There’s nothing (most days) more satisfying than working at something you love. And there’s that wonderful feeling of being so worn out, so tired, so spent, because you gave it your all.
And it’s cool to have a song that goes with it.
OK, I have a new guitar hero – on Friday night in Nanaimo, BC, Josie & her mum & I went to see the International Guitar show, and the guys who played were awesome. Tonight I’d like to put the spotlight on Mike Dawes from the UK, one of the players that night.
Mike makes the room come alive, as he plays his guitar like a drumkit, with fingerstyle fretwork that is intricate & compelling. You can see why Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues has been playing with him (he’s officially the lead guitarist for the band), and you can see why the crowd was mesmerized with his work on stage last week.
Kudos from other music critics:
’He can make the guitar talk, with no effort!’ – Jamie Bell (Actor)
’I was in a trance, I didn’t notice I was spilling beer on my leg’ – Martin Harley
You can hear him here, with his signature song, Boogie Shred:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuRBGpEHcnI&feature=share&list=RD029-hJU-68pFQ
And here he is, with Gotye’s Somebody I Used to Know:
….and look up his work on YouTube. You’ll be glad you did!
i thank you god for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any–lifted from the no
of all nothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
e.e. cummings
When I first heard Joe Bongiorno‘s new release, The Flight of a Dream earlier this month, I knew that he had a winner on his hands. I’ve listened to it now maybe six million times…but that’s been a couple of weeks, so I had time. It’s great! (Click here to hear samples – you’ll get it!)
I discovered that he had put a song called The End of the Road (Mabel’s Song) on the album, and although I know Joe well, I didn’t know of anyone named Mabel in his life. His response touched me deeply:
Been asked ALOT about the story behind this song from the new album…. You might remember a post of mine about 9 months back.
This song was inspired by that experience. Here it is from Feb 3rd of this year:
The doorbell rang this morning. A sweet elderly lady standing there with a worried look. I greeted her and she asked for Mabel. Mabel was the lady who lived in our house previously (we had just moved in four months before), and I knew she had she had passed away.
I really didn’t want to bear this news to the kind lady. She then told me that she had driven two days from Texas to come to the house to see her. She had written Mabel a letter and it had been returned to sender.
I remember this letter coming before the holidays. She had no other way to attempt contact than to come in person. With a frog in my throat, I let her know that Mabel had passed away. She sighed, as if almost with relief that what she feared was true, and then her eyes welled up sadly.
She looked to her husband still sitting in the car and shook her head sadly. He understood the look & turned away as if to hide his emotion. I invited her in for a little visit but she said sweetly, “It’s time to go home”.
Perhaps this is a reminder to me to reach out more often to friends and family. It’s a reminder, too, that life can change at any moment, for any of us… for someone my age, I have lost very few people who were dear to me.
I am quite sure that I’ll get my fair dose of this in the days to come….
Here’s the song (click here to listen).
Part of the path to purification is walking (or running, if you’re fast that way!) through the fires that burn away the stuff…that keeps us from pure love. The fires are tough, usually painful, sometimes unbearably so – but there’s always another day. There’s always another sunrise. There’s always later…which is a great place to look back from.
Here’s one of my favourite expressions of this, from Rumi:
Sorrow prepares you for joy.
It violently sweeps everything out of your house,
so that new joy can find space to enter.
It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart,
so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place.
It pulls up the rotten roots,
so that new roots hidden beneath
have room to grow.
Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart,
far better things will take their place…
~~Rumi
It’s always good to have a tune to wake up to, first thing in the morning, and I’d say “Lokah Shamasta” with Miten & Deva Premal is a good one to start the day.
It’s true, isn’t it – the great artists keep reinventing themselves & bringing new work out. I like the spirit of Paul’s new song (the album with it is out in mid-October).
The song is called “New.”
I like the idea of someone, after decades, still writing music. Wahoo!
This little poem is a reminder things don’t always turn out the way we plan or hope for, sometimes:
One of the more beautiful & evocative of the Beatles’ canon, as interpreted by Paul Simon, backed by David Crosby & Graham Nash – great way to start your day:
Over the centuries, Brother Ian has been collecting stories & information & discourses for the purpose of elevating the human condition as needed, dissecting it when necessary, and building the case for hope.
In the spirit of noting that organized crime, organized baseball, organized labour, and organized religion tend to engender controversy & occasional discord, I promise to be neither organized or critical of those who are.