30 Day Song Challenge- Checking in 2 years later

Just like life itself, this site has been an unexpected journey. I started this 13 years ago when I first completed the 30 Day Song Challenge that was making its way around in Facebook at the time.  In intervening years, I have checked in occasionally and then, 2 years ago, at the 10 year mark, I  went through the 30 days again.  Now it’s two years later and as my friend Martin likes to say, it’s time for a check in.  

https://youtu.be/SDgWSM5hZ6I

Angels by Amy Grant

I am not a religious man by any traditional sense of that word, however, there are things that I believe in and trust, just on faith.  When I was young, I learned the definition of faith was “the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.“. It has taken most of my adult life to understand, at least in part what that means and that is, I now comprehend that there are things in this world that are beyond my limited comprehension, but are nonetheless true and reliable. One of these is that “ I trust that everything happens for a reason and universe is unfolding as it should.”  I just have to do the best I can with each day and even the most seemingly boneheaded moves will lead me to where I need to be.  With patience and trust, things will show themselves in their own time if I just pay attention and stay open to it.    Takes a lot of pressure off and saves a lot of time and energy wasted in anger, self pity and remorse.  The universe takes care of the rest.  Call them coincidences, luck, near misses, or Angels… if you learn to watch for them, you will see it in action.  

https://youtu.be/fz1N8W8phec?si=6fbcrzcd2WmBjSMz

I’m Movin On by Rascal Flats

I’ve had a weird run the last couple of years which came to an end in April of this year when I finally pulled myself together and decided I needed some help.  After some very difficult phone calls to those that I love, I brought myself to a screeching halt and entered a 30 day program.  The first few days were really difficult and I was an beaten exhausted emotional train wreck.  It was about the third day, I sat in auditorium with 50 or 60 other guys and the speaker used this song to close his presentation. The enormity of my situation hit me like a ton of bricks, and the tears started to flow  uncontrollably to the point I had to leave the room and sit in the hallway shaking.  The truths contained in this song, were some of the first steps towards climbing out of the hole I had spent many years digging for myself.  I’ve been climbing since… 

https://youtu.be/bS8mwiuGXh4?si=Hn-3GUBarUla0K5k

God Bless The Broken Road

Performed by Carrie Underwood

… Two cliches really stand out to be these days.  The first is “Hindsight is 20/20” and the second, “Everything happens for a reason”.  The last couple years have taught me much, but nothing more important than these two truths.  It took the “wrong turns” to arrive at the destination I’ve been seeking for years.  I’m at peace with that and filled with both gratitude and wonder at how things worked together to  bring me to where I was supposed to be.

https://youtu.be/PTOFEgJ9zzI?si=Jm0ZVZlzW23MAmf0

Masterpiece by Jesse J

“ I still fall on my face sometimes and I can’t color inside the lines. I am perfectly incomplete, I am still working on my masterpiece.“. There is not really anything I can add to that.

In closing, let me just say this.  Life is Good.  I have people that love me and I love.  I have a future unfolding in front of me that I had lost sight of for many years, and I have a life that is filled with challenge, happiness, hope, wonder and contentment.  Yes definitely, Life is Good.  Thanks for reading…

My 21 for 2021

I was all over the place in 2021...but I made it through

"I swear you hit me like a vision...I, I, I wasnt expecting...But who am I to tell fate where it's supposed to go?...This is how it starts, lightning strikes the heart, it goes of like a gun, Brighter than the sun..."

from Brighter Than The Sun by Colbie Caillat

That sums up where I, through a simple twist of fate, unexpectedly found myself coming into 2021.  What followed was a year full of unimagined adventures, wrong turns, weird detours, bad decisions, risks taken, extreme highs, heartbreaking lows, lots of successes , some fails, new beginnings and final endings, a year that turned my world upside down but a.lso woke me up from a limbo that had lasted too many years.  

