Thursday, January 8, 2015

How to wait after it feels like you've waited so long

Have you ever felt just generally uninspired?

When I get into these funks, I tend to listen to music.

When I was a teenager, that usually involved a record player or cassette player (yeah, I'm showing my age here) and a hairbrush (later a curling iron), because they both made excellent microphones. Besides, what is more fun than dancing around your room singing into a hairbrush? Not much, let me tell you. (This might suggest that I need to get out more... hmmm. Something to ponder later.) BUT, this sort of thing was almost always successful in raising my spirits.

I also spent many years with a tape player (later a CD player) permanently installed in my bathroom. I turned it up loud while in the shower and down (a little) when I wasn't. Again, this was excellent for the overall mood. However, when migraines struck in the early 2000s, this is one behavior I mostly quit. Who could stand the noise???? The water hitting the shower was loud enough... OMG. (Yeah, when this is loud, you have a migraine.)

I've gone on about the band Train on this blog before. In fact, I wrote a series of posts before I went to see them in concert (again) back in 2012 for their California 37 tour.

So, when my mood plummeted to Blah, I pulled the CD player off the shelf. Pulled my meditation CD out. Put Train's CD My Private Nation in.

Short story: I knew the Train hits Meet Virginia and Drops of Jupiter before I saw them for the first time live back in 2003 (I think). It was right after their album My Private Nation was released and one of the many concerts my ex-husband dragged me to (completely oblivious of how painful concerts were to my migraine situation). This one was outdoors (and much more pleasant for this migraine sufferer). All I remember is that a couple of songs in I was hooked. Infatuated. Completely under their spell. I bought a freakin' T-shirt. The ex did not. And soon after I loaded up on CDs. So, I mean hooked.

As I've learned more about this band, the more I believe that you can get a sense of where they were just by the song they choose to name the album after. The first one was self-titled with just Train. So, I guess it was the "this is who we are" album. Drops of Jupiter was second. I watched Pat on a TV special (MTV maybe?) talk about how that song came to him via a dream he had about his mother who recently passed. She was his staunchest supporter and died before the band achieved any "real" success. So, the song Drops of Jupiter is about his mother. Ironically, it's the band's "biggest" song to date, so his mother inspired an iconic song AFTER she died. With that in mind, I'm posting it here, though I think you've already heard it, unless you don't listen to contemporary music. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Stephen T. McCarthy.)




I loved that song before I really understood it. Now, I love it more.

But, My Private Nation. Man, I love that album. I listened to the whole thing yesterday, and damn. Every song on that album appeals to me. Every single one. Pat Monahan writes many of the songs (or at least co-writes), so the albums almost always reflect where he is in life. Does it get more real than that? And he wasn't in this great place when he wrote My Private Nation. His marriage dissolved, and anyone who's divorced know how that feels. So, there are songs that speak to that, as well as songs with just those quirky lyrics that Pat does so well. I could easily find a reason to post every song from that album, but that wouldn't be pleasing to anyone but me. ::sigh::

I will suggest that you listen to When I Look To The Sky, Get To Me, Calling All Angels, and I'm About To Come Alive. That last one really resonated with me on this listening, because I feel like that for the first time in a long time. Like I'm on the verge of it. Just hang with me for a little bit longer. I'm about to come alive.

But, like I said, I've noticed that the title song captures the MOOD of the album, even when it's never released to the radio. So, My Private Nation is the one I'm posting here.



How to get, how to give
How to make ends meet
How to lose, how to win
How to stay on the seat
How to use momentum to keep the two wheels straight
How to wait after it feels like you waited so long

I don't need nobody flyin' in my jet stream
Take the bus
Go on and get yourself your own dream

You can ride on, it ain't free
Leave a light on, so you can see
How to get back when you go

19 comments:

  1. Music is great for inspiration and I hope you find yours again, soon :)

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  2. I like Train - glad you posted all of my favorites (smile).

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  3. I've always liked Drops of Jupiter. Music can be very inspiring. Hope you find more inspiration from it.

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  4. Music can usually inspire me, and sometimes with too many ideas that it makes it hard to choose... Oh well. It works. :-) I hope you find the inspiration you need – my best wishes to you.

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  5. >>... unless you don't listen to contemporary music. Yeah, I'm looking at you Stephen T. McCarthy.

    Whaddaya mean? I have a bunch of Beach Boys songs and, heck, even some Tom Petty albums! Ain't that contemporary?

