Category: Music

The Closed Door

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.

Alexander Graham Bell

At the beginning of November, I was fired from my part-time retail job.  When it happened, I was seized with a moment of short-term-thinking-panic (what will I do?, I have no income coming in!, etc.).  For those who have faced unemployment, you know that feeling I’m describing – kind of like free-falling with no safety net.  And I don’t mean in the Tom Petty-greatest-hits kind of way.  Because I have been downsized a couple of times in the past (and walked away from jobs as well), that moment of short-term-thinking-panic didn’t grip me as fiercely as it has in the past.  Nor did it last long.  Which was good because I have since had a few doors open for me that are more closely related to my career background (which is not retail) and the direction to which I would like to return career-wise.  I worked a short-term assignment that allowed me to enjoy meeting yet another group of new people.  Getting to and fro was arduous at best but I pulled off logistical feats that amounted to getting there and back for the three days I was assigned to work.  However, that is not the door that fortunately has opened.  I am currently on an assignment that feels right because of the location, atmosphere and the people with whom I work.  It, too, is a temporary assignment; but for now, it feels as if I am walking a path of open-door opportunities that will lead to a better professional outcome than my more recent experiences.


If I turn my head and look behind me, I can see the sky and clouds over New Orleans and the river meandering through the city.  I can regard other skyscrapers that dot the skyline – from an equally high-altitude.  The view and the feeling of increased opportunity are priceless.

 

 

Currently, I spend little time looking at the door that closed, instead, I look at the door that has opened.  And during moments when I stare out the window into the clouds, I imagine the next greater door/opportunity that will open as well.

Tranquil, Serene Day

This is the song I wish I were singing today:

Or this version:

Instead, this is the song I sang:

And this is what it actually looked like:

I love being near water because it is so tranquil and serene.  So with that in mind, I decided to venture far afield in order to be near/on the water.  The day was a little chilly and at certain points overcast.  However, there were moments when the sun came out and provided a nice warmth to the slight chill.  Needless to say, today was a beautiful day with part of the time spent sitting on the dock of the bay (actually harbor).

My next adventure/experience – going out on a sailboat.  That will take a little time and effort but that is the next progression from watching the boats from the shore or from the dock.  Years (and another lifetime) ago, I was on a motorboat in Miami Bay, then we left the bay for the ocean solely based on my curiosity.  If anything could ever be described as the exact opposite of the mood Christopher Cross or Avant evokes in “Sailing”, then being on a motorboat going full throttle in the ocean, cresting waves and bottoming out would be it.  I’ll take the sailing.  On a good day.

Seasons Change – Part I

Fall/autumn is here and I couldn’t help but take a musical moment to herald the arrival of my favorite season.  A written piece is forthcoming but in the meantime, a musical blast from the 80s – Exposés “Seasons Change”.  Because I love the awesomeness of the 80s, this is the extended version. Do extended versions even exist anymore?

Facing Fear – Literally

In Snakes, Snakes, Snakes, I wrote about being frightened by a snake on my path while bicycling months ago and seeing a few dead snakes as well.  I don’t feel alone in my aversion to snakes because it is a rather common phobia/fear/aversion.  It used to be that I would jump out of my skin if I simply saw a snake on TV (worse would be a larger-than-life, big-screen snake while at the movies). 

A few years ago, I had an exceptionally vivid dream that involved snakes.  Instead of being in fear of them in my dream, I was at peace with them and there was an element of camaraderie between the snakes and I.  The dream was so powerful and significant feeling that I wondered if I had lost my fear of snakes.  I never tested the theory because I seldom watch TV and had not really seen any movies with snakes in them.  I still lived in Saint Louis at the time, so I was far enough removed from “the wild” as to not have much of an opportunity to run across a snake in my daily life (although I had seen possums, bats and a coyote there).  After a time, I kind of forgot about the nature of the dream and my curiosity regarding my fear potentially having dissipated.

This past week, I was filling time and meandered into a pet store which, among many other things, sold snakes.  There was a baby ball python in his tank and I decided to face my fear of snakes in a limited way.  I stood in front of the tank for probably 10 minutes just looking at the snake as it undulated around the tank going from being exposed on a faux tree limb to hiding in a faux tree trunk towards the back of the tank.  After a while, it came out of its hiding place and moved towards the glass of the tank to check out what was going on.  All the while, I stood there observing the snake with no fear.  Even when the snake was near the glass and looking out towards me, I continued to observe the snake.  No fear.  As a matter of fact, I looked so long and so hard that I could appreciate some aspect of beauty the snake possessed.  In return for the snake’s part in my experiment, I sent the snake Reiki to help it feel calm and peace in what I perceived to have been a chaotic environment.  At one point, someone tapped on the glass of the tank which I found to be downright annoying.  In reading, ball pythons are pretty docile but also extremely nervous.  Tapping on the glass seemed like an upsetting event for an animal that is easily nervous.

