The Republic of T.

Nancy Griffith has long been a favorite artist of mine, ever since my college days of deejaying at WUOG, the student run radio station where I first played “Love at the Five and Dime”…and loved it.
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Many years ago, when I was in college, I bought myself a guitar. My idea was that I wanted a way to accompany myself while singing. I never took a lesson, but followed my usual self-teaching method: go get a “how-to” book that covered what I wanted to know, read it, and then do what it says.

I never became a virtuoso. (In fact, I’m not sure what happened to the guitar.) But I learn enough chords, and learned how to play them well enough to strum them while singing songs that I’d learned; not as a performance, but for my own enjoyment. (Growing up, I had an ear for music. I could hear a song a few times, walk over to a piano, and quickly figure out the melody. Given a bit more time, I’d have the three basic chords down.)

Some of the first songs I learned to play were either written by or popularized by Pete Seeger.

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If this doesn’t bring a smile to your face and/or a tear to your eye… Well, I don’t know what to say.

Playing For Change | Song Around The World “Stand By Me” from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

More after the jump.

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Earlier this week, in the middle of a conversation in which it was said that someone or another was “born to do” something or another, Parker interjected, “And Daddy was born to sing!” I hugged him, and even teared up a bit.

I’ve been singing to Parker for a while now, whenever it’s my turn to put  him to bed. It started with a couple of songs and as I added to my repertoire, grew into something special between us, in part because his favorite is one that has a special significance for me. But also because Parker’s requests brought me back to a love of singing that I haven’t pursued for a while.

One of my long-held, unfulfilled ambitions is to be a professional singer. I don’t remember when I discovered I had a voice. But, by the time I was in the second grade, I thought maybe I had something. Plus, I had the confidence of second grader, at the time.

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If you’re partnered or in a relationship, do you “have a song”? If you’ve ever been partnered or in a relationship, was there a special song that was “your song”? Even if you haven’t yet, what song makes you think of how it might feel?

I ask because I didn’t post about Valentine’s Day, but this rather lengthy playlist posted at The Best Article Every Day got me thinking.

OK, it’s mostly sad songs.

Valentine’s Day is almost here, and as everyone from your bubbe to your Facebook status won’t stop reminding you: You are alone. All alone.

Profound sadness is not for the faint of heart. And sometimes the best place to be is right in the middle of it.

Because that’s just the kind of mood we’re in. Honest. We’re not one of those toothy, gleaming motivational speakers. We’re not here to sell you a bill of goods about positive thinking and self-esteem and controlling your destiny by visualizing your chakras.

Instead, we offer 150 of the saddest songs in the world, subjectively selected and specially arranged for maximum depressive potential. And please, feel free to wallow in more anti-romance with our buddy Jason Gelt’s “Valentine’s Day songs for haters” list or recommend your own teary tunes in the comments.

Believe me, I get it.

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I’ve been thinking alot about one of my favorite movies lately; Amadeus. It’s been a favorite of mine every since I first saw it back in ’84, when it first came out. And yesterday I received some news that brought it back to mind again.

I find myself thinking about a few scenes in particular that projected on the back of my mind in an endless loop for the better part of yesterday evening.

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We came home last night after a long day spent opening presents (putting them together or hooking them up, in my case), cooking, enjoying holiday dinner with friends, and put two happy, exhausted children to bed. I’d put Parker to bed, after “just one more game ” on the Nintendo Wii he/we got this holiday, when my husband gave me the news, which he’d just read online.

It’s funny, when the death of someone you didn’t know, and who didn’t know you, stops you in your tracks. But that’s what happened. “What?!” I exclaimed, as though some favorite aunt or uncle had passed away. And then uttered an “Mmph,” quietly, under my breath and to no one in particular.

It wasn’t because I knew her personally, though, but because the world lost a touch of its audacity when it lost Eartha Kitt.

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Somewhere out there in the universe there’s a concert going on, and with two legendary headliners — Odetta and Miriam Makeba.

Just before I head home, I wanted to leave something uplifting and positive behind.

I made this playlist around the time Parker was born, and I listen to it whenever my spirits need lifting or I’m just in a good mood. I call it my “Wake Up Mix.”

I played it when I was on my way to vote this week, and thus added the “Yes, We Can” song to the end.

Enjoy.

It’s been a long time coming…

I was catching up on email when I came across this article about a Christian music performer who just came out as gay (and proceeded to open a can of worms). It wafted into my inbox via the LGBTPOC listserve.

Famed Christian music singer Ray Boltz has publicly announced he’s living a homosexual lifestyle according to Gospel News Wire. He also believes that God made him that way.

