Stuph That Has No Reason Being in My Head, Vol. II

“Got to Get You Into My Life” was written by Paul McCartney to express his new-found exuberance for marijuana.

In the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, when an inebriated Uncle Billy staggers off camera after a short conversation with George Bailey, he apparently stumbles over some garbage cans. That noisy crash was an accident and his words, “I’m alright! I'm allllright!" were improvised.

Gary Burghoff, in the role of Radar, is the only actor/role combo that appeared in both the movie and the television series versions of M*A*S*H.

E.T. was lured back to Eliot’s house with Reese’s Pieces because M & Ms didn’t want to pay a product placement fee to a weird sci-fi movie.

Bea Benaderet was the owner-operator of the Shady Rest Hotel in Petticoat Junction AND the voice of Betty Rubble in The Flintstones.

♫♪ When you find yourself in danger, when you're threatened by a stranger, when it looks like you will take a lickin' (buk buk buk buk), there is someone waiting who will hurry up and rescue you. Just call up for Superchicken! Fred, if you're afraid you'll have to overlook it. Besides, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it. (Bukack!) He will drink his super sauce and throw the bad guys for a loss and he will bring them in alive and kickin'. (buk buk buk buk) There is one thing you should learn: when there is no one else to turn to, call up for Superchicken. (buk buk buk buk) Call up for Superchicken! (Bukack!) ♪♫

He's My Sweet, So Fine Lord - The 454th Greatest Songs of All Time

 

Okay...it's no new thing to point out that George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and The Chiffons' "He's So Fine" are for all intense porpoises melodically equal. The claim has even been held up in court, with the quiet ex-Beatle being found guilty of "subconscious plagiarism" and paying over 1.5 million dollars of his income from "Lord" to the corporation that owns the copyright for "He's So Fine", Bright Tunes.

Sounds more like a very bright lawyer to me.

It does bring several questions to mind, though:

• If the two songs are so much alike, why isn't "He's So Fine" somewhere on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, too?

• If "My Sweet Lord" is such a great song, why do I hate it when it gets stuck on an endless loop in my head? (Which it has been ever since starting this post.)

• If 1.5 million dollars is just a portion of George's proceeds from "My Sweet Lord" ... how much did he haul in for just this one song?!!? Hot farnsworth!

• What song should I subconsciously plagiarize as part of my retirement plan?

 

Name a Song That...Vol. IV

The 4th and final installment. A peek into my subconscious. Remember to drop bread crumbs so you can find your way back.

A song by a band you wish were still together

https://youtu.be/D7wyZe96NAs

A song by an artist no longer living

https://youtu.be/gj0Rz-uP4Mk

A song that breaks your heart

https://youtu.be/8gBGGX3yvMo

A song by an artist with a voice that you love (Beloved!)

https://youtu.be/UaIq8RN7j6o

A song that reminds you of yourself

https://youtu.be/b5rpAqfd35Q

Name a Song That...Vol. III

Still working my way down a list of prompts and remembering my disc jockey days with fondness.

A song that played at your wedding

https://youtu.be/7bWtAP6yb2I

A song you would sing a duet with on karaoke

https://youtu.be/tbU3zdAgiX8

A song from the year you were born

https://youtu.be/BDRWOL-_P84

A song that makes you think about life

https://youtu.be/ZOWZGm61HpM

A favorite song with a person's name in the title (Note: Changed this to "Debbie" and sang it to Beloved in our wedding)

https://youtu.be/2KBDTJ6WYQc

Name a Song That...Vol. II

Spinnin' all the platters that matter from my mighty stacks of wax. Time to get down with the big sound. These are the grooves that move, baybay!

A song to drive to

https://youtu.be/4BNwA4WfXHQ

A song that makes you happy

https://youtu.be/iPUmE-tne5U

A song that makes you sad

https://youtu.be/omXU8-_8fSo

A song you never get tired of

https://youtu.be/ftAxROYEY3U

One of your favorite 80's songs

https://youtu.be/wFWDGTVYqE8

Name a Song That...Vol. I

Three things have led to this particular post:

     1.  I ran into a list of prompts calling for songs that meet different criteria.
     2.  I was a little short on ideas for what to post this week.
     3.  I used to be a disc jockey (the radio kind, not the dance club variety) and this seemed like a way to relive the glory days of working at a little, independent, local radio station in Decatur, Indiana, and being able to pick out whatever I wanted to play and actually putting a record on a turntable and placing a needle in the groove with a satisfying ka-chunk...instead of the flavorless life lived by today's cookie-cutter promo-readers who push a computerized button to spew out whatever dreck the Corporate Suits have engineered to force down the public's collective gullet.

