forgotten dreams. I feel like there are so many stories to write in that “file”.

I listened to a writing Podcast on my way to work this morning, so still, no Music until I actually got into my office. I was starving for it, thirsty and hungry for Songs and Sound. This may have been the quickest curated Top 5 Music Obsessions of the Day Track List I’ve ever put together.

Song 1 is “Blind My Mind” by Flunk, the first Song I played today. I don’t know why I forget about Flunk so much. Whenever I happen on their Music I’m immediately reminded of how much I love them.

Next up is a Spotify Discover Weekly New Discovery. “Melin Wynt” by King Creosote is one of my Favorite Song discoveries I’ve had lately. Turn this one up and play it a few times over – I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Song 3, PJ Harvey and John Parish’s Cover of “Is That All There Is?” is Haunting and Cinematic. I immediately wanted to start writing when I played this today, and I added it to a character Playlist I’m ever-building for my Novel’s “main cast”. How have I not heard this before?

“(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon is Track 4. Every time I heard this Song my first feeling is that of hearing about John’s death on the Radio. They’d just played this Track and when it was over the DJ came on, voice shaking, to announce the news. I remember the way my bedroom looked, the sun coming through the curtains, the blue and white bedspread on my “daybed”. And, I remember the feeling of dread, even more than my own sadness, because I knew how upset my Mother would be when she found out.

Last, but not least, is David Bowie’s “Changes” which always reminds me of the start of the Movie The Breakfast Club which features Lyrics from the Track.

Stream Today’s Five Songs, and all the rest of the week as we go here at Spotify and YouTube. Or, Press Play at the bottom of this post to stream via YouTube right here.

Top 5 Music Obsessions of the Day – March 6, 2018

1. “Blind My Mind” by Flunk

2. “Melin Wynt” by King Creosote

3. “Is That All There Is?” by PJ Harvey and John Parish

4. “(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon

5. “Changes” by David Bowie

I hope you enjoy your Tuesday and all the Music that comes your way today. Hope you enjoy these Top 5 Music Obsession Songs, too. What Music are you Obsessing over today? Share in the Comments. I’d love to Hear.

Top 5 Music Obsessions for the Week of March 5, 2018

Today has been a whoosh kinda day, everything moving a bit too fast, to-do lists a bit too long, the world spinning by a bit too fast. In an effort to catch my breath I’m pausing to Turn up the Volume and spin Today’s Top 5 Music Obsessions. Sometimes you have to hit the brakes and breathe before you let yourself be whooshed into the spinning, and running, and go-go-going. So, let’s give these 5 a Spin.

Song 1 is a New Spotify Discover Weekly discovery. Nat Johnson has a voice that immediately reminds me of Rosie Thomas, and this song, its songwriting tone, also reminds me of Sufjan Stevens. Lyrically it speaks to me today. I think I’d be OK with being a dog today, or a cat. Next up is Turin Brakes, who I originally heard on the TV Series The OC (such great Music played on that show). It made me smile that this one also has a dog reference, in this case, an “underdog”. “Breathe Around You”, by Tanya Donelly, is Song 3. I love Tanya and have been getting excited about the new Belly Album that is on its way soon, so I’ve been revisiting Tanya’s Music, with Belly, Throwing Muses, and her Solo work (which this Song is). Lovesongs for Underdogs (oh look, dogs again) is one of my Quintessential Albums, that’s for sure. Orange Juice comes next, bringing the energy up with “Falling and Laughing”, and last but not least is John Lennon’s Hit, “(Just Like) Starting Over”, a Track that always brings tears in my eyes as it immediately reminds me of when John died. This Song was a huge Radio hit, and they played it on the Radio, and then the DJ cut in to report his death. I was reading in my bedroom, humming along, and felt the sting of it immediately, my heart breaking, especially for my Mother who was such a huge Beatles fan. But, today I’m focusing on the idea of “Starting Over”, which I think I need today, a breather for a minute and start all over again sentiment. Today, when listening, I’m digging the ELO sound to the Song. I’m not sure I ever noticed it before or made the Musical-connection.

So, are you ready for this Today’s Top 5? What Songs would you add to Today’s list?

