Music
Don’t Read This Story
Seriously; it is just a self-indulgent spin off from another piece
I am going to warn you right up front that you don’t want to read this article. If you do, you probably won’t like yourself much at the end. And/or you probably won’t like me much either. You are going to feel duped, and perhaps misled.
As George W. once famously said, “Fool me once, shame on… shame on you. Fool me… uh, you can’t get fooled again.”
Or, at best, you are just going to think, “This is pretty much more of the same stuff”.
In fact, you would be better served, probably, by reading an article on Medium about writing an article on Medium. Or, perhaps, a story with a number in the title like this one below. Go on now, go read this one — and don’t come back. Consider yourself aptly warned.
Yesterday I wrote a piece that included meaningful music from my history, sort of a musical timeline biography.
After I published, I immediately had some feeling that perhaps I didn’t do enough justice to the music that helped frame my existence through the years. So, today, I am penning the adjunct article. Consider it a sophomore album. (And we all know how well those fare, don’t we?)
If you haven’t read the first story, it is below. I recommend reading it then going off and doing something else. Maybe go outside and play. The rest of this is just going to be more of the same (really good music).
If you are still here and have read my first piece, then you may be thinking one of the things that struck me and prompted me to write this second article to shore up the first. That is:
I probably should have my membership card to the 80’s revoked for not making note of David Bowie and Queen collaborating on one of the best all-time songs of, well, ever:
Okay, with that now rectified, you should probably sign off. I mean seriously, what level of narcissism allows someone to write two video-music biographical timelines for themselves? And more importantly, who would tolerate that enough to keep reading/listening?
You should probably go and read some articles about how to avoid interacting with narcissists. There are a ton of them (articles for sure, maybe narcissists too, hard to say) on Medium. Here is my experience you can read about first and then spin off from there:
Remember, don’t come back to this article when you get done… Oh, wait. Too late, I guess.
Well, since you are here you may as well listen to The Zac Brown Band play Jolene. No, not the Dolly Parton version, or even the nifty remake of that song by Miley Cyrus. Nope, it is an entirely different song altogether; and a good one:
Okay, here is my last attempt to keep you from being subjected to more of my eclectic musical taste:
Cats!
Yes, cats. With lots of cat pictures. Go read this story about feline subterfuge and tail off on a string of watching kittens battle balls of yarn. Don’t come back here.
Okay, if anyone is left reading this, then all responsibility lies on your shoulders. I gave you every option to bail. But if you are here, let’s listen to some more really good music.
If you haven’t heard of Alabama Shakes, then you are in for a treat. Brittany Howard has an amazing voice as showcased in this first single from their debut record:
For those of you who read my first music story I am going to give you a little more Kings of Leon, since they are so awesome:
The Avett Brothers have been around a little while, but I didn’t come to know about them until a few years ago. This is one of their fan favorites, and if you like it you should definitely check out some of their other stuff like Morning Song and January Wedding. It is evident there is a story behind their music and if you listen you can feel the emotion as they play:
And, finally if you didn’t listen to the Miley Cyrus cover Dolly Parton above, you should definitely give some time to this live acoustic version of her original, Malibu to close out the set on this life soundtrack, part II:
Cyrus’ hopeful message of never expecting to find oneself in a particular place does a good job of explaining how I like to approach life with an open mind and say “yes” to opportunity.
If you made it to end of this and listened to at least one of these songs on my supplemental life-track, then thank you for also saying “yes”. I didn’t tag anyone in this one. While I might be a tad narcissistic, I am not sadistic. So, if you found this article, ignored the initial warning, read anyway, made it to the end, and are somehow dissatisfied in doing so, I claim no responsibility.
After all, I gave you every chance. I mean; cats! Right?
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Timothy Key spent over 26 years in the fire service as a firefighter/paramedic and various fire chief management roles. He firmly believes that bad managers destroy more than companies, and good managers create a passion that is contagious. Compassion, grace and gratitude drive the world; or at least they should. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and join the mail list.
