Sjonni's Friends - Coming Home (Iceland) Live 2011 Eurovision Song Contest

We are off to the UK today, for the first time in almost ten years. If I had to sum up my two years there in music it would probably include a lot of Eurovision songs. Right after I arrived in 2009, I lost two of my three greyhounds in rapid succession and was just ridden with guilt and depression. Simon suggested to me that I watch Eurovision after my Jeany died because he thought it would cheer me up. It did so much more than that and I am a lifelong fan now. This one is from 2011, the last Eurovision I saw in real time before moving back to the US, but I think it speaks to the journey today: I'm coming home - wheels up in about 8 hours! Enjoy. (Captions are on the video.)

Music Monday: I Hate It Here

My friends used to play a game where

We would pick a decade

We wished we could live in instead of this

I'd say the 1830s, but without all the racists and getting married off for

the highest bid"

Is this where we are headed? I certainly hope not.

Music Monday: Election Time

I don't know about all of you but I am so anxious about tomorrow's election. I don't know if I will feel better on Wednesday (or whenever this thing is resolved), but for now I'm just encouraging people to get out and vote...for compassion, for equality, for women's rights and LGBTQIA rights...etc. etc. etc. I will sleep...when I'm dead. (No lyrics because the video is closed captioned.)

Music Monday: What's holding you back?

 I heard this song the other day after a long hiatus. I have loads of curated playlists and this one is on a list called "Bus" that used to be the one I added things to and took things from for my commute on the bus to the DayJob. However, 2019 came and I lost my office so I wasn't down there 8:30 to 4:30 every day. Then 2020 came and I wasn't there at all...until 2022. Then there was cancer so I wasn't down there until a few months ago. Point being..."Bus" fell by the wayside because I wasn't riding.

I just threw the playlist on the other day and this song came on - and I thought as I listened about how everything that I see holding me back really isn't because the only thing that can hold me back is ME. So listen to this (a perfect quick step song, which I think is where I originally heard it) and remember. There's nothing holding you back but you. Get out of your way.

Music Monday: Hijacked by a Hurricane

Well, that was a fun end to September. On the 27th, Hurricane Helene blew northward from the Gulf and hit the edge of Georgia, the Upstate of SC (where I live), and eastern TN before ultimately destroying a large part of Western NC. The past 2.5 weeks have been filled with calls to insurance companies, cleaning out our now moldy (I wish I was kidding) basement, and navigating around downed trees the size of my Honda Fit that are still being a nuisance and keeping people from having the power and internet they need. If you look up Hot Mess in the dictionary, it will show Helene with sneaky Milton not far behind as he ravaged Florida.

So I'm finally back to Music Monday and I'm sure I've posted this one before...but when I heard it days after the hurricane, sitting in my car to charge my devices and try to work since we had no power nor internet...it broke me a little, but in the best way. Thanks, Mr. Buffett. Bubbles Up. If you need help with this lyric, just look at the folks in WNC. "If a hurricane doesn’t leave you dead/It will make you strong/Don’t try to explain it just nod your head/Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On"

Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move Onby Jimmy BuffettI bought a cheap watch from a crazy manFloating down canalIt doesn’t use numbers or moving handsIt always just says nowNow you may be thinking that I was hadBut this watch is never wrongAnd If I have trouble the warranty saidBreathe In, Breathe Out, Move On
And it rained, It was nothing really newAnd it blew, we’ve seen all that beforeAnd it poured, the Earth began to strainPontchartrain leaking through the door, tides at war
If a hurricane doesn’t leave you deadIt will make you strongDon’t try to explain it just nod your headBreathe In, Breathe Out, Move On
And it rained, It was nothing really newAnd it blew, seen all that beforeAnd it poured, the Earth began to strainPontchartrain buried the 9th Ward to the 2nd floor
According to my watch the time is nowPast is dead and goneDon’t try to shake it just nod your headBreathe In, Breathe Out, Move On
Don’t try to shake it just bow your headBreathe In, Breathe Out, Move On

Music Monday: Guess Who's Back...

 ...but not until October. Music Monday is on hiatus and will return on Monday, October 7th. See y'all when September ends. (Yeah, I know.)

Music Monday: The Untold...Her

This song...y'all. If you're a Lindsey Sterling fan, then you probably already know this song. It's typically soaring and beautiful and just makes you catch your breath to listen. If you're a Team USA Olympic gymnastics fan, then you know this song from Suni Lee's similarly breathtaking routine that eventually won her a bronze medal..I think. That seems to change daily.

