music-news-from-breakups-to-the-lastest-buzz
Another lost album is found!
Patty Griffin’s Silver Bell releases today.
You can read our review of the album (we liked it) or our profile of Patty Griffin.
Thanks to our friends at Team Patty, you can also enter right now for a chance to win one of two brand new copies of Silver Bell, just available today.
Ready to Win?!
I don’t pretend to pay a lot of attention to what goes on in Congress. I am not fond of politics, especially when it comes to arguing about them. However, because my husband, Bill, is a member of the Army, this government shutdown business does affect us somewhat. Yes, we were told that members of the military would continue to be paid while 800,000 or so other government workers will be furloughed until this mess gets sorted out. However, my husband has told me that there is a possibility that despite the fact that the “Pay Our Military Act” passed, his pay may still be delayed. This is what it says on the front page of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service’s (DFAS) Web site…
We are aware the President has signed the “Pay Our Military Act.”
We are awaiting further guidance from the Department of Defense to ensure we accurately implement all elements of the Act.
We believe all pay and allowances included in mid-month pay are covered by the Act and pay will be received on time.
Hear that? They believe all pay and allowances included in mid-month are covered by the Act… How reassuring. Actually, I realize that we are very fortunate because Bill gets paid pretty well and we have managed to squirrel away some cash in advance of this mess. There are many military folks out there, along with government and contract workers, who don’t have anything to cushion the financial blow of a prolonged furlough.
Anyway, I thought today might be a good day for a post about songs in honor of the shutdown. The first song that immediately comes to mind is Bob Dylan’s classic hit, “The Times, They Are A Changin’”. I have to admit, this song popped into my head the other day when I sang it on SingSnap. I happen to own a great double CD set called No Nukes, which was originally released in 1979 when a bunch of stars got together to do a concert to protest nukes.
A clip from the No Nukes documentary.
And here’s Bob Dylan’s version.
Gwen Guthrie’s “Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent” is a reminder that the bill collectors may be knocking if something isn’t done soon…
This song is really more about a gold digger, but the sentiments are still sort of the same. When you don’t have a paycheck, you suddenly start worrying about meeting your responsibilities.
ABBA’s “Money, Money, Money” might inspire a few folks to try their hand at gambling as a way to raise some quick cash…
What really blows about this is that some people are still working, even though they might not be paid on time. Bill told me that a bunch of civilians were recalled to work yesterday because it was decided that they would eventually be paid. Therefore, they didn’t need to be sitting at home doing nothing. My reaction to that? That’s bullshit! It’s probably a good thing I don’t work for the government.
The Beatles sang a song about taxes…
Don’t our taxes pay for all the folks in Congress hashing it out right now? Fat lot of good it’s done us. I fully understand that taxes make the government function… except when they don’t. It would be nice if the folks responsible for this shutdown gave up their paychecks too.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t include an entry by Pink Floyd…
Pink Floyd’s “Money” is no doubt on a lot of peoples’ minds right now as mid month looms and bills come due.
Donna Summer’s classic 80s hit “She Works Hard For The Money” resonates with women, especially…
And there are no doubt some mothers and fathers who are single parents trying to cope with these furloughs. Of course, this song is really about women who work in low wage jobs, but even if they aren’t being directly by the shutdown, those who wait tables or work in retail will be affected as business slows because people aren’t getting paid.
I have to add James Taylor’s “Money Machine” because I happen to love his music… and this song, in all its cheesy 70s glory, does sort of illustrate the power money has on society.
I know the money has to come from somewhere, of course. And Congress has to straighten some stuff out, which will no doubt require compromise from all parties. I sure hope they come to a conclusion sooner rather than later.
You know how it is. You’re on Facebook and a new game comes out. Pretty soon, your friends are bugging you to play. I got hooked on a few Facebook games, but the one that really captured my attention was SongPop. I am a certified music nerd and I’m pretty good at guessing the names of songs and the people who sing them. When SongPop first came out, I was really into it. Some of my friends quit playing with me because I would often beat them pretty soundly. On the other hand, a few of my friends are every bit as music nerdy as I am and our matches would get pretty heated.
But, as with almost everything on Facebook, the fad seems to have faded somewhat. There was a time when I’d have a whole lot of people wanting to play SongPop with me to the point at which it was annoying. I could open the game and be assured that I’d have several games waiting. I’d even have a few folks who would bug me to play. One player in particular was even worried about how I would keep up with our SongPop challenges while I was visiting Europe last year. Now? I’m lucky if I play a couple of times a week. People seem to have lost interest, the same way they lost interest in Mafia Wars and Farmville.
SongPop video…
The game is pretty easy to play. You pick a category and then listen to ten second snippets of songs. You either guess the title or the artist. Some of the categories can be pretty obscure. I, for one, enjoy playing the Eurovision category, much to the annoyance of some of the people who play with me. It’s not that I know a lot of Eurovision songs. I just like trying to figure them out. I feel the same way about the National Anthems category, on which I seldom do particularly well. On the other hand, I get annoyed when people send me hairband or rap challenges. I suck at those categories.
Sadly, I don’t do that well on categories featuring 90s era music or today’s hits. I ought to listen to newer music more often if only so I can be a better SongPop player. But if you challenge me in 70s or 80s hits, prepare for a fierce battle. I also rock on the classic rock songs. Not long ago, it didn’t take me too long to save up “coins” so I could buy new song lists. But right now, things have kind of stagnated.
I guess I’m not too sad that SongPop isn’t as blazing hot popular as it was a year ago. I mean, there are certainly more productive ways I could be spending my time. But SongPop definitely has its place, especially when you blog about music. Sometimes when I play SongPop, I’m reminded of songs I had long forgotten about. Then I end up downloading them. Of course, that is ultimately the whole point of Facebook games… the developers hope you’ll spend some money.
Well, I just checked Facebook and no one has issued me a challenge. Maybe I should get on the stick and invite someone to play.
Have a good weekend, everybody!