Did I say that out loud?

A song with a color in the title

https://youtu.be/_qqvdOwoN-Y

A song with a number in the title

https://youtu.be/HNjEPHvDxZQ

A song that reminds you of summertime

https://youtu.be/KcrbDYe4qL4

A song that needs to be played LOUD

https://youtu.be/Zc_JcGuH5Z8

A song that makes you want to dance (FAIR WARNING: Rated PG)

https://youtu.be/M1F0lBnsnkE

You've Almost Got a Friend

With apologies to Carole King (and James Taylor)...

♫♪♪♫ 
When you're down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothin'...oh nothin' is goin' right
Quitcher belly achin'
No one really cares
To hear you
Whining all through the night

When you call out my name
My stomach turns into a knot
I get nauseous
When you're in a spot 
Summer, fall, winter, and spring
You always want the same old thing:
"Gimme more! Gimme more! Gimme more!"
But I will not

If the sky above you
Should turn dark and full of clouds
That's nothin' that nobody else has seen
The world isn't ending
And it's not ganging up on you
So grow up
Stop bein' a drama queen

When you call out my name
My stomach turns into a knot
I get nauseous
When you're in a spot 
Summer, fall, winter, and spring
You always want the same old thing:
"Gimme more! Gimme more! Gimme more!"

Hey, you need to know the meal train has stopped
Start using your own two feet
If I'm lyin'
I'm dyin'
I've cut you off, just forget it
If not, you'll regret it

If you call out my name
One more time, I'll give you a shot
You'll be needing
A burial plot
Summer, fall, winter, and spring
You always want the same old thing:
"Gimme more! Gimme more! Gimme more!"
But I will not

No, I will not
Let's just get this straight
I simply will not

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

You want to watch a performance of this?

https://youtu.be/cfrAIR6T5e4

Or just listen to it?

https://soundcloud.com/deweyroth/youve-almost-got-a-friend

P.S.

ANYONE IN MINNESOTA...

Next week is the Dakota County Fair. Plan now to come enjoy the DAKOTA CHAUTAUQUA. I hope to see you there! https://www.facebook.com/DakotaChautauqua/

A Match Made in Musical Heaven

It's the artwork of Bitstrips, matched with the warposity of my mind, and the result may produce earworms to last for a month as Beloved and I sing out our love.

Bohemian Joke's On Me

In addition to my chores as a technical writer for Big Brother, Inc. and choreographer/actor/acting coach for Giant Step Theatre, I semi-recently started Working Retail in order to be able to make car payments. It was during an all-too-infrequent lull while Working Retail that I spontaneously began singing: "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide; no escape from reality..."

My kinky-haired co-worker, TommiBoi, interrupted by asking, "Who sings that?"

Always one willing to educate the masses, I answered, "Queen."

Her quick comeback: "Let's keep it that way."

That gave me a hearty laugh, which surprised her, because she said that jab had been around for a long time.

Still, I was tickled enough by the incident that I told the worship team about it Sunday morning after rehearsal. It was then that the truly delicious dropkick to my ego was administered.

Fellow worship team member and faithful reader, Beckster WhassupWiddat, innocently looked at me and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't believe no one has ever said that to you before."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

I think I peed a little.

Here's My Number, So Call Me Earworm

There are a couple trivia challenges in this quarter's list of morning musical meanderings...songs that I'm pretty sure could only be swimming around in MY head.

AUGUST

1-15 – No sense trying to post individual days here. This period, I was awash in the songs of the 2012 edition of the Dakota Chautauqua, which ActorBoy and I performed in at the Dakota County (MN) Fair, August 6-12, 2012.

16 – Nothing Ever Changes (Larry Norman) Almost five bucks to any reader who can honestly say they ever heard of this song before now.

19 – Tragedy (Bee Gees)

23 – When the Saints Go Marching In

27 – Cantina Band Theme (Star Wars)

SEPTEMBER

4 – At Calvary

6 – I Don’t Know How to Love Him (Yvonne Elliman, Jesus Christ Superstar)

15 – Live For Today (Grass Roots)

19 – Billy Jean (Michael Jackson, sans pet chimp)

20 – Hokey Pokey

24 – The Battle of New Orleans (Johnny Horton) “And when we lit the powder off, the gator lost his mind…”

25 – Beautiful One (Jeremy Camp)

26 – The Things We Do For Love/The 59^th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (10cc/Simon & Garfunkel)

27 – Dust in the Wind (Kansas)

OCTOBER

1 – Kiss On My List (Daryl Hall and John Oates) This one is absolutely insidious.

