I love music.  I love everything about it. I love listening to it, creating it, reading about it, talking about.  I love the many styles and artists.  I love the instruments, basses and guitars especially.  I love the history of it.  I love the amazing evolution of the technology.  I love the money it can make.  I love it all. 

My experience with creating music goes back a bit (1985 to be exact).  My first home “studio” centered around a Fostex 2-track cassette recorder. I’ve owned a Fostex R8 reel to reel 8-track, a Tascam cassette 4-track, a PC running Emagic Logic (now Apple Logic), Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Ableton Live and currently Presonus Studio One. My how times have changed……

As the times have changed so too has the music. The sounds coming out of the “radio” or whichever device you listen to today are far different than they were in my youth. Yep, from the ’70s, the ’80s, the ’90s and through the 2000s the music seems to change every five years. And, as we age our tastes seem to “outgrow” the popular music of the day.

As I’ve gotten older I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon about music and those who listen to it regularly. Regardless of age, people who listen to current popular music seem to stay younger, age slower and generally have a more youthful approach to life. Can’t say for sure if the music is the cause or the symptom, but it’s interesting to note nonetheless.

I listen to all kinds of music. Anything from the current Billboard 100 back to the 1940s. All genres. But I was once a music snob. In the mid 2010s I wouldn’t listen to radio. Couldn’t listen to radio. My tastes had matured. So I started listening to “old school” music exclusively. Bought a Bluetooth speaker, subscribed to XM Radio checked out the classic stations. Then I got bored.

So I changed stations. Heard some cool new songs from some fresh new artists. Bought some new recording software and rediscovered why I loved music: it always brings me back to my youth. Always makes me feel young.

So hey. I got a secret for you. Wanna feel a little younger again no matter your age? Pick up your phone, tablet or “radio”. Dial up your favorite genre. Pick a song from the current Top 100. And don’t judge, just listen. Do this a few times a day. In about a month look in the mirror. And say goodbye to your anti-wrinkle cream.

Eyes grow weary seeking more.  The mind is anxious yearning knowledge.  The open sky offers new limits.  The lonely shadows find their places. The body accepts its place in time.

Why waste a sunset?

Eyes focus more intently with less light. The mind is more settled with fewer worries . The body is well rested with less motion. The air is freshest with less sound.

Why waste a sunrise?

My lawnmower and I have seen, as the “wise” folks used to say, many a day.  Beautiful and crisp 8 am spring mornings,  cool and calm 10 o’clock fall brunches, chilly winter afternoons for quickies and picture-perfect hot summer evenings.  I regret not wearing a step counter to see just how many miles we walked together.  But, since I did not accurately count my steps, and I tend to embellish a little, I’ll guesstimate that we covered hundreds (?😏) of miles…..And all it needed was a little gas, a little oil and a gentle push to get the job done. 

We’ve been together for years.  Hangin’ out in the garage when no one else dared to touch it. It was good company even though I longed for different, more leisurely wheeled companions to spend time with.  It never left me and always did what I asked.  Until this year…….

My lawnmower no longer runs.  It’ll start, but shuts off shortly thereafter.  But hey, don’t feel sorry for us.  We had a good run.  No need to offer suggestions or solutions as to how to “fix it”.  You see, my lawn mower KNOWS me.  It LOVES me.  It CARES about me.  It knew I wasn’t walking as fast as I used to.  It knew that I labored a little more when going uphill. It could sense that we were spending waaaay too much time together in the lawn. 

So, it broke up with me.  I was pissed off the first day I realized it.  Then it hit me.  My lawn mower let me go gracefully.  It did what I NEVER had the courage to do.

For the last couple of years I’ll admit that I flirted with newer, younger and prettier high maintenance models.  I did.  However, at my age and my budget I just wasn’t ready to see if “the grass was greener on the other side”. Pun intended.  I couldn’t let it go.

