The Allman Brothers Band

Another Day, Another Post

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Of all the blog posts I’ve ever written in all my life, this will be one of them. In other words, it will probably not be my finest.

I sat at my Mac Book and opened up my WordPress website. 30 minutes later, I’m checking all these Facebook posts and haven’t written a single word.

Some days are great. Some days are terrible. Some days just are.

God keeps reminding me that any day that I’m alive and aware is a good day. Even the days when the worst case scenario happens, like losing my beloved Lucy. That was one of the hardest days of my life, but I still saw an abundance of grace and joy on that day and I felt every one of your prayers carrying me along and getting me through.

All in all, this was another good day. I worshipped with The Church at Avenue South, had a fantastic Greek omelette at Athens, found a couple of good buys at Grimey’s Preloved Music, then later went to another stellar Kairos Greeter outing in Spring Hill.

I suppose i’m just pooped from all that activity and my brain is too tired to be all creative and artsy and blog-post-y.

I did have some vintage Allman Brothers Band music to be the soundtrack to all my journeys today. That’s something noteworthy.

“[A]lmost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement” (from Joe Vs. the Volcano).

 

The Allman Brothers Band for the Road

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One of the joys of having over 100 people a day move to Nashville is the most enjoyable and fun commutes I’ve been having [said with copious amounts of sarcasm].

I really enjoy creeping along I-40, then for a brief moment to speed up, only to run into more traffic and slow down again. I really have nothing better to do than idle in traffic for an eternity. [sarcasm continued].

The one glimmer of goodness in all the gridlock is that I have ample time to listen to quality music. It’s not like I have anywhere else I can go during that time, so I might as well put it to good use.

Today, I spent a lot of time with The Allman Brothers Band, specifically the deluxe edition of their second album, Idlewild South. There’s a 45-minute version of the song Mountain Jam that’s not for the musically faint of heart.

Their music is ideal for cruising down the highway with the windows rolled down and the summer breezes blowing in. It still works for windows rolled up and inching along the interstate, but really it makes me want to find a deserted two-lane road, throw the map out the window, and just drive wherever the road takes me. One day I just might do that very thing.

I do think good music is good for the soul. There’s something healing about hearing the right song at the right time that goes along way toward detoxing from the stresses of the work week. I recommend old-school country, southern rock, jazz, blues, or just about anything from the 70’s.

PS It helps a lot if you crank up the volume and roll down the windows (but not so much when it’s sweltering and humid outside). Then maybe just crank up the A/C.

 

 

My Multimedia Adventure Continues

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It’s been a while since I updated you on my latest music and Netflix intake, so here goes.

I picked up a live Bob Marley and the Wailers album from the clearance section of Target. It’s called Easy Skanking in Boston ’78 and it’s classic reggae from my favorite decade, musically speaking. The title’s a little weird, but the music’s great. It helps if you have speakers with lots of bass.

I pre-ordered the new Lindsay Buckingham/Christine McVie album from amazon.com. I’m very much intrigued by the pairing and I’m hoping for a little old-school Fleetwood Mac vibe on this one.

Right now, I’m reliving my high school glory days with The Best of Both Worlds, a Van Halen best-of compilation. It’s amazing how those songs take me back to when I first heard them. And for the record, I prefer David Lee Roth over Sammy Hagar, but I like ’em both.

I foresee some serious Allman Brothers Band marathons in my future. I do believe that southern rock is good for the soul, especially when that soul has a lengthy commute to and from work.

Currently, my Netflix mainstays are Gilmore Girls (halfway through season 6) and Bates Motel (just started season 2). Gilmore Girls still has that fantastic dialogue that reminds me a lot of the old movie His Girl Friday (with some similarities to one of my favorite John Cusack movies, Better Off Dead). I have a fairly decent idea of where Bates Motel is headed, having already seen Psycho (and Bates Motel is the backstory to that movie).

I’m always open to suggestions for what to listen to and watch next, especially when it comes to Netflix. I’d really like something that has a similar vibe to Stranger Things and The OA, but I’m pretty much open to any kind of shows or movies out there.

More to come at some later (and probably randomly picked) date. Stay tuned.