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Bohemian Rhapsody Photograph

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Nostalgic Music Month Day 24

Queen by Jon Hilton

The source of many a nightmare. Thanks Queen.

Today I choose the music of Queen and the late great Freddie Mercury.  Not only does their music stand the test of time, it also takes me back to the late 1970’s and 80’s. They are also responsible for some of my greatest nightmares as a kid because the album cover of the killer robot scared the crap out of me. But eventually, I was able to get over my fear and just enjoy the music and receive the message.  Queen created songs that were motivational and moving. If you don’t like Queen then you don’t like good things in life. You need to readjust your priorities or the killer robot is going to get you.

  1. Bohemian Rhapsody– Classic Queen that was made even more popular when it was used in the movie Wayne’s World. It became a classic sing

    Wayne’s World- Excellent!

    along song. For me, it is also used as a code word. I had the good fortune to work with a great group of people. One thing we always wanted to avoid was running into the owner of our business. Because life was easier if you didn’t. The code word for when the owner was around was “Bohemian Rhapsody”, that warning would allow people to make themselves busy or scarce whatever the best plan of action for them was.  A great song which brings back nothing but great memories of those great people. I see a little silhouetto of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango? Thunderbolt and lightning Very, very frightening me. 

  2. Bicycle Race/Fat Bottomed Girls– These two songs always went together on the radio when I was a young kid. The thing is that when this came out I was pretty interested in riding my bicycle and I wanted to ride it where I liked. There was a time of innocence in most people’s lives that change over time. The second song is about that type of change. As you grow up and hormones take over, the preoccupation with the fairer sex is inevitable for most young men.  Not Freddy Mercury so much I guess, but for me. Fat Bottomed Girls made me laugh and still does. These songs go together for me as an ode to my personal development in life. You say Rolls; I say Royce. You say God; give me a choice! You say Lord; I say Christ! I don’t believe in Peter Pan, Frankenstein or Superman All I wanna do is bicycle./  Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin’ world go round.
  3. Under Pressure– There is no force less talked about but more prevalent in the lives of people than pressure. We all put pressure on ourselves to be successful, happy, or perfect. Or at least to create the image of perfection.
    Nope still scary. Why did they do this to me?

    Today more than ever Facebook lives are not real but they are an image someone creates that they want the world to see. The pressure is really in being who you are and saying to hell with the world and what they think. This song always takes me back to the times in high school where it felt like you would never fit in or never get to a point in life when you could just be yourself. Don’t wait to be who you are, it is the greatest gift you have. Why can’t we give love that one more chance. Why can’t we give love give love give love give love. Give love give love give love give love give love. ‘Cause love’s such an old fashioned word. And love dares you to care for The people on the (People on streets) edge of the night And loves (People on streets) dares you to change our way of Caring about ourselves.

  4. Another One Bites the Dust-Throughout my life there has always been competition. I enjoy competing and I enjoy winning. Especially when there are factors you can control, strategy, planning, and execution that can be better than others. Most people think that they are smarter, or more deserving than others. We are all the star of our own reality show. This song has always been in the background of every accomplishment or victory I have experienced in life. Winning isn’t everything, in fact, it is the cooperation that competition brings about that is most important.  Competion is isolated, but cooperation is a true team sport and in cooperating the best of all people will rise to the top.  A group becomes a
    One of my favorite championship teams. 2004 Boston Red Sox. We lived to see it!

    team and true victories are achieved.   Are you happy, are you satisfied?How long can you stand the heat? Out of the doorway the bullets rip
    To the sound of the beat.Look out!

  5. We Will Rock You/We are the Champions– Stomp, Stomp, Clap! Stomp, Stomp, Clap! Where would we be without this simple Queen contribution to the world? It is fun to do and brings people together. Combine that with the simple phrase, We will, we will, Rock You. You have a winner.  This is a perfect introduction into We are the Champions. The true measure of a champion is the journey they take to get the prize. In sports as in life, the obstacles overcome to achieve greatness are the very things that give them their real value.  We have all been down at some point in life and had the choice to quit or fight back. Fighting back and rising again is the great human story.  But it’s been no bed of roses. No pleasure cruise. I consider it a challenge before the whole human race. And I ain’t gonna lose!

Def Leppard by Mike Martin

I clearly remember the first time that I heard Def Leppard- an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield, England. I was riding around Greenville, Maine in my dad’s truck with my lifelong friend Danny Daigle-something we did often.

Def Leppard strongest commercial success came between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. I got my driver’s license in the summer of 1982. Their 1981 album, High ‘n’ Dry helped the band define their style, and the album’s standout track-Bringin’ On the Heartbreak  -became one of the first rock videos played on MTV in 1982-a TV program that still not available on regular cable n Greenville, Maine.

Someone, please correct me if MTV is now available, I understand that

This post sponsored by the good people at Spectrum Cable. Redefining what a cable company can be.

Moosehead Cable finally fell to the pressure and recently sold to the monopolized corporate cable company that now controls cable TV in most of Maine, so things may have recently changed.

When I heard the unique sound of the new wave of British heavy metal

movement lead by Def Leopard, I was hooked and couldn’t hear them enough. The band’s next studio album, Pyromania was released in January 1983, the lead singles from this album turned Def Leppard into a household name in the U.S., and changed the sound of the carnival rides at the summer agricultural fairs here in Maine forever.

To this day when I hear the songs from Pyromania, I’m instantly transformed into a teenager and remember fondly when I could ride the rides at the Skowhegan State Fair (a setting for the great barnyard story Charlotte’s Web) without getting sick to my stomach-oh how things have change

 

Carnival rides at a Maine State Agricultural Fair

Photograph 

Photograph I don’t want your
Photograph I don’t need your
Photograph all I’ve got is a photograph
But it’s not enough

DEF LEPPARD – “Rock of Ages”

Gunter gleiben glauchen globen
All right
I got somethin’ to say
Yeah, it’s better to burn out
Yeah, than fade away

Please, have a great day, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year! #visitGreenville

#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville

 

 

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Gimme Shelter from Bruno Mars

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Nostalgic Music Month Day 23

Rolling Stones by Jon Hilton

The Rolling Stones have been rocking for decades and the fact that they are older than my parents and still doing it is a credit to them, their music and the effect it has on millions of people. I am one of those millions of people because at certain times of my life the soundtrack was punctuated by the music of The Stones.  The catalog of music is so large that there is something for everyone. Choosing the specific songs was a difficult task but I managed to break the list out to correspond with my life. The Rolling Stones have done alright. I mean, they’re no Bruno Mars but they have done alright.

