First 10 Songs, May 22, 2014

It's been a while. So to start things of easy, here's the first 10 songs from my Pandora shuffle this morning.

1. "Parallel Woman" (Shonen Knife: Burning Farm) - Not one of my favorites, but it'll do to start the day.
2. "Careless Whisper" (George Michael: TwentyFive) - Still, after all these years, one of my favorite singers.
3. "Distant Early Warning" (Rush: Grace Under Pressure - remastered) - A great band. Great music.
4. "Queen of Argyll" (Emerald Rose: Archives of Ages to Come) - Celtic music, some of the best.
5. "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Avalon: Faith: A Hymns Collection)
6. "It's Magic" (Doris Day: It's Magic) - How can you not like Doris Day?
7. "I Can't Help Myself" (The Four Tops: Essential Collection) - Another great song from long ago.
8. "Red Swing" (Puffy AmiYumi: Nice) - Happy music!
9. "Dogfight" (Move: Boulder) - Not a song or group I've heard before. Not bad, though.
10. "2-4-6-8 Motorway" (Tom Robinson Band: TRB Two) - Great way to end this shuffle! One of my favorite songs, by one of my favorite bands. Look it up!

A good mix. Some new stuff, some old favorites. A great way to start the day.

First 10 Songs, 29 July 2013

It's kind of late in the day, but here's my first ten songs from my Pandora shuffle:

1. "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" (Steven Anderson: History of the Hymnal)
2. "Any Man of Mine" (Shania Twain: The Woman in Me) - I really like Shania Twain, although this isn't one of my favorites. Kind of catchy, though.
3. "Freewill (Live in Rio)" (Rush: Rush in Rio: Live) - OK, is this the only Rush album Pandora has? Again, one of my favorites, but I prefer the studio version.
4. "Never Gonna Fall In Love" (Tom Robinson Band: Rising Free) - Tom Robinson and TRB in its various incarnations has been on the top of my list of great musicians since the early 80's. It's hard to find his work, but well worth the effort.
5. "Ukulele Bros." (Jake Shimabukuro: Peace Love Ukulele) - Shimabukuro is probably the best-known contemporary ukulele artist. His work is anything but traditional ukulele. And, he's coming to town in November! I really want tickets!
6. "Track 1" (Orange Range: Orange Range) - Another J-Pop group. What can I say, it's fun! Sorry, there doesn't seem to be an English language site.
7. "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" (Mormon Tabernacle Choir: Teach Me to Walk in the Light & Other Children's Favorites) - Can't help it, they really do great choral music.
8. "I Am the Day" (Libera: Free) - Another choral group, Libera is a wonderful, long-standing boys' choir. I love the arrangements they use.
9. "Carpe Diem" (Yellow Generation: Jpop CD) - Lots of J-Pop tonight. I'm not familiar with this one, but I like it. Again, no English site.
10. "Whenever You Need Somebody" (Rick Astley: Whenever You Need Somebody) - I'll admit it: I'm a Rick Astley fan.

Susanna Diehl, My Great-Great Grandmother (Updated)

Here's a genealogy post. We've known for a while that my great-great grandmother on my father's side was Susanna Diehl (spelled various ways) of Pennsylvania. She was married to David Rothenberger on 26 September 1867 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. By 1880, the family is in Clinton county, Indiana (according to the 1880 US Census). Susanna dies later that year at the age of 31, leaving behind four children: Peter J. Rothenberger (12 years old), Sallie V. Rothenberger (8), Olville O. Rothenberger (6, and my great grandfather), and Anna A. Rothenberger (2). The names are from the census, and are in some cases known to be incorrect. Anyway...

First 10 Songs, 28 July 2013

It's time to start some music lists again. Instead of what's on my iPod (which I don't use as much anymore) I'll be listing the first 10 songs that come up when I put my Pandora account on shuffle. Today's list has some really good ones:

