RIP Mercedes Sosa

The amazing Mercedes Sosa passed away today at 74.

Music and Mood

Often, when I work from home I end up with a tune stuck in my head. Today it is the theme from The Piano, one of my favorite movies.



I had an appointment with the pulmonologist this morning. Since I already have prescriptions for the asthma and the acid reflux, he does not want to rock the boat much. But he prescribed a nasal spray to control the post nasal drip, and he wants me to do a sleep study to detect if I suffer from apnea or not.

I don't like 2009 so far. The first half of my 40th year has sucked badly. I am like a car that starts breaking down once the warranty wears off. I am worn down, tired and a little depressed from so many medical issues this year. I have had several panic attacks related to my struggles to breathe. I worry about being ill and giving an impression of weakness at work during the current economic situation. I find myself working from home more frequently, rather than venture into the office. It is easier to take care of my health if I have my medications and my nebulizer close to me. Plus, what I do can be done just as easily from the home office, and sometimes being home eliminates the distraction of chatty coworkers and unexpected visits, and allows me to focus on my job more fully. But the truth is that lately I am withdrawing more and more from contact with people other than my immediate circle.

Inspired by my previous post...

Taking It All Too Hard (2007 Remastered Album Version) - Genesis

Obedient Minds, by Dubious Quip

I found this song through a link on Twitter just a couple of hours ago and it's my new favorite.

Evocation

An old friend posted on his Facebook status that he is discovering Bruce Springsteen. It reminded me of one of my favorite songs, Tunnel of Love. As I listened to the song my skin crawled and the world around me blurred. I felt as if I was back in the early years of my college sojourn, the happiest time of my life before all the pain, love and loss came into it.

You've got to learn to live with what you can't rise above
If you want to ride on down in through this tunnel of love

Music Quote of the Day

I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart

Shape of my Heart, by Sting

A pick me up courtesy of Scatman John

Because I am sad and want to be in a better mood, I am listening to this. And since I am working from home, I can crank up the volume way up high.


Scatman John - Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba- Dop-Bop)
Uploaded by Hakunamatata67

Other than the great rythym, check out these lyrics:

Why should we be pleasin' all the politician heathens
Who would try to change the seasons if they could?
The state of the condition insults my intuition
And it only makes me crazy and my heart like wood

This guy was awesome. RIP.

Llueve, detrás de los cristales llueve y llueve

It has been raining today. As I work at my dining room table I can see the raindrops roll down the glass windows. I could not help but remember the song "Balada de Otoño" by Joan Manuel Serrat. I will always love Joan Manuel Serrat. This is one of my favorite songs. I have listened to this song since I was too young to remember.



Sometimes I wonder if I would have turned out different, less prone to sadness, if the music I listened to growing up was of a different mood. There was such delicious melancholy in most of what my mom listened to, and it has definitely informed my aesthetic.

I am making tea with herbs from my garden (peppermint and stevia) plus a stick of cinammon. I love the smell. I am experimenting with things that can help lower my blood sugar or keep it in check. Yesterday I did not exercise (I reluctantly let my body rest), and my fasting blood sugar this morning was higher than average.

Sticky thought

El amor es como lotería
Gana el que tiene suerte
No el que merecía

Tego Calderón, featured in the song

"El Trabajito" by Tommy Torres.

Translation:

Love is like the lottery
The luckiest one wins
Not the most deserving

What I am listening to tonight

Sunday night

My new obsession, which I need to listen to over and over again, is the theme from the movie 3:10 to Yuma (the 2007 version). I watched the movie today on pay-per-view and I fell in love with the music. The soundtrack fits the movie so well that sometimes you are not even aware the music is there, setting the tone scene after scene.

I am not a fan of Westerns. Traditional Westerns are too testosterone-driven for my taste. But I liked 3:10 to Yuma, just as I liked Unforgiven when it came out sixteen years ago. Both films moved me and provoked a strong emotional reaction.

Music Time Warp

Two songs from 1996 got stuck in my head this morning. Funny, I don't remember much from that year. It is one of those that my memory has fast-forwarded. I love the songs, though.

Afternoon chuckle

The good thing about blogging is that often, after getting things off my chest my mood improves. Or it could simply be that watching goofy videos from times long past always brightens my day.



I don't know why this Marky Mark tune found its way into my brain during lunchtime, but once I started humming it, I knew I had to go watch the video.

What I am listening to this morning

Chambao

I was browsing through iTunes yesterday, and decided to check their recommendations based on my purchase history (they do the same thing as Amazon). Among the artists they were pushing was the group Chambao, from Spain. They have been around for a few years, but like Orishas before them, I had never heard of them.

I love their sound, it's flamenco music for the digital age. The song above is called "Pokito a poko" (poquito a poco or little by little). Something in the lyrics grabbed me when I listened to it:

pokito a poko entendiendo
que no vale la pena andar por andar
que es mejo camina pa ir creciendo"

Translated loosely and with no mind for the rhyme as:

little by little understanding
that it's not worth it to walk just to be on the go
that it's better to walk as a way to grow

La Ramona

Puerto Ricans of my generation may remember the song "La Ramona", by Fernando Esteso (Spain). I remember listening to this growing up and laughing my ass every time. There is no way they could away with such lyrics nowadays, as it it is not politically correct at all, but still gets a laugh out of me.




Ramona, ¿ande tas metío? ¿Dónde?

