My Favorite Music

I am a child of the hard rock 1970s.  I loved parties and dancing to disco, but my heart was already given to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, and others.  As I have gotten older, this is still how I am.  I went through a phase in the 90s where Alternative and Grunge were my favorites ... Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, REM, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden.

At 56 years old, my taste in music hasn't tamed much.  If anything, it's now more diverse and eclectic ... I like just about everything.  My 6-disk CD changer in the Jeep currently holds One Republic, Fall Out Boy, Eminem, Adele, Metallica, and (one of my very favorites) Disturbed.

David Draiman, the lead singer, has one of the best and most expressive voices out there in any genre.  Disturbed is a hard rock band, for sure, but the messages in their lyrics are almost always positive, encouraging, and empowering.  Here's an example from one of my favorite Disturbed songs ("I'm Alive" from 2005) ... lyrics that always make me better when it feels like life is stepping all over me.

Never again will I be dishonored
And never again will I be reminded
Of living within the world of the jaded
They kill inspiration, it's my obligation
To never again allow this to happen
Where do I begin?
The choices are endless
Denying the sin
My art, my redemption
I carry the torch of my fathers before me

The thing I treasure most in life cannot be taken away
There will never be a reason why I will surrender to your advice
To change myself, I'd rather die
Though they will not understand
I will make the greatest sacrifice
You can't predict where the outcome lies
You'll never take me alive.
I'm alive.

Disturbed's new album is one of the best yet!  Included on it is an amazing version of "The Sound of Silence", the old Simon and Garfunkel song.  If you haven't had a chance to hear it yet, prepare to be amazed at the depth of emotion and control in Draiman's voice.  This live version of the song is even better than the studio recording ... and the studio version is pretty incredible.  Turn up your sound, click on the video, and prepare to love it as much as I do.

(I could SO see him singing the role of Javert in Les Miserables ... see if you agree.)





Disturbed is on tour right now, and they will be coming to a venue near me on July 10.  I have tickets ... I'm so excited that it's hard to contain myself.

Once a hard rock fan, always a hard rock fan.  It keeps me from getting old.

A Dreamy Little Garden Building

There is a farmhouse on Route 17, about 10 minutes north of here in Morrisville.  Whenever I have to wait at that traffic light, I always take a second to admire a beautifully proportioned little lattice structure behind the house.  Yesterday, I pulled my camera from my purse and snapped this photo.

The photo is blurry, probably because I had the lens zoomed as far as it would go, and I had to hurry because the traffic light turned green.  I think it looks a lot like a dreamy watercolor painting. 

One day, I will find a place for a building like this at our place.  When I do, I will stop and introduce myself to the family who lives in the farmhouse, and I will photograph and measure their beautiful little lattice house.

Isn't it perfect?

Sunday Snapshot ... Use It or Lose It

As I was digging through the photos here on my laptop earlier this morning, I came across one that carries a bit of a lesson to be learned.

I took the photo below in 2006 at Caravati's (a fabulous architectural salvage yard in Richmond), and published it in THIS blog post from January of last year.  I love the details of this beautiful piece of a shingle cottage just as much now as I did when I first saw it ... maybe more now.  The shingles, the shutters, and the delicate touch of gingerbread is completely perfect!

This past fall, while The Husband and I were at Caravati's hunting for a window to use to finish the north wall of my greenhouse, I happened upon the same piece ... now deteriorating and forgotten in a far corner of the yard.  It made me sad.

All it needed in 2006 was some scraping and a coat or two of paint.  I'm sure it would take a lot more work to for someone to be able to use it now.  Fortunately for me, all I needed it for was inspiration ... and photos can do this quite nicely.

Such a shame.