Time keeps on slipping into the future

All you peeps on my flist seem to every-so-casually mention trotting off to Trader Joe's. Did you know it causes me grief and woe? I stew in my blatant jealousy! For you see, the nearest Trader Joe's is a good 7 hour drive away (in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to be exact). I know it seems inexplicable that Denver doesn't have one, but alas, it is so. Hell, even my mom in suburban Detroit has one, and isn't that so unfair? When I visit, I have to be re-e-e-ally selective about what I buy or else I'll go over the suitcase weight limit. I usually go for the curry sauce.

There's an Ikea near my Mom's as well. Our nearest Ikea is in Chicago. As A.J. Hall knows (because I assured her of this very truthiness), Chicago is close to Denver, but not so close that I can zip those thousand miles to visit Ikea easily. And again, the only things I can buy while I'm visiting must be small; it's painful. I have quite nice bread-bag clips, for example. Oh, and teeny spatulas.

Spring is finally here. I know this because it's either 70 degrees or snowing, often in the same 24 hours.

Today was my retirement lunch at work. My last official day is Friday. Yeah, it's weird, but I only angst over the change about an hour a week these days. Mr. Geoviki pointed out that if my employer wants to offer me a great retirement benefit at this early an age, I'd be wasting it if I didn't take it. I like the way that man thinks.

Everyone asks me what I'm going to do now.

I do too.

No, not really. But some of the things on my list are kinda mundane (sell some stuff on Ebay), and some I can't discuss with the masses (finish a slash story and edit some yaoi).

But I do plan to post more! (oh, oops, maybe I shouldn't threaten you that way...)

INSTRUMENTALS: RELEASE IT

OMG, two posts in one day! The sky shall certainly fall!

One of the things I'd like to try in my dotage retirement is to write music blog posts. (I've been dabbling with that here on LJ at random moments.) My favorite music blog happens to be Star Maker Machine, a terrific assembly of music bloggers who come up with one (or so) songs fitting a weekly theme. This week's theme is Instrumentals. This is my informal audition at fitting this theme.



Afro Celt Sound System – Release It

[purchase]

Mixing African rhythms into other musical genres wasn't new when Paul Simon did it in 1986 with Graceland. American blues (and its stepchild, rock and roll) traces its roots to western Africa. Much of modern Brazilian music, too, is a fusion of African and Portuguese sources. So when East Londoner Simon Emmerson traveled to Senegal in 1992 to produce an album for worldbeat artist Baaba Maal, he picked up the idea of blending African rhythms with Celtic melodies. The group he gathered, Afro Celt Sound System, formed in 1995 around Irish, English, and African musicians. Emmerson, a guitarist and DJ as well as a producer, didn't stop there, though: He steeped his songs in electro-dance rhythms, especially ambient, trance, and techno. The end result is not only multi-cultural, but also wholly modern.

Release It (1999) is the final song of their second album, which almost wasn't made following the sudden death of their keyboardist. This song is a tribute to their dead friend and celebrates his release from earthly hardships. Some of the more unusual instruments include the Celtic harp, uilleann pipes, kora, talking drum, balafon, bodhran, djembe, and whistle. I think I know what the whistle sounds like, and the rest I'll just have to Wiki.

I think it would be a real honor to have a tribute song like this that makes listeners want to get down and dance.