Reflections in D

Mike Jennings tagged me in iPod Tarot.
This is a grown up's variation on the kid's iPod game making its way around Facebook and blogs. Here's how it works:

Set your music player on random/shuffle, even if it's just a computer program like iTunes. For each of the following questions, go to the next song, and note it.
Look at its lyrics to find what it tells you -- and include a relevant lyric excerpt.
Comments in square brackets are optional, but recommended when a question offers a choice.
You may ignore one song and pass on one question, but leave the question in there for people who copy and paste this as a template.

I didn't skip any.
Oddly, lots of my answers were pieces of music with no lyrics!
Hope some of you will play along, leave me a note if ya do!

1) What was the worst aspect of your childhood?
When I Find My Life: Marianne Faithfull. (Wow! How does iPod Tarot know this stuff?)
Lyrics Excerpt:
I have worked so hard to learn And flunked so far in my attempts to let it go
by, dear. Oh, I will free the bird in me Oh, when I find my life.
I will be what I wanna be. . .

2) What is your greatest hope? Spring - Allegro: Antonio Vivaldi. (Well yeah! I'm TOTALLY hoping for the imminent, quick-paced arrival of Spring! "Kinda obvious, Robert!")
No words though, just a feeling.

3) How would you describe your relationship with your [mother/father]? The Real Thing: Gwen Stefani. (OK, so take out the references to "lover", replace with 'mother' and this is right on. Wish she WAS still around.)
Lyrics Excerpt:
Heaven knows what will come next So emotional, you're so complex.
A roller coaster built to crash, But I still love to have you around.

4) What really influences the decisions you make right now? The Ups and Downs:
Steeleye Span. (Um, draw your own conclusions!)
Lyrics Excerpt:
And when she got to Aylesbury her butter was not sold
And the losing of her maidenhead it made her blood run cold
He's gone, he's gone, he's gone, she said, he's not the lad for me
For he lives at the sign of the Ups And Downs fol-der-o diddle-o-day. . .

5) What is the biggest problem you face right now? Everybody Knows But Me: Jesse Winchester. (Uh-oh.)
Lyrics Excerpt:
So, everybody knows but me - I'm A Fool - Everybody knows but me!

6) What is your secret goal for the immediate future? Doo'lit'saa'da (Another Silent Night): Douglas Spotted Eagle. (That's heavy.) But again, no words.

7) What is your secret goal for the long-term future? Lying in the Sun: Koushik (I'll wear sunscreen this time.) I really do not only listen to music with no words! I swear!

8) What hobby will you pick up next? Friday Night Saturday Morning: Nouvelle Vague
(Apparently, drinking???)
Excerpt:
I like to venture into town. I like to get a few drinks down.
The floor gets packed the bar gets full. I don't like life when things get dull.

9) What did you think you were going to grow up to be that you didn't? So Early in the Spring: Pentangle (I was definitely planning on being either a sailor, or a rich man's wife.)
Excerpt:
I went up to her father's hall And loudly for my love did call.
My daughter is married, she's a rich man's wife She's wed to another, much better for life.
If the girl is married, whom I adore I'm sure I'll stay on land no more.
I'll sail the seas till the day I die I'll break through waves, roll in mountain high.

10) What do you secretly think of your [mate/object of desire]? When this one came on, I wasn't sure what to do. It's just listed as Track 05 because it's from a mix tape someone gave me! But it's a sweet and funky little French sounding melody, mostly accordion and clarinet. It somehow quite perfectly represents what I secretly feel about my [mate/object of desire]. And - no words.

11) What do you wish your [mate/object of desire] would change? Hong Kong Garden:
Siouxsie & The Banshees (Well, he doesn't like Chinese food. . .)
Lyrics Excerpt:
Would you like number 23?
Leave your yens on the counter please.

12) What is your dream job? Started out on Chakra Suite: 1st Chakra: Keynote C: Steven Halpern but it got switched to: Way Back In The 1960s: Incredible String Band (Maybe I just wanna be a hippie. . .)
Lyrics Excerpt:
Yes, you made your own amusements then, for going to the pictures;
Well, the travel was hard, and I mean we still used the wheel.
But you could sit down at your table and eat a real food meal.

13) What would you prefer your living situation to be more like? Thieves Like Us: New Order (More lovey?)
Lyrics Excerpt:
Oh, love is found in the east and west but when love is at home, it's the best
Love is the cure for every evil love is the air that supports the eagle
It's called love and it's so un-cool
It's called love and somehow it's become unmentionable
It's called love and it belongs to every one of us it's called love

14) What will be written on your tombstone? I'll Melt With You; Nouvelle Vague
(I think I really WOULD like this - for reals.)
Lyrics Excerpt:
Dream of better lives the kind which never hate,
Dropped in the state of imaginary grace.

15) What is your secret desire? Ocean Floor: Freshly Ground
Lyric Excerpt:
A touch as deep as the ocean floor. . .

16) What song title/lyric excerpt will you use to title this post? Reflections in D Duke Ellington (No words. Simply one of the most beautiful songs ever.)

Maira Kalman went to town, sketching in her journals

The smashing Maira Kalman commemorated her trip
to Washington DC for the Inauguration brilliantly. . . but, of course!

Remember your first bike?

Frame: Atomic 13 Aluminum, w/E.A.S.E. Geometry

Fork: Steel Comfort

Derailleur: (R) Shimano TX-31

Cranks: Prowheel 36t

Shifter: Shimano SL-RS31 Revo 7spd

Rims: Weinmann XC-260 Double Wall

Color(s): Blackberry

$ (That's what they SAY, for me it felt more like $$) The fenders were a custom add-on. And that's my old basket. . . so I did a little economizing. . .

Anyway, I got my first bike when I was 19. I traded my friend Susan, who had jury duty, childcare. It was an old 5-speed Raleigh with a real leather seat and the coolest decal on the step-through - a girl hula hooping - looking vaguely pin-up, dressed, but with her hair flying and a sassy expression. I feel I need one for this baby (a 7-speed Circa 1.0), too, but have no intention of waiting to ride until I find one. I will be waiting to ride if the ice don't melt!

Sugar molecules and Charley Harper

To 2009!

2008 was memorable for so many reasons, but I lift my glass in a heartfelt toast to 2009! May it be sometimes amazing and wonder-filled...frequently delightful...and always alive with hope, punctuated with generosity of spirit & the truest gift of all - human kindness.