Follow the Spotify Playlist for this week’s Top 5 here. Stream via YouTube here, or at the end of this post.

Top 5 Music Obsessions of the Day – January 23, 2018

1. “Dog” by Nat Johnson

2. “Underdog (Save Me)” by Turin Brakes

3. “Breathe Around You” by Tanya Donelly

4. “Falling and Laughing” by Orange Juice

5. “(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon

Check back tomorrow to catch another set of 5 Music Obsessions. As the week unfolds you can keep up with January’s Music Obsessions by following the Spotify or YouTube Playlists. Each Day’s 5 Songs will be added to the monthly Playlist.

Top 5 Music Obsessions – Week of 1/23/18

Morning After Resolutions (We Start All Over Again)

Available on Spotify and YouTube (see YouTube Playlist below)

“Hey Sunshine” by The Charlatans
“For What It’s Worth” by Liam Gallagher
“The Kids Don’t Wanna Come Home” by Declan McKenna
“505” by Arctic Monkeys
“Last Words” by The Real Tuesday Weld
“Your Balloon is Rising” by Stone Foundation, featuring Paul Weller
“Take It Out On Me” by White Lies
“At Most a Kiss” by Blossoms
“This Year” by The Mountain Goats
“T-Shirt Weather” by Circa Waves
“Black and Blues” by The Jesus And Mary Chain, featuring Sky Ferreira
“Lola + Joseph” by July Talk
“How To Say Goodbye” by Paul Tiernan
“Places We Won’t Walk” by Bruno Major
“4 Seasons” by Rex Orange County
“B.H.S.” by Sleaford Mods
“All the Wine” by The National
“Wreckless Heart” by Glen Hansard
“The Cranes are Back” by Paul Weller
“The Right Stuff” by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
“Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye” by The Lemonheads, featuring Liv Tyler
“10,000 Emerald Pools” by Børns
“Tea-Soaked Letter” by Anna Burch
“Trying” by Bully
“Planet Hunter” by Wolf Alice
“Turn of the Century” by Pete Yorn
“A Smiling Face” Yellow Days
“New Girl (Tom’s Song)” by The Walters
“No Peace” by Syd Arthur
“(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon

Morning After Resolutions (We Start All Over Again)

“Let Me Roll It” by Paul McCartney + Wings
from the album, Band On the Run (1973)

“Let Me Roll It” is the 5th Track on the 1973 album by Paul McCartney and Wings, Band On the Run. It was released as the B-Side to the single “Jet”, in 1974, and has remained one of McCartney’s live show staples since it was released.

“Let Me Roll It” (live) from, “Wings Fly South” (1975)

A Bit of the Beatles in “Let Me Roll It”?

Some critics say this song has a distinctive John Lennon sound to it. Admittedly, the first time I heard it I felt the same. The guitar riff especially is what critics have pointed out, though it was the vocals that stood out to me as Lennon-esque during that first listen.

When Paul was asked about it he was quoted as saying the vocal “does sound like John…I hadn’t realized I’d sung it like John.”

The song may “sound” like John, but the title was inspired by George. It was inspired by a quote from George Harrison’s “Id Have You Anytime”, the opening track to Harrison’s album, All Things Must Pass.

“I’d Have You Anytime” by George Harrison

There have been many covers of “Let Me Roll It” done by different artists/bands. My favorite is by Brendan Benson.

“Let Me Roll It” by Brendan Benson

The Melvins’ cover is pretty cool, too.

“Let Me Roll It” (live) by The Melvins

My Thoughts

This is one of my all-time favorite Macca songs, and it is definitely my favorite off of the 1973 Band On the Run album. Recently, my boyfriend and I acquired a QUAD 8-Track Tape of Band On the Run, and I was reminded just how much I love this song.

It is the guitar riffs and the keyboards I like the best. Lyrically, I love the kind of love that this song speaks to me about. My interpretation, at least, is it is about a passionate love that is also more than passion alone. A love that is for another person, but also a love and/or belief in oneself. The kind of love that completes.

The kind of love that at times is undefinable.