  1. Gimme Shelter– There is going to be a time in all lives when they feel under siege. When we are indeed in need of shelter from the storm that is entering our lives. In times of stress, it is natural to pull back into yourself. These are the times that friends and loved ones can pull you through. When you listen to this song you can feel the turmoil of the years that it was written in. War, fire, and flood are all mentioned as threats we face. In the end, the cure is love. That is the real story of this song. When I hear this song, I think of a winter day, the snow is just starting to fall, but the storm is coming.  Oh, a storm is threat’ning, My very life today. If I don’t get some shelter. Oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away.
  2. Sympathy for the Devil– I have always been fascinated with the lies of life that people tell. I was raised as a Christian but was constantly faced with the hypocrisy of the institution.  I learned that God is love as long as you fit into the very strict categories the church approves of. It didn’t take long for me to recognize the evil that exists in separating people into groups. Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name.  I have learned that all people without exception are capable of great good and great evil, depending on circumstance and issues of self-preservation.  We can only choose where we fall on that chart through the decisions we make and the actions we take. Just as every cop is a criminal, And all the sinners saints, As heads is tails, Just call me Lucifer. ‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint.
  3. You Can’t Always Get What You Want– Regret is an emotion that we would be better off living without. But it is still going to rise up from time to time. It is only a thought and a fantastical one at that. The love you lost, the job you should have taken, the financial decision you should have made are all just creations of your mind.  Regret is a waste of time because no matter where your life would have been if you did things differently, your life now is all you have. So focus on that and make it the best you can. Feel the regret, acknowledge it, let it go and move on. You never know what is going to be ultimately good for you in the long run. Often times the things we want, are not the best for our long-term health and success.  I saw her today at the reception. In her glass was a bleeding man
    She was practiced at the art of deception. Well, I could tell by her blood-stained hands. You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes you just might find, You just might find, You get what you need.
  4. Paint It Black– Everyone at some point has felt this way because of the loss and suffering in their life. When love or something else is taken from you, your whole world can seem black.  All relationships will cause some degree of suffering, so you need to make sure that you are in a relationship with someone who is worth suffering for.  Until then you can go through life wanting to paint things black, black as night. I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black. With flowers and my love both never to come back. I see people turn their heads and quickly look away. Like a newborn baby, it just happens every day.
  5. Memory Motel– I have spent a lot of time at the Memory Motel in my life. The funny thing about memories is that we can color them any way we want. The value and emotions that we feel about them are supplied by our own thoughts. Two people can look at the same memory and have two distinct reactions to the same thing. Our minds are intricate tools, but they are only tools of thought. Memories are bittersweet. They allow you to visit events that happened long ago and see people that you haven’t seen in years. This song always brings back those memories of loves lost and things I could have done better, but in the end, it probably has worked out for the best. Hannah baby was a honey of a girl, Her eyes were hazel 
    And her teeth were slightly curved, She took my guitar and she began to play, She sang a song to me, Stuck right in my brain, You’re just a memory of a love That used to be. You’re just a memory of a love That used to mean so much to me.

Wild Horses, Angie, Satisfaction, Brown Sugar, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Beast of Burden, Start Me Up, Tumblin’ Dice, Let’s Spend the Night Together, She’s a Rainbow, Ruby Tuesday, Waiting on a Friend, Under My Thumb, Midnight Rambler, Get Off of My Cloud, Fool to Cry

Bruno Mars by Mike Martin

In 2012, Madelyn was 4 and thought Google was her grandfather.  Today, I am tired because I stayed up late watching the Patriots finally play a little defense. So, today I am going to pretend that I have all the time in the world to be lazy.

Peter Gene Hernandez professionally as Bruno Mars was born October 8, 1985. He is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and choreographer. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age and performed in his hometown throughout his childhood.
My favorite Bruno Mars son is The Lazy Song. It spent a total of 27 weeks

Lazy

on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at number 4. The single sold over 1 million digital copies in the United States and it sold 3,262,000 digital copies in the United States by September 2012.

The Lazy Song 

Today I don’t feel like doing anything
I just wanna lay in my bed
Don’t feel like picking up my phone
So leave a message at the tone
‘Cause today I swear I’m not doing anything

Please, have a great day, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year! #visitGreenville

#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville

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Fly Like an Eagle on Bloody Sunday

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Nostalgic Music Month Day 22

Steve Miller Band by Jon Hilton

The Steve Miller Band has provided the soundtrack for the lives of anyone our age. They put out some of the most iconic songs of the 70’s but then never really recaptured that magic.  As they tried to switch from cool rock band to whatever they thought the 1980’s were looking for they lost their identity and their mojo.  But this is a focus on the mojo they had in their prime. The music transcends time and generations and will help you through life whether you are a picker, grinner, lover or a sinner. I have known many a Joker, smoker or midnight toker and none of them wanted to hurt no one.  Let’s forget the Abracadabra era and focus on the music that transcends time.

  1. Fly Like an Eagle– This is one of the songs that even today, I have to listen to whenever it comes on the radio. I think I have always identified with the theme because freedom seems to be the most important thing to me. When you look at the world and all of its problems. It seems that there should be easier solutions for societies problems. Feed those who don’t have enough to eat. Give clothes to those who need it. It all gets so complicated somehow. And Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future. I think that if, as a society, we ever focused on providing for the greater good of all people we could fly like an eagle to the sea. Great song and great thought. Feed the babies, Who don’t have enough to eat
    Shoe the children, With no shoes on their feet, House the people, Livin’ in the street. Oh, oh, there’s a solution.
  2. Take the Money and Run– On the other end of the spectrum is this little ditty. A story about theft and murder and apparently how to get away with it. I don’t think that Billy Joe and Bobby Sue would have been able to escape justice from Billy Mack. He knows exactly what the facts is. I don’t think that this crime spree would have worked out for them in the long run. I mean how much money could they get from that man in his castle? I think they would have to commit quite a few more crimes before they found real financial security. They would have been better served to go to college, build two successful careers and then they wouldn’t have to run so much.   It is a good song though and probably inspired many marathon runners over the years. Bobbie Sue, whoa, whoa, she slipped away. Billy Joe caught up to her the very next day. They got the money, hey. You know they got away. They headed down south and they’re still running today.
  3. Serenade– I think we all need to wake up. The world is running in an unconscious whirl of activity. There are so many things in front of us every day that are beautiful and breathtaking but we only see the time we are behind and the hurry that we have to chase.  Get it done, achieve the goal, but there is a time to appreciate the things that nature provides. We are only here for a short time and should appreciate the sunrises and sunsets we are fortunate enough to experience. This song always makes me stop for a moment and appreciate these moments and the value that they provide. Did you feel the wind, As it blew all around you? Did you feel the love That was in the air? Wake up, wake up, Wake up and look around you. We’re lost in space. And the time is our own.
  4. Jet Airliner– One of the best songs about traveling through life.  There are big jet airliners that carry us anywhere in the world that we want to go. The world is a much smaller place than it used to be.  Home is a thought that continually enters my mind.  I know it is not really a place physically but more of a spiritual destination. Where you are accepted, loved and where you belong. We have all felt like we are far away from that in life. Sometimes doing what we think we need to take us away from this.  That is the thought that “you’ve got to go through hell before you get to heaven.”  Keep clear of all the funky s–t going down in the city and you will hopefully return home in one piece and find happiness.  Goodbye to all my friends at home. Goodbye to people I’ve trusted. I’ve got to go out and make my way. I might get rich you know I might get busted
    But my heart keeps calling me backwards.As I get on the 707
    Ridin’ high I got tears in my eyes. You know you got to go through hell
    Before you get to heaven.
  5. Rock’n’Me – I learned some valuable lessons from this song. You need to work hard and make money to please my sweet baby. But if she was a real friend of mine, would the amount of money I made matter? It wouldn’t no matter how much she kept on rocking me.  I also learned that it is a lot of travel from Phoenix Arizona all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and L.A. I also learned that girls are warm in Northern California. Must be something about the weather.  All I know is that I want my baby to keep on rockin’ me and to not be suspicious about what I am up to.  In the end, I am not sure this song contributes anything other than a catchy phrase. But it is a great catchy phrase. Don’t get suspicious, now don’t be suspicious. Babe, you know you are a friend of mine. And you know that it’s true that all the things that I do, Are gonna come back to you in your sweet time.