Music always works better than anything I can come up with so I spent some time putting this together.  If my 2021 had a soundtrack, this is what I imagine it would be.  21 songs for 2021.  It seems right.  Happy New Year all!

21 for 2021

"Im coming out of my shell,I never do that..." Let's Go Home Together  by Ella Henderson and Tom Grennan	"Can you stay up all night?..." 34+35  by Ariana Grande	"Something must have gone wrong in my brain..." Never Be The Same  by Camila Cabello
"What if this is it?  What if it's meant to be?" What Ifs  by Kane Brown	"We dont know how to talk, but damn we know how to..." Good In Bed  by Dua Lipa	"...its got a hold on me now..." Fooled Around And Fell In Love  by Miranda Lambert
"When all is said and done... it all fades away but you..." It All Fades Away  by Jennifer Nettles and Brandi Carlile	"But it wouldve been fun if you wouldve been the one..." The 1  by Taylor Swift	"You're always just behind each thought across my mind..." Lasting Lover  by Sigala and James Arthur
"Gonna feel this in the morning..." Drunk(and I Dont Wanna Go Home)  by Elle King and Miranda Lambert	"AYo Big Wave, turn the mic on..." Iko Iko (My Bestie)  by Justin Wellington	"You and I had this off and on so long..."     One Mississippi  by Kane Brown
"Oh I love it when you do it like that..." Shivers  by Ed Sheeran	"The chance is we wont make it but I know if we dont take it there's no chance.." Long Shot  by Kelly Clarkson	"Looking for sun rays, needing them good days..." Holiday  by KSI
"...Rude wuth me, Ride with me, see where this thing goes..." Meant to Be  by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line	"With every broken bone, I swear I lived..." I Lived  by One Republic	"Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels..." Save Myself  by Ed Sheeran
"No, I aint happy yet, but Im way less sad..." Way Less Sad  by AJR	"...Today, what felt so far away feels a little closer..." A Little Closer  by Colton Ryan	"Ive been down this road before..."   I Remember Everything  by Brandi Carlile

Day 31- Two for the Road…

Bang! By AJR
https://youtu.be/4THFRpw68oQ

See You Again by Carrie Underwood 
https://youtu.be/vTnWFT3DvVA

And… we made it!  30 days, 30 songs or from my perspective, 10 years, 60 days, 60 songs and a whole lot of life experience stuck in the middle.  For me, it’s been all about the journey, the people who share and shape it, and through it all, the music that always is there to provide the soundtrack that ties it all together.  Thank you for reading along and allowing me to share that with you.  Who knows, maybe in another 10 years I’ll come back to this again and see where the road and music have taken me.  For now, I’ll leave you with these two and the accompanying lyrics… 

“I get up, I get down and I'm jumping around
And the rumpus and ruckus are comfortable now
Been a hell of a ride but I'm thinking it's time to grow
Bang! Bang! Bang!…..

So put your best face on everybody
Pretend you know this song
Everybody come hang (come hang)
Let's go out with a bang
Bang! Bang! Bang!

I'm way too young to lie here forever
I'm way too old to try so whatever come hang (come hang)
Let's go out with a bang
Bang! Bang! Bang!”   

And …

“I will see you again, 
This is not where it ends
I will carry you with me, 
'Till I see you again…”

Day 30- A Song That Reminds You Of Someone

Day 30- A Song That Reminds You Of Someone 

What ifs by Kane Brown feat Lauren Alaina

https://youtu.be/fM8V1XOI-14

Here on day 30, I have a confession to make.  This topic was actually supposed to occur 25 days ago on Day 5, but I couldn’t write it.  I tried but every song I could think of kept coming back to the same person and the feelings there were just to raw to express.  I tried to just blow it off and make something up, but I also couldn’t do that.  I knew this would need to be written, more for me than anything else.  So, I cheated a bit and pushed it to the end swapping days 5 and 30, trying to buy the time I needed to sort it all out. 

