iPod Essentials #59: "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)"--Simply Red

Ahhh, the mantra from the changing time in which we live. Aside from this fact, Mick Hucknall's vocals really sell this song. I've often wondered why Simply Red was never a popular band--they had great craft and great vocals. Perhaps they will be rediscovered.

Our Epic Lives

Yesterday I finished Ken Follett's wonderful WORLD WITHOUT END, at its hulking 1,000 pages. An epic tale of the Middle Ages, indeed. Though Follett isn't a master stylist, he tells a compelling story. I also like his strong female characters. WORLD, along with its Oprah Book Club counterpart, PILLARS OF THE EARTH, are hard to put down.

Shouldn't our lives be epic as well? Full of strength, triumph, adventure, experience, and romance? (Personally, I like my conflicts confined to the pages of my novels.) We're the heroes in our lives--during this difficult time, we seem to be forgetting that. We close ourselves off and watch in fear as yet another company gets a federal bailout or observe a family being evicted from their home. We aren't taking chances to secure our happiness and well-being. Heroes take risks. It may be the only way to save ourselves from the unknown.

iPod Essentials #58: 'Rainforest"--Paul Hardcastle

Since So Cal will be experiencing wind, rain, snow, and very cold temperatures for most of this week, it seems fitting that "Rainforest" will be an Essential. It's a New Age track, very danceable and upbeat, with synethesizers and other instrumentation reminiscent of sounds you would hear in a rainforest.

This song makes me happy. Gloomy weather does not.