3 – How Great Thou Art

5 – Mademoiselle from Armentieres (Hinky Dinky Parley Vous)

6 – Authority Song – John Mellencamp

8 – Get Right or Get Left (Farrell & Farrell) Seriously…is there anyone among my readers that has ever heard this ancient “Jesus Music” song?

9 – Africa (Toto)

16 – Jesus is Coming Again (“May be morning, may be noon, may be evening, and may be soon”)

17 – Battle Hymn of the Republic

18 – Windy (The Association)

26 – Rub Some Bacon On It (Rhett & Link) I made the mistake of having Beloved watch the video of this last night. Now all I can hear in my head is the chorus, and all I can envision is Link’s dorky beach boy. Watch this if you dare!

Attack of the Doobie Brothers

A particularly frustrating collection of the mental soundtracks that drew me into wakefulness for the past three months.

MAY

1 – What a Fool Believes (Doobie Brothers)

3 – Battle Hymn of the Republic (with, of course, the alternate lyric involving perpetrating violence against an educational professional)

6 – Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

7 – What a Fool Believes (Doobie Brothers) I’m sure my atheist friends are chuckling at the juxtaposition of this with “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus.”

8 – Today is the Day (“Today is the day You have made, I will rejoice and be glad in it…”)

11 – I Wanna Be Your Man (Oh my! I haven’t heard the Beatles in my head since December 21, 2011! http://almostthetruth.blogspot.com/2012/02/hello-earworm-my-old-friend.html)

14 – What a Fool Believes (Doobie Brothers…again)

15 – What a Fool Believes (Doobie Brothers…and again)

16 – What a Fool Be–oh for cryin’ out loud!

18 – Kiss Me (Sixpence None the Richer) Ahhhh…relief…

19 – Oh How He Loves

21 – Save the Country (Fifth Dimension)

23 – What a Fool AAAAAAUUUUUGH!

25 – What a Fool Believes – Somebody get me an ice pick! I need to dig this tune out of my brain! What is the DEAL?!? I’ve been listening to other stuff, but nothing has taken the place of hearing Michael McDonald’s voice pulling me toward wakefulness.

28 – Feels So Good (Chuck Mangione)

29 – My Old Man (Smothers Brothers) Never hurts to wake up with a chuckle!

31 – Psalm of HOPE (Debbie Roth) Written by KayJay, Beloved, & Me; on Beloved’s 4^th CD, “living letters of HOPE” (http://www.restinhimministry.com)

JUNE

1 – Unless the Lord Builds the House (Keith Green)

3 – If You Wanna Be Happy (Jimmy Soul) “If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife. So, from my personal point of view, get an ugly girl to marry you.”

6 – 101 Uses for Spam (This isn’t even a completed song yet, and already it’s banging in my head! Explanation: I’m co-writing and co-directing the Dakota Chautauqua this year [Big tent show at the Dakota County Fair, August 6-12, 2012] and this is the 2^nd song I’ve written for it so far. Eric Peltoniemi will be doing the music for my lyrics, but I did have a tune in my head for the chorus, and it decided to inflict itself upon me this morning.)

9 – Holly Holy (Neil Diamond)

12 – Hooked on a Feeling (B. J. Thomas)

13 – It’s Alright (Matthew Ward) For the 98% of you wonderful readers who will have never heard this suhWEET tune from the early days of Jesus Music:

14 – Down in the Boondocks (Billy Joe Royal)

27 – Backfield in Motion (Mel and Tim…yeah no, I had to look it up)

28 – Crackling Rose (Neil Diamond, with his second appearance on the charts this month!)

29 – What a Fool Believes (I’ve got a bad feeling about this.)

30 – What a Fool Believes (Seriously?!?)

JULY

2 – What a Fool… I NEED THERAPY!

3 – I Will Follow (Chris Tomlin) Sang this song in worship Sunday morning and at a women’s prison Monday night. Great way to leave the Doobie Brothers behind!

8 – Go Away Little Girl (Donny Osmond)

15 – I am stuck on Band-Aid, ‘cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me…

20 – Africa (Toto)

21 – Your Mother Should Know (John, Paul, George, and Ringo)

23 – Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen)

How Deep Is Your Earworm?