 

U2 by Mike Martin

October 22, 2017- Nostalgic Music Month: U2

I all to say today, day 22,  for #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth is Sunday Bloody Sunday. I hope that understand!

 

Yeah

I can’t believe the news today
Oh, I can’t close my eyes
And make it go away
How long
How long must we sing this song
How long, how long
‘Cause tonight, we can be as one
Tonight

Broken bottles under children’s feet
Bodies strewn across the dead end street
But I won’t heed the battle call
It puts my back up
Puts my back up against the wall

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

And the battle’s just begun
There’s many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

How long
How long must we sing this song
How long, how long
‘Cause tonight, we can be as one
Tonight, tonight

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
Oh, wipe your tears away
Oh, wipe your tears away
(Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Oh, wipe your blood shot eyes
(Sunday, Bloody Sunday)

Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)

And it’s true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

The real battle just begun
To claim the victory Jesus won
On

Sunday Bloody Sunday
Sunday Bloody Sunday
U2 is an Irish rock band from Dublin, Ireland formed in 1976. The group consists of Bono (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), the Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion).

Please, have a great day, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year! #visitGreenville

#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville

 

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Tuesday Afternoon in the Danger Zone

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Nostalgic Music Month Day 21

The Moody Blues by Jon Hilton

In the mid 80’s I really discovered the music of the Moody Blues. It was more thought-provoking and interesting. The songs are both musically beautiful and supply a great message about life if you take the time to listen. As I have grown over the years my philosophy of life has allowed me to find even more connections to the music and to the days of my youth.  Life is a gift and we are all trying to live it in the best way we can. Sometimes you are up and everything goes your way, and other times you are faced with challenges that serve to test us. Either we learn lessons and move forward a better equipt person. Or we might be destroyed by them. The music of the Moody Blues brings hope that the results of all your challenges will be to be successful in life.

 

  1. Tuesday Afternoon– Whenever I hear this song, I immediately think of the 16-year-old me. I used to spend about 30 minutes every morning before I would go to school, drinking coffee and listening to music I liked. This song reminds me of those times. As I began to develop self-reflective skills that helped me look at what was happening in life and try to understand the emotions I was experiencing because of them. This is a skill with a lot of value today. There are still moments of anger, frustration, embarrassment, etc.  This song reminds me that it is OK and there is a beauty in each day to enjoy.  I’m looking at myself reflections of my mind. It’s just the kind of day to leave myself behind. So gently swaying through the fairyland of love. If you’ll just come with me you’ll see the beauty of TUESDAY AFTERNOON. 
  2. Nights in White Satin– I was talking about this song the other day and it just may be one of the greatest love songs ever written. Love is a confusing emotion that makes you react from hormones and operate from a more emotional and be less pragmatic about things. At least in my experience that has been the case. Love has the power to make your life more intense, more vital and provide each day with a unique flavor.  Unfortunately, most people are never taught the problem with something so powerful is that we are in constant fear of losing it. That fear leads to jealousy, envy, cruelty, neglect, and downright meanness. All of this could be solved just by clearer communication and trust. But we are only human after all and the lessons will continue until the game is up. Gazing at people, some hand in hand. Just what I’m going through they can’t understand. Some try to tell me, thoughts they cannot defend. Just what you want to be, you will be in the end.
  3. Question– One of the most powerful tools we possess in life is the ability to question. Not only what others are doing and how it affects our lives. Also, we have the ability to question ourselves, our lives and the situations we find ourselves in.  All change and self-reflection come from the asking of questions about things. There is a philosophy called Access Consciousness which is based totally on developing your question asking tools. Once a question is asked there is no choice but to find the answer. The secret, I think, is to make sure you are asking the right questions. And when you stop and think about it. You won’t believe it’s true. That all the love you’ve been giving. Has all been meant for you. 
  4. Lovely to See You Again– People leave a mark. No matter who they are, when you deal with someone they change you in some way. The ones who change us in a positive way and share in good times are the ones we really value. When you are young and just learning, the potential for influencing your life is greater. Those are the people who you can see today after many years and no years have passed. It makes you wonder that people are so similar to each other but totally unique in the effect they have had on you and your life.  People will not remember your accomplishments or your intellect but they will always remember how you made them feel.  In all of our interactions, we should be aware that we are leaving a mark on someone else’s life. These marks will define your life.
    Lovely to see you again my friend. Walk along with me to the next bend. Dark cloud of fear is blowing away. Now that you’re here, you’re going to stay, ’cause it’s Lovely to see you again my friend.
  5. Never Comes the Day– We tend to be working our lives away looking forward to the next step. A kid goes to elementary school looking forward to middle school. A kid in middle school looks forward to high school, high school to college, college to career, career to retirement. Then what?  As people, I think we do not do a very good job of living in the moment and enjoying the part of your life that you are in. This day is all that you are guaranteed in life, this moment right now. As a young man, I didn’t really get this. This funny game of life can end in an instant. Better not to spend those instances with the people we enjoy, doing the things we like best. Give just a little bit more. Take a little bit less, From each other tonight. Admit what you’re feeling, And see what’s in front of you, It’s never out of your sight. You know it’s true, We all know that it’s true.

Kenny Loggins by Mike Martin

I remember the first time I ever heard, “Do something for 21 days in a row and it becomes a habit.”

Working as an Account Executive for an investment banking firm in La Jolla, California, Larry Isen was a top producer and full of wisdom.  He was also under investigation by the SEC for insider trading but a good guy none the less.

