Tag Archives: John Prine

Songs for Me and Robert Neville

4 Oct

My wife and stepdaughter just left for the week at the beach. Next week, my wife and I are going to a real place – Santa Fe, New Mexico. However, that is happening next week. At the moment, I have the house to myself. This might be fun for a night, but I am certain that it will get old relatively soon.

The house has been quiet, and, in an attempt to break the silence, I turned on some music. The problem is that I have gravitated to songs with certain themes. I have listened to “Alone Again” by Dokken and followed that up with “Tired of Being Alone” by Al Green. Of course, there is “I Drink Alone” by George Thorogood.

On top of that, “Lonley Days” by Bee Gees is fitting for the occasion. In fact, it goes well with “The Lonely Man” by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Jackie Wilson sang “Lonely Teardrops“, which can only be shed by only the lonely. Luckily, the iPod has “Only the Lonely” by Roy Orbison. Merle Haggard sings about “Going Where the Lonely Go“. I do not know where that is, but I wonder if “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” plays there. If not, then maybe The Beatles do.

All of this adds up to being lonesome, and there are a ton of songs on my iPod that deal with that.

Are You Lonesome Tonight?” by Elvis Presley

“The Blue Side of Lonesome” by John Prine and Mac Wiseman

I’m a Lonesome Fugitive” by Merle Haggard

I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams

Lonesome Loser” by Little River Band

Lonesome Valley” by The Fairfield Four

Lonesome, On’ry and Mean” by Waylon Jennings

I could go on by listing “Solitary Man” by Neil Diamond and “Solitude” by Billie Holiday, but it might be time to stop listening to this kind of stuff. The iPod needs to change themes to something like “The In Crowd” by Ramsey Lewis or “You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor. After all, the zombie apocalypse has not hit. There has to be other people in the world. Certainly, I have not become Robert Neville.Neville

Everyone knows who that is, right?

My iPod Has Issues – In Honor of a Fallen Friend

1 Jun

I realize that it was just the other day when I put together an iPod post. However, this one is different. Yesterday, a funeral was held for a friend of mine who died way too young. It was an inspiring service, but it was heartbreaking for everyone. His passing is a tragedy that will always be felt by those who knew him.

My iPod has a playlist of songs about God and all things heavenly. Some are spiritual. Some are secular. I share a few of them with you to honor Matt.Matt

“God and Man” by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee

“Joshua Fit De Battle of Jericho” by The Golden Gate Quartet

“Angel Band” by The Stanley Brothers

“Stairway to Heaven” by Heart

“Superstar” by Ben Vereen and Marc Pressel

“God Moving Over the Face of the Waters” by Moby

“Christo Redemptor” by Charlie Musselwhite

“Everybody Knows Elvis (Everybody Knows Jesus)” by Kate Campbell

“The Ball Game” by Sister Wynona Carr

“Lonesome Valley” by The Fairfield Four

“Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum

“New World in My View” by King Britt

“Amazing Grace” by The Beeston Pipe Band

“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan

“Why Me” by Kris Kristofferson

“Old Rugged Cross” by John Prine and Mac Wiseman

“This Train” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

“Crying in the Chapel” by Elvis Presley

“Tell Me There’s a Heaven” by Chris Rea

“People Get Ready” by The Impressions

My iPod Has Issues – WordPress Has Joined the Crazy Club

9 Dec

This morning, I logged into WordPress and found that the format has been changed. Obviously, this is not the first time that changes have taken place, and each time I have to learn how to navigate the system to get where I want.

It an old-fashioned question, but why fix something that is not broken? Ever heard of New Coke?New Coke

Hold on. Scratch that. The classic system I signed up on was not broken. The changes since that time have gradually made the platform worse. With each change, I have figured out how to get back to the classic. One of these days, the classic dashboard is going to be deleted, and the blogging world will stop spinning.

Anyway, the folks at WordPress either need busy work to justify their continued employment, or they have joined the crazy club. My iPod is the only thing crazier than these constant changes. With that in mind, we will go completely off the wall and use this crazy blogging platform to explore my crazy iPod.

Hold on to your minds!