Now here I am at Day 30 and I have written and rewritten this so many times that at one point, I almost made this the 29 Day Song Challenge.  Eventually I managed to get it down but it was very lengthy and after doing so,  decided it’s not something I wanted to share.    Instead, I will keep that long version for my own  use and go with the “less is more” philosophy here. So here goes…

7 months of trying to answer the questions posed in the chorus of this song, with a person I never saw coming, changed my life and reminded me that yes, there is also love in the world.  What are the questions?  Here ya go

“ What if I was made for you

And you were made for me
What if this is it
What if it's meant to be
What if I ain't one of them
Fools just Playin' some game
What if I just pulled you close
What if I leaned in
And the stars line up
And it's our last first kiss
What if one of these days baby
I'd go and change your name
What if
I loved all these what ifs away”

 

Day Five- Your Favorite Song This Time Last Year

Day Thirty- Your Favorite Song This Time Last Year

You’ll Be In My Heart-  Disney Sing-A-Long

https://youtu.be/N-Yf8SzQ00A

This time last year we were all in unfamiliar territory. The quarantines for Covid has all locked in our homes, social distancing became the new norm, and none of us really had any idea what was coming next.  Having just moved to Kentucky the previous fall and into my new home in December, I spent the months of quarantine on my own. It is funny, thinking back on the one day a week I would leave the house to get food or cigarettes, or maybe treat myself to carry out, I would shower and shave and pick out decent outfit just for these rare outings.  My phone was my social life line to stay connected with family five hours away.  

The quarantine wasn’t much different from normal life really as I’ve been on my own for several years now.  Even the lack of work, life had prepared me for as I had been laid off for seven months in 2019. But as the months dragged on, even I started bouncing off the walls and my antisocial soul started missing real life interaction.  

Mother’s Day rolled around and of course, there was no get togethers, but Disney aired a special Sing-A-Long for the holiday, and for an hour, various artists sang favorite Disney songs from their homes, or in prepared Zoom presentations, and some of the stars from Disney on Broadway put together this one.  I don’t know if it was my mood, my isolation, or just the fact that it was that good, but it immediately took its place as a favorite performance.  I watched it hundreds of times, I shared it with friends and family who were struggling with the quarantine, and when loneliness would occasionally set in and I was homesick for my life in Ohio, it served as a home remedy.  And a year later, it still has efficacy in that capacity.

Day Twenty Nine- A Song From Your Childhood

Day Twenty Nine- A Song From Your Childhood

Amazing Grace by Pentatonix

https://youtu.be/Obp-9BEZe1c

My earliest childhood memories of music were the hymns and gospel songs I heard and sang going to church growing up.  That is likely where my appreciation of music took root and henceforth flourished.  While my library of genres has expanded exponentially over the years, there is still a corner reserved for those old favorites, and every once in a while, old becomes new again.  Case in point is this rendition of a timeless hymn.  I already loved Pentatonix but they outdid themselves on this one.  

Day Twenty Eight-A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty

Day Twenty Eight-A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty

The Love I Meant To Say- Jeremy Jordan from Smash

https://youtu.be/y-snZiq_Lpw

As I have been working through this challenge, there have been a couple of the days entries that I have completely dreaded.  One I skipped entirely on it’s day and pushed it to back and then there is this one.  They just cut deeper into my being, and it’s been hard to find an angle to come at them with that will not completely expose the raw nerves these topics scrape across.  With only 3 entries left I ran out of maneuvering room so here we are.  

I mentioned early on that I do everything I can to live in a way that I end each day knowing I did all I can do and not have any regrets. Well, some days that’s just not enough, and I am left wondering did I do enough, say enough, show enough, because if I had would things be any different?  I still screw it up sometimes and other times it’s out of my hands, but the questions still remain, and I wish I had one just one more chance to make it right.  You don’t always get that.  It sucks.

I had to go back to the well of Smash on this one.  Since I make it a point to avoid opening myself up to regret, I don’t have a guilt playlist so I had to dig for something appropriate to the day and sentiment.  This seemed to fit best.