Go World

Not that I'm doing some free advertising for Visa or anything, but these little commercials make me tear up.  I love the Olympics, the stories, the heartbreaks and triumphs.  I love that it's the one time we can all get together, and try to love one another right now.  It's a feeling similar to Christmas, only its all over the world.  And I'm not much of a sports fan, but man oh man, do I get into The Games.  It's something of a family tradition.  And someday I'll go.  Till then, these clips and the TV will have to suffice.  Enjoy.

 

A Man Walks Down the Street

Let's get things started.

I've been interested in Paul Simon's Graceland for a while.  This last week I watched a documentary on the Grammy winning album and immediately I had to get it and just absorb all of it.  To my surprise I had quite a few of the songs on the album, but I went onto iTunes and bought what I didn't have.  Graceland is amazing.  And I will tell you why.  But don't just take my word for it, take a good listen to the album in its entirety.

Next song:

Paul Simon was needing a rejuvenation so he decided to make an album in Africa.  Why Africa, I don't know, but he went there with no idea of what would become of it.  He quickly gained a love of the people of South Africa and all their rhythms and melodies.  He found local musicians and a recording studio and just started jamming.  From those jam sessions he pieced together an album.  

Paul Simon thought it presumptuous to write anything in the perspective of the native people, so instead her wrote songs like this, Homeless, and had the local artists perform them.  It's just beautiful.

What I love most about this album is that though it sounds very African, you can still feel at home with it.  It doesn't carry my away to jungles and deserts far away.  It allows me to look at the world around me with a new light.  I can appreciate different aspects of where I live through this album that I've never noticed before.  It's great for the summer as well.  It just doesn't seem so hot outside when I'm listening to it.  Which may be a weird description, but it's truth.  Try it out sometime.