I listened to it with several of my characters in mind, and one stepped forward and strapped on her ice skates while her long-lost love watched from a window - he hasn't revealed himself to be back in her life yet. As goes with a lot of things that have Lindsey Sterling involved, this is going on my writing playlist. Enjoy. (No lyrics.)

Music Monday: We may never pass this way again

Today's post is late, but that's because it became something else this morning on my way back from an interpreting gig. The song I was going to post isn't as meaningful right now...so here we are.

Seals and Croft's We May Never Pass this Way Again is important to me as it was in the soundtrack to a play I was in at uni - one of my favs, The Shadowbox. But today, a dear friend of mine lost her mom, and it just came all the way back to me. The play is about three families living in hospice, and at the time I couldn't really understand my character. But now, having lost both of my parents, I do..and I hope I can be a light in this awful dark for my sweet friend as she navigates her new normal.

(Lyrics in the video.)

Music Monday: Of Befores and Afters

Today's Music Monday is a little bit about my current WIP and the FMC, but also a lot about me and my current situation. I was listening to it the other day and just reveling in the lyrics as I often do with Taylor Swift's music, but then I saw the video. All those past iterations of her arguing at the end made me think - I am not the same person I was this time last year when Eugene was discovered to be stage III breast cancer and not just a recurrence of my cyst from a decade ago. I've heard Hoda Kotb say that she has two lives now, pre and post breast cancer and that's very true.

It isn't just about the ways in which I look different now, post-chemo/radiation/bilateral mastectomy. Those things are surface level, really. The change that is sticking and that I'm thinking a lot about today is the change that happens to the me that was and the me that is. In early days, I just wanted to be through all the treatment, "so I can get back to my life." That, at the time, meant back to my then normal - hybrid remote work for the DayJob™️, appearance at the Georgia Renaissance Festival with Ciaragh, working all kinds of fandom conventions and other faires to sign my books...getting on with working toward being a full time author. Planning for our move abroad. Hanging out as much as I can with my US based friends before that move happens.

That stuff belonged to who I was before. Some of it has transitioned with me: the friends, the book signings on a smaller scale, the working toward being a full time author, and the DayJob™️ have all remained, just in different guises and on changed levels. But the renaissance festival appearances with the Hounds of East Fairhaven are in limbo at present - Ciaragh's death from lymphoma means I no longer have a rennie hound. The move abroad has been put off for a bit. Hanging out with the friends as much as possible has become keeping in touch as best I can and hanging out once in awhile.

But it's all okay. Eugene...look what you made me do. I am now worth the changes, even though they were awful in a lot of places. Welcome to the second half of my life.

Lyric Video: 

Regular video with, oddly, Japanese captions:

Music Monday: Je Me Casse

I missed last Monday, not sure why, but honestly I didn't think of it until end of day on Tuesday. So here we are a little late, but...

I heard this one and thought immediately of the MC in my current WIP. She's very serious and careful about her outward appearance, but my writing partner said that he would like to see her dancing and letting go now and then. I can just see her dancing around in her flat on her own after carefully making sure there is no one around. It's also a fantastic song, another Eurovision number and we all know how much I love Eurovision. Malta did not disappoint here.

"Je me casse" is a slang French phrase that means "I'm outta here," and is something that I can hear Lark muttering under her breath when humans hit on her or just generally get in her face. Sometimes it's just too much for a vampire to keep her cool, you know?

Je me casse. (lyrics are in the video)

Music Monday: Too Sweet

In the third week of this July's Camp Nanowrimo, as is the case often, I find myself stalling out. This is the collab with my brother Tony, this is a story that we've been working on for over a year, and yet I can't seem to keep myself motivated. It's a new genre for me, at least with an eye to publication, and Tony and I have wildly different writing styles and voices. But I adore Lark and Vyx, the two characters I'm responsible for at the moment, and so when I run across music like today's offering that just pushes through all the noise in my head and lets me hear Lark clearly I hang on tight...even if this song sounds like Connor (Tony's responsibility) all day long. Enjoy (lyrics in the video).

Music Monday after ConGregate Weekend

Well, I'm still exhausted but grinning like an idiot because I have a new found love for my litRPG series, The World of Arcstone, (Thanks to Matt Dinniman for the validation!) and I thought I'd repost a previous Music Monday with the song that inspired Em and Lex's journey in those two books: We Could Be the Same by MaNga.

(Doesn't hurt that it was a Eurovision tune, either.) Enjoy! I'm going to go take another nap to recover from Con.