“The Reflex” by Duran Duran

“La Grange” by ZZ Top

“Highway 61 Revisited” by Bob Dylan

“Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin

“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” by Dionne Warwick

“Baby Love” by The Supremes

“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” by Steely Dan

“The Devil Made Me Do It” by Golden Earring

“In The Garden” by John Prine and Mac Wiseman

“Say You Really Care” by Roscoe Shelton

“Cool” by Lou Busch and His Orchestra

“Big Long Slidin’ Thing” by Dinah Washington

“Bad Businessman” by Squirrel Nut Zippers

“Funk #49” by James Gang

“Coelocanth” by Shriekback

“Luckenbach, Texas” by Waylon Jennings

“Bring It On Home To Me” by Sam Cooke

“Banditos” by The Refreshments

“Hallelujah” by Sweathog

“Escape of Jennie Wiley” by Hylo Brown

“Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple

“Roane County Prison” by Bill Monroe

“Beau Geste” by Hadley J. Castille

“Everlasting Love” by Robert Knight

“Stagger Lee” by Lloyd Price

Our brief musical interlude is over. Now, WordPress. Fix yourself.

My iPod Has Issues – Heaven Help Us

24 Aug

I have publish several posts about the deeper meaning of the music on my iPod. The first, second and third were examinations of the overall playlist. The other was a more nuanced study of the “What’s In a Name?” playlist. A quick review of those posts will show that my iPod is bipolar, OCD and a little schizophrenic.

Tonight, I have decided to shuffle the “For God’s Sake” playlist and see what pops up. This grouping contains selections with religious titles or themes. I find these types of songs interesting, especially the old spirituals. This is surprising because of my lack of spirituality. Religious folks will say that I like these songs because I have an internal need to connect with a supreme being. I think I like them because, well, I like them.

Here is a sampling of my heavenly collection.

It’s weird that people correlate gold with heaven when you can’t take it with you.

1. “Knockin’ On Heavens Door” by Guns n’ Roses

2. “God and Man” by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee

3. “Body and Soul” by Diana Krall

4. “Save a Prayer” by Duran Duran

5. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2

6. “Judgement Day” by Whitesnake

7. “Heaven and Hell” by Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter

8. “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison

9. “This Train” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe

10. “Superstar” by Ben Vereen and Marc Pressel

11. “Old Rugged Cross” by John Prine and Mac Wiseman

12. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” by The Fairfield Four

13. “Hallelujah” by Sweathog

14. “Chapel of Love” by The Dixie Cups

15. “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin

16. “The Man Comes Around” by Johnny Cash

17. “Backwoods Preacher Man” by Tony Joe White

18. “Amazing Grace” by The Beeston Pipe Band

19. “Who’s to Bless and Who’s to Blame” by Kris Kristofferson

20. “Angel Eyes” by Scott Hamilton

We will now pass the plate before offering the benediction.

My iPod Has Issues – The Name Game

16 Jul

It’s been a while since I delved into the psyche of my iPod. For those who don’t know, my iPod has no direction and is misunderstood by a lot of people. It is filled with music from different genres and time periods. It has been told that it contains nothing less than 20 years old. I’m not sure that is true, but it definitely has an old soul. Most people who listen to my iPod have a difficult time understanding how such a collection could have come together in the first place.

This blog is littered with posts about my iPod, and you can psychoanalyze it yourself here, here, and here. In these couch sessions, I simply hit shuffle and list the songs that pop up. Indeed, it is a wide variety, but I still can’t see why people say “can we please listen to something else?” when my iPod is trying to entertain them.

In this post, I am looking at my iPod from an altered perspective by focusing on one of its playlists. This one is called “What’s In a Name?” and contains selections that have the names of people in their titles. Clever, huh? So, a dosey-doe and here we go.

1. “All About Clovis Ledbetter” by Jerry Clower

2. “Rocky’s Reward” by Bill Conti

3. “Rhiannon” by Stevie Nicks

4. “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” by The Ramones

5. “Ziggy Stardust” by David Bowie

6. “William, It Was Really Nothing” by The Smiths

7. “Jack & Coke” by Lynda Kay

8. “Truck Turner” by Isaac Hayes

9. “Bennie and the Jets” by Elton John

10. “Sonny Got Caught in the Moonlight” by Robbie Robertson

11. “Jack & Diana” by John Mellencamp

12. “Willie, Waylon and Me” by David Allan Coe

13. “Marriage of Dale and Ming” by Queen

14. “Death of Floyd Collins” by John Prine and Mac Wiseman

15. “Jolene” by Dolly Parton

16. “Father Ramirez” by Ennio Morricone

17. “Ruby Tuesday” by The Rolling Stones

18. “The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde” by Merle Haggard

19. “Caroline No” by The Beach Boys

20. “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” by Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs & The Foggy Mountain Boys

I really don’t think my iPod is all that strange.