Music, Videos, Poetry that Gets Us Through

@unk-p

Yay!!! Today Neil Young filed a major lawsuit against the major Reptile DT for using his music illegitimately at the Rethug campaign rallies... (' Keep On Rockin' In The Free World ' & more).... finally!

I heard Neil's new rendition of 

' Lookin' for a Leader '

for the first time today also...

✔️ it out ?

(The vid on the NeilYoungChannel is awesome)

@stargazer that's great! It is always so shiesty when Repugnicans try to co-op Rock music.  I always thought that when Tmurp used the Stone's "You Can't Always Get What You Want",  he knew the fix was in, the election already stolen. Because, why else would anyone use that particular song in a campaign rally?  He was trolling us, as usual.

  Pat Boone made a "Heavy Metal" record a while back.  Maybe they should just play *that* when they want to pretend to be edgy.

  Here is an interesting version of Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down" with a young lady singing it as a duet with... himself, as she transitions into a man, two years later: https://youtu.be/wAeViG77DtQ

@unk-p @honeybee

Thought I should switch to this forum thread and stop hijacking Joe Biden to gush about my crush on Anne Lamott.  Don't know if you've ever seen her Ted Talk, but it's a favorite of mine:

https://www.ted.com/talks/anne_lamott_12_truths_i_learned_from_life_and_writing?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

I am friends with several members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington (DC), I even performed with one or two of them in other projects.  They are celebrating their 40th anniversary. As you may know, gay men's choruses were originally founded during the AIDS epidemic as a way to bring awareness and to fundraise. Gay men in particular are attuned to what it means to survive an epidemic, and here we are. Since they can't perform together, they worked on a Zoom video to bring a full concert, hosted by actor Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace), with lots of guest appearances and even a new song written specifically for GMCW by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Seussical).

It's a fun way to spend an hour or so, here's the link:
GMCW Summer Soiree

I found this poem by John O'Donohue to read at my Centering Prayer group on Zoom this week and wanted to share it with you.  It just touched my heart.

Thanks for sharing that beautiful poem, @bluebelle.  That's a keeper!

Thinking about trees in another thread, here's a hopeful poem for the natural world around us.

Let the trees be consulted

Before you take any action

Every time your breathe in

Thank a tree

Let tree-roots crack parking lots

At the world bank headquarters

Let loggers be nature lovers

Specially trained and rewarded

To sacrifice trees at auspicious times

Let carpenters be master artisans

Let lumber be treasured liked gold

Let chainsaws be played like saxophones

Let soldiers on maneuvers plant trees

Give police and criminals

A shovel and a thousand seedlings

Let businessman carry pocketfuls of acorns

Let newlyweds honeymoon in the woods

Walk don't drive

Stop reading newspapers

Stop writing poetry

Squat under a tree

And tell stories

By John Wright

And last but not least from Ireland:

"There are three candles that illumine every darkness: truth, nature and knowledge"

Keep in mind for the coming times! ❤️ 

I came across this again today. Usually not my type of music, but it fits here so wonderfully. A brilliant editing job! Brought me a lot of joy and hope it will do so for you too;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1F0lBnsnkE

Thank you all for sharing these songs and words. I have always been brought to tears by music (even marching bands ... as soon as I hear the drum line, I start bawling. I'm either a huge sap or my empath kryptonite is music). We have a Peloton, and lately, I've been re-taking a ride by an instructor named Christine d'Ercole that is set completely to classical music. I find myself riding through tears for half an hour. (Christine, herself, is incredibly tuned in and cathartic.)

However, once a week I drive into the country to retrieve farm eggs from a friend and deliver them to people, and this song gets turned up about as loudly as my speakers can handle. Not sure it's safe to drive with tears running down the face, but it feels like therapy.

https://youtu.be/WaCib0B8T24

Here is my song for the day! https://youtu.be/xwtdhWltSIg     It reflects my feelings about the current administration and political parties.

@jeanne-mayell (and our entire community)

My new favorite song.  I dare you not to start singing or dancing. 

People Have the Power!!

Choir Choir Choir Patti Smith and Stewart Copeland on percussion.

This song is going to stick with me for awhile.  Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Wz3i_BYUc&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2KgZ6KcndC7ZHNKdTaslh5QMUX82_RtjP3d_C4vXyuol18l28QviANY7c

@michele-b and @jeanne-mayell

Thank you. The poem is by Michael Leunig, an Australian cartoonist, poet, writer. Here are two more of his poems:

THE AWFULISERS

Every night and every day
The awfulisers work away,
Awfulising public places,
Favourite things and little graces;
Awfulising lovely treasures,
Common joys and simple pleasures;
Awfulising far and near
The parts of life we held so dear:
Democratic, clean and lawful,
Awful, awful, awful, awful.

THE SUMMER PALACE

Make a little garden in your pocket,
Fill your cuffs with radishes and rocket,
Let a passionfruit crawl up your thigh,
Grow some oregano in your fly.
Make a steamy compost of your fears,
Trickle irrigate your life with tears,
Let your troubled mind become a trellis,
Turn your heart into a summer palace.

Many years ago (25 or so), there was a car commercial that used a poem read aloud as a voice-over by James Garner, one of my favorite actors.  The poem was written by a gentleman named Patrick O’Leary, an ad copy writer, specifically for the ad campaign for the carmaker.

The poem struck a chord with me, and it’s stuck with me all these years. Even knowing it’s from a car commercial doesn’t tarnish the more personal, gut response I had when I heard it, and I’ve kept a copy of the poem in my wallet for all that time.  I saw it again on a website today, and it made me smile and want to share it because it kind of describes what it's like to meditate, and it always makes my introverted heart happy.  I hope you enjoy. :-)

Nobody Knows It But Me

There’s a place that I travel,
When I want to roam
And nobody knows it but me.

The roads don’t go there,
And the signs stay home
And nobody knows it but me.

It’s far, far away and way, way afar,
It’s over the moon and the sea,
And wherever you are going,
That’s wherever you are
And nobody knows it but me.

-Patrick O'Leary

This my get yo moving a bit.

Power to the People.

https://www.facebook.com/johnlennon/videos/287347049190413

Just watched "Kiss the Ground" on Netflix, narrated by Woody Harrelson. It was about desertification and how to heal the earth--informative and inspiring.

@jackie. I will check it out. Thanks! 

Happy birthday, @lawrence!  May your birthday year be filled with an abundance of blessings, dear friend.

When I saw this video, I immediately thought of you.   Time to “turn it loose, footloose” and celebrate!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rLhJZTHYo4

@deetoo

Thanks so much! Love the clip.The second person seen is Patrick Swayze.  I called him by his nickname Buddy. One of my first friends when I moved to NYC. 

You must be psychic. Lololol.