Here's three months' worth of those persistent, insistent irritants that pound through my head first thing in the morning.

FEBRUARY

3 – Turn (Larry Norman) If ANYONE among my faithful readers (or faithless readers for that matter…no need to be exclusive on this) has ever heard this song before: 1) I will be shocked, amazed, stunned, and generally apoplectic; and 2) I think I just found a new Friend For Life.

4 – Turn (Larry Norman) Okay…this is quite enough. Maybe if I inflict you readers with it, I won’t have to deal with it anymore: http://youtu.be/v4qMsy2ldhI. [Found this video on the 8^th...wonder what the 9^th’s earworm will be…)

7 – Greater Than Grace (Point of Grace)…though I was actually hearing Beloved’s cover version (http://www.restinhimministry.com)

8 – Oh How He Loves Us (David Crowder Band) I’m really glad this was just an auditory adventure and did not include the visual from the YouTube video (http://youtu.be/TCunuL58odQ). To say the least, Mr. Crowder is not my nominee for Sexiest Man of the Year.

9 – Surprise! No earworm this morning!

14 – Get a Job (The Silhouettes) Sha-na-na-na, sha-na-na-na-na…

15 – Funkytown/Time Won’t Let Me (Lipps Inc./The Outsiders) A mental mash-up that answers its own question: “Won’t you take me to Funkytown? Time won’t let me, oh no…”

17 – Whenever I Call You Friend (Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks)

23 – Anything Goes (from the musical of the same name, though many may remember it from the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)

24 – If I Can’t Have You (Yvonne Elliman)

28 – Made to Love (Toby Mac)

MARCH

7 – When We All Get to Heaven

9 – Where Do the Children Play?/Lady (Cat Stevens/Little River Band) It always surprises me when the Earworm Fairy drops a mash-up into my brain.

15 – Babe (Styx)

16 – My Hair Goes… (Rhett & Link) These guys are the Kings of YouTube. Go there. Search for them. Be thou amused.

18 – How Deep Is Your Love? (Bee Gees)

19 – How Deep Is Your Love? (Bee Gees)

20 – How Deep Is Your Love? (Bee Gees) Yeah…pretty annoying.

23 – Escape (The Pina Colada Song – Rupert Holmes)

28 – Hurt So Good (John Mellencamp)

30 – My Hair Goes… (My brain seems to be on its own feedback loop. And this isn’t even a song as much as it’s a comedy bit. Here, judge for yourself, and take it away from me! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46H_lm3OLBE&feature=g-all-u&context=G299965aFAAAAAHgAGAA)

APRIL

3 – Take Time To Be Holy (Hymn)

4 – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John & Kiki Dee) Truly insidious

5 – We’re An American Band (Grand Funk Railroad) There…that’s more like it.

16 – Dancing in the Street (Martha and the Vandellas…although I was actually hearing The Mamas & the Papas and also have fond memories of a David Bowie/Mick Jagger rendition) Perhaps the reason I had this particular song spinning this morning is that I finally finished my taxes.

18 – Happy Together (Turtles)

Hello, Earworm, my old friend

This quarter's round-up of insidious melodies...

NOVEMBER

1 – Little Girl (The Beatles) J, P, G, & R at their most homicidal: “I’d rather see you dead little girl than to catch you with another man…You better run for your life if you can, little girl. Hide your head in the sand, little girl. Catch you with another man? That’s the end-duh, little girl.”

4 – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Judy Garland) My, my, my…The Season certainly started early this year.

5 – Lay Down Sally (Eric Clapton)

16 – Bad Time to Be in Love (Grand Funk Railroad)

28 – Crocodile Rock (Sir Elton John)

DECEMBER

1 – Hey, Soul Sister (Train)

2 – Midnight Blue (Melissa Manchester) Behold, one of the few times I could actually identify how the morning’s earworm “was planted in my brain.” I heard this classic on the radio during my morning commute yesterday.

3 – It’s Not Easy Being Green (Jim Henson as Kermit) One of the most poignant performances, puppet or personal, of all time. (For the first-ever performance on Sesame Street, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIOiwg2iHio&feature=fvsr)

8 – You Make My Dreams Come True (Haulin’ Oats)

15 – Best of My Love (The Emotions) This is the 1977 disco-ish song, not the 1975 tune by the Eagles…which should give you a clue as to how irritated I’ve been since it popped into my head at 4:30 this morning!