We Could Be the Same by MaNga

Music Monday: Baby Lasagna

For today's almost on Tuesday Music Monday I'm revisiting Eurovision from this year. If you need a song to motivate you to write a chase scene or maybe a fight, this is your tune. I mean what could go wrong with a band called Baby Lasagna? Enjoy.


Rim Tim Tagi Dimby Baby Lasagna
Ay, I’m a big boy nowI’m ready to leave, ciao mamma ciaoAy, I’m a big boy nowI’m going away and I sold my cow
But before I leave, I must confessI need a round of decompressOne more time for all the good timesRim Tim Tagi Digi Rim Tim Tim
Rim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi Digi
Gonna miss you all, but mostly the catGonna miss my hay, gonna miss my bedMost of all I’m gonna miss the danceSo come on ya’ll, let us prance
Rim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi Digi
Don’t call, don’t writeI’m leaving with the first lightDon’t cry, but danceRim Tim Tagi Digi Rim Tim Tim
There’s no going backMy presence fades to blackThere’s no going backMy anxiety attacksRim Tim Tagi Digi Rim Tim Tim
Rim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi Digi
I hope I find, peace in the noiseWanna become one of the city boysThey’re all so pretty and so advancedMaybe they also know our dance
Rim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi DigiRim Tim Tagi Digi
Bye mom, bye dadMeow cat, please meow backDon’t cry, just danceRim Tim Tagi Digi Rim Tim Tim
There’s no going backMy presence fades to blackThere’s no going backMy anxiety attacksRim Tim Tagi Digi Rim Tim Tim
There’s no going backMy presence fades to blackThere’s no going backMy anxiety attacksRim Tim Tagi Digi Rim Tim Tim
There’s no going backMy presence fades to blackThere’s no going backMy anxiety attacksRim Tim Tagi Digi Rim Tim Tim

Music Monday: You're gonna go far, kid.

So, full disclosure...I was reminded that I was once punk-adjacent and loved The Offspring when I heard this song in a video game advert. But I couldn't help thinking of the characters in my current WIP, the collaboration with my brother, and all of the fighting that is to come in the latter parts of their story. I mean, what's a good story without a boss mob to take down?

Yeah, that's back to the video game. Fair enough. But if you just need a good song with a pounding beat and some fairly dodgy and yet still awesome lyrics that you can almost belt out in the car or at the gym, The Offspring is a good bet. Works double for authors, you see - our characters can beat up on the bad guy while we beat up the keyboard writing those scenes. Win, win. What are your favorite songs to get ramped up and ready for (literary only) destruction?

Or maybe you're just staring down a new nano month and you need some motivation? I got you. GET IN! (Lyrics are in captions, and it's a bit NSFW in places but hey, that's the punk-adjacent way, man.)

Music Monday: From the Other Side of the World

I may have posted this song as a Music Monday before, but I was just reminded of it the other day, so here's a Music...Tuesday? When Simon and I were first...dating? Emailing? Whatever, he did what any good GenX man would do and made me a mix...tape/CD/playlist of songs by British artists that I needed to hear. They were all marvelous but one of them will forever make me think of walking through the Atlanta airport on my way to visit him for the first time. All I need to hear is the sound of the dogs barking at the very beginning and I'm right back there, about to fly internationally for the first time to visit this Yorkshire lad who was so very important to me. "I blow you a kiss, it should reach you tomorrow, as it flies from the other side of the world..." Enjoy.

Fugitive Motelby Elbow
Lost in a lullabySide of the roadMelt in a memorySlide in a solitude
Not 'til I can read by the moonAm I going anywhereNot 'til I can read by the moon
I blow you a kissIt should reach you tomorrowAs it flies from the other side of the world
From my room in my fugitive motelSomewhere in the dust bowlYeah it flies from the other side of the world
I'm tired, I saidYou always look tired, she said
I'm admired, I saidYou always look tired, she said
Not 'til I can read by the moonI'm not going anywhereNot 'til I can read by the moon
I blow you a kissIt should reach you tomorrowAs it flies from the other side of the world
From my room in my fugitive motelSomewhere in the dust bowlSomewhere in the dust bowlIt flies from the other side of the world
The curtains stay closedBut everyone knowsYou hear through the walls in this placeCigarette holes for every lost soulTo give up the ghost in this place
Give me strengthGive me wingsGive me strengthGive me wings
I blow you a kissIt should reach you tomorrowReach you tomorrowIt flies from the other side of the world
From my room in my fugitive motelSomewhere in the dust bowlSomewhere in the dust bowl
It flies from the other side of the worldThe other side of the worldThe other side of the world