I once played Torey Pines, North- a famous municipal golf course, owned by San Diego, California-and two other stockbrokers from the firm. We played skins, and I won nine dollars. Larry won the rest of the pool. This was my first sales job.

The founder of the firm was a high energy former member of the US Ski Team, Sandy Greenberg. His morning motivational calls were both educational and a little weird. I just found him on LinkedIn.

His profile says he is the Founder at SDG CONSULTING and still lives in the Denver, Colorado area. I sent him an invitation to connect along with a note explaining that I started working for his firm the day that I was discharged from the Navy, November 28, 1991.

My “office” at the investment banking firm was similar to the setup of the sales floor in the movie, Boiler Room- a 2000 American crime drama film written and directed by Ben Younger, and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Ben Affleck, Nicky Katt, Scott Caan, Tom Everett Scott, Ron Rifkin and Jamie Kennedy.

It had all the bells and whistles: a conference room, motivational posters, and other persuasions tools, and it overlooked the now Marine Corps Air Station Miramar formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar. They view was incredible, and we got to watch Navy and Marine’s aviators fly their supersonic jets daily.

Top Gun is the soundtrack from the film of the same name, released in 1986 by Columbia Records. The film stars Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt. Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a young renegade Naval pilot aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise CV-65- the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

I served aboard the USS Independence CV-62 from 1988-1991 along with my lifelong friend and fellow altar boy and Boy Scout, Joe Audette

Listening to Danger Zone – one of the hit singles from the soundtrack for the movie Top Gun, which was the bestselling soundtrack of 1986, and one of the bestselling of all time—recorded and release by Kenny Loggins- an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who performed with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band from 1972 to 1977-gives you a little glimpse into the risk that Joe took on the flight deck of the Indy in the Support of your Freedom.

Thank you brother, no worries- I still think you’re an AssHat (smiley face) But, #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth is all about sharing the love!

Danger Zone 

You’ll never say hello to you
Until you get it on the red line overload
You’ll never know what you can do
Until you get it up as high as you can go

Out along the edges
Always where I burn to be
The further on the edge
The hotter the intensity

Highway to the danger zone
Gonna take you

Please, have a great day, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year! #visitGreenville

#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville

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Small Town Johnson

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Nostalgic Music Month Day 19

John Cougar Mellencamp by Jon Hilton

One of my constant companions, as I grew up and became an “adult” in the 1980’s, was John Cougar Mellencamp. His music was easy for a rural kid from Maine to relate to.  The themes of small towns and simple stories seemed to be something that was easily emulated. As I navigated my way through the turbulent waters of high school and then enjoyed the free years of college, this music was there. Along with the songs are a raft of people and experiences that have helped form my view of the world today.

  1. Small Town– this song spoke to me the first time I heard it, just like it does today. I was definitely born in a small town and my earliest
    My small town

    memories were all formed from that experience. That you treat people the way you want to be treated. You practice kindness every day and help your neighbor out. You do this and ask nothing in return because being in a position to help another is reward enough. When you need help others are there for you. The big lesson is that we are all in this together and each of us contributes to that community in one way or another. Good or bad. I am eternally grateful for the learning I received in my small town of Greenville, Maine.   No, I cannot forget where it is that I come from, I cannot forget the people who love me. Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town. And people let me be just what I want to be.

  2. Lonely Old Night– In life the good memories stand out and shout to you as you grow older and the bad ones tend to fade into the background. This song brings some of the best ones to mind. Times spent drinking wine and dreaming of a future that could have existed if I wasn’t so scared of it. Sometimes we learn lessons and move forward and use them. Unfortunately sometimes the lessons we learn come too late to change a situation or yourself. All you are left with are positive memories of people that mattered to you so much then. The images can seem as real today as they were then but then you realize that they are as much ancient history as the pyramids in Egypt. But they are your history.  Radio playin’ softly
    Some singer’s sad sad song. He’s singing about. Standing in the shadows of love. I guess it feels awfully alone. She says I know Exactly what he means………….
  3. Jack and Diane– A song which came out while I was in high school. I think there is a generation of people who created a fantasy of being in a relationship like Jack and Diane. All Jacks are looking for their Dianes and vice versa. Each relationship we have from the beginning of our existence until today is meant to teach you something. It may be a lesson about love, life, selfishness or something else but most often they teach you something about yourself. If you are paying attention, then the next relationship should be better. Or more likely the one you are in will be more vital and valuable. This song reminds me to learn those lessons. I am a slow student. Oh, let it rock, let it roll. Let the bible belt come and save my soul. Holdin’ on to sixteen as long as you can. Change is coming ’round real soon. Make us woman and man. Oh yeah, life goes on.
  4. Authority Song– One of the constant experiences that I have had in my life is that I do NOT like anyone telling me what to do. Especially when the narrative states how you should feel about certain things.  There is no one path that is more acceptable than another. As long as nobody else is being negatively affected by your behavior, then do what you want to do. Don’t let anyone else tell you what career you are supposed to follow, or what hobbies you want to create from.  Creativity is a vital part of knowing yourself and what message you have to share with the world. Be your true self and let everyone else do the same. So I call up my preacher
    I say, “Give me strength for Round 5.” He said , “You don’t need no strength, you need to grow up son.” I said, “Growing up leads to growing old and then to dying”And dying to me don’t sound like all that much fun.”
  5. Check It Out– Another song which speaks about life and the desire to have your true song heard. It actually is urging the world to “Check it Out” and see what the words and thoughts that people posses. It would lead to a better understanding if people listened to those of different political views, rather than carry preconceived judgments of others. Most of which are created and promoted by the mainstream media on both sides. Keep the people fighting and fearing and they are easy to control.  Look at yourself and those you are opposed to. What is the real issue? Justice? Patriotism? Healthcare? Terrorism?  Check it out, we are the same a lot more than we are different. Most people just want to have a life that is fulfilling.  Seems like we should be able to put aside the petty differences and allow this for everyone.  So check it out. Where does our time go? Check it out. Got a brand new house in escrow. Check it out. Sleepin’ with your back to your loved one. This is all, we have learned about happiness.

Pink Houses, Hurts So Good, Cherry Bomb, R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A., Rain on the Scarecrow, Crumblin’ Down, Minutes to Memories, Hand to Hold on to, Just Another Day, Jackie Brown, Rumble Seat, Between a Laugh and a Tear, Ain’t Even Done with the Night.

Jack Johnson by Mike Martin

Is it ok to throw trash in the oceans?

I once helped start a nonprofit with a Biddeford, Maine lobster tank manufacture. Touch Tanks for Kids was formed to bring awareness to the damages that human activity brings to the Earth’s biospheres-the program included a strong focus on Ocean education.

