Music Monday: Of Living Masterpieces

I will admit to being low-key obsessed and potentially hyper fixated on the latest album from an artist I'd never really heard of before TikTok - Livingston. The lyrics to Last Man Standing have jumped out at me, and I am seeing the MCs for several of my novels through the images this young man creates. The fact that he not only sounds like Imagine Dragons but has recorded a song they gave him? Priceless. Sublime bliss. Enjoy. (lyrics in the video)

Music Monday: Right Outta Nowhere

Once upon a time, I was an interpreter who moved to a new state and, while dreaming of being a writer, hadn't gone in that direction. Yet.
Once upon a time, I was a fledgling writer who had published some fairly entertaining stories about my dogs but hadn't yet tried to write in the genre where my heart lives and thrives. Yet.
Once upon a time, I was a newlywed--again--who was moving to a new country and was utterly terrified and excited in equal measure. Okay, that part isn't really true, I was just terrified. But I remembered this song by an artist introduced to me back in those first days as an interpreter here in SC. 
This weekend I'm going to a brand new event, and while I'm not MOVING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY terrified, I'm pretty apprehensive. But this time, I revisited this song that my friend Katy introduced me to and found...hope. I found freedom. I hope you will too.
Leap...and the net will appear.

Right Outta Nowhereby Christine Kane
Midwest morning October snowfallShe packed her ChevorletAnd brushed her fear awayShe got a great big dreamAnd a history of playin' smallAnd everybody seems to thinkShe'll be back by Christmas dayWell, She hit that highwayWith every bit of faith she could summonWhen courage finally comes you never see it comin'
Right out of nowhereOpen your heart, that changes everythingYou're goin' somewhereAnd all you need to knowIs that you're free to go
Summer night the soft smell of seashoreAnd all the deadheads dancing out on the beachHe's got a 10-year tanAnd his own little junk store he saysSome people got a lot to prove and that's the way I used to beI'm just an old hippy with a half dozen PhDsSome choices hold you downSome chances set you free
Right out of nowhereOpen your heart, that changes everythingYou're goin' somewhere.And all you need to know...Is that you're free to go
And you dreamAnd the way will be clearAnd you prayAnd the angels will hearLead and the net will appear
Right out of nowhereBelieve in everythingYou're going somewhere And all you need to know Is that you're free Right outta nowhere You open your heart And have faith in everything You're going somewhere And all you need to know Is that you're free to go 

Music Monday: Once Again, with Cody Fry

I posted his remix of Eleanor Rigby, which is almost always on repeat, but that led me to look at more of this fellow's work and it did not disappoint. Though I think most of the TikTok creators that use part of today's Music Monday song aren't really listening to the words, exactly...I think it is amazing and needs to be performed in ASL to really show what's going on in the song. I mean, when the ground begins to shake...? Genius. A classic in the making. This isn't tied to any particular novel I'm working on, per se, but it could be fitted into a few here and there. Good stuff.

Underground
Cody Fry

I woke up underground
Not a light, not a sound
Threw my voice into the dark
But the dark had no remark
Just repeated what I said

Claustrophobic at first
Struck by hunger and thirst
I stood up and looked around
There was nothing to be found
Just a world I couldn't see

And I heard, "Woo"

I can't see you now
I'll find my way
Underground

Then my fear began to ease
From far away whispered a breeze
Telling me to move along
Move along, there's nothing wrong

So I cornered my resolve
Took a breath and took a step
Encountered metal on my left
What a strange thing to find
Metal in this place of mine
Running lengthwise down the hall

And I heard, "Woo"

Then a light broke through the black
I was standing on a track
That little light began to grow
There was no where I could go
And the ground began to shake
No time left to hit the brake
That little light was closing in
And suddenly, I'm floating

Love, I see you now
You found me here
Underground

Music Monday: It's come to this

 Y'all, anyone that knows me knows that this is one of my favorite songs. Back in the day when I was awake into the wee hours running around Norrath (Everquest), I always had music playing alongside the voices of my group on Teamspeak. Quite frequently this song was in the mix, and it will always remind me of charging up to an angry NPC...as well as swapping out my heals as fast as I could to keep the fighters propped up.

But now it holds a different place in my heart as the absolute theme song for my Nature Walker Trilogy, as well as a fantastic driving song...as long as I have cruise control set. I'm a GenX 80's child, and not ashamed to have this tune blasting. I can't believe I didn't have this one as a Music Monday before!

(Before any of you come at me for misogynistic tendencies...in my head, it's often she or they rather than he...)

Holding Out for a Heroby Bonnie Tyler
Where have all the good men gone and where are all the Gods?Where's the street wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need
I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the nightHe's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fightI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning lightHe's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soonAnd he's gotta be larger than life, larger than life
Somewhere after midnight in my wildest fantasySomewhere just beyond my reach there's someone reaching back for meRacing on the thunder and rising with the heatIt's gonna take a Superman to sweep me off my feet
I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the nightHe's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fightI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning lightHe's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soonAnd he's gotta be larger than lifeI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
Up where the mountains meet the heavens aboveOut where the lightning splits the seaI could swear that there's someone somewhere watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rainAnd the storm and the floodI can feel his approach like a fire in my blood
I need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the nightHe's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fastAnd he's gotta be fresh from the fightI need a heroI'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning lightHe's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soonAnd he's gotta be larger than life
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night

Music Monday: That Pirate Thing

 Yeah, I'm on Tiktok and yeah, I'm loving the whole sea shanty trend. But I'm also loving other trends, like the #birates trend that involves the intersection of LGBTQ+ folx and pirate cosplay. Whew. The pirate cosplay game is strong, and I came across today's Music Monday through a few cosplayers who are acting out bits from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean...I guess? (I've only seen two of them, don't come at me!) 

