Green Tunes - Happy Birthday

Sometimes songs take on a life of their own in our minds.  We associate them with things completely unrelated to any lyrics if they exist.  This is one of those songs for me and this is the story of my association.

We had just discovered that Amy was pregnant.  My family was very excited, especially my grandmother.  I hadn't heard happiness in her voice like that for years.  Not long after, we got a call from my parents.  Grandma was in the hospital.  Amy and I booked a quick flight home from Chicago.  When we arrived at the hospital, she was in ICU but in good spirits.  We sat and talked for as long as we all could.  We talked quite a bit about Amy's pregnancy and collectively dreamed about the baby to come.  A nurse arrived and told us that she needed us to leave briefly while she attended to my grandmother.  While we sat in a nearby waiting room, I was staring out the window at the sunlight reflecting off of the leaves of nearby trees when this song began playing on my iPod.  I was suddenly overcome by a feeling that my grandmother would not see this baby.  This song suddenly became a lullaby to be sung by my grandmother to her great-grandbaby but only in my imagination.

At the end of our visit, I absorbed every memory I could about that moment of goodbye.  I kissed my grandmother on the forehead and, not knowing exactly what to say to her, I eeked out, "I love you, grandma.  Take care of yourself."  I somehow knew that I'd never see her again.  It was only a few days later, back in Chicago, when my parents called again.  Grandma had passed away and I would hold this song, this beautiful lullaby, as her song to her great-grandson.

When you wake up sun will shine,
we will not go under any cloud.
Let balloons go up in town.
Ring out every bell.

Happy Birthday, beautiful.
All the birds of this day
sing a song, sing a song.

Dream of trains carrying you
through the state parks with the cherry flowers.
When you wake up it will be
the beginning of the world.

Happy Birthday, beautiful,
through the fields of this day.
Hear a song, hear a song.

Oh undeserved sweetness and light
stay by my side
we will go out in the morning now.
A crown of maple leaves
a crown of flowers
circling your sweet head.

Happy Birthday, beautiful.
In the streets of this day
play a song, play a song.

Green Tunes: Episode 9 - The Avett Brothers

This is the most amazing song I've heard in a long while and I had to share it. This is one of them. It stabs me right in the heart. I hope you can appreciate it like I do. No video, just listen.

Tear down the house
That I grew up in
I'll never be the same again
Take everything that I’ve collected
And throw it in a pile

Bulldoze the woods
That I ran through
Carry the pictures of me and you
I have no memory of who I once was
And I don't remember your name

Park the old car
That I love the best
(The) inspections due and it won’t pass the test
It’s funny how I have to put it to rest
And how one day…I will join it

I remember crying over you
And I don't mean like a couple of tears
And then I'm blue
I’m talkin’ about collapsing
And screaming at the moon
But I'm a better man
For having gone through it
Yes, I'm a better man
For having gone through…

Ever since I learned how to curse
I’ve been using those sorry old words
But, I’m talkin’ to these children
And I’m keeping it clean
I don’t need those words
To say what I mean
No, I don’t need those words
To say what I mean

Tear down the house
That I grew up in
I'll never be the same again
Take everything that I used to own
And burn it in a pile

And, bulldoze the woods
That I ran through
Carry the pictures of me and you
I have no memory of who I once was
And I don't remember your name

Green Tunes: Episode 8

I was looking for some workout music the other day and came across Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood which I haven't listened to in a long time in any real way. Sure, the title track and Kickstart My Heart have been on the radio many times, but I hadn't listened to the whole album start to finish in many years. It really stands as a testament to the hair metal formula. It's well written, well produced, some filler, some killer, an overall fun experience and no pretensions to anything more. I can't help but be a little self indulgent with this one because it is still a very fun album after these past 20 years and a lot of takes me right back.

1. T.N.T. (Terror 'N Tinseltown) - This is that filler I mentioned. Just a sound piece to lead into Dr. Feelgood. Skip it.

2. Dr. Feelgood - If you were under 30 in 1989, you've probably heard this one. I like the song, but I like some of the others on the album a lot better. Those ones just aren't quite clean enough for the radio play they needed for this to be as big as it was.

3. Slice of Your Pie - If I remember correctly, Warrant was the other band writing songs about pie in the late '80s. While the Warrant track was a fine single regardless how lame the double entendre is, this track is a slick sex romp, typical of most the Crue's output. The blusey riff, doubled on bass, gives the song a really fantastic low end, which as a metaphor, cannot be a happy accident considering the lyrics. This is a great album cut, but they get better.

