TAKING REQUESTS

First off, a big THANK YOU to Michael at NEVERENDING RAINBOW for his wonderful review of...well...ME! He is a fabulous writer, and I'm TOTALLY flattered by all of his kind words. It's stuff like this that keeps me plugging away!

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I HAVE BEEN TAGGED! Ouch!!! Thanks to the lovely Christine who sent me this music meme.

My personal taste in music is BEYOND eclectic. I love new music, old music, and...well everything except atonal music! Especially if it's got a melody and a great beat. There is nothing better than hearing a song that makes you want to sing along.

So here goes...

TOTAL AMOUNT OF MUSIC FILES ON YOUR COMPUTER:
As I write this I have 2741 songs in my iTunes library. This doesn't count the tracks that are mix tapes that I've put on there. So I probably have an extra 50 or so more...PLUS there are a gazillion songs in progress on my hard drive.

WHAT IS THE SONG YOU LAST LISTENED TO BEFORE READING THIS MESSAGE:
Actually, I had a friend over at my house to listen to my new, almost-finished CD. He works with Cyndi Lauper, and I value his opinion.

But before that, I had on London's Virgin Radio playing over my cool new wireless system...straight off of iTunes onto my home stereo speakers.

You won't believe this, but I SWEAR it's true... Just as we were getting ready to listen to my new album, they were playing "PAINT IT BLACK"... NO SHIT. (See my post from 2 days ago!) Before that was KEANE - "SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW". (That's a great album!)

WRITE DOWN 5 SONGS YOU OFTEN LISTEN TO OR THAT MEAN A LOT TO YOU:

1. CROWDED HOUSE - PRIVATE UNIVERSE - Ah, there are so many of their songs that I adore that I barely know how to pick just one. (Did I mention that I would have Neil Finn's babies?) But this particular song is...like..."our song". (blush).

2. COUNTING CROWS - ROUND HERE - Something about this song always hits a nerve with me. Yes, I know Adam is a mumbler, but there is such passion in his voice, and damn it, it's a just great pop song!

3. U2 - IN THE NAME OF LOVE - I remember first hearing this song. I bought the CD and played this one song at ear shattering levels over and over and over and over. I sang it in the car. I sang it in the shower. I sang it while bouncing up and down on my bed naked... Hopefully the blinds were closed... I'm sure I looked ludicrous!

4. SAMUEL BARBER'S ADAGIO FOR STRINGS - Now this is going to sound TOTALLY morbid, but I want this song played at my funeral. I KNOW THAT'S SICK...but think about it. This is the MOST TRAGIC piece of music ever written. I picture people sitting there in their seats at the funeral home WEEPING PROFUSELY while the sounds of strings build to the massive climax before the ending. You might remember this as the piece that they played in the movie THE ELEPHANT MAN many years ago. I'M TALKING TRAGIC HERE...OK?

And as soon as it's over and people just can't stop blubbering, THEN we hit them with THE HAPPIEST SONG I KNOW...

5. SUNSHINE - from MY last CD, BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER. What a send off!

Here it is for your listening pleasure. Enjoy...


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Here's the deal... The other day I wrote about my previous life when I would have the occasional strolling violin gig. SEE POST. Well, I think that I am ready to accept a challenge.

How about you all throw me out a song that would sound COMPLETELY OUT OF CHARACTER on a solo violin?

I'll play it on the violin, add the schmaltz and voila, INSTANT MANTOVANI! What do you think? I'm willing if you are! Could be fun. In a couple of days, I'll post the results...
GO AHEAD...CHALLENGE ME!

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STOP THE PRESS!!! If you happen to live in the New York area, I've just gotten a call to play a last minute, fill-in gig TONIGHT - Friday - at THE LIVING ROOM... 8 PM SHOW. 154 Ludlow Street, NYC(btw Stanton and Rivington) Come on out and see that I'm really not making this all up!