La Ramona es la más gorda de las mozas de mi pueblo
Ramona te quiero
Tiene un globo por cabeza y no se le ve el pescuezo
Ramona te quiero
Sus piernas son dos columnas, su trasero es un pandero
Ramona te quiero

Le han hecho una cama con cuatro vigas de hierro
Y cuando se acuesta tiembla el suelo de mi pueblo
Le han hecho una silla en casa del cerrajero
Con catorce patas pa´que resista su cuerpo

La Ramona es barrigona, su cuerpo da miedo verlo
Ramona te quiero
La Ramona es pechugona tié dos cántaros por pechos
Ramona te quiero
Los brazos de la Ramona son mas anchos que mi cuerpo
Ramona te quiero

La han hecho un retrato en casa del retratero
como era tan gorda solo ha salido medio cuerpo
Se ha comprao un vestido colorao de terciopelo, hecho de volantes con cien capas de torero

Je je je je madre... ay Ramona...

La Ramona se ha fugao con el hijo de cartero
Ramona te quiero
Como no cabía en el tren se la lleva en un velero
Ramona te quiero
El velero se ha ido a pique por el exceso de peso
Ramona te quiero

Va dando zarpazos pensando en su salvamento
Pero no hay cristiano que pueda con tanto peso
A lo lejos viene un barco de balleneros
Han tirao las redes, la remolcan por los pelos

Creyéndola una ballena la han cazao los balleneros
Ramona te quiero
Sentadico en una orilla llora el hijo del cartero
Ramona te quiero
Se ha quedao sin su Ramona por no calcular el peso
Ramona te quiero, Ramona te quiero...

Ay madre Ramona. Un cacho carne con ojos eso es lo que eres Ramona...

Seven songs I am singing

My friend, the amazing Lori, tagged me today. She has asked me to share seven songs that I am singing right now. If you have read my blog the last few days, you probably know that I have been on an eighties groove ever since Wolfgang started it by posting his 10 favorite eighties songs.

Right after I made my top 20 list, I started remembering more old songs I loved. Some of them I love more than what I put on the list. I will not go back and change it, but since I can't get these songs out of my head now, you'll have to endure them.

1- Down Under, Men at Work. How could I have forgotten that one? I was a major Men at Work fan. It's always been a favorite of mine. The video always cracked me up. And I heard about vegemite for the first time.

2- Talkin' Bout a Revolution, Tracy Chapman. Tracy Chapman's music is timeless. This song is as fresh now as when it first came out.

3- The Way it Is, Bruce Hornsby and the Range. It was the piano that hooked me, but the lyris are great too. I bought their recording when it first came out and loved to listen to this song. Apparently the piano has inspired everybody and their brother, as YouTube is full of cover videos of the song.

4- The Glamorous Life, Sheila E. This song kicked ass back then and it's still great.

5- We'll Be Together, Sting. I was such a Sting fan from the time he was in the Police through his first four solo records. This song was from his second release. The video was on heavy rotation on MTV.

6- Who's that Girl?, Eurythmics. The language of love slips from my lover's tongue... cooler than ice cream and warmer than the sun... This is one of my favorite songs by Eurythmics.

7- Electric Avenue, Eddy Grant. What can I say? I can't get it out of my head! How can I resist lyrics like these?

Workin' so hard like a soldier

Can't afford the things on T.V.

Deep in my heart I abhor you

Can't get food for the kid

Blame all this 80's reminiscing on Wolfgang

A-ha. There's another band that I absolutely loved when I was younger. I was such a fan that I bought three of their recordings: Hunting High and Low, Scoundrel Days and Stay on These Roads. Of these three, my favorite was Scoundrel Days.

Hunting High and Low was released on 1985 when I was still in high school. I had the tape and would listen to it all the time on my Walkman. This was their debut album and features what became their big hit in the U.S., Take on Me. People went crazy for the video and its blend of drawings and pictures, but I always considered that one of the weakest songs in the album. My favorite songs were Blue Sky, Hunting High and Low, Living a Boy's Adventure Tale and I Dream Myself Alive.

Scoundrel Days was released the next year and it was part of the soundtrack to my first year of college. The tape was on heavy rotation in my car. I had just gotten my first car (an old '79 Pontiac Grand Prix that used to belong to my dad). Even though this album did not have any hits in the US, it was my favorite. I loved every single song, but my favorites were Scoundrel Days, The Swing of Things, I've Been Losing You (I was obsessed with this one) and The Weight of the Wind.

The last A-ha album I bought has one of my favorite songs, The Living Daylights, which was also the theme of the James Bond movie of the same name. But other than that, this album did not do much for me. Maybe my tastes were changing by then. I never bought any other A-ha recordings again.

A-ha continued to make music and are still together and apparently still popular in Europe. I found their official website and it mentions they have a new release, which can be purchased on iTunes in many countries except the US. Maybe I'll wait to see if it ever becomes available and check it out, for old times' sake.

Shock The Monkey

Something tells me I am going to spend the whole day remembering great songs and videos that I did not include in my Top 20 list. Like the Eurythmics song, this is one of my favorites that I inexplicably forgot about when making the list. Based on this video, I was in love with Peter Gabriel and wanted to run off with him. I know, I'm a weirdo.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

How did I forget this one? It was one of my favorite songs and videos.

Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to be used by you
Some of the want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused

This video was very provocative at the time. But aside from the great visuals, the music was great and Annie Lenox has an amazing voice.