The 6149 - Filed under 'hidden playlist'

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Tune Tags: "I'm using some borrowed tunes..." (new feature @ The 6149)

The title to this post contains a reference to a Neil Young song: "Borrowed Tune". In the song, Ol' Neil talks about how he "borrowed" this song (the melody) from the Rolling Stones (do you now which Stones song he was talking about?).

I'm borrowing tunes for this blog all the time. Most all of my stories and posts have links to songs. I have even posted a few stories with hidden playlists embedded in them. I take some of the bits of the story and hyperlink them to songs that fit. Here is one of the posts with a hidden playlist: Poorman's Podcast: "We gots dat ol' Pioneering Spirit once again..." (plus, a hidden playlist).

Sometimes I offer up playlists to download or that are embedded in the post via music sharing widgets, a la GrooveShark. Here is an example of a post with an embedded playlist, as well as a couple downloadable tracks: Feel Like Goin' Home: a playlist for homesick ramblers....

I take the time to drop tunes into posts so that you get something in return for stopping by The 6149 (thanks). In doing so, I hope to turn you on to new tunes or offer up old favourites to put your ear on. (Faithful readers...does this sound familiar? The old "Give and Take"?)

Yesterday I was adding a few links to my profile and I paused to re-read it. In it I state:

"I am a fan of music and all of the sounds and stories that live in the songs...And like the bluesman, country singers and folk troubadours before me, I am pulled by the lure of going around in search of the sounds and to share my own stories."

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It was the last part that got me to thinking; I am not sharing enough sounds...enough music. At least, I am not making a point of sharing it.

Going forward, at the end of each (non-mobile) posting, I am going to embed a tune or two or a few that somehow relates to the post. This could be a bit of wordplay or it could be thematic based on the post. I am not entirely sure how it will shake out yet, but I'll make 'er work.

I am calling them: Tune Tags. Much like tags for blog posts, these will be audio tags. If I feel its warranted, I will drop a bit twitter'esque commentary on each. You can play along as well. If you want to add a Tune Tag for the post, leave a comment on the post and I'll update the playlist.

A bit gimmicky? Yes. Will it be worth a listen? Yes. Am I sure? Yes. Positive.

Here is our first go with Tune Tags.

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Tunes Tags:

Tagged Hidden Playlist Learn Playlists Songs Stories Tune Tags

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The Ballad of the Music Fan and the Stolen Mix Tape (Part 2): The Road Goes on Forever...

Note: there are many links in this post. A few are links back to previous posts that I have written that relate to what you will read here. The other links are a special treat for you..a hidden playlist of select Allman Brothers tunes. Have a read of the post and go back and listen. Enjoy.

Back in April I wrote a post titled, "The Ballad of the Music Fan and the Stolen Mix Tape", about the origins of my need passion for consuming music and searching for the stories that are being told within the music and by those who listen to it. In that post I talked about a lot about "stories". Here is a bit of what I said:

"...What really struck me though was the story they were telling/playing for me. This is where I really got hooked and this is what still hooks me to this day. The stories that are being told through the music, the back-stories of those who made the music and my own stories that are created from these musical experiences is what turns me on. That is what makes the music come alive for me. It is why I listen and why the songs, lyrics and people are inextricably linked to who I am."

So true.

This particular story..of the "Music Fan and the Mix Tape"... is not finished. In fact it never was nor will it be. As with any good story, it is told over and over and over again. As with any good story, people allow it to live on by retelling it. And, as with any good story...there is always a next chapter.

In Part 1, I was talking about how a single incident with a stolen mix tape turned me into the passionate and dedicated music fan that I am today (you may want to have a read of that first post before going any further). The other character (and I do mean character) in the story was the owner and creator of that stolen mix tape ("Mix Tape Guy"). He and I have not been in touch much in the last decade...especially not since I moved to Australia. When we do bump into each other, it is a good catch up over a beer and always a mention, comment or story about music. He may be the biggest music-head I know and I know me very well.

Lately I have been running into him a lot...on Facebook. Facebook...ah, the great communicator and connector of people. Since we friended eachother, we have been talking up music and sharing some great links. Not surprisingly, we both keep an online list of our music collection. I sent him my list (which is 1,300+) strong and he sent me his. Between the two of us we have three-quarters of Rock and Roll, two-thirds of the blues and heaping handfuls of Soul, Country and R&B...covered.
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I have lived in Australia for four and a half years and I have not yet once traveled back to the States for a visit. My wife and I have traveled to many other places since then, but I have not been home (my wife has been four times). There is no specific reason why. When I commit to something, I get locked in. There is so much to experience, that in my head that going home...even for a short visit...felt like a step back. That being said, this past May I booked my first ticket back to the States. Home Turf. Back where it all began. Time to go home and go check up on how all of my skeletons are doing.

My plane was to fly in on the 23rd August and stay until half way through September. Aside from seeing my family, there were a couple other happenings I wanted to check out: a Sox game at Fenway and any concerts by (my) bands that just don't make it to Australia. The Sox tickets were easy. I purchased three tickets in row AA in the right field grandstands, smack dab in front of the Pesky Pole. The next thing I did was hit the mojo wire looking for cool gigs at old haunts...the Casino Ballroom in Hampton, NH, the Oprpheum Theatre in Boston, the Boston Garden and that beacon of summer and youth...Great Woods in Mansfield, Massachusetts (today people call it the Comcast Center).

