Blues and School

I was wandering around today thinking like it was my last day on Earth.  The way you feel when you get really stressed out about something that is happening or going to happen.  Like interviews or getting into a tough class surrounded by people who could actually be teaching it.  Anyways you grab hold of your time and say to yourself: "What have I not asked the universe (or Web) yet?".

I remembered listening to a song by a group called 10cc back in my childhood.  I had this record called "Deceptive Bends" on which resided a 3 part song called "Won't Feel the Benefits".  The song is magnificent.  It starts off slow and mellow and at the end it has picked up and there is an amazing guitar Solo to the finish of the song (3rd part)  nearly 12 minutes later.   What is cool about this song?  What is so unique about it?  The ending.
The riff from this song has spent the last 12 minutes getting into the very meat of your mind and massaging it in with a sweet guitar solo.

So what happens at the end of this amazingly unique song?

Does it fade out like someone is turning down the volume?  no

Does it end with a universally played power chord over many different instruments?  no

Does it end with a Descendo to a monologue or soft song sung accapella?   Nice try ... but no

IT JUST .....................................stops

So you are probably sitting there thinking well WTF James???   How could that possibly be exciting?
Well...a 12 minute song doesn't just stop.  The musicians and singers can stop but the actual music will continue on in your head well afterwards....and that is a really cool effect.   Ofcourse if you hate the song, this might not be a very desirable effect.

Sadly...10cc changed the ending in later performances.  The ending now sounds like a pole vaulting albatross complete with sprint and landing.

Labor day blues

Well it's been a Summer.  Now the kids go back to School and life starts to get back to normal.  Christmas is 3 and a half months away.  About that time we will all be remembering Summer fondly.  It's funny and it's sort of how it is for life.  You sit back when you are older and start to realize how wonderful life used to be without you actually ever having realizing it at the time.  I'm 48 years old and am quite literally in the September 6th of my life.  The air is fresh - like the coming Winter and you still have plenty of warmth from the Summer.  Then you think how fast time has gone and that you still feel inside that you are 25 in a lot of ways....but the distance between 25 and 48 is the same distance that is between 48 and 71 which stops you in your tracks. 

The lesson?  Whatever you are going to do...do it now.  Don't let 25 years pass you by.  Grab onto life and passionately strive towards something.  No one is going to do it for you.  The boss isn't going to give you an 'everything you ever wanted in life' bonus from your day to day meanderings. 

If you think you have all the time in the world;  welcome to my world 25 years later thinking 'wow...was that 25 years?  It didn't seem like that long.'   ...and yeah people told me to pick it up...and yeah I didn't realize how right they were.  

Love passionately, Live well and strive to raise the spirits of the people you meet.