T-clog's Thoughts on C-songs

C-songs: Volume 5 (T-clog, January 06’)

Greetings from T-clog productions! A big thank you for listening to C-songs and for reading the following notes! My intent in this album is to take your mind on a trip starting with a walk across the flat plains and ending by releasing your mind from the top of a tall mountain where it will drift back towards the horizon. The first two songs, ‘Cause Cheap Is How I Feel and Carnival, start us off on our journey over the dry low laying plains which are rich in living waters. Our mind continues to move slowly over this land getting us warmed up for the refreshing and upbeat climb that is yet to come.

Not long into this album we begin to feel the foothills of this musical trip. Cherry Cherry and Cover Me provide some good bouldering and a few switchbacks, but we are still getting acclimated to the increasing slope of this landscape. The view from here is amazing and it will get even more refreshing the higher we climb. The blood pumping through my mind is full of good chemicals and I look towards the mesa that is just ahead in Crash.

The mesa will give me a chance to take in the journey that is already behind us. Crash is a familiar tune and one that could let our minds relax, and give us the opportunity to take it all in. I think that this mesa is placed in the right spot in our journey. Especially before we get to the mind rushing trails of the mountain.

The next four songs take us higher up the mountain. They also take us to the summit where we will launch off of the mountain and glide back with the spirit of the last song. I think ending our journey on this album with U2 is perfect. I hope that City of Blinding Lights does for you what it does for me. For me, it makes me want to take this trip again soon.

‘Cause Cheap Is How I Feel – Cowboy Junkies: I first heard of the Cowboy Junkies while visiting my friend Jim at UNI. They have a sound that fits the mood that was called for while chilling out, drinking beer, and playing cards. I think of the fun that I had while being a high school student and visiting my friend at UNI. This particular song has a great harmonica aspect to it. The harmonica has a special place in my heart. It’s sound always makes me think of my grandfather. He had one that he use to play, and a few months before he died he gave it to me to keep. This song is very relaxing to me and is one of my favorites played by the Cowboy Junkies.

Carnival – Natalie Merchant: There are some pretty mean bass in this song. It beats right through me, and I swear that it changes how the blood in my body flows. This song gives my blood more oxygen and sends out chemicals that make me happy. It is funny how a song that is not designed to get you up on the floor can somehow do just that. I guess that I am just an odd ball. J I first experienced Natalie Merchant while working with some forestry friends in Bessy’s computer lab at ISU. Andy Clark was a big fan and he played it a lot. He also seemed to have it on every time I rode in his truck to and from forestry project sites. I guess that I fell in love with her through exposure. I found myself buying the album through my first music club (MBG). Let me say this, CMC is hands down 100 times better!

Cherry Cherry – Neil Diamond: Neil Freak’in Diamond! He is one of my favorite artists and I had to include him on my first album. Eagle Mountain blew life into me, and I swear that I heard him for the first time while in Pat’s car. I know that Jason played him a lot, but WOW, I got it with Gibbs. It was like a musical orgasm listening to and singing Holly Holy with Gibbs in his car. Beautiful golden birch leaves on all sides of the road with a natural ticker-tape celebration falling all around us. We did not listen to this song, but it is one of his older and more seasoned tunes. I just love it, and I present it to you with a jovial heart.

Cover Me – Bruce Springsteen: The first album that I ever owned was “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen. It was on tape. My second album was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, but I won’t say anymore about him or his pet monkey. I love this album so much that it was the first CD that I ever bought. I first heard the album while at a Boy Scout troop meeting at Lincoln Elementary in Waterloo. A couple of older scouts had a boom box so they brought it to the meeting. They also brought a Scorpion tape. I knew that I had to have the album, so when my birthday came around, I asked for it. In my opinion, there is not a bad song on that album. Believe it or not, my least favorite is the title song. Please don’t tell the other statesmen, they might revoke my honorary title.

Crash – Dave Matthews Band: Sarah and I almost picked this to be our wedding song. I absolutely love the DMB hit! This song was the most played song in my truck when I was dating Sarah. It seemed to capture the essences of what I was feeling when thinking of her, and it always makes me think of her even today. I could set up camp on this mesa and spend the rest of my life there. I still feel that way about her and we think of the song as our unofficial wedding song. To steal the words from Dan, it is a perfect song to me!

Come Together – Beatles: To me this song is like the theme song for this music club. We all come together to hear music that means something to the person that assembled the album. Some of it new, some of it old, some of it okay, and a lot of it just awesome! The Beatles are a group that I did not hear much of until I started working at summer camp. At camp, the Beatles echoed from the ecology cabin on a regular basis. I still think of camp whenever I hear the Beatles. It is hard to find a bad Beatles song in my opinion.

City – Natalie Imbruglia: I bought this album for Torn, but as I listened to the album I found that I liked City more and more. It is a song that once again reminds me of big cities like Minneapolis and Chicago. She has a voice that yanks your ear back to the stereo and demands that you give her a shot. There is some electric guitar in this song that gives this song a very urban feel. I really like it and I hope that you find it new.

Cecilia – Simon & Garfunkel: This is one of my favorite songs to blast loud. In my last year of college I had a single room and I would often turn it up and let the bass just blow me away. I love this song, and it was one of the S&G hits that really threw me into the ring of being a fan. She may be classified as a whore if you leave for a spell and someone else is taking your place in your bed. That’s messed up! With that put aside, this is a great song and it makes Uncle Funky want to return to the floor.

Call Me – Blondie: This is my favorite Blondie song. Totally an oldie, but it rules in my book of getting jazzed music. I can get out of a funk easy when I hear this tune. It also puts me in a mood to watch Dr. Who. Don’t know why but it does. My cousins listened to Blondie all of the time and I have great memories from visiting them in Osage, Iowa. Because I think of them, I also think about the Dungeons and Dragon games that we use to play while listening to tunes such as Call Me. Tracy was a dungeon master and Troy made models and castles for adventures.

City of Blinding Lights – U2: This song is part of the inspiration for C-songs. I knew that I wanted to include this song, Call Me, and Crash on my first album, but I could not tie them together on any kind of theme. Then suddenly it hit me that they all start with the letter C. “That’s it”, I said to myself. C-songs was born and the search for other great songs began about a month and a half ago. Back to this song. I will go on record saying that this IS my favorite song. I’m not talking about just on this album, but rather my favorite song to date. It takes me to that place in my head where all of those great times in Minnesota live. I remember the fishing trips with my dad, times with friends, trips with my children and wife, and the time that I lived there. In each of these I remember the Twin Cities shinning beautifully in the day and at night. It just kicks ass! Thanks U2!