Adele’s Aerie

Buy Best of Bowie from Amazon.com

Spanning thirty-odd years of work, this collection of recorded performances and music videos was a real eye-opener for me. I didn’t grow up with MTV in the house, and had never seen these.

Make sure to find and watch all of the bonus Easter eggs on these DVDs!

Buy David Bowie’s Reality from Amazon.com

I’ve recently been listening to a lot of Bowie’s music, and I very much like his newest CD, particularly Never Get Old and Reality.

Buy The Narada Christmas Collection Volume 3: Christmas Blessings from Amazon.com

This is one of my favorite holiday instrumental collections. It’s perfect for cuddling up under a warm blanket or an afghan or two, watching the flames dance in your fireplace if you’re lucky enough to have one, or watching the lights twinkle on your tree, or watching the bubble lights burble away atop your Yule log, or simply for having a few close friends over for holiday tea.

It speaks to me of warmth of hearth and home, in the midst of cold, quiet star-filled winter nights.

Buy Dancing Barefoot from Amazon.com

What are you waiting for?

I could say all sorts of complimentary things about this lovely effort from a first-time author. I could provide a more descriptive summary of the stories within it, because that’s a standard reviewer’s trick, right? I could try to put into words how oddly wonderful it feels to read stories from the perspective of an unashamedly introspective geek. I could try to explain how jarringly comfortable it is to get past the chasm that celebrity status builds between people and read simple honesty from this guy that a lot of people think they know, who really is just a guy, and because of that is remarkable. I could tell you how loud I laughed, unexpectedly, and how much I sympathized. I could mention how much it simply got to me, in the nostalgic and reminiscent ways that likely only thirtysomethings’ writings can to do to other thirtysomethings. I could write about how great it feels to be a Trekkie right about now… or I could just stop typing and grab a Kleenex, and you could stop reading this and just go order a copy of the book.

Are you still reading this review?

Well, I’m working late on accounts culling, which means I’m sending accounts deletion notices to users who in theory have left Caltech and who are no longer entitled to their email accounts.

I’m listening to The Weavers, singing heartily… So long, it’s been good to know you…

The Weavers were a wonderful group back in the 1940s and 1950s until three of the four were blacklisted and driven off the popular scene… Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman and Ronnie Gilbert are awesome to listen to and made beautiful music.

So Long (It’s Been Good To Know Yuh) — Originally by Woody Guthrie, this version of the lyrics modified by Guthrie and The Weavers in 1951

So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
What a long time since I’ve been home
and I’ve got to be drifting along

My telephone rang, and it jumped off the wall
That was the preacher a’ making a call
He said we’re waitin’ to tie the knot
You’re gettin’ married, believe it or not
Well the church it was jammed, the church it was packed
The pews were from crowded from the front to the back
A thousand friends waited to kiss my new bride
But I was so anxious, I rushed her outside, told ‘em
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
So long, it’s been good to know you
What a long time since I’ve been home
And I’ve got to be drifting along

For more information about Woody Guthrie (who once put a sticker on his guitar saying “this weapon kills fascists”), The Weavers, and Lead Belly, see:

Look ‘em up on Amazon or your favorite used CD supplier, folks. They’re great, and their struggle to perform their music has lessons for all of us, now and forever.

We each have our favorite music at different times in our lives, and for when we are in different moods. Some of my favorite music is “cleaning music” which gets me bopping around my home tidying and scrubbing. Some of my favorite music is warm and snuggly to wake up to. Some of my favorite music is great to dance to. Some of my favorite music is awesome to play in the car during road trips. So I guess music doesn’t just need to be good or memorable, it needs to fit.

For instance, there’s a used bookstore in Pasadena called Cliff’s. It’s at 630 East Colorado Boulevard, for any readers who are close enough to check it out. They’re open until midnight every night, and they play classical music. The dusty smell of old books and unfinished wood shelving is perfectly complimented by their choice in music. The books aren’t incredible bargains or anything, but you can sometimes find the most obscure sci fi paperback you remember from your childhood there… and the atmosphere is great.

Lately I’ve been listening to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at work. No matter how young I was, or how old I get, it is always wonderful. If you haven’t got a copy on CD, get one.