We Are Young, Kind Of

I really like this song.  The video is kind of bizarre.



But it ALWAYS make me think of this song, and the videos are kind of similar.



This is the kind of stuff I think about when I'm not blogging.

What do you think about? 

ACL 2012

The line-up for Austin City Limits Music Festival 2012 was released today, and man, it is amazing!  I actually won VIP tickets to the first festival in 2002, and back then, it was small, unassuming, and lots of fun. 

It has since grown to become an internationally known music festival, and though I don't enjoy crowds, I kind of want to go again this year.  You can check out the full line-up here, which includes Jack White, Gotye (see my earlier post on him), Jack White, The Shins, Rufus Wainwright, Jack White, Die Antwoord, Jack White, Ruthie Foster, and Asleep at the Wheel.

And did I mention Jack White?

"Somebody That I Used to Know"

I've been hearing this song by Gotye on the radio for a couple of months now, and it's really growing on me.  The video is very artistic, but what interests me most is the way it plays with the conventional idea of a duet. 

There are so many popular songs sung by people pretending to be in love, like my all-time favorite duet, "Islands in the Stream," by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.  But "Somebody That I Used to Know" examines the flip-side of the traditional love story and looks, instead, at the aftermath of a breakup.  It reminds me a bit of this song from the 1980s, and the appeal lies in the fact that we've all experienced this anger and sadness before, in one form or another, so it's definitely a universal message.

There's also an element of theatricality that is most apparent when you watch the song performed. Sure, you can hear the hurt in the singers' voices on the radio, but you can really see it in person.  Gotye, who is based in Australia, wrote the song, then collaborated with Kimbra, a New Zealand singer, to record it.  Here's their recent performance on "Saturday Night Live" and a great article about Gotye here.

And, never to be outdone, "Glee" did a version of the song on a recent episode, once again playing with conventional gender roles.  (I'm way behind in the series, so I'm guessing that other guy is Blaine's brother?)

Goodbye to Whitney Houston

I just read with great sadness, but not surprise, that Whitney Houston has died.  I grew up listening and dancing to her music.  As a child, this was my very favorite song, and this was my favorite video. 

I always hoped that she would eventually find the strength and courage to turn her life around.  I pray she is now at peace.

Mother Don't Worry

My husband is a big fan of Iron and Wine's music, and it has basically become the background theme to our life with two boys.  We listen to it in the car on any trip we take, and it has calmed our little one down quickly and easily since he was a newborn.  If the boys are restless in the backseat, the peaceful tones of Sam Beam bring instant calm, like covering them with a warm blanket.

Beam himself is a father of five (and his wife is a midwife!) who lives near Austin, and I often imagine him singing these songs to his own children.

And so we listened to a favorite song, "Upward Over the Mountain," as we drove James to his first day of preschool this morning.  We were all nervous and excited, and my husband and I both fought back tears as we watched our sweet, oldest son enter his classroom for the first time.

Mother remember the blink of an eye when I breathed through your body?

He went eagerly, stopping only to give us each a quick hug before wandering off with his teacher to find some blocks.  And that was it.  The first of many milestones as we watch our baby grow into a boy and, eventually, a man.

So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten.

Little by little, he will walk away from us.  That's the way it's supposed to work, and yet it is still so hard.

Sons are like birds, flying upward over the mountain.

"Waylon and Big Bird and the Boys"

So I love Amy Winehouse, but I also love country music.  Especially classic country, like Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Waylon Jennings, and George Strait (I guess he's old enough to be classic now).  It reminds me of my childhood and those Saturday evenings when my dad would drive us to Dairy Queen in his blue truck, the windows down and music blaring all the way.  Sure, we lived in the suburbs, but as we drove down the road with open fields on each side, it felt like country to me.

Well, the other day after James' nap, my husband put on Follow that Bird, the old Sesame Street movie, that was streaming on Netflix.  James fell in love with Big Bird and his quest to return to Sesame Street after being sent to live with a foster family of Dodo birds.

