Musings in Search of a Muse

Whew! Gone for nearly a week and the chores pile up. Gotta take the trash out already, started doin' laundry, and now I have to nominate five Songs of the Day!

• Sunday - "Not Fragile" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive from Not Fragile - A bass-poundin' original that is seriously overlooked in the realm of Rock. The next best bass rhythm comes from ZZ Top's "La Grange" classic. Well, that might be overplaying it a bit, but not by much.
  
• Monday - "Blue Collar" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive from Takin' Care of Business - Serious blues riffs from a Canadian band. Whooda thunk? This song aptly predicts the fall of the American steel industry while depicting life in a manufacturing town. It could only be better by stretching it out another 5 or so minutes. I wish I could shoot a video for this as it's so rich in imagery.
• Tuesday- "Hey Baby (Land Of The New Rising Sun)" by M.A.C.C. from Stone Free: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix - Sorry, Jimi, but this rendition is better than yours. It's beauty brings joy to my heart and a tear to my eye. Sounds like the result of a love song? Then this must be a song that illustrates a love of Rock and technically perfect guitar playing.
• Wednesday - "Manic Depression" by Seal & Jeff Beck from Stone Free: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix - Man, oh, man, if this is a result of the disease, sign me up and hide the lithium! "Music sweet music," indeed! Every cover I've heard is as good as the original because everyone has their own "demons" to burn, but this is the best.
• Thursday - "Feelin' Alright" by Traffic from Feelin' Alright: The Very Best of Traffic - Another psych song. Maybe I should know something I don't. What I do know is that it's hard to beat some of the pioneers of Rock to change a mood.

These were among the few tunes that made my recent ride north to Maine and back a teensy bit fun. Normally I enjoy taking that 8 hour drive while blasting music from the stereo. This last trip wasn't as much fun. There are many reasons that could account for this including but not limited to my mother's declining health, my being very tired, and prior to leaving I might have overdosed on the other music I brought for the CD player. Perhaps it was being so danged used to having the ol' iPod Mini to choose music from to suit my mood. I had intended to get an FM transmitter for the toy before another trip, but this was a last minute thing. In any case the only time I enjoyed listening to music this trip was with these songs.

Normally I put in a BTO-only disc when making the arduous leg from the north side of Scranton to the break in traffic toward Hazleton. This time I had in a great Christian mix; not really conducive to maniacal high-speed highway driving. Usually the "CAUTION: Aggressive Driver Area" signs refer to me. Today they meant the grey Subaru Outback that I had to dog instead. Cripes. A family car. My mom used to own one until she traded for something even less cool.

The rest of the drive usually features a mix heavy on Blues and R&B, but even these favorites didn't make the ride better. Well, Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" did put a grin on my face, but not for long. Maybe I should have dug out the Hooker 'n' Heat from Canned Heat and John Lee Hooker. Nah ... that wouldn't have helped. Maybe next trip. And I pray the reasons for the trip will be less serious.