Standing in front of the tank, observing the snake forever was one step forward in facing just one of my fears.  In an earlier conversation with someone I actually attempt to heed when she speaks, she mentioned the unnecessary weight of fear that I carry regarding New Orleans.  In Cajun Chaos, I recounted my early run-in with New Orleans which led to my vowing to not come NEAR New Orleans – EVER.  It is an amazing testament to the concept of “never say never” that I live so close right now.  Just as I was able to move beyond my fear and find some semblance of beauty in the python, the next task is to move beyond the fear of being a victim of violent crime in order to find the beauty in New Orleans.   That can only be done when I stop cowering and turn to face New Orleans.

I’ve posted the video below because the story the video tells is about fear.  Notice how, initially, the sound of the one guy walking behind the main character creates the tension.  Yet, as the main character continues walking, his fear increases as the one guy becomes two, then, three.  As his fear increases, the three increase to legions.  The harder the main character runs away from the legions of menacing people chasing him, the more people there are chasing him.  Finally, he stops and turns around.  And they stop.  As he faces the initial two who followed him, they both smile as if to acknowledge that he has just figured out their secret.  It is at that point that he takes his first step towards the menacing legions.  And they recede away from him.  He takes another step forward and they recede.  With each step forward he takes, they, as a group, recede until he is running towards them and they are now running FROM him.  And that is the nature of fear; it dogs your every footstep or footfall as long as it is behind you.  Yet, once you turn to face the fears and walk towards them, they disappear.

Sometimes You Just Gotta Go With It

I enjoy singing but have not had the opportunity lately because I usually am not somewhere where I can listen to music privately (and sing along).  One day last week I made my usual before-work stop at Starbucks and one of my favorite arresting songs came on – LIke a Star.  This song, like Rain by Jesse Cook and Straight Into the Sunrise by Gato Barbieri, stopped me cold when I first heard it.  I was totally fascinated by the sound and ran out to purchase the entire CD based on the one song.  This was pre-iPod ownership.  However, I’m glad that I did purchase the entire CD because I love every song on it. 

Because Starbucks was pretty empty, I just went with it and began to sing the song – aloud.  Softly but still aloud.  It felt good to sing along to the song because it was something I had not done in quite a while.  When the song ended, the process of singing felt cathartic.  A few moments later, I realized it was time for me to pack up and go.  As I was leaving, I turned around to unplug my phone or something along those lines and realized there was someone sitting behind me that I didn’t factor into my decision to sing the song aloud.  As soft as I was singing, he was close enough to have heard every nuanced note.  Oops, free concert…

Sometimes you just gotta go with it.

Imagine 2013: Taksim Square

During my pointing and clicking online, I ran into this video – imagine that.  Imagine is a powerful song although it is simple – a voice and a piano.  Yet, the song resonates. 

Dissent always interests me, so, conceptually, the location of the performance immediately drew me in.  For over two weeks, citizens in Istanbul have gathered together to protest Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s plans to tear up Gezi Park in order to make way for a commercial development (of all things, a mall).  In addition, prior to the park demolition, Erdoğan already announced plans to curtail the sale and use of alcohol in this Muslim, but secular, society.  Over time, the protest evolved from outrage over plans to destroy one of the last public green spaces in Istanbul to an outraged national response to the Prime Minister’s authoritarian policy changes as other cities protested in solidarity. 

As more and more citizens take to public spaces to demonstrate dissent with their government, the dissent is met with policing reminiscent of Birmingham under Bull Connor.  Yet, despite the photos of police using overwhelming force against dissenters, there also exists the underlying stories of the dissenters’ solidarity and non-violent resistance.  The establishment of a people’s library with free books.  Dissenters cleaning up the park after leaving.  The establishment of an orderly tent city. The “Standing Man”.  And last, but not least, this musical performance.  Music is a powerful tool whose use can range from hard-driving music that can cause a riot to peaceful music that can unite disparate people in solidarity.  This, obviously, is the latter.


I Just Wanna Be…

A woman. 

This is NOT the title to this particular song but because it is the repeating chorus throughout, you would automatically assume that to be the case.

Leading up to the Womb Blessing and thinking of womanhood in general, this song popped in my head and I decided to go with it.

The title of the song – Glory Box.  This live version is performed by Portishead and Massive Attack.  There is also a cover (which I just finally listened to) by John Martyn and it too sounds good.  However, in my humble opinion, this is THE version…