Da Goddess

I humbly give to thee: the Ramones.

I love a good Ramones’ song, don’t you?

Marc Bolan & TRex

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers during these trying times. We’ve been without internet for a few days and it’s meant I couldn’t post the videos I wanted.

So, in no particular order (except for the fact one comes before the others and one definitely comes at the end), here are our videos for the 1st through 3rd days of Christmas.

This song brings much joy to my life. I can, have, and will listen to it on repeat for hours.

ELO will always be a special band for me. When I was in 5th grade, my friend’s mom was dying and I got “Out of the Blue” for Christmas. She and I listened to the album over and over again that day as our parents talked grown-up talk. We continued to listen to it over the coming months as her mom’s condition deteriorated. We had all the lyrics memorized, knew every lick, knew the album forward and backward. We could name any tune in one note (a nod to her dad, who’d appeared on Name That Tune). It was our refuge during the darkest days. We listened to other albums, other artists, but when we were together it had to be ELO and “Out of the Blue”.

Don’t get me wrong! Just about any ELO album will make me happy. It’s just that I have a place in my heart for one in particular.

The first video is from “On the Third Day” and is probably the best rocker from any of their albums. I love it for that reason and I don’t think I need another, do you?

The second video is for a song I once knew so well I had every note, nuanced phrasing, and timing down pat. Also not from “Out of the Blue”, but still so worthy of being sung loud enough for all to hear.

This last one is a favored song for a couple reasons, one of which is because Zach Galifianakis used it for a bit on the penultimate episode of his late night show. And, if not for Zach, I’d never have started blogging.

I’ve been absent, yes. No excuse other than pain, if I’m honest. But pain is a huge part of my life and sometimes its control over me is all-consuming. Okay, more than sometimes. It sent me to hospital twice last week. It made me cry at the doctor’s office yesterday. It’s causing me all sorts of trouble in my head; trouble I can ill-afford.

My distraction techniques run the gamut of reading, TV, Twitter, and lots of cat pics and videos. Plus, there’s music. Lots of it.

Some of the music has a melancholic tinge. Some of it is overwhelmingly joyous. Most of it falls in between.

Today’s selections are emotive and have a touch of sadness to them. The only reason for this is because I like having a soundtrack for my tears. It helps to limit the length of time I allow myself to get it out of my system.

I should note that even though these songs have that blue bent to them, mostly I love them because they’re beautifully written and performed.

P.S. I know I’ve shared a couple of these previously, but it’s okay. We all need to be reminded of good music now and again.

P.P.S. the last one was for The Fat Guy. He was the one who introduced me to the magic of Ryan Bingham. I’m so glad I got to see Ryan perform and tell him how I came to be a fan. Even better was telling Scott about the night. Sadly, Scott left us not long after. I’ll always be indebted to him for his friendship and his free and open policy of spreading musical joy.

P.P.P.S. I ended this threefer on an upnote because I needed it. Hope it helped you, too. “Cause I’ve been broke down for so long
And Lord, it’s getting cold.” Amen to that.

This is for the ones not home for Christmas, but would like to be. And this is also for those at home for Christmas wishing the one who wasn’t home at Christmas could, indeed, be home for Christmas.

Happy Christmas, everyone! Merry New Year!

From Da Goddess, the slightly disgruntled helpers, and the completely disgruntled helpers who may not have remembered to take off the cranky tag they attached while still hungover from last night’s attempt to find holiday cheer.

My favorite. Year after year. I can’t NOT share this with you. John Berry’s voice brings tears to my eyes and I do not apologize for that.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each and every one of you! May you be safe, sheltered, warm, dry, and have love in your heart.

By the way, in case you weren’t aware, Rose Marie is on Twitter and has a brand spankin’ new movie! The movie is called “Wait For Your Laugh” and chronicles her 90 years in show biz. Her Twitter handle is @RoseMarie4Real and is very much a good follow!