16 – 1, 2, 3 (Len Barry) “It’s easy. (It’s so easy.) Like takin’ candy from a BAYbeeeeee…”

17 – Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye)

21 – I Want You to Want Me/All You Need is Love (Cheap Trick/Beatles) My marvelous morning mental mash-up

22 – Theme from “Three’s Company” (Yes, my subconscious is just that annoying.)

26 – Making Room (This is a worship song written by Dave Burkum and Jonathan Miller, two pastors at my church [www.valleycc.org] specifically for this Christmas season.

29 – What a Fool Believes/I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face (Doobie Brothers/from My Fair Lady) And if you don’t think this made my morning bowl of Cheerios^® a strange experience…

JANUARY

1 – I Can Help (Billy Swan) “If your child needs a daddy…”

5 – Have You Never Been Mellow? (Olivia Neutron Bomb)

11 – Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing (Stevie Wonder)

19 – (Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All (The 5^th Dimension) While I wasn’t all that happy about having this swimming laps in my head all morning, I was glad to be able to say it wasn’t true.

21 – Every Woman in the World (Air Supply)

25 – In the Mood (Glenn Miller) And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

27 – Running on Empty (Jackson Browne) It’s not a good sign when this is the first thing in your head in the morning.

28 – All Night Long (Lionel Ritchie)

30 – Your Name (Phillips, Craig and Dean)

Back in the U.S.S. Earworm

Morning arrived, but I was already awake...with these unbidden songs wreaking havoc on my attempts to sleep Just Five More Minutes.

AUGUST
2 – Angels Unaware (Matthew Ward)
3 – Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (Beatles) Irritation: when the song first came out, the Beatles were all “No, this isn’t about LSD. John’s son, Sean, drew this crazy picture…” And then, years later, in a filmed interview for the “Beatles Anthology” TV miniseries, Paul just matter-of-factly, with no hint that he was rewriting history, said, “…and of course, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was about drugs…”
12 – Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (John, Paul, George, and Ringo)
16 – Anna (Beatles…which is now getting a little silly, don’t you think?)
17 – While My Guitar Gently—oh for cryin’ out loud…
21 – I Knew You When (1965 hit by Billy Joe Royal, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG1slUQTsUM&feature=player_embedded, but my poor unfortunate soul was hearing Donny & Marie Osmond’s version)
26 – Show Me the Way (Peter Frampton)

SEPTEMBER
1 – Saturday Night’s Alright for Fightin’ (Sir Elton John)
3 – Psalm of Hope (Debbie Roth, www.restinhimministry.com)
8 – Mama’s Pearl (Jackson 5)
15 – The Love of God (Rich Mullins)
19 – Feed the Birds (from Mary Poppins)
20 – Hard to Say I’m Sorry (Chicago, that toddlin’ town)
22 – Beautiful Things (Gungor) Just learned this song the evening before during worship rehearsal; must have learned it well, because now it is all I can hear!
23 – Marian the Librarian (from The Music Man)
27 – Treasure of You (Steven Curtis Chapman)

OCTOBER
3 – Sailing (Christopher Cross)
6 – Let’s Dance On (Monkees)
9 – Nashville Cats (Loving Spoonful) Strikes me that these could be flipped around in almost any order, and it would still sound right. (Loving Spoonful by Nashville Cats; Nashville Spoonful by Loving Cats; Spoonful Cats by Nashville Loving…)
10 – Dreamweaver (Gary Wright)
20 – Mother and Child Reunion (Paul Simon)
25 – All Night Long (Lionel Richie)
27 – All Night Long (Lionel Richie) And all DAY long, too!

Oh, Earworm, you came and you gave without taking

This quarter's collection of morning mind music is a little light for two reasons: 1) I spent most of the month of June waking up with songs from the latest Giant Step Theatre (find us on FaceBook) production (Beauty and the Beast); and 2) when it wasn't that, the most-common thing going through my head upon leaving the Land of Nod was something along the lines of, "Oh come on...I know it's light out, but I don't have to get up for another half hour!"

MAY
4 – Living Letters of HOPE (Debbie Roth) I kind of feel sorry for the world when this finally gets released to the public (http://www.restinhimministry.com), because once this puppy gets in your head….
5 – Couldn’t Get It Right (Climax Blues Band)
10 – There is a Way (Debbie Roth. Yeah, yeah, yeah…somebody else sang this in the version that made it onto Christian radio stations, but it was Beloved’s voice I was hearing…over and over…this morning.)
12 – Forever in Blue Jeans (Neil Diamond) “Nothing aROUND but the SOUND of my HEART and your SIGHS…”
17 – I Say a Little Prayer for You (Dionne Warwick) How appropriate: “The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup…”
20 – Hungry Heart (Bruce Springsteen)
23 – Babe (Styx) I always thought that “Styx” should have been the name for a heavy metal band instead of one that did all these national anthems from Mamby-Pambyland.