I went on the Ticketmaster site and it was slim pickings for bands I was interested in...until I scrolled down and saw just what I needed to see. The Allman Brothers were playing at Great Woods on Saturday the 30th August. Did I read that right? The Allmans. At Great Woods. On a Saturday. In the summer. During the time I would be home. Hot Damn! The Allmans have never come to Australia, but I sure have gone to the Allmans...28 times to be exact (how many of those shows I actually remember is another thing entirely).

You don't miss your water until your well runs dry. My well was bone dry for an outdoor summer time Allman's gig at Great Woods. I cut my concert teeth on those early '90's Allman shows. They used to stop into Great Woods for three shows every summer tour back then. I usually made it to all of them. A group of us would caravan down there and get mental in the parking lot. Tailgating for the Allmans was one big giant (outdoor) house party.

If there was any cure-all for my homesick blues, it was the Allmans laying the groove on a cool summer night.

Straight away I bought two tickets. I figured I could find someone who wanted to stir up some old time vibes with me. My treat. I'll buy the tickets and get our ride. Maybe I could get a huge crew and I would rent a limo and we'd go in style and tear up the parking lot scene. Get the tickets first and then sort out the rest later. This was a done deal.

Done deals are never as clean cut as they should be. Fast forward two months after buying the tickets. My wife gets a promotion, it requires a move to London and we start saying our Sydney goodbyes (the London move is another post all itself) Leaving Sydney is bittersweet. We have good friends here and we love the city and the quality of life it offers us. But there it is again...The Lure of Going Around. Traveling minstrel shows have nothing on us. In one month we move to London...smack dab in the middle of my planned trip home and almost to the day of the Allman's show. Now I have the keys, but they won't fit the lock.

So, I had to cancel my trip back to the States. I made some phone calls home to deliver the exciting, but disappointing news to family and friends. After that dust settled...what about those Allman tickets. The money wasn't the important thing here. The essence of the experience was at stake. That meant a lot to me. I couldn't just sell the tickets on ebay?! That would suck the soul right out of the whole thing. Who could I give these to? Who would appreciate it as much as I would. Who could I count on to turn pro when it mattered and sing this old boy back home? Mix Tape Guy...that's who!

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I was on Facebook a day or so later. I saw that Mix Tape Guy had posted a comment. His kid wanted to see the Jonas Brothers. Being the good man and even better dad that he is, he took his kid to the show. But still...The Fing Jonas Brothers?! This, this was musical blasphemy to him. Then, once he got here it went pear-shaped fast. He got carded going for a beer and got denied! Can't even get a beer to ease the pain. Aside from the unconditional love gesture and response of taking his kid to the show...I'm sure it was a new low for this four star general of concert going.

I had read enough. I had to respond quickly before this smell started to settle into the fabric of his music-head being. I sent him a message and offered up my Allman tickets free of charge. Why not. He deserved them and I knew I could count on him to roust the scene as I would have. Needless to say he was pleased. And I was too. It made me feel good to share the tickets and share the music with someone I knew would appreciate it...and, I found another story to tell.

We traded a few emails regarding the tickets and some names of mutual friends popped up. I was a bit jolted when he mentioned one Mutual Friend in particular. Every time I listen to the Allmans I think of Mutual Friend. Every time. Mutual Friend was stationed overseas in the first Gulf War. Mutual Friend once told me that while over there, where ever he was and what ever post he was at, he would carve into the walls or write all of the lyrics to the classic Allmans tune, "Whippin' Post". My Mix Tape Guy said he used to get letters from Mutual Friend with Whippin' Post lyrics in them all of the time. Our emails continued back and forth and more coincidental connections were made and more stories told.

Mix Tape Guy is taking another mutual friend to the Allmans show. Two friends sharing a classic show with tickets shared by a friend who they have not seen in close to ten years and that lives over 10,000 miles away. What a great story. I always say: the one thing I love more than listening to music is sharing it. Enjoy the show, Mix Tape Guy (I know you will).
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I am dissapointed about not being able to go home and see friends and family...and to have to miss out on the Allmans show and the Sox game (I have plans for the Sox tickets, too. Some lucky friend is going to get a call in the next day or two). When I think about the opportunity my wife and I have with London, I forget about missing these gigs. At least I can share them with freinds.

For us, we on the road again and the way things are looking, it will go on forever. We're seduced (again) by The Lure of Going Around...and we wouldn't have it any other way. Now all I need to do is make a playlist for our road trip...

Tagged Bow-Down Post friends Hidden Playlist Mix Tape Guy riffs stories The Lure of Going Around

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Poorman's Podcast: "We gots dat ol' Pioneering Spirit once again..." (plus, a hidden playlist)

We are a month or so away from moving to London and I have never felt more confident about a decision...ever. My wife and I know that our ride is here and it is time to pull up stakes and get on the road. We're two-timers now; we've done this before.

Four and a half years ago we we're living in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and had just bought our first house. Seven months into it, we got itchy and decided, "we're not ready to settle into the rest of our lives". So, we moved to Sydney, Australia...site unseen...to see what we could find out about ourselves and the world. And learn we did...

We have loved our time in Sydney, Australia. We moved here not knowing anyone or having never stepped foot on Aussie soil. We knew there was risk, but the reward is what we focused on. And now, now we let history repeat itself. We've got that old pioneering spirit once again and we're ready to look for the next claim to stake.

That "Pioneering Spirit". What's that...? Have a listen to the audio and hear the gears turning around in my brain as I drive home from a long day of working for the man.

(You might want to go back and click on the links to find the hidden playlist. "This blog post should be Played Loud")