At one point in his journey, Big Bird hitches a ride in a turkey truck, driven by none other than Waylon Jennings, and they sing this song.  After hearing it once, James was hooked, and we listen to it all the time now. "Look Mama," he told me, "it's my song."

I love sharing things with my boys, and I hope this will be a happy memory for James, too.

Back to Black, Forever

My heart breaks for the family and friends of Amy Winehouse.  It's truly devastating to see someone so talented silenced forever because of her own destructive lifestyle.  What a shame.

A Song for My Son

Since James was born, I've considered "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor to be his theme song, and I spent countless hours rocking him to sleep as a baby while singing the chorus:

Goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rockabye sweet baby James
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams
And rockabye sweet baby James

The song just fits, not only because he shares a name with my dad, a real cowboy, but also because it's a lullaby about winter, and there are so many associations that I make with those bittersweet days around his birth.  I cannot hear or sing the song without tearing up a bit, and it will always be my special song for my first, sweet boy.

Today, James and I were talking about when he was a baby, and we looked at a photo album of his baby pictures.  I also showed him a book of Rhys' pictures, and I told him that he would always be my first baby, even when he is all grown up.  I held him in my arms, and starting singing "Sweet Baby James" as tears welled up in my eyes.

To my great surprise, James also started to cry, and large tears soon fell from his brown eyes.  I stopped singing and comforted him, but it shook me up quite a bit.

Was he crying because he saw tears in my eyes?  Did looking at pictures of Rhys' birth make him think he's not my baby anymore? Did I somehow rob him of his babyhood by having another child so soon?  My heart was heavy with mother guilt.

A little while later, we moved to the bathroom to change Rhys, and I started humming the song again, mostly absentmindedly, but also, if I'm honest, to see how James would react.

Again, there were tears, so I picked him up and sat on the bed with him for a long time.  I asked him if the song made him sad, and he said it did, so we sang some happy songs for a while as Rhys played at our feet.  

At lunch, I again asked about the song, and James told me that it made him sad when I sang it.  I told him that it was his special song and that we could sing it together before bed, and he told me that it was a lullaby.  He then asked me to sing it to him while I cleaned up after lunch, and he listened happily without tears.  I also made sure to spend some extra quality time with him while Rhys napped, just in case he was feeling a bit left out.

I'll never really know what triggered his tears when he heard that song today, and I'm pretty sure James doesn't know why he felt sad, either.  But it was just another reminder that he is growing up and away from me, and maybe he felt that a little bit, too.

Tonight, I sang it again as I rocked him before bed, and he listened quietly to the words.  It will always be our special song and I hope he'll always let me sing it for him.

Rockabye, Sweet Baby James.

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!

My sweet James,
I can hardly believe that you have been in our lives for a year to this very day. It seems like just yesterday that you were a hoped-for dream; then a pink baby-on-a-stick (as your grandmother called you); then a rumbling, churning bundle of energy within me; and finally, finally, a precious baby boy wrapped tightly in warm blankets on a cold morning in December.

We've been through so much this past year, and your dad and I appreciate your patience as we learned to care for you and to interpret your cries and your needs. You are such a sweet and loving little boy, and I am so blessed to be your Mommy.

Our lives will change again next summer, and I know that you will handle things calmly, as you always do, with your easy-going attitude and your precious "learning face." You will always be my Sweet Baby James, even when you are 40 with children of your own, and I hope that you will always think of me as your Mama.

I love you, sweet boy, and though you won't remember today, I hope you will treasure the memories that we will make together in your life. Happy Birthday, James.

love,
Mama

My Sweet Baby James

Your birthday isn't until next Wednesday, but tomorrow we're celebrating with family and friends. They'll be cake and presents and lots of laughter, and I just want to tell you how very much I love you. You have changed my life in so many ways, and I can't wait to go 10,000 more miles with you.

Happy Birthday, my Sweet Baby James!

Put a Sling on 'Em

My doula sent this to me, and I love it! So cute and clever!