Parting Clouds

1. First, please forgive my long overdue post. I’ve been suffering from what could only be described as a “life block.” Things are looking up, though. I’m not sure what has changed exactly (not the situation…that’s for sure), but I think having good people gently urge me to reengage with my existence has certainly helped (Jaime, Seth, Kira, Sarah, Sara Lyn & Sister King…I love you all).

2. I’ve recently taken up photography (see the pics above and below). It’s been fantastic. I’ve even managed to procure a pretty cool granola for a teacher. Poor thing (born in ’87) thinks the ‘60s were the best decade of the last century. Good decade for music, but bless her heart.







3. Speaking of the last century, I’ve been listening to a lot of '80s music as of late. I caught the U2 concert a month ago, and it sparked a frenzied return to all things related to the decade of my birth.

Thankfully, I’m not the only one. Jaime’s been in town for the summer, so I’ve had some great opportunities to really unabashedly praise and enjoy my favorites.

One song in particular has taken over. In fact, it was even recently covered by the beautiful Brandi Carlile and released on her live album this past April. She described what inspired the cover:

“Recently I was sitting around in the privacy of own home [. . .] learning “Eternal Flame.” I’m not afraid to admit it. I was learning it because I thought it was funny. I was also learning “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” And while I was having this guilty pleasure ‘80s reprise moment, I was reintroduced to a song that sort of broke my heart the first time I heard it without any instrumentation: “Forever Young.”


Brandi's Version


The Original by Alphaville

Lyrics:
Let us dance in style, let us dance for a while
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are they gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever
We don't have the power but we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip
The music's for a sad man

Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
But praising our leaders we're getting in tune
The music's played by a madman

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, or never

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever young

Some of us are like water and some are like the heat
Some are a melody and some are the beat
Sooner or later we’ll will be gone
Why don't we stay young?

But it's so hard to get old without a cause
I don't want to perish like a fading horse
Youth are like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever

So many adventures could happen in a day
So many songs we forgotten to play
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue
If we let them come true

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, or never

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, or never

Forever young, I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?


Does anyone have any incite on why this song affects me so?

4. Three more weeks and I’m going to Canada! For the past few years I’ve been planning a canoeing trip to the Bowron in northeastern BC. Looks like it’s finally gonna happen. Tickets are purchased, I have almost all of my gear, and I am so stoked!

5. I’ve written five new songs in the past two months. Impressive, no? Misery is a muse. Also, I’m trying to find a way to put samples up for anyone who’s interested, so stay tuned.