Under a Red Roof

Musical Throne

December 1, 2024 in Listening, Loving by Colleen | Permalink

I haven’t done a playlist in long while, and one late evening while listening to music (of course), Greg and I got to go-go-going on our favorite artists and bands, and here we are. A relatively small Musical Throne of favorites from a pretty vast library. Alice in Chains to Willie Nelson. The best of the bestie best.

Click the song title to hear it! I hope you enjoy, and maybe even discover something new for yourself.

Alice in Chains: Our car stereo storage system is not so bueno and sometimes resets in the middle of a song. Until our recent purchase of Santana’s Abraxis, Alice in Chains was always the default starting point, and in particular, the song Again, which was never really a bad thing. Jerry’s guitar!

Head Creeps :: I Stay Away :: All Secrets Known

Andrew Bird: Once, in conversation with our most fabulous friend and financial advisor of twenty-four years (!!), we mentioned Andrew Bird. A bit shocked, he said, “That weirdo who whistles all the time?” The very one, Sean.

Fake Palindromes :: Plasticities :: Rising Water

The Black Angels: Back in the days when I was on Facebook, this Colorado born and Oregon living gal stumbled upon an “I Miss Texas” thread, and this band was the most compelling reason on the list.

Doves :: Young Men Dead :: Melanie’s Melody

Chris Cornell: The voice. The Voice. The Voice. Also, the spirit.

Birth Ritual :: Can’t Change Me :: Cochise

Dolly Parton: America’s Angel on Earth. Sings like one, too.

My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy :: I am Thinking Tonight of my Blue Eyes :: A Few Old Memories

The Doors: This band, if I had to wager, is imprinted on my DNA. Thank you, Daddy.

Queen of the Highway :: Take it As it Comes :: Strange Days

The Eagles: One of the most prominent bands of my childhood that I could never, ever quit.

I Can’t Tell You Why :: Peaceful Easy Feeling :: After the Thrill is Gone

Ella Fitzgerald: Simply the best. I love you, Ella.

They Can’t Take that Away From Me :: Misty :: Blue Skies

Fontaines D.C.: This band is one of the myriad I’ve discovered on independent radio. Thank goodness for it!

Televised Mind :: Jackie Down the Line :: Starburster

Frank Sinatra: With many thanks to my parents and grandparents for this one. The voice ain’t half bad, either.

One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) :: It Happened in Monterrey :: The Last Dance

Iron Maiden: Wholly on Greg’s favorite list, but late one evening on Channel 12 (fellow Gen X of the Denver metro, you know), Run to the Hills was the first video this junior high girl without MTV ever saw. I still like it.

The Prisoner :: Run to the Hills :: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

Jerry Cantrell: The Riff Lord is a polymath, y’all!

I Cut You In :: Psychotic Break :: Atone

Joy Division: I have no words for how much this band meant to me as a teen.

Transmission :: Autosuggestion :: Atmosphere

Led Zeppelin: The name really does say it all.

The Song Remains the Same :: What is and What Never Should Be :: That’s the Way

Mark Lanegan:: King of the understated stage presence.

Gospel Plow :: Song for the Dead :: Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division!!!)

Metallica: Greg, Greg, Greg! The first band he saw live and in person, and at Red Rocks. Pretty sweet.

Ride the Lightning :: For Whom the Bell Tolls :: Orion

Peter Gabriel: Another of my angsty teen finds that meant ever so much.

The Feeling Begins :: Humdrum :: That Voice Again

Pink Floyd: Peerless.

Us and Them :: Echoes :: Comfortably Numb

Ronnie James Dio: Greg, again, but I have no real objections, besides his name alone.

Man on the Silver Mountain :: I :: Rainbow in the Dark

Radiohead: They have such a diversity of sound, yet it always sound like R A D I O H E A D. Also, the only road trip we’ve taken to see a show – Portland to Seattle 2012.

Bulletproof…I wish I was… :: Subterranean Homesick Alien :: Separator

The Rolling Stones: Another band of childhood that I could not imagine my life without.

She’s a Rainbow :: Gimme Shelter :: Can’t You Hear Me Knocking?

Tommy Guerrero: Perfect for a sunny afternoon, well, any afternoon really. Plus, the skating!!

Directions of Possibilty :: Water in Your Hands :: Headin’ West

Van Halen: At a party once, chatting with my pal Eric, Van Halen came on the hi-fi, and, as you do if you’re a fan, know it from the first note. I squealed, “Van Halen!” and maybe did a little fist pump, and he’s like, “How did you know?” “We’re Gen X man, how did you not?”

Dance the Night Away :: Runnin’ with the Devil :: And the Cradle Will Rock

Willie Nelson: An American treasure, full stop.

Last Thing I Needed First Thing in the Morning :: Whiskey River :: Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys (p.s. – I love the Electric Horseman!)

Seasons

October 18, 2024 in Gardening + Nature, Listening by Colleen | Permalink

As I was out snapping this collection of photos, I fretted over posting too much of the same, a meal made, a Pike’s Peak photo, another ambered leaf in fall, before mildly chastising myself that this is what seasons are, a repetition, two points joining to make a circle. It is also who I am, a person sharing her singular journey. Another year has passed, and I am grateful to have made it, yet again, to this time of intense color and diminishing light, a year older and hopefully wiser. I still make my mistakes, mostly quietly, occasionally with bravado and much brooding over them, before moving forward. Like the tree from bare to bud to green to yellow, orange, or red. It is all good.