Jack Hody Johnson is a singer-songwriter, musician, actor, record producer, documentary filmmaker and a former professional surfer born in the USA. I was once referred to as the “Surfer Dude” when I worked for a furniture repossession and extortion company. ( FYI-I don’t surf and have only tried on a few times. I do have blonde hair though.)

Johnson is active in the ecology and sustainability movement and has an ocean-centric focus. Johnson, with help from, Kim, his wife, created the Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation and the Kōkua Hawaii Foundation.

Dirty Oceans that need to be cleaned

The Johnsons have dedicated a great deal of resources, time and money,  promoting “positive and lasting change within communities by supporting organizations that focus on environmental, art, and music education.”

With the help of several sympathetic organization and people, Touch Tanks for Kids shared its message at festivals, conventions and other gathers including two lobster festivals. The San Pedro Lobster Festival in California and The Maine Lobster Festival  in Rockland, Maine.

Thank you, Cecil Knight for all your help! And, thank you Jack Johnson for the use of your use of your song, Talk of the Town, used in the video as a way to promote one of Touch Tanks for Kids fundraising systems when The Lobster Claw Invade(d) The Maine Lobster Festival

I know a game using live lobsters may seem a bit morbid, but the lobsters who participated got to live as they were set free to swim another day.  And, many great educational organization benefit from the fund raiser including the Coastal Children’s Museum 75 Mechanic Street Rockland, Maine

Touch Tanks for Kids Annual Lobster Chair Raffle at the Maine Lobster Festival 2011 

Thank you everyone for your participation and think we did a great job motivating people to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 

If you’re going to the market to buy some juice
You’ve got to bring your own bags and you learn to reduce your waste
And if your brother or your sister’s got some cool clothes
You could try them on before you buy some more of those
Reuse, we’ve got to learn to reuse
And if the first two R’s don’t work out
And if you’ve got to make some trash
Don’t throw it out
Recycle, we’ve got to learn to recycle,
We’ve got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Please, have a great day, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year! #visitGreenville
#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville

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1985 Moon Dance

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Nostalgic Music Month Day 18

1985 By Jon Hilton

Our identity is defined by our experience and no other year in my life was more important to my development as a person than 1985. It was a year of change, learning, tragedy, triumph and ultimately the first real push into the person that I became. Looking back we tend to forget much of the mundane and negative and cherry pick the positive memories. For me there is no need to do this about 1985, it was all significant and memorable. Like all other things in my life, there was a soundtrack to that year that brings back the emotions of the era and always allows me to look back in reverence and love for that most formative year.

  1. Don’t You Forget About Me– Simple Minds- One of the most shared rites of passage in all people’s lives is the graduation from high school. It was June 13, 1985, when I experienced this. It was the culmination of four years of emotional and mental turmoil. On that day I played in and lost the Western Maine baseball final to Falmouth. We got back in time to
    I won’t forget about you!

    change and the next thing you know, I was graduating. Then we had a project graduation where you stayed up all night at the Boothbay YMCA, followed by a morning tour of Boothbay Harbor, and then a breakfast at the Legion in Damariscotta. It was a long night. One thing that is for sure from four years previous to that day to this one, I have never forgotten the people I shared that experience with. They are timeless and precious.  Tell me your troubles and doubts. Giving me everything inside and out and Love’s strange so real in the dark. Think of the tender things that we were working on……..

  2. Trapped – Bruce Springsteen- In that year, USA for Africa was trying to feed the world, and we were naive enough to believe that it would happen. this song reminds me of that spring of 1985 when I was involved in some tragedy. Until today I never really realized how much this song reminds me of that time. Life seems to have a way of hitting you hard sometimes, and how you react to that will define you. If your not careful they can trap you in that moment and keep you there. I like to think that all the people that I cared about then escaped these tangles. Good will conquer evil and the truth will set you free. And I know someday I’ll find the key…….
  3. If you Love Somebody Set Them Free– Sting- In 1985, my contemporaries and myself were looking for freedom and the powers that be decided to set us free on the world. This meant that relationships had to change, we all knew this was happening and in order for all people to reach their full potential, they need to be allowed to spread their wings and see what great things they can create. It would be great to keep all people exactly the same, but moments like that are meant to be just moments. They were perfect for their time, but all things must pass on to the next stop on the journey. Our job is to let it go and appreciate the experience we had and the lessons we learned. There are few teachers who are more appreciated than those I knew in 1985.  If you need somebody, call my name. If you want someone, you can do the same. If you want to keep something precious, Got to lock it up and throw away the key.
  4. Lay Your Hands On Me– Thompson Twins- This is a song that is very 1985ish. As we worked our way toward the inevitable end of our high school existence, there are so many people that you shared memories
    Lincoln Academy today looks much different than it did then………Like us it has come a long way.

    with. Some were longer term and some were just for a short time. All had an impact on me. Sometimes there are situations that you need support and to feel like some people care about you.  When it all comes down to the end, it’s the people that we care about and care about us that define who we are. This little 1985 ditty takes you back to that time and the feeling of being young. Back and forth across the sea. I have chased so many dreams. But I have never felt the grace. That I have felt in your embrace.

  5. Money For Nothing– Dire Straits- During the summer of 1985 I worked for one o the best people I ever knew. He made cabinets and I was his faithful assistant. I sanded things like no other.  We used to ride from job to job and listen to music and this song was one of the popular ones because we would have liked some of that money for nothin’.  I also wanted my MTV so this song really had it all.  There was a freedom in this job that I am not sure I have experienced since. We worked hard and got things done, but when the task was accomplished, it was left there and I was allowed to pursue my true passion of that summer which resided in Pemaquid, Maine. I have always been grateful for the lessons I learned that summer about work, people, and life.  And he’s up there, what’s that? Hawaiian noises? Bangin’ on the bongos like a chimpanzee. That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it. Get your money for nothin’ get your chicks for free. We got to install microwave ovens custom kitchen deliveries. We got to move these refrigerators we gotta move these color TV’s.

Van Morrison by Mike Martin- Day 18

Sir George Ivan “Van” Morrison is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and producer, born August 31, 1945. Known as “Van the Man”, he started his professional career as a teenager and continues to record and tour today with an album, Roll with the Punches, just released on September 22, 2017.

Every October, I am ready to listen to my favorite Van Morrison’s song ,  Moondance  -a song that established Morrison as a musical icon and a song that makes me feel incredibly relaxed and confident.

Well, it’s a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
‘Neath the cover of October skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow
And I’m trying to please to the calling
Of your heart-strings that play soft and low
And all the night’s magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush

My other favorite Van Morrison song was released as a single in mid-June 1967 (just about the time I was turning one) and reached number ten on

Moon Dance

the popular music charts in the United Sates.  Brown Eyed Girl (Live) is a true classic and still remains one of the most requested songs, on the radio and at weddings, in the United States today, 50 years after its release.