1. "Yesterday Once More" (Carpenters: Now and Then) - After all these years, still my favorite group, and one of their best songs. I probably have the worst Carpenters crush in history!
2. "One More Try" (George Michael: Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael) - George Michael is another of my all-time favorite singers. I've liked him since the first moment I saw "Wake Me Up" on MTV, lo these many years ago. His voice and range is superb, and his songs always move me.
3. "Be Still My Soul" (The Talleys: Praise for the Ages) - Not sure why this came up. I think I need to review my Pandora stations. It's OK, but not really my kind of music.
4. "Penny in the Well" (Emerald Rose: Bending Tradition) - This is a treat! A song I haven't heard from one of my favorite Celtic Revival bands. If you haven't heard Emerald Rose, you really should give them a listen.
5. "Limelight: Live in Rio" (Rush: Rush in Rio: Live) -  A great song, but this isn't one of my favorite recordings. Let's face it - if you're not actually there, Rush is much better in studio than live.
6. "Caribbean Blue" (Enya: Shepherd Moons) - What can I say? I love Enya, and this is one of my favorites. She's really the closest thing I have to a replacement for the loss of Karen Carpenter.
7. "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (Carpenters: A Song for You) - Clearly, Pandora knows me. Another great Carpenters song today (not that there are any bad ones).
8. "Blue Oyster Cult" (Shonen Knife: 712) - I know, it's strange, but I really like Shone Knife. Maybe it's part of my fascination with all things Japanese, maybe they're just really good! With music like this, who cares?
9. "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)" (Stan Getz, with Astrud Gilberto: Getz Au Go Go) - The work Getz did with Gilberto produced, in my opinion, some of his best ever. His smooth jazz backing Gilberto's wonderful voice makes for some delicious music.
10. "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Sinead O'Connor: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got) - I've always liked O'Connor, no matter what she does. I also really like sad love songs, and this is one of the best broken-heart songs ever.

So there's today's list. Let's see what happens tomorow.

I'm Still Around

I just haven't been around here. I've had some other projects going on. One is my new site about M/M fiction, Gaily Readings. If you like that kind of stuff, and I've got to admit I love it, check it out. I'm also getting ready to apply to graduate school (finally). It's the MLS program at San Jose State University. I'm no longer really in the tech field. I've been moved into reference services at our library, and I really don't miss working with computers. I don't like trying to fix and maintain the darn things. They're great tools, but they're not my life.

Anyway, I'll start bringing other things up to date starting tomorrow. Thanks!

First 10 Songs, 19 August 2012

Here's the songs that showed up on my iPod today:

1. Jambalaya - (The Carpenters; Now & Then) - This is one of my favorite Carpenter's songs. I've been told it's not as good as the original, but it's still great.
2. Love and Anger - (Kate Bush; The Sensual World) - Kate Bush's first appearance on my iPod. Not as well known as some of her other songs, but it's Kate Bush: it's all good.
3. Blowin' In The Wind - (Peter, Paul and Mary; Around the Campfire) - Classic folk revival. I've always loved Peter, Paul and Mary. This is a wonderful rendition of the classic Dylan song.
4. Surf City - (Jan and Dean; Cowabunga! The Surf Box) - Pure surf pop. Not my favorite surf band, but still very good. If you're a fan of surf music, this box set is well worth the price.
5. Manhattan Project - (Rush; Power Windows) - Rush is one of the great rock bands. This is from their post-Rand period. One of the top songs from the album.
6. A Little Respect - (Erasure; The Innocents) - Erasure is one of my favorite 80's bands. This is probably one of their most accessible albums, and definitely one of the most popular songs from it. I love it!
7. Everybody Loves a Lover - (Doris Day; 16 Most Requested Songs) - A happy song from a great entertainer. It reached #6 on the 1958 Billboard Best Sellers chart.
8. Hurricane - (Bette Midler; Thighs and Whispers) - From Midler's "disco" album, this is one of myt favorite late 70's songs. Critics hated the album. I still love it. Also, one of her best album covers ever!
9. Volcano - (Jimmy Buffett; Volcano) - The title track from Buffett's 1979 album. A popular song,  but the album was not well-received by critics. Still, happy party music that brought Buffett a lot of new fans.
10. Please Mr. Postman - (The Carpenters; Horizon) - Another one from all-time favorite singer, Karen Carpenter. This remake of the old Marvelettes song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1974.

First 10 songs, 18 August 2012

Put my iPod on shuffle, here's the first 10 songs that came up:

1. Malambo No. 1 - (Yma Sumac, Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 2: Mambo Fever)
2. Lay All Your Love On Me - (A-Teens, The ABBA Generation)
3. Boy Pop (Go Bottom Go Top Mix) - (Book of Love, Boy Pop)
4. Only Time - (Enya, The Very Best of Enya)
5. Watermark - (Enya, The Very Best of Enya)
6. Martin - (Tom Robinson Band, Rising Free: The Very Best of Tom Robinson Band)
7. The Christmas Can-Can - (Straight No Chaser, Christmas Cheers)
8. Goodbye To Love - (The Carpenters, Yesterday Once More)
9. Amid the Falling Snow - (Enya, Amarantine)
10. Surfin' U.S.A. - (The Beach Boys, Cowabunga! The Surf Box)

Kind of surprises me to see Enya come up three times, but that's OK, because she's great. I'd also forgotten I had Christmas music on here. This is all really good music, but I've got to say...

No one compares to Karen Carpenter. She's the best there ever was.