Monday, March 8, 2010

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

"Monday, Monday... Can't trust that day..."

That's all of the old Mamas & Papas song lyrics that I can remember. So I just keep singing those words over and over. "Monday, Monday...♫ ♫ Can't trust that day...♫ ♫ " The tune is stuck in my head like a skipping record. I wonder why John Phillips was so wary of Mondays. John Phillips was the songsmith for the Mamas & Papas songs. He was one of the Papas. Mackenzie Phillips, an actress who played the older daughter on the 70's tv show "One Day at a Time," was John Phillips daughter. She recently revealed that daddy was into incest, and she had had sexual relations with Papa John for over 10 years. John Phillips is currently dead and will remain so. Thus he cannot dispute the allegation. He may have been a perv, but he did write some good music.

Song titles that come immediately to mind: "California Dreaming" (all the leaves are brown) "Go Where You Wanna Go" (do what you wanna do) "Words of Love" (soft and tender, can't win a girls heart anymore) "I Saw Her Again" (last night) "Creeque Alley" (John and Mitchy, were getttin' kind of itchy)

more later...

(pause 2 hours)

I'm back. Just went on a cattle call. I interviewed for a position that I could do blindfolded. I asked the interviewer how many are applying. He told me that out of over 300 submitted resumes, he has selected 60 to interview. So far I am in the 60 out of 300 category. He told me that out of the 60 he will be calling back 25 to re-interview with him and a contract house representitive. He more or less implied that I was going to be selected. I don't know how true this is. He may have been just saying this to apease my appetite for employment. I will find out for certain by Wednesday. And then out of the 25 applicants, 3 will be selected for the final competition. I doubt if I stand a chance there, I no longer look that good in a bathing suit. I'm up against people 1/3 my age. I'm at that point on weekends when the younger crowd wants to go soak up some sun, I want to go soak my feet. The good thing about this job is that it pays half of what I previously earned. I won't have to worry about spending money frivolously anymore. What a relief.

Now what was the original topic of this post? Oh yeah, the Mamas & Papas. "Monday, Monday" is no longer running rapid around my brain. The last song I heard in the car before I came inside and back to these writings, was "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed. Now I have "doo da doo do doo da doo" echoing in my skull. You may wonder at this point if I am stuck in the 60's & 70's for my music selections. Not all the time. I like that new band called Green Day. I know, they've been around over 20 years. That's still new to me. And I really like The Killers and My Chemical Romance. If you get a chance, listen to the entire album called "The Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance (aka: MCR). I firmly believe this has some of best material written this millenium.

Its strange how my taste in music has changed. I enjoy everything from Toby Keith to Mozart. The only styles of music I dislike are polkas and rap. If I was forced to choose between "The Beer Barrel Polka" and "Its Hard Out Here for a Pimp" then I would have to jab hot pokers in my ears.

And I really, really love the piano. One of my favorite piano pieces is de Bussey's "Claire de Lune." And I have to mention Tom Waits and his song "The Piano Has Been Drinkin'." Those early albums of his are pure bliss. Over thirty years and I can still listen to him daily. Same goes for the album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John. I usually find 2 or 3 songs that stand out on every Elton release (are they still referred to as albums? or is everything now called CD's?), but GYBR is perfect. Not a sloacher in the entire batch of seventeen tunes. Let's not forget the Rolling Stones release "Black and Blue" with the piano strong on "Memory Motel," "Melody" and "Fool to Cry."

The one song I want to mention is one that I do not know its name. It's a classical piece that can be heard in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption." If you know this movie, then you will recall the part when the Tim Robbins character takes over the warden's office. The music he plays over the prison speaker system is to which I am referring.

When I was in the hospital, to fill the time I would pick a recording artist and try to name as many songs as possible. I had a lot of time to fill. I was there for almost six months. I would select someone such as Ricky Nelson and write down every song I could remember him performing. Sometimes I could hear a melody of a song in my head but not the words. That made it harder to recall the title. Try it some time. Lock yourself in a room with no distractions and see how long it takes to write the names of all the songs done by the Beatles. It's a pretty good mental exercise.

Okay, thirteen extra points for the first person to remember the title of the hit song by Hedgehoppers Anonymous. No fair googling.

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