Music Meme (Day 16) - A Song I USED to Be Crazy About

In looking through my music and lists of hit songs from the last three decades, I still like most of the same music I did then. There are certainly lots of pop songs I liked as a teen that I am not interested in listening to now. I couldn't single one song out though. I ended up choosing a song I was crazy about by a band I was crazy about. Although the band is still in existence, its brilliance was extinguished by the suicide of its lead singer. I have and listen to their Greatest Hits. Presently, when I hear this song in particular, it just isn't the same...it's tragic. Michael Hutchence was the lead singer. INXS is the band. The One Thing is the song. 

Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Title: The Help
Series: Standalone
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Published: 02/10/2009
Publisher: Berkley
Genre(s): Literary Fiction

DESCRIPTION

The wildly popular New York Times bestseller and reading group favorite.

Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who's always taken orders quietly, but lately she's unable to hold her bitterness back. Her friend Minny has never held her tongue but now must somehow keep secrets about her employer that leave her speechless. White socialite Skeeter just graduated college. She's full of ambition, but without a husband, she's considered a failure. Together, these seemingly different women join together to write a tell-all book about work as a black maid in the South, that could forever alter their destinies and the life of a small town...

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MY THOUGHTS

I decided to read this book solely upon the recommendation of one friend, who just recently said she could "hear" it. Several others, once they found out I had a copy, said the book was "INCREDIBLE," "supah," and "wonnnnnderful." They are all right. The Help is all those things. The one word description that I've chosen (and mentioned in an earlier comment) is vivid. I came to hear and envision the time, place, and people through the words and observations of Miss Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny. Their firsthand accounts were what made it all so vivid for me. Their dialogue was powerful! Their stories so human. Their inner strength so admirable. I feel very fortunate to have been introduced to them. Thank you, Kathryn Stockett!

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Music Meme (Day 15) - A Song That Describes Me

There wasn't a song that I knew described me in anyway. However, I feel the lyrics and melody of this song (if taken literally with the religious overtones removed) fit my personal tempo so-so. The band is Civil Twilight and the song is Human. 

There’s one way out and one way in
Back to the beginning
There’s one way back to home again
To where I feel forgiven

What is this I feel, why is it so real
What am I to say

It’s only love, it’s only pain
It’s only fear, that runs through my veins
It’s all the things you can’t explain
That make us human

I am just an image of something so much greater
I am just a picture frame, I am not the painter
Where do I begin, can I shed this skin
What is this I feel within

It’s only love, it’s only pain
It’s only fear that runs through my veins
It’s all the things you can’t explain
That make us human
That make us human
That make us human

It's only love, it's only pain
It's only fear that runs through my veins
It's all the things you can't explain
That make us human

That make us human
That make us human
Oh that make us human

* 3/20/2011 edited to add - this day's challenge was the most difficult. This song, although wonderful, just doesn't "fit" me.  Any suggestions?

Music Meme (Day 14) - A Song No One Would Expect Me to Love

I grew up with horses. I rode Western (English and Dressage too). I spent time at horse shows and rodeos, which meant I was exposed to a lot of Country music. I am definitely not a Country music lover, although I enjoy some Country. I have almost one hundred Country songs in my music library. I don't listen to them all that often, but there are definitely some I like a lot when I'm in the mood. I have some Brooks & Dunn, Carrie Underwood, Dixie Chicks, Dolly Parton, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Rascal Flatts, and Taylor Swift. One of the albums I have contains 10 songs and I delight in them all!  That is extremely rare for me, even within my favorite genres. Of those songs I have chosen She's Taken A Shine. (<------Live acoustic version from 2008) It is sung by John Berry and is from his 1996 album, Faces

She's Taken a Shine
Written by: Greg Barnhill and Richard Bach

Rosie never was one for turning heads
She was just always kinda there
She had a few nice features more or less
No red ribbons in her hair

Since that Jessie's been coming to the diner
Folks are saying that she's never looked finer
She's got a different air

She's taken a shine to him
Becoming the woman that she's never been
And all of guys are wishin' they hadn't been so blind
She's taken a shine to life
Now's there a sparkle in her eye
They all missed a gem - a diamond within
She's taken a shine

Rosie hardly messed a bit of work
Never took vacation days
Home, or the diner, it was all the same to her
She didn't know any other way

But each afternoon now she starts to come alive
'Cause Jessie's there each day to pick her up at five
You ought to hear them say

She's taken a shine to him
Becoming the woman that she's never been
And all of guys are wishin' they hadn't been so blind
She's taken a shine to life
Now's there a sparkle in her eye
They all missed a gem - a diamond within
She's taken a shine

Oh, what a little love can do
Now that she's found herself
She's stronger than she ever knew

She's taken a shine to him
Becoming the woman that she's never been
And all of guys are wishin' they hadn't been so blind
She's taken a shine to life
Now's there a sparkle in her eye
They all missed a gem - a diamond within
She's taken a shine

Music Meme (Day 13) - A Song That Is a Guilty Pleasure

The one artist I consider my "guilty pleasure" is Tom Jones. Yes, that Tom Jones. He of "What's New Pussycat?" and "It's Not Unusual" fame. The thing is, Mr. Jones remains one of the few happy memories from my childhood. Watching his television show, This is Tom Jones, with my grandmother and sisters may have been the only thing we enjoyed doing all together. We had that hour per week, from 1969 - 71, when we "cut loose" and enjoyed ourselves. Even though I have such fond memories of listening to his music on 8-track tapes and watching him perform them on TV, I don't have any of those old songs.  Instead I have three of his most recent albums: Move Closer, The Lead and How To Swing It, and 24 Hours. 

There are several songs that I enjoy quite a bit (much to the dismay of my husband, who just doesn't care to listen to Sir Thomas John Woodward), but the one song that I find truly funky is Something for Your Head from The Lead and How to Swing It. Give it a listen, I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised!