Season 458--If It Makes You Happy...

Getting old slows you down, but that is not a bad thing.
A Leonard Cohen song with a joke at the end.

 
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I tried doing this at the open mic thing the other week but due to being bad at technology (I'm a university lecturer so I think it's partly expected... ahem...) hardly anyone could hear me. So as well as being a catchy tune that I enjoy playing anyway, it will make me even happier to do it with a working microphone...



(Turns out there's a zoom setting to "intelligently" adjust microphone volume. I guess it was judging me :))

- Edwin
 
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i really enjoy writing homemade songs, and one of the most fun ways to get started is using song prompt dice! i made this set with blank dice and words that crop up a lot in hawkwind songs! i was hoping to write a loud, full-on space rocker for you, but it ended up a much more mellow thing all together - you never know how these things are gonna turn out! (which is of course part of the fun!) where uke playing meets crossword puzzle, where plinking meets paper chase, here is...

"song of the sun lord"

 
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Hello, Luis and thank you for a week of "happy" songs ... heaven only knows, we need them at the moment! Life has rather got in the way this week and the choice offered was so all-embracing that for a while my mind went blank, but then I remembered this one, which always makes me smile ....

 
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It's fair to say that Nick Drake was a troubled soul, but he made some of the most beautiful music, and his three albums have been with me for over 40 years. Whenever I play them, the soft voice and gentle guitar have such a soothing effect, and peace reigns.

 
SOTU 458 - "Morning Bugle" - John Hartford. This is the title song from JH's 1972 album. I've always liked it and played it for last week's Seasonista Zoom gathering. It's got a Thanksgiving reference in the lyrics, so seemed especially appropriate. Here Kevin and Xing Xing help out once again. We did a couple takes and Xing Xing said she liked this one best, even though we didn't really stick the landing.

 
Body positive song that i heard this morning by a South African group
whose lead singer is Zolani Mahola and her wondeful video Potbelly
Couldn' t find the chords for the song so this is only an approximation.
Pleasure awaits everyone no matter their body shape

 
SOTU 458 - "Susie Most of All" - Tom Paxton. This is a fun little tune that always makes me happy to play - ("happiness guaranteed".)

 
I think this song really captures the spirit of this season, and I like playing it a lot. This is Better Times by Janis Ian.
More info about the song, and how you can join in are here: https://www.bettertimeswillcome.com
Record your own version and join the project. (Versions of Brian and me are already up there, and downloadable).
 
Here's a song that makes me happy. It was written by William Sadler, who is better known for his thespian skills than his musical ability, but I first met him as a musician. My son and I were in a restaurant in Toronto and Clay excused himself for a bit and a fellow from another table came over and asked me if I was a mandolin player (I was wearing a mandolin World T-shirt.) We got talking about mandolins and he was curious about open stages since he was just visiting Toronto for a while to do some work. I said that I must have seen him play before because he looked really familiar. Then he explained who he was and Clay told him about a bluegrass open stage at The Silver Dollar.

William Sadler 1.jpgHere's William in The Shawshank Redemption.

William Sadler 3.jpgAnd in his lesser known role as a musician. (although he does sing some Hank Williams in Shawshank)

 
This song always cheers me up and it's a really satisfying one to play as well.

 
Hey Luis! Thanks for hosting! What with the Thanksgiving weekend and the social distancing and whatnot, I’ll try to squeeze several in here. Sing along and be kind to railroad engineers.

 
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