Now I have no choice.  My lawn mower set me free. Gave me its blessing.  I have to move on.  My lawn mower “knew my heart”.  And so it is.  I’m a free lawn owner looking for a new lawn care companion.  Do I go for a sleek, slim and trim self-propelled model? Or go all out and get a mature, stable smooth riding mower?  Man its good to have choices.  I just wonder how my wife is gonna feel about this…….

6:55 am. Earth. Sky. Sun. Moon. Air. Time. Space. Breath.

Alive.  Thankful.

Hello “real life corner” friends and family.  Been a minute.  I’ve been busy with life and haven’t had much creative energy as of late.  So, to help get the fire going I discretely “bought” a new toy.  Well, let’s say I’m leasing it first to see if I really like it. 

Presonus Sphere is a subscription based DAW (digital audio workstation) comprised of Studio One 5.2, Notation and all add ons (visit Presonus.com for details if you’re interested).  Seems cool.  I have an earlier version that sounds good and operates efficiently so I’m hopefully optimistic. 

Some day I’ll check out the sounds. Some day I’ll explore all of the features. Some day I’ll record some audio, maybe even record some vocals.  Some day……

I’ll keep you posted. 

Come on Spring………

Yes, finally! I have my corner of the world back. This is the space where “The Real Life Corner” started. Situated between the family room and the kitchen, it splits the difference between the TV and the fridge. A convenient place for a surgically repaired right knee and a jealeous left one.

A year ago this space became prime real estate for children out of school and a wife working from home. Consequently I found other places to think and write, namely my music room and the spare bedroom. Well, the music room was annexed by the children and the bedroom was claimed by the wife as “her” office. Oh, okay…..

It took a year but the transition is nearly complete. The bedroom is actually an office, OUR office. The long awaited desk is here. Her company issued equipment arrived so I get my “music laptop” back. Life is getting better.

Last year I asked for this as a Christmas gift on Day 19. Another late arrival, but thankful nonetheless.

Now, the question is how do I get my music room back? Maybe I’ll mention the garage as bait and see if amyone will want to move out there……..

At the start of the New Year I posted an article titled “Something New” in which I revealed my desire to fully embrace modern technology.  Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the wonder, capability and convenience of it, but I’m the kind of person that likes to get the most out things.  Couple that with the fact that I can adapt to my environment too comfortably (and a I don’t spend a lot of money on myself) and you soon realize that the “latest and greatest” usually is not a priority for me. 

However, over time a person’s priorities can change, or evolve so to speak.  Our daily lives are so dependent on and integrated with technology and artificial intelligence that we’d literally struggle to survive without it.

Which brings us to the Samsung Wireless Earbuds pictured above.  I would not have imagined that something so simple, so non essential, could impact my life so positively. 

January 8th is my birthday.  Around that time I was having dinner with my family and I casually (and sarcastically) reminded them of the gifts that I had not received for my birthday, one being a set of wireless ‘buds.  My son and his girlfriend were there and had a good laugh as I rattled off a long list of items that would “bring me into the 21st Century”.  Lo and behold, a couple of days ago they handed me my first set of wireless earbuds. 

Not being tethered to my phone has added time to my life. I can now simultaneously listen to music while getting other things done.  Walk away from my phone.   Eat. All good stuff.  One thing tbough. When lying down listening to music I get so comfortable without the wires that I easily fall asleep with earbuds in and phone on the floor. I’m startled out of my unintended nap by some random song or ad playing continuously. Hey, no one said adapting to modern technology was gonna be easy……

So there it is. Another step toward living on the “technology” edge. New wireless earbuds. My S10 Plus connecting to my JBL Charge. Thanks to my birthday angels I’ve achieved a new milestone. 2021 is off to a great start!

No place for dreams, or time it seems. Possessing objects once wanted.

Once needed, life conceded, denying the truth confronted.

Many places, open faces, heartless, soulless, growing.

Seek behind yourself, rewind, Unknown, and always knowing.