Hey, where did we go
Days when the rains came ?
Down in the hollow
Playing a new game
Laughing and a-running, hey, hey
Skipping and a-jumping
In the misty morning fog with
Our, our hearts a-thumping

Please, have a wicked Wednesday day, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year! #visitGreenville

#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville

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The Boys are back in Water

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Nostalgic Music Month Day 17

Water by Jon Hilton

A view of our favorite swimming spot through the trees on Dyer’s Pond

In all of my formative years, I was fortunate to be blessed, living within view of a lake or a pond in all places I lived.  My earliest memories are of these places. They are Moosehead Lake in Greenville, Maine and Dyers Long Pond in Jefferson, Maine. Each comes back to me in memories and it is clearly a part of my soul is in each. This is the story of how these two lakes contributed to my life and formed much of what I understand about the world today.  It is a fortunate thing to be raised in the woods of Maine, even though I often thought otherwise. There are lessons you learn about life and respect for nature many people seem to lack today.

  1. Water– Brad Paisley- To live in rural areas one of the first elements you need to master is water. Learning to swim in this scary, monstrous and mysterious lake is one of the first challenges we meet. I remember well
    This was camp, and that boat was my main source of travel, freedom, and entertainment.

    the day I learned to swim. I was standing on the dock at my grandfathers. Tentatively thinking about swimming but fear was in my way. What if I couldn’t do it? Suddenly I was picked up and was hurtling through the air and into that dark scary abyss.  After the initial fear and shock wore off, I realized that I was swimming, and there wasn’t anything to be afraid of at all. Life lesson learned. It is one I have to recall even today when something new comes along. Jump in, give it a go, you will never know if you don’t give it a try.  Yeah, when that summer sun starts to beatin’ down. And you don’t know what to do. Grab your swimming trunks. Ice up that old igloo. Drive until the map turns blue.

  2. Down to the Waterline– Dire Straits There was a path that ran from our camp on Dyers Pond through the woods, past four other camps with the final destination of my grandparents. I ran that path thousands of times in my youth, usually with no shoes on. I knew all of the camps and their inhabitants as well as family. The path was right next to the water. I was very fortunate to be set free almost all summer. I had to be polite when I was around people and was taught to be honest, kind and caring. But when it came to summer days, I was set free with my brothers to go and do whatever I could dream up that day. The woods and the waters were my playgrounds and my teachers.  Respect was the biggest lesson I learned running along the waterline. She can see him on the jetty where they used to go. She can feel him in the places where the sailors go. When she’s walking by the river and the railway line. She can still hear him whisper, “Let’s go down to the waterline.”
  3. All Summer Long– Kid Rock- Growing up and going to camp every summer of my life was a tough life. The lake was not only for fun but also for bathing. There was no shower at the camp. Why? Because you went swimming every day. Usually two or three times. We actually could go as many times as we wanted as long as we could find someone to watch us. Any adult would do.  Of course, we also had to wait 30 minutes after we ate before we could swim. It was based on the unfounded belief that if you swam before your food started to digest you would get cramps and drown. We followed this “science” without question.  Living at camp also meant, using an outhouse, and filling up jugs of drinking water and carrying them home. We definitely take a lot of simple things for granted today.  Splashing through the sandbar. Talking by the campfire. It’s the simple things in life, like when and where. We didn’t have no internet
    But man I never will forget.
    The way the moonlight shined upon her hair
  4. On the Border– Al Stewart- Wind was a constant companion on all lakes. In Greenville, the wind was a powerful and constant factor in life. It made a moderate day colder and a cold day frigid. It did develop a toughness, that if you can handle that cold wind, everything else is minor leagues. In Jefferson, the wind dictated what types of activities the day would bring. Wind out of the south meant warm happy days of sunshine. Wind out of the North meant colder days and maybe some indoor time.  In the village where I grew up. Nothing seems the same. Still you never see the change from day to day.No one notices the customs slip away.
  5. Sitting on the Dock of the Bay– Otis Redding- There are many subtle things about living on a lake you take for granted at the time, but remember as priceless memories. Seeing the movement of the water through the day, or the shadows as they move. Shouting to nobody so that you can hear the echo of emptiness roll off into the distance. Sometimes sitting, watching and thinking are the best adventures available. You just have to take the time to notice them. A lake is a living, breathing entity that provides a life for millions of creatures small and large. As a day drifted softly toward its conclusion, the shadows on the shore grew long and I knew it was time to find the warmth that was waiting at home.  So I’m just gonna sit on the dock of the bay. Watching the tide roll away. Ooo, I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay. Wastin’ time. 

Thin Lizzy by Mike Martin

If I want to feel invincible, all I need to do is listen to The Boys Are Back in Town from the Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. The song was originally released in 1976, on their album sixth studio album, Jailbreak- a song that wasn’t even selected to be on the record until a couple of  Louisville, Kentucky DJs helped bring the song to prominence.

Guess who just got back today
Them wild-eyed boys that had been away
Haven’t changed that much to say
But man, I still think them cats are crazy

“It was 1976 and we were touring America,” recalled Scott Gorham (a California guitarist who contributed to the Thin Lzzy’s twin lead guitar signature style). “Jailbreak wasn’t shifting and we weren’t selling any tickets – but there we were, gigging around… The manager came in and told us, ‘Well guys, it looks like you have a hit record’… Our response was, ‘Wow! Which song are you talking about?’ When he replied, ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’, it was a case of “Really?” We’d demoed maybe 15 songs and ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ wasn’t among the ten that we chose for the album, which in some ways made it a double surprise. We owe it all to two DJs in Louisville, Kentucky. They fell in love with the (x) song and played it incessantly until other stations in the surrounding area picked up on it… Had that song not kickstarted the sales of the

Boy trying to get back in town

album, then the band was over.”
Thin Lizzy formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1969. Phil Lynott’s was the band’s de facto leader. He was the composer or co-composer of almost all of the band’s songs, and the first black Irishman to achieve commercial success. He died from a condition induces from Heroin dependency in 1986.

Stay safe folks and please have a terrific Tuesday!

Please, have a great day, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year! #visitGreenville

#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville

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Wildfire on the Bayou

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Day 15 Nostalgic Music Month

Creedence Clearwater Revival by Jon Hilton

Nostalgia is looking back at your life with fondness. Pulling out the memories you have and remembering the people, events, and things that mattered on your journey. Creedence Clearwater Revival and their music take me on a long visit to my past. Like most bands of significance, it is difficult to pick just a few songs because so many had an impact. From my childhood to my current life as a “middle-aged” person.  I go on a trip in every song, to the backwoods of Maine. To the college campus of the University of Maine at Farmington. To the memories of a young man doing his best to learn about life. The conclusion is still the same now as it was then, I still have a lot to learn.