JUNE
6 – Dr. Jesus (Michael & Stormie Omartian)
9 – Baby, You’re a Rich Man (Those Lovable Moptops)
28 – Chains (Having endured almost three weeks of “He must die! He must die! This awful beast must die…” from the Giant Step Theatre production of Beauty & the Beast, The Beatles were more than welcome this morning.)
30 – Western Island/The Broken Pledge (Eric Peltoniemi, about whom I wish to wax eloquent, but what follows is the best yer gonna git. I know Eric from our 7 summers of working together with the Dakota Chautauqua. He wrote all the music, played guitar and acted in the later years, and is the High Exalted Grand Poobah at Red House Records. The album from which today’s earworm emerges, Songs o’ Sad Laughter, is a collection of 12 of the best folk tunes ever written, sung by a man who knows what he’s doing.)

JULY
4 – Bluer Than Blue (Michael Johnson)
5 – The Other Side of the World (Rich Mullins)
10 – Afternoon Delight (Starland Vocal Band)
12 – To God Be the Glory (Tony & Donny)
27 – Sailing (Christopher Cross, which has always been a funny name to me: criss-cross)
29 – I’ll Carry On (Rich Mullins)

There is nothin' like an earworm...

...nothin' in the world. Nothin' else can make you squirm like a never ending earworm!

FEBRUARY
2 – American Pie (Don McLean)
10 – Maybe Tomorrow (Jackson 5)
15 – Entries have been a little sparse, because I’ve been doing battle with songs from the most recent Giant Step Theatre production, rather than with anything anyone else would recognize. Imagine waking up to “He did it ‘cause he’s a one-eyed jack. He’s a kleptomaniac” or “When you find yourself in the middle of a pickle, it don’t pay to lose yer head” running laps in your brain.
18 – The Things We Do for Love (10cc)
19 – Good News (2nd Chapter of Acts) My earworms haven’t included any early Jesus Music for a while…and welcome back. (The bad news is, I can’t find a clip of “Good News” on YouTube to show you.)
24 – The theme song from I Dream of Jeannie (of COURSE I had no problem finding THAT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XELze7CXKjk&feature=related)
27 – Old Days (Chicago)
28 – Michelle (Beatles)

MARCH
2 – Closer to Me (Seals & Crofts)
4 – Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem DRY Bones…
5 – Take the Long Way Home (Supertramp)
6 – Take the Long Way Home (Supertramp) That’s right…two days in a row. And today, it stayed with me all day long; not just in the morning. Grrrrrrrr.
8 – Whenever I Call You Friend (Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks) Even though I lack an ounce of affinity for Stevie Nicks, either as a solo act or with Fleetwood Mac, I admit that this is one of the most-infectious duets devised by mankind.
10 – Reign in Us (Starfield)
15 – I Will Follow You/Sounds of Silence (Chris Tomlin/Simon & Garfunkel) Interesting juxtaposition.
18 – C’mon Get Happy (Partridge Family)
23 – Let Me Love You Tonight (Pure Prairie League)
29 – Bring the Rain (Mercy Me)
31 – Someone Saved My Life Tonight (Elton John)

APRIL
1 – Psalm of Hope (Debbie Roth hasn’t even recorded the vocals for this yet, but the tune, written by our very own KayJay, got stuck in my head last night and lasted through this morning.)
5 – Midnight Blue (Melissa Manchester)
11 – Kiss on My List (Daryl Hall and John Oates) Trivia: they were never officially billed as “Hall & Oats.” They maintained their individuality, even as they became a highly-successful duo. Another note…when this particular song gets in your head…GOOD LUCK!
13 – Room Noise (2nd Chapter of Acts) If anyone reading these words knows this song, I will personally and unashamedly wet my pants.
18 – That’s Entertainment (from The Band Wagon)
21 – We Are the Champions (Queen)

Hey! Look me over; lend me an earworm

It happens once a quarter: I post a list of those snippets of songs who force their way into my head while I am trying to sleep for just five more minutes.

