Winter: Joy and Sorrow

Share Your Music — 30 Days, 30 Songs.  Day 8.

In the 90s, when disco was dead, I went into my classical music phase.  It was also the time I had my first baby.  That was a difficult time and a difficult pregnancy.  I listened to quite a bit of classical music when I was pregnant, and because I was new to it, I chose a few old standards.  One of my favourite pieces was/is Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.  I particularly liked “Winter”.  It is like four seasons in one.

I had my baby during winter.  That seems quite ironic to me now.  I didn’t listen to much music after the birth.  I was too exhausted.  Too depressed.  Perhaps I’ll write about that one day.  About four months after I had the baby, I went to the mall with my mother and my little boy.  We went into a shop and were browsing when Vivaldi’s Four Seasons came on.  My son started waving his arms in time with the music.  My mother and I were stunned.  The shop assistants came over too to see this young baby conducting to the music.  It was “Winter”.

xyzAfter all that time, he had remembered.  I wonder if this is why he likes classical music so much and once considered a career as a classical musician.  That career path didn’t come to fruition, but it did extend my classical music phase for about 20 years.

Ready for some conducting?

Sarah at Art Expedition is hosting 30 Days, 30 Songs for the month of June. You can see her latest post here.  It is not too late to join in the challenge.  Casual players welcome.

Kind Regards.
Tracy

Share Your Music: 30 Days, 30 Songs (4)

Who would have thought a song challenge would get the ol’ grey matter working?  It is Day 4 of the 30 Days, 30 Songs! challenge.  This challenge is hosted by Sarah from Art Expeditions.

Woo, Woo.

Sarah’s pick for today is dark — fun, but dark.  She has chosen Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones.  Nice.  I can work with that.  So are you ready for another song, ladies and gentlemen?  Let’s take a walk to the edge of town.

It is not too late to join the Challenge.  Casual players welcome.  Click here to create a pingback to Sarah’s Day 4 post.

Too many songs, so little time.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

Share Your Music: 30 Days, 30 Songs (3)

My friend, Sarah from Art Expeditions is hosting the 30 Days, 30 Songs! challenge and I thought I would join in for the Day 3 shenanigans.

Sarah chose Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun for her song today.  What a fantastic song!  I love that song, and I know I’m showing my age, but there were many discos held in my lounge room dancing to that song when it first came out.  Around the same time, the Communards did a cover of Don’t Leave Me This Way.  What an era for dancing that was.  As you can imagine, I nearly wore a hole in my carpet from all the dancing.  So I think I’ll go with that as my song pick for Day 3.  I also note that WordPress has just announced its support for Pride Month so the timing couldn’t be better to pay tribute to these talented people.

I’m losing control.  I won’t be satisfied until I have a sing.  Sing it with me.

It is not too late to join the Challenge.  Click here to create a pingback to Sarah’s Day 3 post.

I’ll be back tomorrow if I can think of any more favourite songs.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

Share Your Music: 30 Days – 30 Songs!

Dear Readers, my friend, Sarah from Art Expeditions, is hosting a challenge for the month of June.  It is the Share Your Music: 30 Days – 30 Songs! challenge.  I’ve decided to participate because I like Sarah and I like music.  Also, June is the first month of winter in my part of the world and because I am very indecisive, this challenge could keep me out of trouble.

I’m sure Sarah would love it if you joined in the challenge too.  Any or every day of the month would be just fine.  Be sure to include a pingback to her daily music post if you decide to participate.  That way others can also see your selection.  Click here for her Day 1 post.  For the first day, she chose the main theme to Star Wars — one of my favourites.  You can never have too many favourites.  For my first post of the challenge, I have chosen a variation on Sarah’s theme of stars and war.  I have landed on Holst:  The Planets, ‘Mars’.  Eek, very punny!  As you are probably aware, Mars is the bringer of war.  Enjoy.

Have you got a favourite from the The Planets suite?  Let me know.  I can’t decide.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

 

An Anniversary And A Song

I have been reminded that it has been a whole year since the Ragtag Daily Prompt was established.  For those of you who don’t know, I contribute a prompt word each Thursday.  The initiative involves a whole team of people, including the administrators of the group, as well as everyone who contributes responses each day.

I thought we should have a sing to celebrate and I hope you will sing along with me, each in our respective lounge rooms.  It’s a song about horses and birds, or something like that, so what more could you ask for?  Seriously though, it is about giving flight to your hopes and dreams in an encouraging environment.  That’s very Ragtag, don’t you think?

This is my response to the Ragtag Daily Prompt — Prompt.  Click on the link to join in the fun.

Kind Regards.
Tracy

Two Kinds Of Music

I am having trouble organising/articulating my thoughts for my previously flagged “dear-to-my-heart” post.  When I write about serious issues, I like to think that I don’t talk crap – that my discussion is well considered (you can retire the girl from policy analysis but you can’t take the policy analyst out of the girl).  So, I have been doing some research and this has taken me down some holes that require, upon emerging, a full body scrub and several showers to feel clean again.

Anyway, this is not said post.  It is a link to a short TED talk from ex-shearer and award-winning West Australian C&W singer, Pete Byfield.  I caught a performance by Pete at a country market.

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Just An Old-Fashioned Love Song

Happy lovey dovey day, everyone.  It sounds like I’m not sentimental, but first impressions can be deceiving.  After nearly 25 years of marriage (drats, I think I forgot my last wedding anniversary), I am still as much in love with my gorgeous man as the first time I ever saw his face.  We don’t do the whole Valentine’s Day thing, but as I forgot our last anniversary, I’m going to have to make it up to him somehow.  My love wouldn’t have forgotten the big day, but as it coincides with another apparently important anniversary, he would have felt it rude to overshadow the other event, unless of course I happened to mention it first.

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To get in the mood for this lovey dovey day (and in the interests of this post), I’ve been listening to some of my favourite love songs/tunes (see my list below).  I fear this list may tell you more about me than you would care to know, but I thought I would share it with you anyway.  Here goes: Read more

A New World

This is my response to the Ragtag Daily Prompt of 4 July 2018 — Resurrect.

It seems to me that without music we have nothing; we are nothing.  For many of us, it is central to our cultural identity and our personal identity. Read more