Green Tunes: Episode 7

Every once in a while, a song pops up on the old iPod that I haven't heard in years. In this case, it was Helmet's He Feels Bad. This whole album was one of my favorites when it was released. The greatest thing about it to me is its length. Clocking in at just over thirty minutes are ten songs just spitting metal as hard as they can. No quiet songs, no repose, no weakness, just a half an hour of pure energy. This is an album cut off a CD released sixteen years ago by a band that seemingly came and went, even though they still released some truly great work after that, too.

so i take it out
every chance i get
left to be so mean
still it's sane and so sympathetic

want to feel bad
but you can't say no

it's no cause at all
it comes down to you and
who bleeds who?

just past the day
pleasant leaves you
comes to you the same way
passed on

every day's the last day
no one sees you
walk the part to stay
not you

judge yourself again
age is no excuse
had to find a way to
close my eyes, call it back and shoot.

Green Tunes: Episode 6

I went to the doctor again yesterday. He's really not sure what's wrong with me. My ears feel like they fill up with fluid every night. When I wake up, if I've been sleeping on my right side, my right ear is clogged with something to the point where I can't hear much of anything out of it. The pressure and pain stick around all day, but it's worst at night. This happened back in September but it came back last week. When it didn't go away by the weekend, I got an appointment for the doctor on Monday morning even though I was feeling alright. However, by Wednesday, some glands in my throat were noticeably swollen and it hurt to swallow. Not a scratchy hurt but that deep hurt that causes you to clench your jaw in expectation.

At my appointment, the doc had a few ideas. It could be some kind of allergies that I've never known I had, it could be something in the apartment, it could be strep throat, or it could be mono. Here are my thoughts on the potential diagnoses. I've never had an allergic reaction to anything let alone one this strong. It could be a mold issue or something similar in the apartment. If that's the case, I don't know what we'll do. The strep culture the doctor did came back negative, but strep is the only one of these problems I've had any experience with so it feels most like that to me. Finally, mono. I hope the blood test comes back and they call me today. I don't have time for mono, but I'll admit the thought of rest is welcome.

I admit defeat. I've tried to be strong. I've tried to muscle through and smile in the face of adversity, but I'm just sad about everything now. All this sickness and loneliness is really getting to me. I'm struggling with the idea that I've made a mistake by coming out here. Amy tries to buoy my spirits and reassure me that this move has been and will be for the best, but I'm having a hard time believing that right now. I feel a lot like I did fifteen years ago, unsure if I've made the right decisions with my future and no chance of reassurance without the undying patience to know that eventually another fifteen years will pass and the significance of a single decision will seem practically irrelevant.

Hey now, little speedyhead,
The read on the speedometer says
You have to go to task in the city
Where people drown and people serve
Don't be shy. Your just deserve
Is only just light years to go

Me, my thoughts are flower strewn
Ocean storm, bayberry moon
I have got to leave to find my way
Watch the road and memorize
This life that passed before my eyes
Nothing is going my way

The ocean is the river's goal,
A need to leave the water knows
We're closer now than light years to go

I have got to find the river,
Bergamot and vetiver
Run through my head and fall away
Leave the road and memorize
This life that passed before my eyes
Nothing is going my way

There's no one left to take the lead,
But I tell you and you can see
We're closer now than light years to go
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
Fall into the ocean

The river to the ocean goes,
A fortune for the undertow
None of this is going my way
There is nothing left to throw
Of ginger, lemon, indigo,
Coriander stem and rows of hay
Strength and courage overrides
The privileged and weary eyes
Of river poet search naivete
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
All of this is coming your way

Green Tunes: Episode 5

I'm going to violate my own rule and post another video by Rush. Please allow me to indulge myself. I think I've made it abundantly clear that Rush is my favorite group evar. I even fell out with them for a time but came back, head long in love again.

Anyway, the song is The Pass. It's one of those songs I've been listening to for years and the older I get the more meaning I get from the lyrics. The song got me through high school as the story of someone who, perhaps feeling alone in the world, uses his dreams to pull him through the mess of adolescence. But as an adult, I find that I tend to focus more on the chorus that begins, "All of us get lost in the darkness," rather than the angst of the first two verses.

However, The positivity that radiates from the second two verses is what I find so inspiring about the song, "It's not as if this barricade blocks the only road...". I've learned over many years that finding your path is more important than reaching the destination. But no matter how enlightening that may seem, it's almost never a pleasant thing to experience. The journey is seldom easy. But despite that, the fourth verse is a call to arms, "Someone set a bad example...". Don't give up and don't quit no matter how impossible things may seem. If one door is closed, keep searching and you'll find an open one.