The video is of the Tiktok creator Colum McGuiness's version and it is haunting. The original is by Hans Zimmer, one of the RULERS of movie soundtracks, and it's got me thinking about "thieves and beggars" that "never shall we die" in terms of the Wraiths of Appalachia WIP. I just need to get all that out of my system before April, right? Enjoy.

Hoist the Colors

by Hans Zimmer

The King and his men
stole the Queen from her bed
and bound her in her bones
the seas be ours and beyond the powers
where we will we'll roam

Yo ho, all hands
Hoist the colors high
Heave ho, thieves and beggars
Never shall we die

Yo ho, haul together

Hoist the colours high
Heave ho, thieves and beggars
Never shall we die

Yo ho, haul together

Hoist the colors high
Heave ho, thieves and beggars
Never shall we die

Yo ho, haul together
Hoist the colors high
Heave ho, thieves and beggars
Never shall we die

Music Monday: Inspiration

Behind each of my novels is a spark of inspiration. The dogs, of course, are the inspiration for Proud Racer and Clobberpaws. My time gaming and the friends I made there inspired the Nature Walker Trilogy. 

Rift is no different. Around the same time that I knew I wanted to take a break from the Orana Chronicles and my other projects that had stalled out, a very good friend of mine sent me a link to the video below. Before that, I had a vague idea about getting stuck in the world of the MMORPG that I play, I watched this video, and BAM there was Lex, standing in front of me and encouraging me to write how he felt about Em. 

So thank you, Angel, for inspiring one of the most difficult and interesting novels I've ever written. Also, y'all...this is one of the most beautiful pieces of animation I've seen. Go to YouTube and watch the rest of the chapters in this story, and be prepared for your feels to be hit hard.

Church

by Fall Out Boy

If you were church, I'd get on my knees
Confess my love, I'd know where to be
My sanctuary, you're holy to me
If you were church, I'd get on my knees
I'd get on my knees
I'd get on my knees
I'd get on my knees

And take the pain
Make it billboard big then swallow it for me
Time-capsule for the future
Trust me, that's what I will be
Oh, the things that you do in the name of what you love
You were doomed but just enough
You were doomed but just enough

If you were church, whoo
I'd get on my knees, yeah
Confess my love, I'd know where to be
My sanctuary, you're holy to me
If you were church, yeah, I'd get on my knees
I'd get on my knees, whoo
I'd get on my knees
I'd get on my knees

I love the world but I just don't love the way it makes me feel
Got a few more fake friends
And it's getting hard to know what's real
And if death is the last appointment
Then we're all just sitting in the waiting room
I am just a human trying to avoid my certain doom

If you were church, yeah
I'd get on my knees
Confess my love, I'd know where to be
My sanctuary, you're holy to me
If you were church, yeah, I'd get on my knees
I'd get on my knees, yeah, oh
I'd get on my knees, ah ah ah
I'd get on my knees, yeah
I'd get on my knees
If you were church
I'd get on my knees

Confess my love, I'd know where to be
My sanctuary, you're, you're holy to me, you're holy to me
If you were church, yeah, I'd get on my knees, yeah

Notes from Exile: Week Sixty-Twelve, and I feel FINE.

I'm calling this a Notes from Exile and not a Music Anything, because technically it isn't Monday, and this post just came to me as I sit here listening to the amazing Alicia Keys. This song, "Good Job" is just a balm for the soul and it is what I needed to hear this week, this day, this very moment. We spend a lot of our time these days just getting by, but we have a very human need not just for connection but to be appreciated. We need to know, from an external source, that we are doing a good job. We aren't just surviving, we are thriving as best we can under the current circumstances. Here we are on the cusp of yet another month, and times are really becoming scary and overwhelming, but we aren't giving up, at least not yet.

I can just hear my dear friend Robby's voice doing his best Casey Kasem impression here, but I'd like to send this long-distance dedication out to all of you that are struggling, all of you that are unsure or those that are sure you don't want to do this anymore, whatever THIS is. I hear you. I see you. And to quote one of my new favorite Instagram/TikTok creators, Thaddeuss Shafer, "you are precious, loved, and worthy," and you're doing a really good job. Stay strong. 

Good Job
Alicia Keys

You're the engine that makes all things go
And you're always in disguise, my hero
I see your light in the dark
Smile in my face when we all know it's hard
There's no way to ever pay you back
Bless your heart, know I love you for that
Honest and selfless
I don't know if this helps it but
Good Job
You're doing a good job, a good job
You're doing a good job
Don't get too down
The world needs you now
Know that you matter
Matter, matter yeah
You're doing a good job, a good job
You're doing a good job
Don't get too down
The world needs you now
Know that you matter
Matter, matter yeah
Six in the morning
As soon as you walk through that door
Everyone needs you again
The world's out of order
It's not as sound
When you're not around
All day on your feet, hard to
Keep that energy, I know
When it feels like the end of the road
You don't let go
You just press forward
You're the engine that makes all things go
Always in disguise, my hero
I see a light in the dark
Smile in my face
When we all know it's hard
There's no way to ever pay you back
Bless your heart
Know I love you for that
Honest and selfless
I don't know if this helps it but
Good Job
You're doing a good job, a good job
Good job
You're doing a good job
Don't get too down
The world needs you now
Know that you matter
Matter, matter yeah
It's a good job
You're doing a good job, a good job
Good job
You're doing a good job
Don't get too down
The world needs you now
Know that you matter
Matter, matter yeah
The mothers, the fathers
The teachers that reach us
Strangers to friends
That show up in the end
From the bottom to the top
The listeners that hear us
This is for you
You make me fearless
You're doing a good job, a good job
You're doing a good job
Don't get too down
The world needs you now
Know that you matter
Matter, matter yeah