  1. Born on the Bayou– Even though I was born hundreds of miles from the bayou, the backwoods of Maine bring the same sense of rural, family and wilderness. I can remember running through the backwood bare, chasing down the hoodoo there. This song makes me remember all of those days of my youth and the seemingly perfect circumstances of a life full of play and adventure.  Now when I was just a little boy standin’ to my Daddy’s knee. My Poppa said, “Son don’t let the man get you do what he done to me.”
  2. Fortunate Son–  If CCR released this song today, they would be a target of the people. They would be deemed unAmerican.  During the era of Vietnam, the draft system was one that favored the rich and put the poor and disadvantaged on the fast track to the jungle.  Today we live in an era of ultra sensitivity, where any disenting voice is attacked and demonized. Simpletons spouting simple thoughts. Free speech used to be a valued commodity in the United States, but today it is a luxury.  As long as you say what “the man” finds acceptable you have this right. Say something they don’t like and you don’t.    Some folks are born made to wave the flag
    Ooh, they’re red, white and blue. And when the band plays “Hail to the chief”.    Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord!!!
  3. Someday Never Comes–  In my search for knowledge, this advice was true, someday never comes. Too often we put things off until tomorrow and then to the next day. Eventually it is too late and the opportunity is gone forever. We are all given chances to achieve things in life. Sometimes we are too comfortable where we are or more often, too afraid of failing.  If you have a dream, today is the day. If you want to try something the time is now. Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son, That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,’Cause someday never comes.
  4. Long as I Can See the Light– All of us have left people behind. Some deserved it, they were not in our best interest. But there are a precious few we leave behind that we should have kept with us. Those are the people we want to put a candle in the window to help guide us back to them. In life, there are times we need to go, to learn a lesson we need to learn. But you can always bring that lesson back with you, returning a better person able to give a better part of yourself. Look for the light.   Put a candle in the window ,’Cause I feel I’ve gotta move, Though I’m goin’, goin’ , I’ll be comin’ home soon. Long as I can see the light.
  5. The Midnight Special– This is a great sing along song.  It also shines a light on the inequalities that have existed in our society for decades. Apparantly when you look around, absolutely nothing has changed. The system is rigged against some and for others.  The prevailing strategy seems to be, make sure you are on the side that it is rigged for. Everyone else is on their own.  It leads me to believe that CCR would not be welcomed today into the music industry or conservative society. But you better not complain, boy, you get in trouble with the man.

HM-  Have you Ever seen the rain, bad moon rising, Proud Mary, Down on the Corner, Lookin’ Out My Back Door, Run Through the Jungle, Suzi Q., Lodi, I Heard it Through the Grapvine, Green River, Up around the bend, Travellin’ Band, I put a Spell on you, Hey Tonight, Sweet Hitch Hiker

Micheal Martin Murphey- by Mike Martin

What is a #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth without celebrating an artist who shares your name?

Michael Martin Murphey is an American singer-songwriter born on March 14, 1945. He is best known for writing and performing Western music, country music and popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including a song that helped a nine-year boy believe that there was an escape from the confines of a small, remote, isolated, Maine town—realizing that all I needed was a horse.

Wildfire reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts, and when I hear it,

Wildfire

this song instantly takes me back to 1975.

By the dark of the moon I planted
But there came an early snow
There’s been a hoot-owl howling by my window now
For six nights in a row
She’s coming for me, I know
And on Wildfire we’re both gonna go

With that said, I gotta go-to the Home Depot.

Please, have a great day, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year!
#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville

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Mrs. Robinson’s Cats in the Cradle

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Nostalgic Music Month Day 14

Simon and Garfunkel by Jon Hilton

The songs of Simon and Garfunkel are what nostalgic music month is all about. When I look back over the entirety of my life, these are songs that have been along for the ride from the time I was 7 until today at 51. As I have grown and matured, so have the significance attached to each song. In high school, these songs were there. In college, it was the same. Even as I navigated the ever-shifting waters of adulthood, the music of Simon and Garfunkel has been there.  The difficult part for me is choosing just 5 songs that most impacted me throughout life.

  1. Mrs. Robinson– There are few songs that have stood up like this one. The lyrics can be applied to today just as well as the 1960’s. The facade that people portray in life. Under the surface there are issues and no life is perfect. Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio?  Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.  There is also to the seemingly hopeless political divisions of 2017.  Laugh about it, shout about it, when you’ve got to choose, any way you look at this you lose. 
  2. Bridge Over Troubled Water– There are few songs that transport you to an exact moment, and you can vividly remember all of the emotion, thoughts, and feelings surrounding that event. Life is an experience of highs and lows, bitter and sweet, that makes it an interesting journey. I hope that I have been a bridge over troubled water for those who needed it. I also know I have been troubled water to others. For that, I am sorry.  All I could do was my best to ease your mind.  Sail on silver girl. Sail on by. Your time has come to shine. All your dreams are on their way.
  3. Kathy’s Song– If you are a thinking human being, you realize that many of the things you believe in the morning of life are going to be rendered lies or useless as you move into the afternoon and evening of your life. This song reminds me of all the special people who have helped me understand some of those changing beliefs over the years.  Love is the greatest teacher if you pay attention to the lesson. My mind’s distracted and diffused
    My thoughts are many miles away. They lie with you when you’re asleep. And kiss you when you start your day.
  4. Homeward Bound– Looking back on all the different phases of my life, I think all of the struggles and easy moments have all been for the same purpose to find home. I have been fortunate to find some home in many places and to make the best of most situations. Much of what we have to do in life takes us away from being with the people we love.  Ideally, I think work should be something that you are passionate about not something that you do for a paycheck and stability. I know, not realistic.  I wish I was, Homeward bound, Home where my thought’s escaping, Home where my music’s playing, Home where my love lies waiting Silently for me.
  5. The Boxer- Your life can best be symbolized as a line graph. There are times that all factors align to place you on the high end. Then others put you down toward the bottom. This song reminds me of the spirit that we all have of courage to bounce back from adversity. To reinvent yourself, find some growth and keep going forward even when it is dark.  The fighter is there always in all of us to overcome any obstacle. In the clearing stands a boxer And a fighter by his trade. And he carries the reminders. Of ev’ry glove that laid him down

The Sounds of Silence, I am a rock, Scarborough Fair, America, Cecelia, April She Will Come, A Hazy Shade of Winter, 59th Bridge St song, For Emily wherever I may find her, Blues Run the Game

Harry Chapin by Mike Martin

My father has many sayings. My favorite, “if you are going to hire out tough you’ve gotta play the part”

My brother Kevin and my cousin Shawn know my father’s sayings well. We heard them often while we were moving cords and cords of firewood from the big woods of Maine to our homes in Greenville, Maine

Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known for his folk rock songs including a number one hit Cat’s in the Cradle.

