Memoirs of a Moorings

Back In the Day

"Nothing separates the generations more than music. By the time a child is eight or nine, he has developed a passion for his own music that is even stronger than his passions for procrastination and weird clothes." ~Bill Cosby

I have a handful of vinyl records from my days growing up as a teen in the 1980s. It was a time when music was real--no sampled music or remixes--just real heartfelt songs. I'm waxing nostalgic here because I came across my handful of records. I've been holding on to them because I keep planning to buy a record player--been planning to buy one for more than a decade. But that's another subject. I'm still holding on to these records! Growing up, one of the groups I was obsessed with was De*Barge (and I hate to even admit this now lead singer El De*Barge). I still remember the day that I went to a music store in Berkeley with my ballet teacher who was a friend of my mother's. I chanced upon a rare find--the De*Barge's first album, which came out before they were popular. I think I listened to it every night. Recently, Vibe Magazine ran a 3 part expose on the family. Seems most of them have hit on hard times--drugs, arrests and E*l now has 10 kids. But I still have sweet memories of them. Really makes me with I had a record player now!

Gurrlie Girl and Good Grooves

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy." ~Anne Frank

Amazing how something as simple as some good music can make you forget about your bossy kid. I totally missed the last season of American Idol, so I knew nothing of Elliott Yamin who was like the third runner up. The other day I saw an ad on TV for his song "Wait For You" and I went straight to the computer to download the album. Let's just say I've been rocking the album non-stop for two days. He's making me very happy right now!

Also, I've been rocking some Gurrlie Girl jewelery that my sister bought for me from one of her co-workers. Absolutely adore the scriptural reminders of trusting God and the fruit of the spirit! And I'm such the nerd. I ordered an Acme Pen from See Jane Work. (Thanks Toni!) Writes like a dream :-) So I've been constantly writing "This too shall pass" as reminder that this crazy time with Rhyan is just a phase.

Music Washes Away...

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."  ~Berthold Auerbach

I'm big on music. I use it to calm me down, encourage myself, put a pep in my step or to set myself in a contemplative mood. When I bought my mp3 player, I was on a mission to put my entire CD collection on it. This is a step in the direction of living more simply. Almost there! But now what do I do with all these CDs?

There's talk that the CD is dying---though it still has a long way to go before it's dead. There was an article in Slate this week titled, "The CD Is Dead." The CD is almost dead in this household especially with my husband having an iPod

I saw a blog today that used old album covers as a design element. Hmm...good idea, but do I have enough space for hundreds of CDs? I'm sure they'd make for an interesting conversation piece as my musical taste runs the gamut from Lenny Kravitz to Marvin Gaye to Nicole Nordeman to Celine Dion to CeCe Winans to Everything But the Girl.......oh I could go on.

Anybody need some CDs?

Dreaming Like New York

I LOVE me some Tyrone Wells. LOVE him do you hear me? I discovered him singing his heart out one early Saturday morning at a swap meet here in Southern California. I stopped dead in my tracks and just listened to the soulful melodies floating out of him so effortlessly--a sweet little tune called Sea Breeze. I bought his albums and have been a fan ever since. He truly creates music that matters. Fast forward nearly six years later and this dude has created quite a following. I'm happy to say I've been there to watch his rise!

I'm bringing up Tyrone--not just because I adore him and think you should too--but because he's written the song that has become My Song. In the January 2007 issue of Real Simple there is a great article on finding your life's theme song. I didn't think I had one until I turned on Tyrone's "Dream Like New York" for like the 20,000th time. A light bulb went off--that's my song--the one that gets me motivated and out of a rut. And the one that Rhyan doesn't protest about from the back seat. Check out Tyrone's myspace page to take a listen if you like. It just might become one of your favorites! The lyrics are below. By the way, what's your song?

Dream Like New York

So many dreams come and go
We blink our eyes
Time flies by we don’t know
What ever happened to those childhood years?
When we thought we could fly
We got to keep those dreams alive

And dream like New York
As high as the skyline
Aim for the stars above those city lights
I want to dream like New York
I’m running down Broadway
I got to catch the next train
I’m making my way

Race to work again today
From nine to five
I only strive to stay awake
But the child inside me
Dares to believe I still can fly
Can’t let those dreams just die

I got to dream like New York
As high as the skyline
Aim for the stars above those city lights
I want to dream like New York
I’m running down Broadway
I got to catch the next train
I’m making my way

How many times have u tried and failed?
Have you watched your dreams slip away?
Well every hero falls and every soldier crawls.
And every dreamer dreams again
Got to dream again

Go on and dream like New York
As high as the skylines
Aim for the stars above those city lights
Go on and dream like New York
Run on down Broadway
Catch the next train
Go make your way

Go on and dream like NY
As high as the skylines
Aim for the stars above those city lights
You got to dream like NY
Run on down Broadway
Catch the next train
Go make your way
Go make your way
Go make your way