Proud swagger out of the schoolyard
Waiting for the worlds applause
Rebel without a conscience
Martyr without a cause

Static on your frequency
Electrical storm in your veins
Raging at unreachable glory
Straining at invisible chains

And now youre trembling on a rocky ledge
Staring down into a heartless sea
Cant face life on a razors edge
Nothings what you thought it would be

All of us get lost in the darkness
Dreamers learn to steer by the stars
All of us do time in the gutter
Dreamers turn to look at the cars
Turn around and turn around and turn around
Turn around and walk the razors edge
Dont turn your back
And slam the door on me

Its not as if this barricade
Blocks the only road
Its not as if youre all alone
In wanting to explode

Someone set a bad example
Made surrender seem all right
The act of a noble warrior
Who lost the will to fight

And now youre trembling on a rocky ledge
Staring down into a heartless sea
Done with life on a razors edge
Nothings what you thought it would be

No hero in your tragedy
No daring in your escape
No salutes for your surrender
Nothing noble in your fate
Christ, what have you done?

Green Tunes: Episode 4

This song has been running through my head all day. It just seems to fit right now. Analog Kid by Rush.

A hot and windy August afternoon
Has the trees in constant motion
With a flash of silver leaves
As they're rocking in the breeze

The boy lies in the grass with one blade
Stuck between his teeth
A vague sensation quickens
In his young and restless heart
And a bright and nameless vision
Has him longing to depart

[Chorus]
You move me
You move me
With your buildings and your eyes
Autumn woods and winter skies
You move me
You move me
Open sea and city lights
Busy streets and dizzy heights
You call me
You call me

The fawn-eyed girl with sun-browned legs
Dances on the edge of his dream
And her voice rings in his ears
Like the music of the spheres

The boy lies in the grass, unmoving
Staring at the sky
His mother starts to call him
As a hawk goes soaring by
The boy pulls down his baseball cap
And covers up his eyes

[Chorus]

Too many hands on my time
Too many feelings
Too many things on my mind
When I leave I don't know
What I'm hoping to find
When I leave I don't know
What I'm leaving behind...

Green Tunes: Episode 3

I'll admit it. I have a penchant for novelty songs. Anything weird, quirky, humorous, or just plain goofy usually has a spot in a playlist of mine somewhere. I first taught myself to play the guitar by practicing a simplified version of "I Like Chinese" by the Monty Python troupe about 500 times.

Presidents of the United States of America is a group that is quite good at churning out songs that usually fit at least two of those adjectives I listed above in any given song. The thing I love about this group is that most of the time, they're talking literally. If they write a song about Peaches or a Kitty or the planet Jupiter, they're not using those objects as metaphors for something else. The best thing is, these guys just keep getting better after they sunk back underground after their mid '90s jump to stardom. One of their songs that I play to Nick that he really likes is the closing track on their 2004 album, Love Everybody, called Jennifer's Jacket. This particular performance goes up to 11 because they play the riff from Spinal Tap's Big Bottom at the end.

And she's got safety pins and string holding it together
She can only wear her jacket in warm weather
Although the sleeves need to be shortened
The fact that the arms are falling off isn't important

(Because) Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket,
Is falling apart
Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket,
Is falling apart

The lining in her coat is rotten
And it seems that the zipper has been completely forgotten
She had a dollar ten for a slice in the pocket of the right
But the pocket had a hole and she looked for the change all night

Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket,
Is falling apart
Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket,
Is falling apart

This is a list of malformations
But it would cost one hundred dollars for alterations
We all know that the pressed leather is in
But you can't keep warm in the winter in December in the city when it's 32 degrees below zero
with a safety pin!

Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket,
Is falling apart
Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket,
Is falling apart
Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket,
Is falling apart
Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket, Jennifer's jacket,
Falling apart at the seams!
Falling apart at the seams!
Falling apart at the seams!
Falling apart at the seams! (Jennifer's jacket is)
Falling apart at the seams! (Jennifer's jacket is)
Falling apart at the seams! (Jennifer's jacket is)
Falling apart at the seams! (Jennifer's jacket is)
Falling apart at the seams, yeah!

Green Tunes: Episode 2

When Nick is fussy, it almost always helps when I put him in his swing and sing him songs while accompanying myself on guitar. I've been able to practice a lot of songs this way and I have noticed that I'm getting better at playing all of them. Sometimes I feel like I'm at open mic night. Anyway, singing songs not only settles him down but is even starting to make him happy when he hears certain songs. I don't know what in particular he likes about them.

So I think it goes without saying that the songs I play to Nick are songs that I enjoy, especially if I can stand them enough to play them the hundred or so times that I need to learn all the chords (always by ear from the track) and the lyrics. So the next few Green Tunes episodes will probably be culled from those choices. The song I present today is, in They Might Be Giants fan circles, a classic. In some cases, even non-fans have heard this song and know it. The song is Particle Man from their 1990 major label debut, Flood. I think this might be Nick's favorite. All I have to do is play the opening chords and he starts to smile even if he's been fussing.

