My Music Journal 2025: November 9, 2025

 

Sunday, November 9, 2025

 

Time: 8:40 AM
Song: Hot Fun in the Summertime
Artist: Sly & The Family Stone
Mode of Consumption: Listening to Sirius on the way to church.

Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/4t6NQkpUmvpvLDCkl3XuwA?si=3be01daf11764283

 

We had the first snow of the season Saturday night into Sunday, leaving a crusty dusting of wet, icy snow that mostly melted by mid-morning.

 

It’s one of the earliest snows we’ve had the last few years. There was a Halloween within the five or so years where like eight inches fell and then melted within a day or so. Other than that, it’s been pretty dry in November and December around these parts the last decade. 

 

Last winter, the only real accumulations occurred late in February and in early March.

 

I don’t know if this lack of snow is a sign of a warming earth or simply a climate anomaly for this brief period of time. 

 

I do know that the sentiment seems to be that we are in for a long winter this year. Of course, that’s sentiment so there really isn’t any basis for it other than the gut feeling of guys who like to spout on about the weather and probably say the same thing every year. One of these years, they will be right, after all. 

 

While I acknowledge snow can be a pain for us in rural areas, part me does like the idea of a snowy winter. One that forces us inside for long periods of time. You know, for hot chocolate and the like. 

 

Really though, snow means lots of shoveling and displaying my lack of skill using the plow on the tractor. 

 

I guess I can’t control it either way, and in a few weeks, I’ll be ready for longer days and the Cubs on the radio. 

 

My Music Journal 2025: November 8, 2025

 

Saturday, November 8, 2025

 

Time: 6:15 PM
Song: Rock the Casbah
Artist: The Clash
Mode of Consumption: Listening to the radio while washing dishes.

Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/56KqaFSGTb7ifpt16t5Y1N?si=5b62eaa3a9b54f9f

 

“So, what is the Casbah?” Jodi asks as she puts away one of the dishes. 

 

I couldn’t remember, if I ever knew. 

 

So, probably should look it up, right? That’s what a good reader should do when they encounter a word or idea they are unfamiliar with. A writer should do the same when delving into a subject matter they might not be experts in. 

 

According to the magic Google machine, a Casbah is the old, crowded quarter or citadel of a North African city, originating from the Arabic word for “fortress” or “citadel.” Historically, it served as the fortified center, often a fortress or the residential area of a local leader, and was built on high ground for defense. Today, it often refers to the old quarter of cities. 

 

There you have it. 

 

Wait, a second, not totally. So, what’s the song about?

 

Well the Google machine strikes again. 

 

The Clash wrote the song about an imaginary Middle Eastern king who bans rock music, leading to a popular uprising where the people defy the ban. The song was inspired by the music censorship in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

 

Hmm. This post became a sort of Pop Up Video segment, which I wrote about yesterday. 

My Music Journal 2025: November 7, 2025

 

Friday, November 7, 2025

 

Time: 8:40 PM
Song: You Get What You Give
Artist: New Radicals
Mode of Consumption: Music video playing on Roku channel.

Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/1Cwsd5xI8CajJz795oy4XF?si=8d4fe27cd9294e2b

 

We became owners of a Roku a couple weeks ago, and since we tend to only watch about twenty minutes a day in front of the set, I am still figuring out just how much there is to watch on this thing. 

 

I stumbled upon a music video channel playing 90s pop classics. 

 

I remembered the video for “You Get What You Give” from when I was in high school. It’s a video where a bunch of teens wreak havoc in a shopping mall. It’s the sort of thing that I suppose made sense to kids in the 90s when congregating at brick-and-mortar stores and malls was more of a thing. I suspect it doesn’t happen much these days. 

 

The lead singer spends the video staring hard into the camera while appearing to sing the lyrics. I always thought the singer looks angry for the entire video. Perhaps it’s an artistic choice, or maybe he was wasn’t a fan of the music video process. 

 

At the conclusion, I return to exploring the device, and wondering if they have Pop-Up video anywhere. It seems about every other old TV show is on this Roku.

 

Pop-Up Video was a favorite of mine in my youth, so it’s definitely something I would spend time watching. 

 

So far, no luck. I wonder if its owned by some group that doesn’t share its content for free. Bummer. 

 

I also wonder if anyone has tried starting Pop Up Video again. I just feel like it’s something that would have an audience. 

My Music Journal 2025: November 6, 2025

 

Thursday, November 6, 2025

Time: 7:30 PM
Song: Photograph
Artist: Ringo Starr
Mode of Consumption: Ripping songs from “The Best of Ringo” CD.

Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/1hwN2eAwsXgktvw9Qe8TrP?si=0769591fa7a74842

Jodi walks in as I am nearly finished checking songs on “The Best of Ringo” CD. There are two or three left, but I decide I probably don’t need to hear them. A little Ringo goes a long ways as far as singing goes.

