I guess it's that time of year.

There comes a point in every year when the siren pull finally becomes too strong and I finally yield to temptation. Today I went seeking Christmas music. I didn't listen to a whole lot, but I went seeking Christmas music to soothe my ruffled nerves. Not all Christmas music will do this for me, of course. Just like contemporary music, there are certain styles that don't appeal to me. But, there are certain songs that make me happy, calm, etc. I'm going to try to assemble a holiday favorites playlist soon. In the meantime, here's a favorite with a little video. :)



I'm behind in my blog reading again. I'll catch up with you all again soon!

I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob.

Tonight Renaissance Man and the kids were watching some Rube Goldberg machine videos on You Tube. One of the videos had Bach's "Air on G String" playing in the background. Part way through the video, Bob says, "Daddy this pretty music makes me want to cry."

Who knew my busy boy would be so touched by classical music. I think we'll have to listen to it more often. Goodness knows I own more than enough to get him started.

Later, as Bob and RM related the story to me I asked a rather flippant question to tease RM. "Are you sure he was reacting to the music? With Daddy's engineering genes, are you sure he wasn't reacting to the beautiful machine?" Where upon Princess Bug burst into a fit of giggles that didn't end for several minutes. Apparently I'm even funnier than I thought. :)

A Fond Farewell

I was rather sad recently when I heard about the passing of Mary Travers. I'm guessing that most of you won't recognize that name, but I'm also willing to bet nearly everyone will recognize the trio she sang with, Peter, Paul, and Mary. I grew up listening to this Peter, Paul, & Mary album.

I remember putting it on the record player and listening to it over and over and over. I still have it somewhere. I knew the album practically by heart. (I still do.) I knew exactly at what place during "In the Early Morning Rain" the record was scratched and would begin to skip and repeat and just how hard to press on the needle so that it would play through instead.

Somewhere in my teens or twenties I picked the album up on CD as well as one or two more. I love the harmonies, the beautiful guitar melodies, and the infinitely singable lyrics. I'm sure that Peter, Paul, and Mary have influenced my preference in music far more than I've ever given them credit. They are fantastic singers and great storytellers. To this day I'm rather fond of folk music on the whole and also of kindred styles like New Grass/Blue Grass (but NOT most country :P). I love great vocalist with songs that tell stories like Alison Krauss, Sam Payne, Norah Jones, and Sting.

I think that music has lost one of the greats in Mary Travers. I hope she's not forgotten. In fact, I'm going to make sure that I rip my Peter, Paul and Mary albums to MP3 and add them to my kids' MP3 playlists. I hope they love the music as much as I do.

I took a few minutes to search about for songs from the album that I love so much. I was able to find 8 of 13, not too bad. I hope you take a few minutes to enjoy some of the best music ever recorded. :)