Introspecting...I mean..Booking Through Thursday

But, enough about books … Other things have words, too, right? Like … songs!

If you’re anything like me, there are songs that you love because of their lyrics; writers you admire because their songs have depth, meaning, or just a sheer playfulness that has nothing to do with the tunes.

So, today’s question?

What songs … either specific songs, or songs in general by a specific group or writer … have words that you love?
Why?
And … do the tunes that go with the fantastic lyrics live up to them?

Wow, I haven't done this meme in a long, long time, but today's topic just begged for a little navel gazing on my part, and who doesn't love a little shameless navel gazing on occasion? I love all of my music collection with a fiery passion, but my favorite songs are the ones that have lyrics that connect to how I'm feeling or whatever is going on in my life. There are certain song lyrics that lurk inside my subconscious associated with all the more important times in my life. I love the tunes, too, but it's the lyrics that really make these songs "sing." Here's a few...

Boston - Augustana

I think I'll go to Boston,
I think that I'm just tired
I think I need a new town, to leave this all behind...
I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset,
I hear it's nice in summer, some snow would be nice...

The Dance - Garth Brooks

And now I'm glad I didn't know,
The way it all would end, the way it all would go,
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

I'm Moving On - Rascal Flatts

I've lived in this place and I know all the faces
Each one is different but they're always the same
They mean me no harm but it's time that I face it
They'll never allow me to change
But I never dreamed home would end up where I don't belong
I'm movin' on

Life for Love - Enter the Haggis

Arms stretched
To catch the next horizon
A line to keep your eyes on
And I'm inclined to stare
But you close
Your eyes and wish for rainbows
Anywhere the wind blows
You will find me there
You pull your coat around your shoulders
You don't know what I know
Wind is only air

My Old Friend - Tim McGraw

My old friend, I recall
The times we had are hanging on my wall
I wouldn't trade them for gold
Cause they laught and they cry me and
somehow sanctify me
And they're woven in the stories I have told
And tell again...

Only Hope - Um...I like the Mandy Moore version.

Sing to me the song of the stars
Of your galaxy dancing and laughing
and laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that you have
for me over again

When There's No One Around - Garth Brooks

This is a glimpse of a child that's within
He's so immature but he's still my best friend
If he could learn how to fly he'd never touch down
He's the kid that I am when there's no one around

This is the dance I do every day
I let my feet go and get carried away
I let my soul lead and follow the sound
It's the dance that I do when there's no one around


There they are - a song about Boston, oddly popular just as I was moving to Boston hoping to leave behind a string of disappointments. A song about not regretting the things that I've done, even though I'm often tempted to think so many of them were mistakes when it comes to the practical everyday living of life. A song about leaving a part of my life where I couldn't grow or change because everyone already had an idea of who I was that I desperately wanted to escape. A song that simultaneously encompasses the part of me that is game for every new experience and the one that's scared and wants to sit and wait and see if something comes along. A song about the friends that I love more than anything, yet fail to keep in touch with as life sweeps me along. A song about God's plan that want to trust in, and a song about getting in touch with my truest self - you know, the one I shuffle off and stash on a high shelf when there are people around.

Maybe not all what the songwriters intended as the meaning but their meaning to me. They all have meaning for me, and that's what makes the lyrics seem especially good to me, though, hopefully they seem good to some other people, too, or else I bet you're all quite bored with all this.....well...self-reflection (*ahem* navel-gazing). I did kind of warn you, didn't I?

Movies and Music and Designer Dogs, Oh my!

So, this is kind of a weekend in review post, I guess.

My parents just sold the video rental store that they used to own, and since then we haven't been too wild about watching movies. As it turns out, 11 or so years of watching every half decent and every piece of crap movie ever launched on to the market really burns you out on movies. So we had a bit of a movie drought. And enjoyed it. By the way, if you happen to be considering investing in an independent video store, let me save you a lot of trouble....don't. The time you put in and the money you lose (to Netflix and Blockbuster and Wal-Mart) sure aren't worth it. Ugh.

But when I saw that Reign Over Me and Evan Almighty were coming out, it was time to call a stop to the drought. Evan Almighty was all right....Bruce was better. I'm a Christian, so it's nice to have some humor that I can feel special because I "get it." But yeah, the end was kind of lame, and this was one of those movies where the preview kind of wrecks all the funniest moments because by the time you get to watching the movie, you've seen 'em all.

I saw Reign Over Me at the theater with a friend. At the time, I wasn't sure if I loved it, but it kept me thinking, and when I saw it was coming out on DVD, I had to see it again. And I think I love it. I love Adam Sandler doing serious stuff. I can't help myself. I'm a huge fan of Spanglish and 50 First Dates (which, while not totally serious, was more serious than your average Adam Sandler movie up to that point). Having seen it a second time, I'm pretty sure I love it. Sandler does a great job of bringing this super damaged character to life, and it's good to see that the plot follows it through. You can't fix something like this in a few days, and the movie doesn't attempt to do it. That's why it's a great story. One you can really envision happening in real life and one you feel like you can sympathize with and relate to even if nothing of this magnitude has ever happened to you or will ever happen to you.

The biggest disappointment of the night, however, was looking up the soundtrack on Amazon. Here I am thinking that the soundtrack of this movie is going to be great - Pearl Jam covering "Love, Reign O'er Me," a couple of excellent Bruce Springsteen tunes, and some other stuff I'd love to have all together on a CD. But what do I find when I look up the soundtrack? It's just the instrumental score. I'm all for instrumental scores and I have a few soundtracks of them that I love. But what a bummer to see that all these great tracks aren't a part of it. So now, not only can I not simply ask for a CD for Christmas, I also have to track down the songs and download them, because they're in my head now, and I'd much rather they were in my CD player!

In other randomness, I wish I was the guy who had the brilliant idea to breed a pug and beagle together to make a puggle. I mean, can you imagine? Here you are sucking $500 or more out of people for something that folks probably wouldn't have even adopted from the pound a couple of years ago. My aunt and uncle (who apparently have money to spare) bought one. It's a girl and they named it Pluto. Now disregarding the obvious problems with the confusion caused by the name which is the same as that of the Disney dog who is, indeed, male.... the last thing this family needs is a dog like this. The poor thing has no idea what to do with herself, she's crazily hyper and has about as much discipline and training as well....as my aunt and uncle's kids. And, if you haven't gathered this by now, that's minimal. So spending time with this family, plus there psychotic dog is akin to keeping company with a traveling circus. And this dog, I think the pug side of the equation won out. It just looks like a really tall pug. It's not as cute as it is frickin' weird looking. And I fear that the whole puggle craze is going to be akin to the dalmatian craze. I worry that everybody who's "anybody" is going to run out and get one of these before they realize quite what they're getting into and that they're going to need to actually exercise and actively train this type of dog in order to enjoy a happy life with it, and when everybody realizes they're not the right type of dog for them, they're just going to end up a bunch of poor "mutts" waiting at the SPCA for someone to adopt them. And what a bummer that is....

But on a happy note, hey, I just wrote in my blog. Maybe it's not a lost cause after all!