I think, “it’s too bad Ringo couldn’t have landed in another group after The Beatles.” If he could have been in a situation where he still was basically a drummer but could lend vocals to a song or two, that would have been the sweet spot for him.

We’ve been reading Shirley Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” to each other over the past month, and we are closing in on the end. Jodi sits down and begins to read.

The story is a mystery involving two sisters who live in a mansion with their invalid uncle. The one sister was acquitted of the murder of the rest of the family, who all died after ingesting arsenic.

The sisters are shunned and resented by the local villagers, the reason for this is not clear other than the family had a longstanding position of wealth and power within the region, and it’s assumed one or both of sisters got away with murder.

The sisters are generally content with isolation, and the uncle is slowly descending into some form of dementia.

As the story progresses and their situation becomes more tenuous, the question looms over whether they will be able to continue living this way. For them, the optimal situation is being together with no one else around.

Unlike Ringo, who is a better fit in a group.

 

My Music Journal 2025: November 5, 2025

 

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Time: 5:10 PM
Song: I’m Too Sexy
Artist: Right Said Fred
Mode of Consumption: Listening to MP3s on shuffle on way home from work.

Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/2wmnubOPY1hyR4fSaZ9o1T?si=ae1b144e16654246

We had dinner at Jodi’s mom’s along with her uncle, Scott. Somehow the conversation turned to when Scott worked at local factory after graduating high school

There was a man there that would take his lunches and sit on the shipping docks facing the parking lots.

One day, Scott decided to join him.

“Just watch the parking lot,” the man said.

“What I am watching for?”

A few minutes passed and a woman went to car and appeared to leave a note on the windshield.

“There,” he said.

“What about it?”

A few minutes later, a man came out to the parking lot and retrieved the note.

“You know, those two people are married,” the man said. “And not to each other.”

Scott went on to say you just never know what is going on in the world. At eighteen, he certainly had never experienced anything like that.

Jodi’s mom relayed a similar story at her workplace where the two adulterers would leave notes inside their gas caps.

“Some of their co-workers found out, and they would run out and read the letters before the other person would get there.” 

My Music Journal 2025: November 4, 2025

 

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Time: 9:45 AM
Song: Jesus, Etc.
Artist: Wilco
Mode of Consumption: Listening to Podcast “Norah Jones is Playing Along.”

Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/4wd09wCccmxUB7XVJp0RNn?si=b99982bfd2344688

I discovered this podcast, “Norah Jones is Playing Along,” last night while I was working on some things on the computer. The first episode I listened to was with Jason Isbell.

The format of the show is for Jones to interview her guest and intermittently they play one of the guest’s songs together, Jones adding her piano and voice to their vocals and guitar (so far the ones I’ve listened to have that mix) of the guest.

I find it to be such a novel idea. So much better than many podcasts which are generally interviews and the guest is likely only there to plug something. It’s an extension of the format that was the late-night shows on the networks.

I never was that interested in those shows. The hosts could be funny, but when you’re doing something five days a week, the quality tends to suffer. I only wanted to see them if a band I liked was on, or if there was a guest whose personality overcame the format like Norm MacDonald.

Otherwise, the guests were usually vanilla, the hosts would fluctuate from goofy to straight man, and none of it ever felt very authentic.

Truly, I’d much rather have a show like this. You have two artists talking about the thing they love doing and then working together to provide a unique performance. While I am sure they have discussed the songs and perhaps even ran through them together before the podcast, it still feels spontaneous.

My Music Journal 2025: November 3, 2025

 

Monday, November 3, 2025

 

Time: 5:15 PM

Song: Crooked
Artist: Amos Lee
Mode of Consumption: Listening to MP3s on shuffle on the way home from work.

Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/1cnYEd4WjdIfHquqSNr6Ef?si=9855dc24cd9d4cad

 

This is the first drive home from work after the Daylight Savings Time change this weekend. As Bob Dylan would sing, “It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.”

 

The dark almost feels like it’s seeping from the ground this time of year, rising from below upward to the sky, as the sun drops below the horizon. 

 

On the rural roadway home, I spot a pair of deer standing in a waterway. The fields around them are empty now. Closer to the road, trees loom, heavy and dark their color leaves almost all fallen to the ground. 

 

At Prairieville, I come to a stop. Down the crossroad on the opposite side of the road, a girl skateboards in her family’s driveway. She does big loops from one end to the others. She’s done  this sporadically all summer. Tonight, she’s wearing long pants and a sweatshirt. She’s getting as many trips around as she can before the light gives away. 

 

In another week, it will be dark by the time I leave work. All I will see is headlights and yard lights and whatever crosses in front of me.

 

This is all driven by the title of the earth and our orbit around the sun. We’re farther away now then we were months ago, titled away.