Additionally, I would be remiss to not include the best song, sharing the title of the post, from the late and very, very great Chris Cornell for your listening pleasure, or at least mine. Seasons…

This is What it Looks Like

August 6, 2024 in Listening, Loving by Colleen | Permalink

Us, in summer, it is early morning, on a weekday after exercise and a dog walk. Weekends, upon waking, Greg a little sleepy-eyed and Juniper on the hunt for movement, my voice, and a coffee cup delicately placed on the ground for her to lick. The fountain is creek-like, the garden alive with bees and birds and a host of fliers. Our little sanctuary of green and calm. I love it!

And now, as the Monty Python boys would say, for something completely different. Last Thursday, we trekked up to Fiddlers Green for a little bit of ROCK. Not sure I have ever mentioned this here – Greg and I are rather big fans of Alice in Chains, and their amazing lyricist and Riff Lord guitarist Jerry Cantrell is out promoting his latest album, I Want Blood, with the slightly creepy cover just above. He’s also touring with Bush, whose 90s album Sixteen Stone is pretty spectacular, and two other bands we scarcely heard of.

Cue a hot-hot to trot day on the Front Range and a delightfully high energy crowd. Everyone brought it! Highlights: The drummer from Tim Montana clad solely in his underpants. The large number of fine folk that knew every word to every Candlebox song. Jerry belting solo tunes, like his latest, Vilified; Alice in Chains greatest hits, including Would?, my absolute favorite of theirs, to which I sang my heart out and cried, maybe just a little bit, too. But, but , but, that wasn’t all! Bush was also quite stellar, and Gavin Rossdale especially philosophical AND electric. The final photo has Jerry jamming with them to Comedown, which was really, quite a perfect end. Oh, happy day!

Hollyhocks, Sunflowers, and one Lazy Gallbladder

August 7, 2023 in Learning, Listening by Colleen | Permalink

Good Monday, dear reader! I type to you in the cool of August, a rare morning when the temperature upon waking was two degrees below seventy. The glory and wonder!

The cool short lived, as I worked out in the basement, intervally “running” my heart out on the rebounder. Four minutes of fury, followed by a more lackadaisical pace for the same length, three times through . It’s supposed to make me stronger. The jury is still out on that, but it does make me sweaty and tired.

Now to the flowers! The back garden is ripe with hollyhocks and sunflowers. Hundreds of blooms in total. Winged creatures galore: hummingbird, bee, butterfly, wasp, moth, fly, and tiny critters I cannot identify. I delight in being a source of food and congregation. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

After suffering pretty much my whole life from a painful and tender, vomit-prone digestive system, and having it only minorly given proper attention by doctors, I took the reins and made an appointment with a tummy pro. The wait was three months, and perhaps out of sheer relief at the thought, my symptoms dissipated. I went to the appointment anyway and had a delightful interaction with the specialist, felt 100% heard and believed and started a battery of tests. Our mutual guess at my condition: gallstones. Little nuggets of bile keeping me from proper digestion.

While waiting for the results, I awoke one middle of the night in a great, fevered pain. Nausea. Diarrhea. All the fun things. We called the nurse line and she said get ye to an E.R. pronto! We did. A full battery of pain and anti-nausea meds, tests by a kindly host of many nurses and one doctor, and not a single gallstone found. But what? The first I ever heard of biliary dyskenisia, what I am not-so-affectionately calling a lazy gallbladder. Like my Grandpa would say, “It’s just sitting there, like a bump on a log.”

Another big test one week later that included a radioactive tracer, and we have bump on a log confirmation. My gallbladder does not work! Because it causes much pain without offering anything useful means I will need yet another surgery. Wah. I really hoped I was done with them. Better than the alternative, however, so fingers crossed it is relatively soon and incident free. Please think good thoughts!

Also, if something continues to be wrong with your body, please advocate for yourself. My specialist said, “Everyone is always so happy to get this news, even though it means surgery.” It’s because we’re so relieved not be crazy!

Nothing but Flowers

July 11, 2023 in Gardening + Nature, Listening by Colleen | Permalink

Nothing but Flowers. Do you know that song, by the Talking Heads? “This was a shopping mall, now it’s all covered with flowers.” It’s delightfully jangly, but when you listen to it, and kind of like Radiohead, who got their name from Talking Heads, there is a covert darkness in the lyrics. I don’t like it or them any less for it, however. Heck no.

I have been on a bit of a David Byrne bender, as of late. I subscribe to his Reasons to Be Cheerful newsletter, and then saw a 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper, which sent me off to the races. Greg and I watched Stop Making Sense in its entirety, after only seeing snippets but having owned the beyond stellar (interstellar?!) soundtrack since I was a whipper-snapping teen. That suit!

We also played our fave songs on a nice loop and watched True Stories, which is David Byrne at his sweetest oddball best. I could listen to him talk all day, peeps. Fact.

Fellow former Toyota Celica owners (or maybe you still have one, which would be massively wonderful), there is one, nearly identical to mine, in the parking lot of the mall. I did a couple happy rewinds, nostalgia in all its splendor. Hoot and holler!

As for the flowers, all of these are neighborhood grown, half in our own garden. It is looking beautiful in these parts, to be sure. Hoping the same for you, and prayers up for north-easterners suffering in the deluge and nearly the rest of us in the U.S. of A., boiling in the heat.