NOVEMBER
1 – Yesterday (The Beatles)
9 – Younger Than Springtime (from South Pacific)
13 – America the Beautiful
15 – Daybreak (Barry Manilow) An earworm that actually made sense! Well, it would have made sense if daylight savings time hadn’t ended. As it is, day doesn’t actually break forth into all its splendor until I’m on my way to work.
16 – Good Morning (Beatles) Wait a minute…this is getting spooky.
17 – How Great Thou Art (There…that’s more like it)
20 – Babe (Styx)
21 – Midnight Blue (Melissa Manchester)
22 – Babe (Styx) Yes…again. Honestly…the lyric is “Babe, I’m leaving; I must be on my way,” so LEAVE ALREADY!
27 – Don’t Worry Baby (The Beach Boys)/Be My Baby (The Ronettes) This is a mash-up I’d like to hear the cast of Glee do. It really works.

DECEMBER
1 – Castles in the Air (Don McLean) This was pre-American Pie, and if anybody reading these words also has his vinyl album, Tapestry, I think I may wet myself in shock and amazement.
3 – Dreidel (Don McLean, again) I tried to ignore this, so as not to repeat artists so quickly, but I had to tell the truth. And I know why McLean is insisting to have residence in my cranium: I listened to a couple of his albums while putting up the Christmas tree November 29th. Now, why are his songs still inflicting themselves upon me? Is it because they are so hauntingly beautiful and unique, or is it because my brain is just that feeble so as to accept any imprint whatsoever? (Don’t answer that.)
8 – Tonight’s the Night (Rod Stewart)
20 – Night and Day (Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66)
27 – Sweet Georgia Brown/Cantina Theme (from Star Wars) Unusual mash-up, I know, but try it…you’ll see that my subconscious is fairly genious.
28 – We Need a Little Christmas (The blame for this rests squarely on the shoulders of the Christmas episode of Glee that I watched last night.)
29 – Angels from the Realms of Glory (“Come and worship. Come and worship. Worship Christ the newborn king!”)

JANUARY
3 – For Once in My Life (Stevie Wonder)
5 – Evensong (Dave Burkum, who is the lead pastor at my church [http://www.valleycc.org] and wrote this song, which is used for our Sunday EVENing service…get it?)
9 – At the Hop (Danny and the Juniors)
11 – Vehicle (Ides of March) And, yes, you are correct…this is not the first time this little number has appeared on this list.
13 – The Air that I Breathe (The Hollies) Of course, this being January in Minnesnowta, the air that I breathe tends to make my lungs freeze…the whole situation’s brought me to my knees.
14 – Bound to Come Some Trouble (Rich Mullins)
18 – Tired of Waiting (The Kinks)
20 – Jessie’s Girl (Rick Springfield)
24 – Smoke of a Distant Fire (Sanford-Townsend Band) Yes, I had to look up the name of this one-hit-wonder ensemble.
26 – How Majestic Is Your Name (Michael W. Smith)
31 – Everlasting God (“You are the everlasting God…the everlasting God…You do not faint, You won’t grow weary…”) My subconscious probably felt the need to remind me of this True Truth because it knew I was going to wake up to YET ANOTHER SNOW STORM!

My financial worries are over

I think I've had an apostrophe.

I've seen my future, and it's so bright, I need to wear shades.

The source of my inspiration and abundant hope is the following Associated Press item I read a few days ago.

McDonald's Pays for Worker's Weight
SAO PAULO - A Brazilian court ruled this week that McDonald's must pay a former franchise manager $17,500 because he gained 65 pounds while working there for a dozen years. The 32-year-old man said he felt forced to sample food each day to ensure quality standards remained high, because McDonald's hired "mystery clients" to randomly visit restaurants and report on the food, service, and cleanliness. The man also said the company offered free lunches to employees, adding to his caloric intake while on the job.

I can see clearly now (welcome to your newest earworm)...there are untapped resources out there waiting to be mined:

• I should be awarded a cash settlement for all the sleep I lost during the nine years I proofread prospectuses for mutual funds...on third shift. Not to mention the damage to my nervous system and arteries from all the caffeinated beverages I had to ingest to ensure my wakefulness.
• There should be a sliding scale of damage payments to my tender sense of well-being and usefulness for all the years I ministered to teens...who turned around and became felons, freeloaders, and insurance agents.
• My current place of employment forces me to actually, you know, show UP, which involves wear and tear on my vehicle, along with other operating expenses that are not fully reimbursed.

If we work this right, ladies and gentlemen, we may never have to work again.

Good Morning, Earworm, the Earth Says Hello

I wake up in the morning, and these songs are turning/churning in my mind. I shoo them away. They ignore me. I take down their names so I can put them on report.