The video I've chosen isn't a perfect performance of the song. That's why I like it, though. One thing music school did for me was to give me a very palpable sense of stage fright. Thanks, Hal Galper! (I'll tell the story later.) Anyway, when I see stuff like this it reminds me that music is fun and that most normal people don't care that every note is spot on perfect in every way. (Although as we should still aspire to perfection, we can't expect to achieve it!) ((Sorry (about) all the) parentheticals!)

Particle man, particle man
Doing the things a particle can
What's he like? It's not important
Particle man

Is he a dot, or is he a speck?
When he's underwater does he get wet?
Or does the water get him instead?
Nobody knows, Particle man

Triangle man, Triangle man
Triangle man hates particle man
They have a fight, Triangle wins
Triangle man

Universe man, Universe man
Size of the entire universe man
Usually kind to smaller man
Universe man

He's got a watch with a minute hand,
Millennium hand and an eon hand
When they meet it's a happy land
Powerful man, universe man

Person man, person man
Hit on the head with a frying pan
Lives his life in a garbage can
Person man

Is he depressed or is he a mess?
Does he feel totally worthless?
Who came up with person man?
Degraded man, person man

Triangle man, triangle man
Triangle man hates person man
They have a fight, triangle wins
Triangle man

Green Tunes: Episode 1

One of my cohorts in crime over there in the links section does something called Musical Mondays and I really like the idea so I'm stealing it. Thanks Alise! I don't plan on doing anything weekly, but once in a while, I'd like to share an earworm that's been wriggling through my head and why I like it so much. On a particular side note, I am not offended by profanity, but I will take it out of the printed lyrics and try to find bleeped videos simply out of respect for some of my readers who may find it offensive.

For episode one, I present Proceed, a song by Philadelphia rap outfit The Roots, from their 1994 album Do You Want More?!!!??! The keyboard harmonies melt along a jazzy chromatic pattern in response to one of the tightest and catchiest bass riffs I've heard in any rap song. The whole sandwich is held together by none other than ?uestlove, their ubiquitous drummer. Even when I first heard this song and had no idea what they were saying, I was mesmerized by the incredible musicality of these raw, perfectly interlocking parts. This video contains the lryical censors seen below.

Chorus:

I shall, proceed
And continue, to rock the mic

Just think, what if you could just, just blink yourself away?
Just think, what if you could just, just blink yourself away?
Jeff X can rock the mic with tooth decay
I be the 5 foot 7, residing at the mecca lesson south section
Used to cut class in the infinite pursuit of ---
Back in eighty-six
Easy with the chics I was a chocolate boy
Raised in the cellar with the rhythm like Ella
Walking down the south streets to the subway where I lay
Til the train stop then a ----- hop
Used to do the pop dance to the planet rock
At the block party everybody jocked [who me?]
It's the MC sucka ------ envy
I got my contract in 1993 and
I shall proceed

Chorus

I wake up early in the morning, I mean early afternoon
Break a lyrical hymn off the stem like boom
I'm flyer when I'm higher put my ---- up on my tomb
That ----- represented on the 28th of June
I'm representing Philly on the 28th of June
I can make you feel that I'm a surreal cartoon
with my pistol in the face of hip hop, stick in your face
Because I'm on a paper chase, yes I'm on a paper chase
My Timberlands are fully laced I be the Mr. Boogeyman
With records from 125th to Japan
I laid them play like Johnny Hathaway and shake a hand, shake a hand
Your lady tried to kick it, but I couldn't play my man
My ------ is my ------ ya see she didn't understand
I shake your hand and ----'ll hit the fan, just think
Just think, what? What if you could just, just blink, what?
Just blink yourself away?

Chorus

Malik B get on the mic yo there's too much on my mind [say what?]
Malik get on the mic, there's too much on my mind
Johnny on the spot, got the rhythm and the rhyme
------- with The Roots you know them ------ is the dime
I can make a hundred yard line start to dash
I can make a whole lake of fish start to splash
I can make Conan and the Titans clash
I can Metallica and Guns 'N Roses thrash
Used to smash crash parties like I was disturbed
Used to make plots against the herringbone herb
But now, all I do disperse the verb
And like a nerd i can make you say, "He's superb"
Word is perfect, never ever shall you misinterpret
I move styles like bowels so now you know I'm worth it
Direct from Philly, the lands where ------ scheme
So you know I got the sheen in my gleam

Chorus