The song’s lyrics began as a poem written by Harry’s wife, Sandra Gaston; the poem itself was inspired by the awkward relationship between her first husband and his father a Brooklyn politician. This is a tribute to Harry Chapin character to record a song written by his wife about her former husband.

Watch the video (Harry Chapin – Cats in the Cradle) Sandy says that Harry put the poem aside until the birth of their son, Josh, born on November 15, 1972.

A dirty, old tractor

Josh, who is still involved with the family’s website, www.harrychapinmusic.com , and contributes to the release of new Harry Chapin material under the family’s label Chapin Productions, says that people want to touch him when they meet him, and he hears many stories of how Cat’s in the Cradle helped heal their relationships with the fathers.

From this line in the song,

And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed
Said, I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m gonna be like him

It seems that Sandy’s first husband’s father didn’t have much time for his son and it makes sense because love them or hate them, politicians are busy people attending daily work sessions and late night meetings- a huge time commitment that is most definitely a hardship to the family.

My dad has many talents but earned the majority of his income from fixing the big equipment used to harvest the trees for the State of Maine’s paper industry. He said often that he wished better for us that we didn’t have to earn a living lying underneath a dirty old tractor. This astonished me because, when I was ten all, I ever wanted was to make a living lying underneath a dirty old tractor.

Luckily, when I was a kid, my dad always had time for me. I got to go to work with him often and I always came home covered with grease. Of course, that was a day when they let a 10-year-old boy got to work like a man. Those were great days, filled with great lessons, mostly taught by example.

My son was born October 14, 1999, and turns eighteen today. Happy Birthday Coop, may the World bring you hope, joy, and prosperity, and

I don’t know when
But we’ll get together then
You know we’ll have a good time then

Please, have a great day, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year! #visitGreenville

#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville

Nostalgicmusicmonth

Operator, Every Little Thing is Gonna Be Alright

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Day 13 – Nostalgic Music Month

Bob Marley- by Jon Hilton

One of my hidden talents in life is being one of the world’s preeminent dashboard musicians. That is, no matter where I travel, the time always goes faster, and is more memorable when you have good music to sing along with.  I have given performances lately on a nightly basis, and one of the artists that bring the most enjoyment is to sing along with the music of Bob Marley. The point of this project has been to celebrate the many ways that music has highlighted our lives. To rise above petty jealousy and foolishness and remember the happiness in life. The music of the late great Bob Marley always takes me to times and people who were golden in my memory.  Just thinking about writing this makes me smile and know that everything’s gonna be alright.

  1. Could You Be Loved– One of the basic fundamental principals of the world should be that love is the most important thing. More important than money, status and who’s right or wrong. This song reminds me to put the judgment away and accept the differences in people I encounter every day. Put aside differences and look at the similarities that exist in all people. The road of life is rocky and you may stumble too. So while you point your fingers someone else is judging you.
  2. Three Little Birds- Don’t worry about a thing, ’cause every little thing is gonna be alright.  That sentiment will get you through life. Worry never brought anything positive to your life. It is paying for tomorrow’s imaginary troubles today. All days have something positive in them and our job, as I see it, is to find them and appreciate them. This is a finite journey of fixed time through life and it is your choice how you spend it, miserable or happy. The simple choices you make moment to moment dictate that, choose wisely.
  3. Get Up Stand Up-This is a song that seems more relevant today than ever before. We live in a time of division, us and them, there is little understanding. I think we need to get up and stand up for the human being in all people. Rather than approaching things from a perspective of fear, we should be approaching problems from a perspective of love. You can fool some people sometimes. But you can’t fool all the people all the time. So now we see the light (What you gonna do?)We gonna stand up for our rights!
  4. Is this Love-We are all on a journey in life to find our other half.  The person who will complete us and allow us to become the best version of ourselves. This is a song about that search for me. Often I have to ask myself this question and have gotten all types of answers. In my mind now looking back, the answer was sometimes yes and sometimes no. This song reminds me of the many wonderful times I have researched this question and all of those answers I have received. I, I’m willing and able
    So I throw my cards on your table…………
  5. Redemption Song– The greatest stories in life are about redemption. No life is free of challenges, mistakes, miscalculations and foolish behavior. These things only define us if we allow them to. There is always a chance for redemption for all people. The greatest story is a comeback story and the triumph of overcoming our circumstances of pain to become a better version of ourselves. Whatever your struggles, keep moving forward today and move toward the ideal tomorrow that you dream of.  Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.

I shot the sheriff, No Woman No Cry, One Love, So Much Trouble in the World,

 “Jim” Croce- by Mike Martin

James Joseph “Jim” Croce was an American folk and rock singer from Philadelphia, PA. He released five studio albums and had two number one hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Bad Bad Leroy Brown 

Well the two men took to fighting

And when they pulled them off the floor

Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle

With a couple of pieces gone

A song about a man from Chicago that Jim had met in Fort Jackson, South Carolina while attending the Army’s lineman school. “Leroy” went AWOL after a few weeks but came back at the end of the month to get his paycheck. They put handcuffs on him and took him away.

Jim said that he listened to him talk about how ‘bad’ he was and knew someday he was going to write a song about him. I met a similar man from Chicago when attending boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Station in North Chicago, IL,

We called him “Shy Town.”  He claimed to be a gang banger and tried to persuade, the nine of us who arrived early and spent the first weekend of boot camp together, to shave our heads bald-just like his. Seven compiled, at the delight of the little Yeoman from Connecticut. I said no and gained a friend and a place at the front of the mail and paycheck line for the eight weeks of Navy boot camp.

Shy Town swan like a fish, so I was convinced he was a preppy private school kid, and just like Leroy, Shy Town only lasted three weeks.

On Thursday, September 20, 1973, during Croce’s Life and Times tour and the day before his single,  I Got a Name (1973)  , was released, the plane crashed an hour after a concert in Austin, TX. Croce died in the crash and was 30 years old.

Two of my favorite Jim Croce songs include the ultimate love song (have a great day Shannon) as well as a song about how to recover when your best friend runs off with your girl. Happy Friday the Thirteenth folks!

Time in a Bottle

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I’d save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you

Operator

Isn’t that the way they say it goes? Well, let’s forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell ’em I’m fine and to show
I’ve overcome the blow, I’ve learned to take it well
I only wish my words could just convince myself
That it just wasn’t real, but that’s not the way it feels

Party-on folks, and if you have any questions, drop us a line and please partake in #OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth and while you are at it take a trip to Greenville, Maine-I understand the foliage is majestic this time of year! #visitGreenville
#OctoberNostalgicMusicMonth #visitGreenville