Music To My Ears

“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.” Unknown.

Once again, I discovered something new for my blog. At Playlist.com you can create your very own playlist of songs that you like and then link them to your blog page. I’ve picked this group of songs for very specific reasons, which I’ve noted below. You can turn the music off or advance to the next song if you don’t like the one that’s playing. Enjoy my selections!

Bad Day – Daniel Powter. This song will always have fond memories for me as an American Idol fan. It was played as each voted off contestant watched a recap of their journey on Idol. It has such a catchy melody and of course the voted off contestant was indeed having a bad day when it was being played for them. When I heard it was named the biggest one hit wonder of the decade by Billboard Magazine, I just had to add it to my playlist.

Don’t Worry Be Happy – Bobby McFerrin. I first heard this song back in 1988. I was working for DBA Systems in Kissimmee, Florida. The CEO of the company just returned from a vacation to some island. He had heard this song and liked it so much that every day at 4:30 just before quitting time he would play this song over the company’s loudspeaker. I must admit that at first it always put a smile on my face, but after several weeks, we were all sick of listening to it and pleaded for him to stop. He finally did when he realized it was not making us happy any more.

J’En Ai Marre – Alizee. A few months ago, Rick received an email from a friend with a link to a video of this song on YouTube. Alizee is a young, pretty, sexy French woman. I was home when Rick played the song and fell in love with the sound of her voice, the music and the way it sounded in the French language. There is an English version (J’En Ai Marre translated means I’m Fed Up), but I like it in her native language. When I hear it, it makes me want to dance. If I was on American Bandstand (anyone remember that show?), I would give it a 10.

Dance With My Father – Luther Vandross. Whenever I hear this song, I think of my dad. He’s been gone now 12 years and playing this song invokes strong memories of him. It always brings tears to my eyes hearing this song as the memories of him come flooding back to my mind. I miss him a lot.

We Are The World – Various Artists. This is the version they did to raise money for Africa back in 1985. It seems appropriate to add it to my playlist for Haiti. And I like this version better than the one done for Haiti. The song makes me feel good when I hear it, plus it has Michael Jackson singing. And the words are very meaningful. We are the World and the world’s children. We need to take care of one another. If you haven’t already, please consider making a donation to the Haiti relief fund. To donate $10 to the Red Cross, text the word “Haiti” to 90999.