    'Drops Of Jupiter' was kinda OK. (But Jim Morrison is probably pissed that the singer stole his leather pants from the Hard Rock Cafe on Hollywood Blvd.) The second song though was kind of loud and fast. You kids today and the music you listen to! Sheesh!

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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    1. <<<<---The second song though was kind of loud and fast. You kids today and the music you listen to! Sheesh!

      Kind of loud and fast... It's funny that you say that because I feel like this is actually one of those My Generation songs (after its own fashion) akin to your BOTB post from January 1. Of course, since it was never released most people have never even heard it, but that's still how it strikes me.

      Did you see LC's comment below? Now that shizzle was FUNNY.

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  6. I'm gonna test your fandom here...do you have Pat's solo CD?

    I do not remember much fanfare when it came out, and when I saw it in a used CD bin, I had to make sure it was, in fact, the guy from Train.

    http://www.amazon.com/Last-Seven-Pat-Monahan/dp/B007YLELZ8/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1420753207&sr=1-1&keywords=pat+monahan

    Good luck converting Stephen T....with the exception of Frasier, he refuses to acknowledge any pop culture originating after 1967...

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    1. I read this while listening to Odessey and Oracle...

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    2. I do have Pat's solo album on my IPod. And that was great until my battery started dying every ten minutes. Did you know that places like Radio Shack won't replace the battery for those things because it's very easy to crack/break the case when replacing the battery, so it's do so at your own risk. And then my damn IPod stopped playing after each and every song, so I'd have to restart it manually (which is a real pain when you're in the shower). It makes me regret investing any money there and not just sticking with CDs.

      I'm going to cover all of the Train songs on their albums (though most were never released) because I think it's really quite fascinating. That said, when we hit the period where Pat recorded solo, I'm not going to use the title song, because I just don't love it like I do the rest.

      Did he tell you that he's started watching Joan of Arcadia??? Now, so far as I know he's only seen (at most) the first two discs, which equates to eight episodes, and he hasn't sent me an email with the verdict on the second disc... so it could still be panned.

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    3. I lost a bunch of one-off songs I'd bought on iTunes early on when I got a virus on my computer-reinforced my decision to keep CD's (along with the better fidelity on my home stereo).

      Apple did a great job of making iPods easy, but I wondered about the battery life....although my old Shuffle (1st generation-looks like a pack of Wrigley's gum) is still working.

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  7. Mark, Dixie, Sherry, Debbie ~ Thank you for the inspiring comments!

    CW ~ Very funny.

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  8. I own several Train CDs. I used to be able to sing along with Drops of Jupiter without missing a single word. Lately I've been playing guitar and learning to play bass and using Rocksmith to help me learn new songs.

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  9. I love Drops of Jupiter and so many other Train songs. My daughter saw them in concert last summer. She's still in love.

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  10. Steve ~ I've karaoked Drops of Jupiter. Can't say it's my best effort, but it's not bad. It's good that you're learning guitar and expressing a new creative outlet. Good for you!

    Susan ~ After I saw them in concert that first time, I saw them again not too long after (maybe a year later) still with the ex. And then I was just too sick to do anything for so many years. As in so many years. From 20005 until 2012 I feel like I dropped out of life in so many ways. I started this blog in 2010, and I can see from reading those old posts just how sick I was. Hanging by a thread really. In 2012, I saw Train again. It's the only concert I've seen in many years now. I just love them, so I fully understand your daughter's infatuation.

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  11. I cannot write to music. Not at all. So, I usually turn to books when I am feeling stuck or unmotivated. Reading other stories -- especially ones different from the genre I am writing -- can sometimes jog an idea loose and get me started again.

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  12. Sorry, I'm in the wrong generation for Train. But I do remember singing into my hairbrush if that counts. *grin*

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  13. I'm at work so I can't listen to it now:) Music always soothes the soul and I love having music on all the time but i am more of a classical gal:)...unless i want to dance my ass off

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  14. I don't usually listen to "contemporary" music, either. When our kids were teenagers, they frequently gave me a tape of their favorite music, so I could become acquainted with it. Many times, I ended up liking their choices, and still listen to them today. Recently, I "discovered" Muse, and immediately went out and bought one of their CDs. Now, I'm gonna have to go out and buy a Train CD. Yep, I LIKE their sound. And lyrics. Thanks!

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  15. I'm having trouble downloading this now, so I will try again tomorrow, and let you know on Part two. Sorry I'm so far behind, Robin.

    Julie

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