“If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself,” Boltz said in an interview with the Washington Blade about his decision to engage in homosexuality.

Boltz, a father of four who was married for 33 years before officially divorcing his wife this year, is well-known for his widely acclaimed songs “Thank You” and “I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb.”

Of course, you know someone had to sound off on that. And ignorantly, at that.

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After the previous post, a music video break seemed to be in order.

The hubby and I took what I call a “marriage health day” yesterday. It’s when we take the day off from work, drop the kids off at daycare, and head into the city for a “daylight date.” We usually have breakfast, take in a movie, and grab lunch. We just spend time, y’know, being a couple, and taking a few minutes to remember what brought us together eight years ago in the first place. By then it’s usually time to go get the kids. This time, the movie had special resonance for us.

As soon as we heard that Meryl Streep had agreed to star in Mama Mia! we knew it would be our next “date movie.” (Normally, we have entirely different tastes in movies. I tend toward darker, dramatic fare, and documentaries. He prefers comedies and light fare.) We’d gone to see the stage version at the National Theater when we were dating. Later on, the Abba song from which the show and movie borrowed their title became part of a special memory for our family.

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I’ve written before about Amy Winehouse’s sad, scary, and very public struggle with addiction. In fact, I as I discussed with a co-worker an article I read an on Friday that suggest to me a parallel with another a similar celebrity story; one that turns out to be ongoing.

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I wasn’t tagged for this, but after coming across Jill’s post, I couldn’t resist.

Julian has tagged me with a meme: The five most embarrassing tracks on my iPod. His are pretty great/horrendous (I too remember feeling like a super-hardcore 7th grader for loving “NIN,” and I too went to several “DMB” concerts). But here’s the thing: I have tons of embarrassing music on my iPod, but the most embarrassing of the embarrassing comes from this dude who I’m currently hanging out with who has the worst taste in music possibly ever (he’s pretty sweet in just about every way, but looking at his iTunes makes me want to weep). So he may or may not have sent me songs not only by Hilary Duff, but also by JoJo and Jordin Sparks. Yeah. I also may or may not have put both songs on repeat and muted my computer so that it would look like I listened to both of them when I haven’t.

Oh boy. I have something like something like over 4,000 songs on my 30 GB video iPod. There’s plenty of embarrassing stuff there.

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Only at a gay pride event (NYC Gay Price, to be specific) would this song become an audience participation number. Pardon me while I have an “Effie Moment.”

Via Ron.

I really should learn to let stuff like this go, but…

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This is a note to Hillary Clinton’s gay friends. (And she’s talked about you guys, so I know you’re out there.) It may be a bit stereotypical, but as gay men we have a special duty to our female friends, to sit them down from time to time and — gently — tell them the truth for their own good. It may be something as trivial as the wrong dress, or an outdated hairstyle. Or it may be something as serious as the need to get out of an unfortunate entanglement with a boyfriend who should be an ex>-boyfriend.

Well, guys, from the sound of things you haven’t done your job, or haven’t done it very effectively. So, here’s what needs to happen.

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I’ll admit, I’ve never been a huge fan of Rap. Yes, I have a playlist on my iPod, but it’s mostly the “old” stuff, starting with the Sugarhill Gang and proceeding chronologically through most of the stuff I grew up with. But most of what’s out today as far as rap is concerned, I can’t say I’ve listened to most of it. Maybe I come across the occasional Kanye West video on YouTube, but that’s it.

But there’s one exception. An L.L. Cool J video will stop me dead in my tracks. Every. Time. So, I was amused to read via Rod that evidently men have a hard time admitting they like L.L.

LL: You know, you have certain guys that are uncomfortable admitting they like LL ’cause they feel like it’s some type of ego issue with LL. “I can’t say that, you know? That’s for you: I can’t.” You know, all that frontin’ and all that.

S2S: Men can’t say that another man looks good or something like that?

LL: Only the real playas.

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It’s official. I’m an old fart. Or, well, at least I’m not as young as I used to be. But it didn’t completely gel for me until I read this article about the dearth of decent anti-war songs in today’s popular music scene.

An unpopular president, an unpopular war, a restless young generation eager for change — all the elements of a mass protest culture would seem to be present in this election year.

But one thing is missing: a mass culture.

The Vietnam era produced an entire genre of anti-war and cultural protest songs, the best-known of which became anthems of the age.

Iraq and the Bush presidency have inspired lots of music in this tradition, but nothing that has gained a large popular audience or is vying to be a generational anthem.

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