AUGUST
3 – Everlasting God (“Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord; we will wait upon the Lord; we will wait upon the Lord…”)
4 – Country Road (James Taylor)
9 – Lady (Little River Band; this REALLY needs to stop showing up in this list. I’ve even NOT listed it a couple times when I should have, figuring it would be too annoying for readers with heart conditions to handle.)
10 – I Will Call Upon the Lord (“…who is worthy to be praised.”)
13 – Me and Bobby Magee (Janis Joplin. Kris Kristopherson can suck eggs.)
19 – Spinning Wheel (Blood Sweat & Tears)
20 – These Eyes (The Guess Who…no…seriously…this is not a game …that’s the group’s name)
22 – Love Isn’t Always on Time (Foreigner)
24 – I Am the Walrus (The Beatles. Where have you been, oh, Fab Four? You haven’t showed up in my morning music for a loooooong time. And when you do, you give me THIS?!!? Well, goo-goo-ga-joob to you!)
25 – First Song that I Sing (Sara Groves)
26 – Come On Eileen (Dexys Midnight Runners)

SEPTEMBER
2 – Reign In Us (Starfield)
3 – So Far Away (Carole King)
8 – I Am a Servant (Larry Norman. I sang a different Larry Norman song at the state fair on the 4th and found out that NObody in the room knew who he was. I could barely finish singing the rest of my set because of my grief.)
9 – You Should be Dancin’ (Bee Gees)
13 – Running On Empty (Jackson Browne) What a way to start the work week.
26 – My Wish (Rascal Flats…though I’m really hearing it because Beloved sang it in three concerts last week.)
28 – Top of the World (Carpenters)
29 – Still the One (Orleans)

OCTOBER
1 – If I Can’t Have You (Yvonne Elliman)
3 – Couldn’t Get It Right (Climax Blues Band)
7 – Country Road (James Taylor AGAIN)
9 – The Face of Christ (Chris Rice)
29 – Hey Tomorrow (Jim Croce)

Oh, what a beautiful earworm!

This quarter's round up of songs I woke up with...

MAY
3 – Let the Whole World Sing (DeGarmo & Key)
4 – Heart Hotels (Dan Fogelberg)
5 – Come Sail Away (Styx)
11 – Your Mama Don’t Dance and Your Daddy Don’t Rock and Roll (Loggins & Messina)
12 – If You Leave Me Now (Chicago)
13 – This morning, I was trying to sleep and trying to sleep and kept hearing a strange compilation of what seemed like every recorded song known to mankind…just snippet after snippet of tune after tune. I think my Random Access Memory is short-circuiting.
18 – Forever Eyes/Yesterday (Jars of Clay/Beatles) This made for an interesting mash-up. There is hope! Maybe my subconscious has a promising future as an arranger/producer.
19 – Love is Still a Worthy Cause (Sara Groves)
20 – Turn Your Radio On (Ray Stevens, though, yes, there are a few other versions out there)
21 – Jesus Paid It All
25 – Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye…but if you ever get a chance to hear a band called “Ferris” do it live…do it.)

JUNE
3 – Trickle Trickle (Manhattan Transfer. Long, almost useless explanation: For over a month now, I’ve been posting a snippet of a lyric as my status statement on Facebook…a different snippet each day. The source material has been my CD collection, arranged alphabetically by artist. The first day was Carolyn Arends, then The Association, through the Beach Boys and the Beatles, etc. In this list of morning earworms, I have generally ignored songs that I know are in my head because of the previous day’s status statement. That said, here lies Manhattan Transfer because “Trickle Trickle” pushed its way into my brain in spite of a June 2nd full of Don McLean: “Starry, starry night; portraits hung in empty halls; frameless heads on nameless walls…”)
15 – Whole New World (from Disney’s Aladdin)
17 – Yesterme, Yesteryou, Yesterday (Stevie Wonder)
21 – El Shaddai (Amy Grant)

JULY
12 – Love Hangover (Diana Ross)
17 – Stand Tall (Burton Cummings)
27 – With a Little Luck (Paul McCartney & Wings) I am particularly irritated at this particular earworm this particular morning. Firstly, because I’m thinking that it’s only going to get worse after tomorrow night’s PBS special giving Sir Paul some sort of American music honor (and how much sense does THAT not make?); but secondly, because the brain bombardment started over an hour before I needed to get up this morning.
30 – Midnight Blue (Melissa Manchester)