Jeremy Hillary Boob

Nowhere Man :: The Beatles
from the album, Rubber Soul
Breakfast With the Beatles Sunday

The Beatles music is something that my Mother passed down to me and my life, their songs forever alive in the musical spine and soul of who I am. The most significant loves of my life have all had an affinity for their music, as well, which has led to me passing on the love of their music to my children. The musical animated film Yellow Submarine is a favorite of my three children, one that my two youngest kids were obsessed with for a long spell of time, playing it over and over again in our living room. I can still put on any of the songs from it and they will recognize it immediately, often singing-a-long. They loved the movie far more than I ever did. For me, it was the albums and the songs themselves that I grew inseparably attached to. Nowhere Man, thus does not readily remind me of Jeremy Hillary Boob, but of lying on the floor of the living room in the house I grew up in, next to the big speakers, letting this song, and the album wash over me. In my mind the “Nowhere Man” was my absent Father whose whereabouts I did not know, he was nowhere, and everywhere, to me, and he did not know what he was missing.

Nowhere Man is a song by the Beatles, from their album Rubber Soul. The song was written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney).

It was recorded on October 21 and 22, in 1965. Nowhere Man is among the very first Beatles’ songs to be entirely unrelated to romance or love, and marks a notable instance of Lennon’s philosophically-oriented songwriting.

It was released as a single (although not in the United Kingdom) on February 21, 1966, and reached # 1 in Australia and Canada and # 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison sing the song in three-part harmony. The song appears in the film Yellow Submarine, where the Beatles sing it about the character Jeremy Hillary Boob after meeting him in the “nowhere land“.

George and John play identical “sonic blue” Fender Stratocasters—John plays in the verses and George on the solo.

Lennon claimed that he wrote the song about himself. He wrote it after racking his brain in desperation for five hours, trying to come up with another song for Rubber Soul. Lennon told Playboy magazine:

“I’d spent five hours that morning trying to write a song that was meaningful and good, and I finally gave up and lay down. Then ‘Nowhere Man’ came, words and music, the whole damn thing as I lay down“.

McCartney said of the song:

“That was John after a night out, with dawn coming up. I think at that point, he was a bit…wondering where he was going, and to be truthful so was I. I was starting to worry about him“.

Typical of many John Lennon compositions are the “falling” melodies, which can be heard in Nowhere Man. Folk music often has falling melodies, indicating melancholy. In Baroque music, a falling melody means sadness.

There is a very audible feedback 38 seconds into the song after the word “missin’.”

In 2003, John Lennon’s original handwritten lyrics to this song were auctioned at Christie’s of New York for $455,500.

Nowhere Man (live) :: Natalie Merchant

My choice for favorite cover version of Nowhere Man is the live version from when Natalie Merchant performed the song at the 2001 special, Come Together: A Night For John Lennon’s Words And Music. The show was also a tribute to victims of the terrorist attacks on America.

Wonder Boys (2000)

The paper crash

“You’re not like my other teachers, Professor Tripp.” ~ James Leer
“You’re not like my other students, James.” ~ Grady Tripp

One of my favorite movies is another film about writers and writing, Wonder Boys, with an eclectic ensemble cast, is a wonderful (pun intended) tale about writing, teaching, loving, and surviving. Survival is the big one in this, for me, or perhaps persisting is the better choice of descriptors; to me, all of the characters are persisting at something, not always winning, but not always failing, but always and ever persisting.

Some of my favorite actors are in this film, most notably Robert Downey, Jr. and Frances McDormand, and this is my favorite film that Tobey Maguire has ever done, and one of my favorites of both Michael Douglas and Katie Holmes. I love the interactions and connections between people, how that even at points in each character’s lives when they feel at their wit’s, and writer’s ends, they impact others around them. I also completely relate with the pressures of expectations from others, and more weighty, the expectations we set on ourselves, especially to create.

I love the rare film that celebrates friendship. There are plenty of films about love, but so few about friendship. This film to me, above everything else, is about friendship…and writing. Oh, Wonder Boys also has a stellar soundtrack, featuring songs from Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Leonard Cohen, among others.

Trailer

Things Have Changed :: Bob Dylan

Watching the Wheels :: John Lennon

Waiting for the Miracle :: Leonard Cohen

“A very merry Christmas,
and a happy new year.
Let’s hope it’s a good one,
without any fear.”

Happy Xmas (War is Over) :: John Lennon